The Fifth Sunday in Lent (NT)

2 Thessalonians 3:1-18

Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, ² and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. ³ But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. ⁴ And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command. ⁵ May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.

⁶ Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. ⁷ For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, ⁸ nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. ⁹ It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. ¹⁰ For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. ¹¹ For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. ¹² Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.

¹³ As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. ¹⁴ If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. ¹⁵ Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.

¹⁶ Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.

¹⁷ I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the sign of genuineness in every letter of mine; it is the way I write. ¹⁸ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

Don’t walk in idleness, seems a little strange to me. Idleness means inactivity or doing nothing, but walking, for a lot of people, is exercise. Oh! Don’t exercise or practice doing nothing. Don’t continue to be a coach potato, but get up off the coach and do something. St Paul was never a very idle person but more of an energetic personality. We should imitate St Paul and his example as he continues to proclaim Christ and him Crucified to everyone he can.

I think there is a strong message for churches that do not remain active. There are a lot of churches, which just go through the regular necessary activities. They have fallen into a routine and even many of their members stop showing up. But it is the constant job of church to keep the word of God alive and active.

Hold on, it is the job of the Church to rejuvenate, refresh, or make vibrant the word of God? I thought God gave the Word of God to do its work on its own. The Lord will establish you and guard you against the evil one. The Lord continues to encourage his people through his word. The Lord has provided you with peace. The Lord even gives the power of the Holy Spirit to his people to follow God’s will.

“If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed.” This is an interesting way to end his letter. Work hard and stay active, but remember when you are brought to shame the Lord will restore you. God forgives you all your sin through the blood of Christ.