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2 Timothy 4: 6-8, 16-18
Beloved:
I am already being poured out like a libation,
and the time of my departure is at hand.
I have competed well; I have finished the race;
I have kept the faith.
From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me,
which the Lord, the just judge,
will award to me on that day, and not only to me,
but to all who have longed for his appearance.
At my first defense no one appeared on my behalf,
but everyone deserted me.
May it not be held against them!
But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength,
so that through me the proclamation might be completed
and all the Gentiles might hear it.
And I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.
The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat
and will bring me safe to his heavenly kingdom.
To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.
The Word of the Lord.
***
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Recently, someone said to me, “Father, the first 100 years are the hardest.”
It was a light-hearted joke, but also a beautiful profession of faith: for Christians, life does not end in death.
“The first 100 years are the hardest.”
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For the last several weeks, we’ve been reading through St. Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy. Timothy was Paul’s protégé, a young man whom Paul ordained a priest. Paul even refers to him as his “spiritual son.”
But now Paul’s reached the end of his ministry. He’s no longer sailing the Mediterranean; no longer walking freely along city streets; no longer preaching in public. He’s chained in a Roman prison awaiting his execution.
Perhaps the only benefit Paul has is an indeterminate amount of time to reflect upon his ministry and try to hand on lessons learned to the next generation.
There are four virtues, in particular, that Paul shares with Timothy – virtues, which any parent would wish for their child – faithfulness, perseverance, forgiveness, and peace.
The best way to hand these on is first to live them, which Paul does heroically.
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Paul was a Christian for thirty years.
Over the course of his ministry, he established more than two dozen Christian communities, in places such as Greece, Turkey, and Syria. He wrote fourteen pastoral letters included in the New Testament.
He sailed across the Mediterranean and walked an estimated 10,000 miles on foot!
He was beaten, shipwrecked, abandoned, flogged, and left for dead. But he never gave up. For Paul, faith was not a sprint; it was a marathon.
And he persevered.
***
He was also faithful to the Gospel. After the Lord appeared to him in a flash of light, asking him, “Why are you persecuting me?” Paul became a zealous Christian.
Whether preaching in public or chained in prison, he gave Jesus everything he had – his physical strength, his money, his talent, his mind, his scholarship, and the full devotion of his heart.
Now that he’s confined to the darkness of a prison cell, he still affirms his faith. “The Lord [has] stood by me and given me strength… [He] will rescue me from every evil threat and will bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory.”
Not even the threat of death could stomp out the light of Paul’s faith.
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He also he forgave those who trespassed against him.
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As he says in his letter to Timothy today, “At my defense, no one appeared on my behalf, but everyone deserted me.”
Just like our Lord thirty years before, Paul faces his executioners alone … and he forgives his friends for abandoning him. “May it not be held against them!” he says.
***
Still, in his abandonment, Paul is at peace. “The time of my departure is at hand,” he tells Timothy.
This word – “departure” – literally means to remove the yoke from an ox, giving the sense that Paul feels the burden of his ministry being lifted from his shoulders. There’s a sense of completion; he has done what God asked him to do.
“All that awaits me now,” he says, “is the crown of righteousness.”
Now it’s Timothy’s turn – and by extension, our turn – to fight the good fight; to run the race to the finish; to keep the faith.
***
Of the four virtues we see in Saint Paul, which one am I in need of today?
Is it perseverance in running the race of faith? Faithfulness to the Lord or to vows I’ve made? Forgiveness for someone who’s hurt me? Or, perhaps, peace and freedom from fear?
***
“The first 100 years are the hardest.”
May Paul intercede on our behalf that we all might fight the good fight; run the race to the finish; and keep the faith.
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Image credits: (1) COPT Orthodox, Pinterest (2) St. Paul, Rembrandt (3) George T. Montague, SM, Word Among Us
Thank you , Father. Your homily have given me the emphases I need to read this final letter to Timothy with grace and enthusiasm as lector this morning.
Thanks Marylu! God bless you