The First Letter to the Thessalonians

The Gospel of Hope

A few pages, dealing with a particular need of a young community, written in Corinth in the winter of A.D. 50–51, twenty years after Christ’s Death and Resurrection: such is the first written document of Christianity.

During his Second Missionary Journey, Paul left Philippi in haste under the pressure of persecution (see Acts 16:19-40). He still showed the signs of this when he reached Thessalonica (today: Salonika), the first great European metropolis he encountered on his journey. The city was the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia and housed a great Mediterranean naval base.

The city was immense; commerce at the port was constant; ideas circulated; the teachers of thought and religion were in search of clients and their own prosperity. All this made it an important focus for missionary activity. Paul and his team spent only a short time there (from three weeks to three months—see Acts 17:2).

Paul could not but proclaim to many people the joyous message that inspired him; it was heard by a few dozen, perhaps a few hundred men and women, out of a countless population (estimated at 200,000). Persecution began (organized by a hostile Jewish population), and the Apostle’s work was violently interrupted; there he was, a fugitive once again (see Acts 17:1-8). What was left of his hastily founded community? He was uneasy.

From Athens he had sent Timothy and Silas, his fellow workers, to gain information about this community now shaken by persecution. They rejoined him in Corinth, and their report was a good one. The community, which one would have thought to be so weak, was in fact growing; it was animated by an unexpected spirit of hope, faith, and love. Paul was surprised, even after fifteen years of missionary work, and gave utterance to his joy: the Gospel is God’s work in the midst of a pagan world! This was the Apostle’s constantly repeated experience.

In this first Letter of Paul, then, we will not look for a clear plan or lengthy trains of thought; what abound are marks of thoughtfulness and moving memories. The Letter is first of all a message of encouragement, gratitude, and affection. It is still a refreshing testimony to the birth of a community that is animated by the Gospel amid the turmoil of a great city.

Certainly, there are shadows. In a first preaching, Paul could not explain all aspects of the Christian message. And he regarded it as necessary to clarify some points that remained questionable or misunderstood.

One point especially holds his attention, for it preoccupies the new believers—the question of the parousia or Second Coming of Christ. Every one of the five chapters of the Letter ends with a reference to the Second Coming (1:9-10; 2:19-20; 3:13; 4:13-18; 5:23-24), with chapter 4 according it major consideration. Hence, the Second Coming of Christ may be regarded in some respect as the Letter’s principal theme.

Among the Thessalonians, the Second Coming is thought to be imminent. Yet some believers have already died. Will they be absent from God’s great convocation?

Paul’s thought from this first writing is already firm. It is completely oriented toward the end of history when the dead and the living will be reunited with the risen Jesus, the universal victor, so as to live with him for eternity. The Christian hope, founded on the great event of Easter morning, will not prove deceptive. All believers will participate in Christ’s triumph over evil and death.

In the Apostle’s eyes, the Christian life is an active waiting for the Lord: a waiting that builds up the Church in love; a waiting that makes Christians turn their eyes to heaven, even while fully involving believers, along with all other human beings, in the realities of this world, such as marriage and work; finally, a waiting that ceaselessly strengthens fidelity to and union with the Lord. Why? Because heaven will be simply the marvelous flowering of the friendship entered into here below; we will be with the Lord forever.

Another characteristic of the Letter is Paul’s affirmation of the divinity of Christ. First he links together Christ and God the Father as the common source of divine blessings and as the object of prayer (1:1; 3:11). Then he identifies Christ as “the Lord” in the Old Testament phrase “Day of the Lord” (5:2).

The First Letter to the Thessalonians may be divided as follows:

I: Salutation (1:1)

II: Evangelization Is the Work of the Spirit (1:2—3:1)

III: God Wills Your Sanctification (4:1—5:11)

IV: Building Up the Community (5:12-22)

V: Conclusion (5:23-28)