Ending Well

2^nd Thessalonians 3:16-18

¹⁶Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with all of you. ¹⁷ I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the mark in every letter of mine; it is the way I write. ¹⁸The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you.

- (New Revised Standard Version)

As rough-around-the-edges as the Apostle Paul was, you’ve got to give it to him that he knew how to end a gig. Paul had been preaching Christ’s imminent return for quite some time and Christians who embraced this teaching had settled into a “Why-should-we-overexert-ourselves?” mentality. If Jesus is coming back, why go to work? If Jesus is coming soon, why worry about the poor? Paul was not with the Thessalonians when he writes this letter but he has been hearing reports about them. And the reports were not encouraging. So Paul, in his second letter to those in Thessalonica, urges the people to keep on doing the work of God. Don’t quit. Don’t coast. It’s a message we preachers have used countless times with congregations.

But then at the end of 2^nd Thessalonians, Paul softens his tone and speaks to these people that he loves. As strong and direct as his wording has been in different parts of these two Thessalonian letters, Paul ends with some equally soft and compassionate words. These are words that I want you to remember as I leave.

There are many of us in life that know how to begin well. We create elaborate plans for renovating our home. We have grand ideas about how we’re going to raise the perfect children. We become a Christian and are ready to set the world on fire for Christ. Enthusiasm and grand ideas have accomplished so much in our world. Beginning well is vitally important for success.

But have you noticed how many times ending well gets short-changed? Our elaborate plans for renovation in our home become drudgery and we skip steps in the finishing touches. Parents soon discover they don’t have perfect children and too often come close to abandoning the task of raising them. “Just let them be who they’re going to be,” we say in resignation. New preachers come to churches and raise expectations that Jesus himself would have a hard time meeting, and these preachers end up leaving with their tail between their legs. Often it’s not because the people in the church have raised those expectations too high, it’s more often more about the preacher beginning well, but not ending well. Have you had experiences when you’ve not ended well?

This is my last Sunday here with you…at least until I finally get a chance to speak at Homecoming one year! When I first came here, I knew it was important to begin well and overall I think that happened. But I’ve always known…and was reminded by many preacher friends…that ending well is just as important. Ending poorly can erase years of hard work. Ending poorly can leave so many loose ends that a church flounders for months. Have I ended well? That’s up to you folks to ultimately decide and I would suspect there are a variety of answers to that question. As you consider your own answer, please think about these things too because even though this is an ending for me here, it’s also a new beginning for us all. And there are some common ingredients in ending well…and beginning well.

First notice what Paul writes in verse 17. He claims the words of this letter as his own. The Gospel that he preached was not someone else’s. The ministry that the Thessalonians received from Paul was genuinely Paul. For good or for ill, it was his own. Paul’s imprint and mark was left on the Thessalonians. At times, this must have strengthened the people. And I’m sure there were moments that Paul wishes he could take back. The amazing thing to me is that God is able to take all those moments…the good and the bad…and turn them into blessing.

I’ve been told that two of the few things you truly can own in this world are your words and your actions. I believe that. You have heard a lot of my words over the years. For some, there have been way too many words! But they are words that I stand by. You have also observed my actions. What you have received from me is genuine Gregg Hemmen…for good or for ill. My words, my actions, my thoughts, and my prayers have been all that I’ve had in those moments. Sometimes they were enough and strengthened you. Sometimes they probably cut deeper than you hoped or I intended. If nothing else, I gave you what I am. My prayer continues to be that God will use those words and actions for the kingdom.

As we go forward into the future, Paul says some other things at the end of Thessalonians.

First he hopes that God will give the people peace. You as a congregation should have peace today because you know how to treat a pastor. Randy Godwin, the Associational Missionary from Mt. Zion, was telling me the other day that the average tenure of pastors in churches in North Carolina these days is 22 months! That’s not very long. This shocked me a little bit. I thought it was a little longer than that. One thing this tells me is that you folks know how to work with, and care for a pastor. If that were not the case, then I would have been gone a long time ago. You should feel good about the past thirteen years because I feel blessed to have been in your midst. Keep doing what you have been doing in the future as you prepare for your next pastor.

Second, Paul prays that God will be with the Thessalonians. It may seem a bit foolish to verbalize something so central to our faith. Of course God is going to be with you…with us! But how often we forget that and feel alone. My prayer is that God will be with you but it’s more a realization just how much God is with you.

Third, Paul prays that the grace of God will be the Thessalonians’ companion. If Paul knew anything in his life, it was the grace of God. He preached God’s grace because without it, he knew he was sunk. The very first sermon I preached here at Cane Creek in August of 1994 was entitled, “Friends in Low Places.” I told you the story of Mephibosheth from 2^nd Samuel. King David reached down and showed grace and compassion to someone the rest of the world had written off. Don’t ever let the grace of God wander far from your thoughts or actions. God has neither written off you…nor those you come into contact with.

May God give you peace. May God be with you. May the grace of God be your companion.

Amen.