Sermon for Sunday, November 16, 2025 || Proper 28C || 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

“Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.” So says Paul at the end of his second letter to the church of the Thessalonians. Other translations say: “don’t get discouraged in doing what is right”; “never tire of doing what is good”; and the venerable words of the King James, “But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.” All of these translations have two things in common. First, the idea of weariness. Second, the need to persevere in doing what is right. In these days of continuing political upheaval, fracturing of society, and disregard for the most vulnerable among us, along with violence, war, disease, oppression, and so many other things that break the heart of God, Paul’s words hit differently. Our weariness is bone deep, spirit deep. And yet our need to do right remains as potent as ever.

Today we’re going to tackle two questions. First, why do we need to do right? And second, how do we care for ourselves in order to keep our weariness from overtaking us?

I was going to skip the first question, because the answer seems obvious. But the more I thought about it, the less obvious the answer became. Why do we need to do right? Is it because God tells us to in scripture? Or because we have a proverbial angel on one shoulder shouting down the devil on the other? Or because we have a need to follow a moral center inculcated by society? If the latter is true, then who chooses what is right? How do we know we are doing right when right and wrong can be viewed as a spectrum of societally-based ethical paradigms rather than the absolute binary of good versus evil?

Okay. Now that you have seen a frightening glimpse into the way my brain works, let’s step back and attack the question in a simpler way. Why do we need to do right? Instead of looking at the question from a slippery ethical standpoint, let’s look at it from an embodied one. What do we feel like when we do right? We feel a sense of integrity in both meanings of the word. We feel integrity in the sense of our outward actions matching our inward compass. We live out our values with intentionality And we feel integrity in the sense of being whole. We have a need to do right because we are always seeking wholeness. The ways people seek wholeness might not always be healthy or lead down the right paths, but the desire for wholeness is there no matter what. I think this is what Jesus was getting at when he said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly,” and “I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”

Our desire for wholeness points us to the truth of what “right” means. “Right” means the promotion of healthy, just, and enlivening relationships personally and communally. When the society actively or passively promotes the opposite – promotes unjust, oppressive, and death-dealing relationships – then “rightness” compels us to stand against the society.

And this is where our second question comes in. In an age when doing right often means actively opposing big sinful systems that have dominated society for so long, how do we care for ourselves in order to keep our weariness from overtaking us? The answer falls into three broad categories: rest, prayer, and community.

God built restfulness into the very structure of Creation, and the Book of Genesis enshrined this restful reality in the seventh day of Creation. Later, the practice of Sabbath rest was made to honor the restful reality of God. When we rest, we give ourselves the gift of time for rejuvenation and renewal, like fields lying fallow, allowing nutrients to return and multiply. One way or another our bodies will make us rest. It is much healthier to build intentional periods of rest into our lives rather than waiting for the inevitable day when our bodies hit the emergency break. There is no glory in burning the candle at both ends. Being “crazy busy” is not a badge of honor. Restfulness – intentional, life-giving restfulness – keeps us from the soul weariness that doing right in a world of wrong often brings.

When we rest, we find more spaciousness within ourselves, more room to maneuver so that we feel less boxed in by the weight of an unjust world. This spaciousness helps us to keep doing right. This spaciousness also allows us to listen more intently for God’s movement in our lives. Such intentional listening is a form of prayer. When we pray, we signal our intention to keep open the line of communication between us and God. God’s side of the line is always open, but many things in our lives block our side of the line. When we purposefully hold space to be present to God’s movement, we grow deeper in touch with the goodness, love, and grace that God showers upon Creation. Lifting up this goodness helps us keep our values and priorities aligned with God’s values and priorities. Prayer is the conscious practice of being present to God’s movement. When we feel connected to God’s movement, weariness does not grab hold quite as easily.

So we have rest and prayer to keep soul exhaustion at bay. Lastly, we have community. When we can rely on others, we are able to share one another’s burdens, shouldering them together long before they would reach the stage of being too heavy to carry alone. Along with this sharing, being a part of a community reminds us that the work of doing right in the world began long before us and will continue long after us. Just because we won’t see the end of the work doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take our place in it. We step into a river that is already flowing.

Paul tells us, “Do not be weary in doing what is right.” I tell you, I often find myself slipping into weariness, which is probably why I wrote this sermon for today – to remind myself to rest, pray, and lean on community. This week, I invite you to do the same. Rest in the promises of God. Pray for spaciousness within you. Grow deeper into the love and mutual sharing of this beloved community of faith. And above all, practice integrity in doing right and embrace the wholeness that God desires for you.