Allen November 11th, 2004
The Episcopal Church that our family attends has a Youth Sunday every year. While the youth serve in numerous capacities during the year, this Sunday in particular stresses the services they perform for the Church.
This Sunday my 17-year old son will give the sermon. I strongly recommended that he incorporate the text from the daily lectionary. I’m generally pleased with his sermon.
Coming from a Baptist background and once considered being a pastor myself, I am stunned to read this Sunday’s text. I certainly don’t remember this passage from Paul’s epistle to the Thessalonians:
2 Thessalonians 3:6-13
Now we
command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep
away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the
tradition that they received from us. For you yourselves know how you
ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, and we did
not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor
we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. This
was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an
example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this
command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. For we hear that some
of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now
such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their
work quietly and to earn their own living. Brothers and sisters, do not
be weary in doing what is right.
So apparently there are apparently three great commandments:
- Love you God with all your might and all your soul and all your mind.
- Love your neighbor as yourself.
- Get up off your lazy @$$ and get a job already!
- Religion
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