Homily July 27
St. Paul and the Thessalonians
I. The Chronology
1 AD Jesus born
8 AD Paul born
33 AD Jesus dies & Rises
36 AD Conversion of Paul
39 3 years later Paul meets Peter and James in Jerusalem
39 + Paul begins missionary journeys
50-51 Paul writes First Letter to the Thesalonians
50+ Paul writes other epistles
67 Paul is beheaded in Rome
70 Destruction of Jerusalem
65+ GOSPEL OF MARK
70-80 Gospel of Luke
70-80 Gospel of Matthew
95-97 Gospel of John
4th century 27 books of the New Testament were accepted as the canon of the Bible
Paul never knew Jesus while Jesus lived. Paul knew only the Risen Christ.
Paul lived his entire life as a Jew. He worshipped on Saturday in the Synagogue. He started preaching to Jews but was not very successful. Led by the Holy Spirit he began preaching converting Gentiles.
St. Paul brought the Good News of Jesus to the poor, the humble, the slaves, the outcasts in the great cities of the Roman empire: Antioch, Ephesus, Philippi, Thessalonica, Colossae, Athens, Corinth, Rome.
He traveled about 10,000 miles bringing the Risen Jesus to the world.
Church……..not a building…..a small community of 30-60 people gathered in a home……….Church buildings and Constantine 325
There was not a New Testament as such until the 4th century.
In the early church communities would gather on Sunday for the Lord’s Supper and use the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). They would use the Psalms as hymns. Their prayers were based on traditional Synagogue worship. As St. Paul began writing letters and these letters were read at the Christian liturgy. Very soon communities would exchange letters from St. Paul and St. Peter and St. James. Collections of these letters were made and ultimately became our New Testament.
II Now to the very first document of the New Testament: St. Paul’s letter to the church at Thessalonica.
Thessalonica was an independent city and the largest city of Macedonia. It was the practical capital of all of Greece. It was a large commercial center with lots of activity. Fishing was a big industry. It had a great port, docks, warehouses and a big financial center. There were many Jews in Thessalonica with their own synagogue. It was a typical port city with its mixture of wealthy and poor; its natives and its foreigners. Paul set himself up as a tent maker and joined the working class. Thus St. Paul was a working man. ……
Paul’s usual practice was to go to the synagogue and during the service preach about Jesus. The Jews of Thessalonica were typical merchants and money managers. They were not among the poor of the city. Paul was not very successful with the Jews of Thessalonica and so he began to reach out to the gentiles. The church that St. Paul writes to in the two letters to the Thessalonians were mainly gentile Christians.
A word about slavery: Like all Greek and Roman cities, a large segment of the population were slaves. Now slavery in the Roman and Greek cities was not like the slavery of blacks in the Western world. Some of these slaves were highly educated who lost their freedom in military conquests. Some slaves were well trained artisans and craftsmen; other were menial servants who served the wealthy and worked in the great port. Paul was certainly in close contact with slaves and they became an important segment of the early Christian community. What St.. Paul tried to give them was a sense of personal dignity as Christians and as brothers and sisters in the Lord. What the slaves failed to achieve in the social and political sphere, they achieved in the Christian communities as they became conscious of becoming the Body of Christ.
III 1 Thess. 1: 1-4 and 8 The greeting
1 Thess. 3: 5-6; 9-12 Paul’s joy
1 Thess 4: 2-8 Sexual immorality
1 Thes 4: 14 5: 1-2 The Lord’s coming
1 Thess 5: 16-17 and 27 farewell
2 Thess 3: 6-8 and 10-11 Warning against laziness
These are two very short epistles to read and pray. They are very understandable and give a wonderful insight into the very early growth of our church. Pick up your Bible and enjoy St. Paul in Thessalonica.
