04_Peters_copiaaa_67-84 28/04/15 12:15 Pagina 70 70 JANELLE PETERS has indicated, Paul may not be assured of the salvation of all of the Thessalonians; he fears being “robbed” of his crown, his commu- nity 11. Yet, at the same time, this partial realization of the commu- nity as the “glory and joy” of Paul and his co-workers means that in some sense the community already exists as Paul’s crown in its present manifestation in Thessalonica. The crown in 1 Thess 2,19, as in Phil 4,1, has a twofold aspect in that it refers simultaneously to the present and future situations of the Corinthians 12. The associations that the crown has in 1 Thessalonians are slightly ambiguous. The future connotations of the crown as the “hope” of Paul indicate that the crown to which Paul refers is not the athletic, perishable one of the polis. However, in 1 Cor 9,24- 27, Paul clearly models the “imperishable crown” on the “perishable crown” of the athlete; so it is not impossible that Paul means to in- voke a vision of himself as a successful athlete in these verses. Yet the crown’s function may be no more than the proverbial “crown of boasting” found in Prov 16,31 (cf. Ezek 16,12; 23,42 LXX) 13. The crown is interchangeable with other abstract concepts, and it has no discrete, unique identity. The crown Paul describes to the Corinthi- ans clearly exists in post-resurrection time, whereas the crown being invoked in the minds of the Thessalonians belongs to the present. The information Paul provides in 1 Thess 4,10-17 has been thought to yield the interpretative key for understanding his image of the crown in 1 Thessalonians 2. Ascough, among others, has attributed a civic importance to what Paul describes as “our hope and joy and crown of boasting” (h`mw/n evlpi.j h' cara. h' ste,fanoj kauch,sewj, 2,19). Noting that the benefactor of an association at Thessalonica requires members to wear a crown of roses during the ceremony at her tomb (IG X/2 260), Ascough imputes a similar usage to the crown in 1 Thessalonians 2 based on the evidence in 1 Thessaloni- ans 4, where Paul concludes his letter by praising the Thessalonians 11 J. GUNDRY VOLF, Perseverance and Falling Away in Paul’s Thought (Tübingen 1990) 271-273. 12 PFITZNER, Paul and the Agon Motif, 105-106. 13 Bockmuehl highlights a tendency in early Christian literature for the heavenly crown or prize not to refer to the Hellenistic games (cf. 2 Tim 4,8; Jas 1,12; 1 Pet 5,4; Rev 2,10). See M. BOCKMUEHL, Philippians (BNTC; New York 2006) 223. Ascough reads the “crown of boasting” (1 Thess 2,19) in light of voluntary associations. See R.S. ASCOUGH, Paul’s Macedonian As- sociations (WUNT 2.161; Tübingen 2003) 153.