When war, violence, anxiety, impatience, fear, and frustration take top billing, our faith is tested. St. Paul’s letter to his friend Timothy was penned when Paul was in prison, exhausted from his work of spreading the Gospel. The fledgling Church was restless, Paul was imprisoned, and Jesus had not come back to make it all better. In this Sunday’s second reading, Paul urges his friend to stay the course, to be encouraged and emboldened by what God has taught him through the life and words of Jesus:
But you, man of God, pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. Compete well for the faith. Lay hold of eternal life, to which you were called when you made the noble confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you before God, who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus, who gave testimony under Pontius Pilate for the noble confession, to keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ that the blessed and only ruler will make manifest at the proper time, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, and whom no human being has seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal power. Amen. (1 Timothy 6:11-16)
As we navigate the events of the past few weeks – those of world and nation as well as those in our own families and our own hearts, Paul’s urgent plea to be people of righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness are a soothing balm. In a moment of history where it seems as if we are shouting more than talking, Paul’s words are timely. When in our disappointment and sadness at the worst of what has happened to us, Paul reminds us that God gives life to all things and gives life forever. When we wonder to whom we shall go when feeling lost or abandoned, Paul makes it clear that it is the Lord Jesus Christ who lives forever, dwells in light and brings light to all darkness. He is the Lord, He is the One, He is the answer, He will raise us up, He will renew our faith in Him and in one another.
In Christ,
