Thlipsis

Yesterdady at Morning Prayer we read from Acts 14. Having preached Romans all month, I am more attuned to Paul lately. We reflected on the stunning statement, "if we suffer with Him that we might be glorified with Him" Sunday. Preaching in a middle class setting about suffering is a challenge. Very few folks have ever suffered for their faith, myself included. We are not terribly bold and we are not being persecuted. In fact, the air conditioning was having trouble Sunday so the main topic of discussion was "the church was hot." Someone asked me if the discomfort counted as suffering for the faith. A conversation ensued about how little we are willing to put up with for the Lord. (It was not uplifting.)

In my younger days, I talked about suffering a lot. I think a young man in his early twenties dreams of being heroic. No doubt, a mix of Catholic spirituality coupled with such youthful enthusiasm  produced the keen sense of the value of suffering for Jesus. The Bible is full of such exhortations. It also helped that I had not actually suffered very much, so it was quite idealized, and rather dramatic. I probably had a cinematic view of things!

I have seen more, including suffering, in the last three decades. I have watched people weep over losses. I have experienced a few of my own. Suffering and pain look much less glorious to me now, than it did in the 1970's. I guess most things do. Now there is more of a sense of a marathon. Keep going! One step in front of the other. Be faithful. Trust. Be faithful.

Back to Acts 14. Paul is preaching and some folks he had problems with in other cities come to stir up the crowd in this new place. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul mentions being stoned. In Acts 14, Luke recounts the event. When I think about stoning someone it makes me ill. It is a vicious kind of violence. It would also take a while. One would have to look at the person, too, because one needs to aim each throw. The sound and the image are horrible. That is what they did to Paul. A group of them, throwing stones, no doubt yelling curses upon him. They stopped when they thought he was dead. They were wrong. It is unclear if a miracle took place (the disciples circled around him), Luke does not say so (and he is not shy about signs and wonders and miracles), but Paul does get up and get back to the work of preaching.

Something he said struck me. "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God." Tribulations. The Greek word thlipsis is translated tribulation. It means to be pressed down or crushed. It is related to a harvest term. Most often it is associated with apocalyptic, end times, final days struggles. The proverbial time of trouble and testing (which is probably the better translation of the Lord's Prayer, rather than "lead us not into temptation"). Thlipsis is a reminder that this Jesus-following business is deadly serious. The opposition is not playing games. Actual persecution, suffering and death are quite often the Christian's fate. Such things are frightening and humbling. Can I stand up? Will I? In a church where being comfortable is the central focus, how well will we do if the "heat" is really "turned up" and people start doing us harm for confessing Jesus as our Lord?

Thlipsis  is the door way into the kingdom. The cross of Jesus. Self-gift in love. It is not easy, but as Paul also says, "The sufferings of the present cannot be compared to the glory to be revealed." There is reason to believe that whatever we must go through, the Kingdom is more than worth it! So be of stout heart, hopeful and joyful. It may hurt, but it is the entrance to GOD's KINGDOM!!!!