Category: 2 Timothy - Wittenberg Door Campus Ministry

2 Timothy 4:5-18 - Lectionary for St. Luke, Evangelist

9/29/2021

9/29/21
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the historic one-year lectionary.

I spoke with someone once who had retired from a long military career. Among other jobs he had filled, he had spent some time as a base commander. He said that was the loneliest time of his adult life. Nobody would talk to him though everyone saluted him.

In 2 Timothy 4:5-18 Paul expresses a similar idea. The apostle who everyone would look to as an example, who receives great honor in our generation, when he wrote to Timothy, had been deserted by all except Luke. If he were to be held up as an example, it would not be an example of victory, but of hardship. Maybe everyoe would salute him (doubtful), but certainly nobody was talking with him.

Christian workers often face this challenge, especially those who are in the pastoral office. While they are called to be steadfast in their work of evangelism, training, and passing the Christian faith to the next generation, it may be very difficult to get that next generation to speak with them. It seems everyone has walked away.

Would you like to do something great for your pastor? Be like Luke. Stay there. Remain in communication. Ask questions. Borrow a book (and read it). Grow in Christ.

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

2 Timothy 4:5-18 - Lectionary for St. Mark, Evangelist

5/3/2021

5/3/21
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the historic one-year lectionary.

Our Epistle for the commemoration of St. Mark, Evangelist, does mention Mark as being useful in ministry. Yet there's possibly a more important reason to include this passage.

In 2 Timothy 4, Paul tells Timothy what kind of priorities he should have, as a younger generation minister. Mark is also in that generation. We are in yet another generation of the younger set of Christians. What are we to do?

Verse five speaks of being sober-mided, enduring, and bringing the good news of the Gospel. That's what we do. We look at life realistically. That also means we consider God realistically. We understand that our power has limitations but also that we are made special and can do all things through Christ.

This won't always be easy. Paul has worn himself out running the race of Christ. Timothy and Mark will wear out. So will I. So will you. We endure suffering, as did Christ. He, the risen Lord, is also our hope, even through hardship.

We can keep the work going because we "do the work of an evangelist." The Greek word says we are bearers of good news. That is, first and foremost, that God in Christ has atoned for our sins. But other good news flows from that. God calls us into fellowship with one another. Good news! We have a promsie that the God who never changes is still running the world. Good news! There's every reason to hope in eternity.

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18 - Lectionary for Pentecost 20C, Proper 25C

10/23/2019

10/23/19

Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.

Our reading from 2 Timothy 4 is a difficult passage. Here Paul is telling Timothy that his life and ministry have been very hard. He has been abandoned. He is expecting to die any time. He found that only the Lord stood by him to strengthen him. What hope does he have?

Paul has a great and living hope. He was rescued before. He managed to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles. He is a partaker of the promise of God. He has an eternal home in God’s kingdom. What does Paul have to fear? Nothing at all.

This is the very same hope which every Christian has. We may not be able to articulate it clearly. We may have moments when we question our endurance. When Paul is being “rescued from the lion’s mouth” he is certainly thinking about the real possibility of being devoured, or at least crushed to death. We all have those times, when the cares of the world, the hardships inherent in our fallen state, our weakness, our inability, our fears seem to take over. We can’t evade those troubles. Neither could Paul.

What we can do, however, is to trust that Jesus himself has taken our sin, that he has triumphed over death and the grave, and that he, as the risen Lord of all, has promised never to leave us behind. We have an eternal home in God’s kingdom. There is nothing else to fear. Yes, when the lion is licking his chops and getting read to bite our heads off, we may tremble in fear. But Jesus has given his promise. He’s the one who was able to rise from the dead. I’m going to trust that his promise is for me and that it’s true.

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

2 Timothy 3:14-4:5 - Lectionary for Pentecost 19C, Proper 24C

10/16/2019

10/16/19
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.

2 Timothy 3:14-15 speaks words of encouragement to Timothy. He has a heritage, a godly heritage. He has been taught God’s Word in the past, even from his childhood. Of all people, he should be able to hold fast to the truth.

