This preaching series has the challenge of integrating memories from our trip to these particular places, lots of information gathered in preparing for the trip, and the biblical work I do each week on the particular text. Often, too much information is as problematic as too little information. I probably did not need to mention the population comparison between Thessaloniki then and now. But I found it interesting and could not resist the temptation to share it.
This sermon would have been greatly enhanced if we had screens to put photos on for everyone to see. Trying to share verbally what I have seen visually is not nearly as effective as seeing the photo.
“Lessons from Thessaloniki” Acts 17: 1-9; 1 Thessalonians 2: 1-8; St. Andrew Presbyterian Church; June 21, 2026; Footsteps of Paul series
As you are figuring out this morning, when studying the footsteps of Paul, we often will read from Acts, which traces the storyline of Paul with his travels and activities, like we read a bit ago about Paul’s traveling to Thessalonica
We also read from Paul’s letters, which were written to some of the particular communities, in this case, Thessalonica. Obviously, these letters were written when Paul was not in residence in the particular communities, but after he had been there, and sometimes in anticipation of going there.
Listen again for God’s word to those followers of Christ in Thessalonica as we read in the second chapter of the first letter.
I Thessalonians 2: 1-8
You yourselves know, brothers and sisters, that our coming to you was not in vain, 2 but though we had already suffered and been shamefully mistreated at Philippi, as you know, we had courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of great opposition. 3 For our appeal does not spring from deceit or impure motives or trickery, 4 but, just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the message of the gospel, even so we speak, not to please mortals but to please God, who tests our hearts. 5 As you know and as God is our witness, we never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed, 6 nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others, 7 though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle[a] among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children. 8 So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.
Introduction: one of my first learnings when we began exploring following the footsteps of Paul, was that what I knew as Thessalonica from my Bible studies through the years, is actually called Thessaloniki.
My first assumption was that in the time of Paul it was thessalonica, and now it is called Thessaloniki.
I discovered, however, that it actually was Thessaloniki to the Greek speakers even in the time of Paul, but for those of us who grew up on a Bible translation that was heavily influenced by the Roman world, where Latin was spoken, Thessalonica, Latin for Thessaloniki, would be how we learned to say the name of this city in Greece.
That fact could have been a topic of a sermon on the assumptions we make or on how our Bible translations and interpretations are impacted by the world in which they were written and the world in which we live. But thanks a sermon for another day.
Thessaloniki was not Paul’s first stop on his travels, but it was the first stop for our St. Andrew trip last fall, so we begin in Thessaloniki this morning.
BTW, Paul left me a note on my desk and said he enjoyed visiting with those of you who were here last week and that he’d probably stop back in later this summer.
Move 1: the visit to Thessaloniki reshaped my understanding of what Paul did.
a. That first day, we found ourselves driving along and then walking along the waterfront of Thessaloniki.
1. As you may know, Thessaloniki sits beside the Thermaic Gulf, which is the northwest corner of the Aegean Sea.
2. We stopped at the statue of Alexander III on his horse. Alexander III of Macedon, one of history’s most influential military leaders, who expanded his empire from Greece to parts of Asia and Africa. It serves as a symbol of Macedonian heritage and national prideand Thessaloniki’s historical connection to Alexander.
Alexander, sitting in his horse, gazes out over the sea, as he could see into the vastness of the world that we would try to conquer.
you can even see Mt. Olympus (https://www.bing.com/search?q=statue+of+Alexander+the+Great+in+Thessaloniki&form=APMCS1&PC=APMC)
2. As I stared out, seeing the view that Alexander saw, I was overwhelmed at the thought of Paul, feeling the commitment in his new life to travel to new places, in new parts of the world, to share about the resurrection of Jesus Christ and start new communities of faith.
3. Biblical scholars who track Paul’s journeys tell us that he traveled approximately 10,000 miles through roadways or over water.
Walking, not riding in an air-conditioned bus.
traveling in cramped cargo ships, instead of on a cruise ship or in an airplane.
5. As I looked out across the water from Thessaloniki, I was overwhelmed at the sheer magnitude of what Paul did in his travels.
b. I suppose when I have thought of Paul through the years, I have reflected on his deep theological conversations,
or his complicated arguments,
or the challenges that some of his writings present - I remember a woman in the first church I served told me she never went to church if she saw that one of Paul’s letters was the sermon text because she could not stomach reading Paul’s words!
1. But that day in Thessaloniki, I suddenly saw a side of Paul that had nothing to do with what he wrote or his theological positions on different issues.
2. Instead, I saw this disciple of Christ who kept going day after day,
sometimes walking,
sometimes sailing,
sometimes accepted,
sometimes rejected,
sometimes welcomed,
sometimes thrown in jail,
but always moving in his effort to follow the Risen Christ.
3. Paul kept on following,
and preaching,
on arguing,
telling people about the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
and calling people to make that same commitment with their own lives.
4. it seems to me as we follow in the footsteps of Paul, we begin with the reminder that the first step is to keep showing up,
to keep moving forward,
to keep engaging in ministry.
Years ago, when I was serving in my first call, I had led an event that went really well.
I called one of my mentors back at the seminary and asked, “How can you tell if something was successful?”
It was partly a question about how to evaluate programs,
and partly an opportunity for my mentor to congratulate me on the successful program I had just put together.
My mentor quickly responded, “Your call is not to be successful, but to be faithful.”
5. As I looked toward the vastness of the Aegean Sea and the vastness of the world that needed to hear the good news that Paul had to share, I was overwhelmed at his faithfulness and perseverance in serving God day after day, place after place.
