Rochester, MN UCC - "Destined for Victory" - 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

I admit that I’ve been a little weary and worn down by the news of the world lately. With Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine and the terrible violence in Israel and the Gaza Strip, it’s easy to feel like humanity is careening towards our own self-destruction.

 In times of gloom and doom such as these, it is worth taking a look at what our Christian faith says about the world’s end. Christianity proclaims that there is indeed a beginning and end to the world. What’s more the beginning and the end are the same, the Alpha is the Omega, we come from God and to God we return. The Apostle Paul states it this way when reminding the church at Thessalonica of their ultimate destiny, “For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” God’s purpose and goal for us is salvation- our end is in the love of God.

 There is sometimes a concern that holding a “pie-in-the-sky” belief in the afterlife keeps us from engaging in the present and struggling for peace and justice in the here and now. In my experience, the opposite has been true. The good news that our destiny is in the hands of a loving God working for our salvation is what helps me to break through the despair and disappointment that so easily befall us. Trusting that God is working for our ultimate good and salvation are what provide the hope, faith, and love necessary to engage in the present, to really work for God’s kingdom in spite of all that works against it. So if the news has you down, take heart in the knowledge that the end is still in God’s hands and allow your faith in the ultimate triumph of God’s love to inspire your actions today. With faith in God we can, in the words of Paul, “encourage one another and build up each other” for the facing of this hour. Amen.

 Pastor Andrew Greenhaw