By Andrew Hartzler, assistant professor of accounting
Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 (NRSV)
In our passage today from I Thessalonians, Paul encourages us to do the following:
- Rejoice always (Always be joyful).
- Pray without ceasing (Never stop praying).
- Give thanks in all circumstances (Be thankful in all circumstances).
- Do not quench the Spirit (Do not stifle the Holy Spirit).
- Hold fast to what is good (Hold on to what is good).
- Abstain from every form of evil (Stay away from every kind of evil).
These are good words as we approach the end of 2020. I think all of us feel the fatigue of the constant highlighting of our difficult circumstances (COVID, divisive politics, natural disasters, etc…, etc….). As much as we are tired of talking about it, we must grudgingly admit that it is the reality we live in this year. An irony I’ve found is that even in non-COVID times, human beings have for millennia experienced the things we are all experiencing globally this year together. Pandemics, natural disasters, political divisions, distrust, fear, racial tensions and injustice, etc… are part of the human experience.
So how does that connect to our passage today? An apt saying for the mental and emotional state of us all is that ignorance is bliss. It is an understatement to say that 2020 has shattered our bliss. The reality is that our world contains a neverending list of things that can at any time shatter that bliss. So what is our antidote? What is our peace amidst life’s storms? For me it is the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Rejoicing always and being thankful in all circumstances sound like impossible tasks, especially when the storms come. For me, the words “always” and “all” are superhuman, or more appropriately, supernatural. So as I look for joy daily, as I try to give thanks in all circumstances, I call on the supernatural, the Holy Spirit of God that is with me. My ceaseless prayer is for God to restore my joy. Holy Spirit, thank you for your presence in all circumstances. I need you now. I need to be aware of you. I need your power to overcome my weakness. I need to find rest in your loving embrace.
It is in these moments that I see the sun rising, I savor incredible flavors of food, I feel my spirit lifted by laughter and smiles, I discover joy in the smallest of things, and I am thankful. That should be the legacy of 2020 in our lives, a deepening of our connection with the Holy Spirit, the one that restores joy in all circumstances.
Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 (NRSV)
Rejoice always, 17pray without ceasing, 18give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19Do not quench the Spirit. 20Do not despise the words of prophets, 21but test everything; hold fast to what is good; 22abstain from every form of evil.
23May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.