A call to faithfulness for all of us who follow in his footsteps.
Move 2: Later on that same day, we were just below the acropolis in Thessaloniki —
Another early learning for me, by the way.
I had always heard of the Acropolis and thought of the site we would see a few days later in Athens, as if there were only one place named Acropolis.
But, it turns out most of the Greek cities we would visit had an acropolis, which literally means acro “top of” polis "the city," and describes the high spot of the town that looked down over the rest of the town.
a. Where we stood was reportedly near where Paul stayed during his time in Thessaloniki.
1. I’m pretty sure they couldn’t prove it, but somehow I felt closer to Paul, thinking that I was sharing the same view he had seen as he looked out over Thessaloniki.
2. Undoubtedly, Thessaloniki looks different today than it did in Paul’s time,
But Thessaloniki was one of the largest and most important cities in Macedonia, in Paul’s time, serving as the political and commercial hub of the region
Historical and archaeological estimates suggest that Thessalonica’s population in Paul’s time was around 200,000 people. (https://whattovisitwheretotravel.com/what-was-thessalonica-like-in-pauls-time/)
The metropolitan area of Thessaloniki today has over 1,000,000 people, but the historic town center is only 319,000 or so, which means Paul’s view might not have been that different than mine. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thessaloniki)
3. Paul was looking over the place and the people where he was bringing the gospel.
We know that Paul came into places like Thessaloniki and met the people in their own particular context.
He would go to the synagogue and start talking about Jesus being the Messiah for whom they had been looking generation after generation.
If he was rejected there, he would go out to public places or into people’s homes to share with them.
As we learn from Paul’s time in Athens, he would use what was unique to their local situation and tie it to what God was doing.
4. Paul follows the pattern God instituted in the coming of Christ.
5. As Christ lived among us,
God met humanity where we were.
as Paul came into Thessaloniki, he met the people where they were.
a reminder of the importance and power of ministry that meets people where they are and then points them to how God is transforming their lives in their own particular context.
b. Paul not only ministers one place at a time, but also one person at a time.
1. In the story we read in Acts, we see what will become a familiar pattern - the mentioning of the names of people who join with Paul in ministry.
In this case, Silas and Jason are mentioned.
We know that Silas was with Paul when they planted churches in Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, and Corinth
But Paul had already worked with Ananias
He will work with Barnabas and Timothy
Or husband-wife team Aquila and Priscilla
or women like Euodia and Syntyche, two women whom Paul mentions in his letter to the church in Phillipi (https://www.christianitytoday.com/2021/06/women-of-color-church-planting-crete-collective-diversity/)
c. As I looked down over Thessaloniki, I imagined Paul looking down and seeing the city
in all its uniqueness,
as a place in need of hearing about the risen Christ,
and standing by his side might have been Silas, as they looked out for the people whose lives they would touch,
people, to whom, as we hear Paul describe it, he “gave his own self, because they had become very dear to him” (2:8)
people who would become part of the growing group of people who gave their lives over to following the risen Christ.
As we follow in Paul’s footsteps, we are reminded that we are called to meet people where they are, just as God met us, so that we discover together the new creations God calls us to be.
Move 3: In this letter to the Thessalonians, we are also reminded that even as Paul engages people,
he understands that his first task is to preach the gospel that God sends him to share.
a. We read Paul’s words to the Thessalonians: but, just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the message of the gospel, even so we speak, not to please mortals but to please God, who tests our hearts. 5 As you know and as God is our witness, we never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed, 6 nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others,
1. Will Paul give himself over to those he meets - absolutely.
Will Paul engage the Thessalonians - without a doubt
Will he develop deep, abiding relationships - yes
But all that is secondary to his primary purpose - sharing the good news about the God who resurrected Christ from the dead.
2. Paul will develop relationships and deal with all sorts of questions and issues in the communities of faith he visits and writes, but it all begins with the hope and promise of the God of resurrection.
b. as a community of believers who follow in the path of those to whom Paul wrote in Thessalonica,
We have this incredible message to share - the God of resurrection is still at work calling us to new life and transforming the world.
1. It gives us hope in the face of despair and uncertainty;
It challenges us to not settle for the ways of the world, but work for God’s justice
show God’s mercy
and share God’s love.
2. As we live with the challenges and uncertainties in our world, we have this hope to share with the world
and a commitment to go into the world and work for its transformation.
2. The hope that begins with the resurrection of Jesus Christ extends to all aspects of our lives and our world.
As we think about who is here at ST. Andrew and how we engage the world around us,
as we explore how we meet people where they are in our ministries,
we lay claim to the God who not only joins with us, but the God who gives us a hope that no one or anything else in the world can give us - hope in the God of resurrection.
Conclusion: Paul knew it and was driven to share it.
He calls us to do the same.
Acts 17: 1-9
After Paul and Silas[a] had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days argued with them from the scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Messiah[b] to suffer and to rise from the dead and saying, “This is the Messiah,[c] Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you.” 4 Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. 5 But the Jews became jealous, and with the help of some ruffians in the marketplaces they formed a mob and set the city in an uproar. While they were searching for Paul and Silas to bring them out to the assembly, they attacked Jason’s house. 6 When they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some brothers and sisters before the city authorities, shouting, “These people who have been turning the world upside down have come here also, 7 and Jason has entertained them as guests. They are all acting contrary to the decrees of the emperor, saying that there is another king named Jesus.” 8 The people and the city officials were disturbed when they heard this, 9 and after they had taken bail from Jason and the others, they let them go.
