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Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you. And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.
I Thessalonians 3:11-13 NRSV
I love benedictions. We at St. Stephens are blessed with clergy who pay particular attention to benedictions well spoken. In fact, that's the derivation of the word: to speak well; or speak a good word; a benediction is an expression of blessing or good wishes. Today's epistle is a beautiful benediction of the apostle Paul for the church at Thessalonica. It’s a benediction lined with advent, woven with holiness, and stitched together with love.
First, Paul prays for advent: his own advent, and that of his team to the Thessalonians. Hearing about their faith is a source of joy, and he expresses his desire to return to them and have his joy increase. As we go through the Advent season joy will be a recurring theme. We will remember that the angels proclaimed “glad tidings of great joy” to the shepherds (Luke 2:10). We will sing of these “tidings of comfort and joy,” and the “joy to the world” that comes with Christ’s arrival. Then, Paul prays for holiness. Holiness is the manifestation of the love of God as we love both God and neighbor and ourselves. Holiness means to become more like God, and interestingly, “holy ones” is the literal translation of “saints.” Finally, Paul prays for the community to be stitched together with love. Advent is the season when we remember specifically the arrival of love in the birth of the Christ child and look for its fresh arrival. In a very real sense, we are the advent of God’s love. We are its incarnation. This is the love that has already appeared, and whose advent we await again.
So, in the spirit of benediction, here’s one of my own:
Almighty God, in whose eternity our transient lives are held and in whose perfect will is our peace, you are coming to us in great humility. So, in this season of Advent make us wise to wait for you, to watch for you, even to wish for you, until in the fullness of time, incarnation breaks in on us, and we worship you in Spirit and Truth. Amen.
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