(Please read the Scripture passage first, before the homily.)
We have a series of readings for the rest of the week from the second Letter of Paul to Timothy. So, what is up?
It belongs to a small group of letters addressed to two leaders of the Church, Titus and Timothy. The letter to Titus seems to have been the first written, then first Timothy and lastly, second Timothy. The present order comes from an old custom of arranging written works from longest to shortest. 1 Timothy is longest and Titus is shortest, so 1 Timothy comes before Titus and 2 Timothy comes in between.
In general, the rest of the letters of Paul, after the one to the Romans, have a similar arrangement, from longest to shortest. In the prophetic writings, the same principle is used.
Scholars also suggest that this second letter to Timothy seems to read like a last will and testament. Paul seems to be reflecting on the past and encouraging Timothy to carry on after him. It was God’s will that called Paul to be an Apostle. He has faithfully carried out his family tradition of faithful service to God. He reminds Timothy how he himself had singled Timothy out through the laying on of hands. For this reason, he encourages Timothy to keep us the tradition of serving God and handing on the word to the next generation.
Being faithful to God will bring suffering and hardship. This does not mean that God is mean-spirited or delights in suffering. It does mean that suffering and hardship will clearly show the immense power and goodness of God in overcoming trials. God is able to guard Timothy as he has guarded Paul and as he guards us. If God could not guard those who do God’s work, this would show God’s lack of power and goodness: it takes no great power to pick up a toothpick, but it shows great strength to pick up a huge oak tree.
2 Timothy is written in an in-between time. The apostles were dying off. New leaders were emerging. Paul had imposed hands on Timothy, not as an ordination ceremony but to send him out for service. The next generation would see the leaders develop more explicitly into bishops, priests and deacons.
We are in an in-between time. Someday we shall say, “In the old days, before the co-Vid-19 pandemic raged,” and remember things of long ago. Now, how we shall have to adapt, we do not know. We do, however, know that in adapting we must remain faithful to what has come before us so that we are in touch with the Apostle Paul and with Timothy.