Yesterday, I officiated at a service of Death and Resurrection, and I was so touched by the service that I returned home to rewrite my sermon. In Paul’s second letter to Timothy, he is encouraging to Timothy, as always. He reminds Timothy that he has a trust relationship with those who have raised him up and taught him the holy scriptures and the faith. He reminds Timothy that all that he has been taught helps him in his faith journey as he seeks a deeper relationship with Christ and seeks salvation through faith in Christ.
Paul goes on to identify that scripture helps to correct us, to guide us, to train us up so that we are well-equipped to do “everything that is good.” (2 Timothy 3:17)
A mother and her adult son attended the service of Death and Resurrection, having known the deceased woman and her family. They stood together during the time of Witness in the service, and shared how deeply the life of the deceased, as well as her spouse, had influenced their lives, from the time they met them to today. They spoke highly of her, how she was kind and honest and trustworthy and compassionate and faithful. And they attributed all of these worthy qualities to the deceased woman’s deep faith.
Paul encourages Timothy to hold onto the Holy Scriptures through thick and thin. When we suffer, where do we turn? We turn to God, who is always there for us, whom we can rely upon, because God will never desert us.
Paul encourages Timothy to stick with the Gospel teachings, no matter if he gets pushback. He is encouraged to be clear about the gospel, and if he gets pushback, he is instructed by Paul to be patient. Not easy to be patient, when someone is literally in-your-face-angry, is it? Yet, we are to focus on the Gospel truths and be patient as we live out the Gospel teachings with love, but also, with the self-discipline that keeps us close to the Gospel teachings. We are called to follow Jesus, who is, as we know from the Gospel of John, the Way, the Truth, and Life eternal.
Paul encourages Timothy to teach the gospel BECAUSE “there will come a time when people will not tolerate sound teaching.” (2 Timothy 4:3) Teachers who say what people want to hear. People who prefer myths over truth. We are in these times now, my brothers and sisters in Christ. A colleague of mine refers to this phenomenon as “the-church-of-what’s-happening-now.”
And so, I pondered Paul’s teaching to Timothy, and this witness by two people, a mother who packed up her car and drove until she found a community and a church where she could raise up her son to be committed to the faith, and to understand the greatest commandment, to love God, self, and others. That son, now grown to adulthood, paid tribute at the funeral, recognizing the deep influence of people of faith in his life, such as the deceased woman, and her widower, who had been his pastor when he was a child, a pastor who helped to shape his early understandings of the Gospel.
I rewrote today’s message, to share about the witness by this mother and son, but I kept the title of the sermon, intentionally. And the reason is, I believe the timing of the funeral, and the scheduled scripture to be read and reflected upon for today’s worship, is truly God at work in our lives, to reveal deeper understandings of what God is calling us to do, my friends, as disciples who follow Jesus.
And it’s not hard to do, but it is hard to do, if you know what I mean. We can think, to ourselves, I am faithful. I read the scriptures. I try to live my life by God’s teachings. I try to live out the greatest commandment, loving God, self, and others. But it’s not just about our own personal endeavors to be faithful, is it? Jesus didn’t say to the disciples, go home and study in your homes, and keep the Gospel secret. No, he said “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20
We can’t keep this Good News, this Gospel Way of Living, a secret, my brothers and sisters in Christ! Christ requires us to take what we know, and not only quietly live it out, ourselves, but to share it, and share it everywhere we possibly can!
Now, before you close your ears, because the pastor is, once again, talking about evangelism, and you don’t think you fit that description…just maybe, just maybe you do!
This mother and her son, who spoke about their faith, and the persons they paid tribute to, for nurturing their faith…that’s evangelism! Our own, personal stories. As we take the time to reflect upon who has influenced us, in our faith journey, and as we verbally share that, or share that in writing, or even in sign language, whatever communication you choose, it’s still evangelism. Just sharing our faith stories, maybe first with one another. Before that thing Christ asks us all to do, going out to all the nations. Because if we don’t take on the work of an evangelist, now, then what Paul predicted will take place. And appears to be taking place even now.
Paul says “there will come a time when people will not tolerate sound teaching. They will collect teachers who say what they want to hear because they are self-centered. They will turn their back on the truth and turn to myths.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4 CEB)
When the world is making choices that are not God-centered and loving, then it is all the more urgent for us to live out what we know, and to persevere in sharing the faith, even in these difficult days.
Now I’m going to give us a reason for evangelism that is older than the Gospel, using a “fifty-cent word.” My grandmother called words that were unusual “fifty-cent words”-meaning you don’t use them every day, but it’s good to have them if you need them. The theological reason for the vital need for evangelism is “theopneustos.” When Paul says that “all scripture is theopneustos, or God-breathed…” (2 Timothy 3:16)…the Greek word for “God-breathed” or “inspired by God”…he is referring to the Old Testament, the only scripture available to the Jews, even tho Paul was writing at the time what we know would become the New Testament. So if all scripture is “God-breathed”…able to lead people to salvation even before Christ’s coming and the preaching of the Gospel, then it becomes all the more necessary that we turn to scripture for guidance through the most difficult of times, so that people don’t forget the way of life that God offers us and desires for us, which is all there, in the “God-breathed” scriptures. The Holy Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, give us the foundation we need, “…so that the person who belongs to God can be equipped to do everything that is good.” (2 Timothy 3:17)
God wants what is good for each and every one of us. And has given us the tools to discover that goodness, in the Holy Scriptures. This Holy Bible is not just bedtime reading, although I admit that as a child, I loved the exciting Old Testament stories with pictures of Daniel in the Lion’s Den, or David, just a young shepherd, going up against Goliath with only a couple of stones and a slingshot! This Holy Bible is given to each one of us so that we may be complete as human beings. And yes, while some stories in the Bible are understood even by young children, this is a complex text, which is instructive to us throughout our lives, at any age, and in all circumstances of life.
I’ll just close my words with this caution, for using God’s word to live by, and for using God’s word to share it with others, so they may benefit from it as do you. Paul slips in a small Greek word, in 2nd Timothy 4:5-“naphe” which means, basically, “keep your head.” Translates in today’s reading to “but you must keep control of yourself in all circumstances.” There is a time and place for everything. And so, it helps to choose when and where God requires you to share your faith with others. While this example I’m going to share with you isn’t about witnessing, it is about choosing one’s timing. One of my girlfriends shared with me that on her 10th wedding anniversary, she had chosen a very special gift for her husband and couldn’t wait to give it to him. So she handed it to him the minute she got home from work, but then she got a call, told him she had to take it, and spent what felt to her husband to be a very, very long time, before she was able to end that call and focus on him and the gift. Naturally, he had the impression that the call was more important to her than the gift to him…she learned an important lesson that day in timing and relationship priorities.
So, consider “naphe” …keep your head…and carry your personal witness stories wherever you go. You never know when God will call on you to share your witness. Amen.
Pastor Elizabeth Bailey-Mitchell
