Love Increasing

“Why do we neglect,” John Wesley wrote in his journal, “giving honor to the saints?” Why indeed? Because we don’t notice them, I suspect. At least, that is part of the answer. We aren’t tuned into the saintly, or, at times, we are offended or scandalized by them. “Saintly” becomes a slur, in a way, or a way to dismiss someone. Yet we are drawn to them, to those who seem saintly. We are drawn to those who have a secret knowledge or relationship we don’t have. We are drawn to those who seem grounded, confident, at peace. We are in awe of, or a little afraid of, those we identify as saints. But should we be?

A saint, according to the New Testament anyway, is not someone who is flawless or a super believer or doer. A saint is one who claims Christ and then seeks to emulate him according to the grace given. In other words, all of us. All those who come to church or wish they could, all those who claim faith in Jesus, all those who struggle and fail, and all those who struggle and succeed—all of us, in other words. We are saints. And so are those who worship with us. Those who drop their kids off for the lock-in next to us. Those who stand in line with us at the potluck. Those in our small groups and our committee meetings. Those who fold the bulletins and stuff the finance letters. Those who picked up the litter that blew in from the shopping center and those who didn’t even notice it there. Those who sing the hymns, hear the words, and pray the prayers with us week by week. The saints are all around us. They are us.

That’s not something we pay attention to very often, though. That is why we need a Sunday to stop and look up and see. Part of what we see is that some are no longer here. Most folks equate All Saints with remembering the dead. And that is an important part of what we do together. But one of the reasons for doing that is to remind us to pay attention to the living as well. None of us are here forever. It wouldn’t hurt to pay attention now and then to the saints all around us. They might have something to teach us. They might be able to help us with some knotty problem. They might add something to our lives if we let them.

But what sorts of things do saints do? Follow Jesus! Well, yes, thank you, that’s it. But can we itemize a little more helpfully? Make a list. And if you want a list, who else to turn to but Paul. Our scripture for Sunday is a good list of saintly activities. Short and sweet.

Before the biblical scholars get on me, I acknowledge that there is some debate about whether Paul actually wrote Second Thessalonians. For one thing, the address doesn’t seem like Paul. Most of the time, he writes to “the church at so-and-so.” This one is written to the church of the Thessalonians. Does it matter? Maybe; it could be a significant difference. One emphasizes the universality of the church is a variety of locations; the other emphasizes the particularity, or even ethnicity (of the Thessalonians) of the church rooted in a locality. The other difference is found in the verses skipped over in our passage, 5-10. They don’t sound very much like Paul. They are about the coming of the kingdom and time of transition from this world to the next - a theme Paul mentioned. But the mood here seems different from what we are used to.

So, there are grounds for doubting whether Paul wrote these words. Still, the sentiment contained in our passage certainly would be affirmed by Paul and can be found in other letters with a stronger pedigree. Let us say Paul for our purposes and not worry too much about it. That’s the approach I take, anyway. What is vital is not the history of the passage, as interesting and helpful as that might be, but the message of the passage for us today.

Where were we? Ah, yes, identifying saints. We’re on a saint hunt; be vewy, vewy quiet. Sorry, my inner Elmer Fudd came out for a moment. These few verses give us some quick pointers on identifying saints. The Thessalonians are worried, apparently, and need some reassurance. Paul responds to their concerns by affirming them in glowing terms. And it is this affirmation that can give us the marks of a saint.

First of all, Paul says, “Your faith is growing abundantly.” That is one mark of a saint, growing faith. How can we ensure that our faith is growing? Study and exercise, simple as that. Paul commends them for spending time studying their faith—in Sunday school or small groups—reading devotionally and academically, asking questions and testing themselves, and pushing the limits of knowledge and experience in a way that breathes new life and sustenance into their souls. “We give thanks to God,” writes Paul, “because your faith is growing abundantly.” A saint is one who wants to learn more.

Second, Paul writes that “the love of everyone of you for one another is increasing.” That is rather convoluted phrasing, but it means they were acting out their faith in real ways. They were caring for one another; they were including; they were inviting; they were tending and healing and comforting and lifting up. They made up a body that truly loved one another. What an amazing thing. Just think what would happen if everyone who visited our church came away convinced that we loved one another, not just tolerated one another or occupied the same space as one another but genuinely loved one another in a way that would include any who walked in as a potential “other” who would be loved. Wouldn’t that be transforming? Wouldn’t that guest be likely to come back to experience that love again? “Your love is increasing,” writes Paul. You are discovering new expressions, new ways of loving, and new ways to reach out and connect with another to make a difference in someone else's life. A saint is one who wants to love more.

Then Paul writes that he boasts “of your steadfastness and faith” even when things are going wrong. He was commending the church for staying true to the image of Christ within them even when it wasn’t easy. He then goes on, at the end of that chapter, to remind them that they are still works in progress. God will make you worthy, and God will fulfill every work within you. God is still at work in saints; they are never a finished product. A saint is one who wants to be more.

The amazing thing is that they are all around us. They are us. Some have gone on, and we miss them. But many are still here, just under the radar. We’d see them if we paid a little more attention. If we would just stand firm and hold fast with love increasing, we might find that there are saints abounding among us.