As a person who did not have a Christian upbringing, I will readily confess that this statement makes me jealous of Timothy’s advantage. He had more years to learn the truth than I did before I faced adulthood and all its challenges. He had Christian family members he could turn to for help. His family gave him gifts that mine did not.

Because Timothy had these advantages, then, do we expect that life is easy for him? We should assume he will be able to walk through his life as a young adult who is caring for Christians with relative ease. But on the contrary, the apostle Paul feels a need to speak those words of encouragement. He would not do so if Timothy didn’t need them. “Continue in the truth! Remember what you have learned! After all, you are probably questioning the power of God’s Word. You may be doubting whether God has given you the words of life.”

It is not uncommon for me to meet people who were raised in Christian settings, who were taken to church frequently, whose family claims some sort of Christian faith, and who essentially don’t believe any of the Scripture. What they learned all those years doesn’t mean anything to them. Maybe they weren’t paying attention. Maybe the congregation wasn’t teaching the Scripture effectively. Maybe the young people were too busy eating pizza and playing ice-breaking games to attend to God’s Words of life. Or maybe their hearts were hardened and they were distracted by the cares of this world.

In these times I am moved not by the jealousy I might have for Timothy, but by the pity I have for those who have been around the Gospel but have never let it sink in. If Jesus has purchased forgiveness for all who believe and has risen from the dead as the firstfruits of a resurrection to eternal life, we should be deeply disturbed that some have managed to miss that message. It is the one great hope we have in this life and in eternity.

Apparently we all need to be reminded. Remember the Word of God. Remember Jesus.

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

2 Timothy 2:1-13 - Lectionary for Pentecost 18C, Proper 23C

10/9/2019

10/9/19
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.

Our Epistle reading this week, from 2 Timothy 2, calls Timothy to “be strengthened” (v. 1). It’s encouraging to me when I see the passive imperatives in the Scripture. An imperative makes a command. But a passive imperative is a command to receive something, not to do something. Timothy is not told to strengthen someone. He is not told to strengthen himself. He is told to receive strength. The great news here is that the Christian life is not about us pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps or doing great works for the Lord. It is about receiving what the Lord has given us. Timothy is to be strengthened by the grace of God found in Jesus.

Where is Timothy going to get this strength? It’s the easiest thing in the world, because God wants to give it to him. Timothy receives it by paying attention to the Gospel taught and preached by Paul, along with many others in the early Christian Church. He receives it by hearing what God has spoken to His people. And in verse two we see that the Gospel is not something which has been kept in secret. It is proclaimed by many, in the presence of many, and is to be passed down to others who will then pass it to still more.

Many in our world want to think the Gospel is a matter of some sort of secret knowledge. Maybe we are supposed to seek out hidden truth, like panning for gold. Maybe we need to find just the right teacher who will open our eyes to what it means to be really, truly, deeply spiritual. We are called to find authentic Christianity and to dig deep within for special wisdom.

Paul’s call to Timothy is quite the opposite. He tells him, and us, that God’s riches of grace, mercy, peace, and wisdom are right there for the taking. All we have to do is receive what the Lord has given us. We, like Timothy, can be strengthened in the grace which is in Christ Jesus. Let us rejoice as we receive God’s gifts freely.

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

2 Timothy 1:1-14 - Lectionary for Pentecost 17C, Proper 22C

10/2/2019

10/2/19
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.

Theologians sometimes distinguish between two different views of faith. They will do it in Latin, not surprisingly. I’ll do it in English, because that’s easier for most of us.

We talk about the “faith by which you are saved.” This is your trust in God, your confidence that the Gospel is true, your acknowledgement that when Jesus says he is giving his life for you, that includes you, specifically.

The apostle Paul reminds Timothy that he, as well as his mother and grandmother, have trusted in Christ. They have this kind of faith. They are God’s children through Christ. This should bring Timothy a lot of comfort and encouragement. Yet the text seems to indicate that Timothy is a at least a little bit tentative. In verses six and seven Paul reminds him of the gifts of God which he has received and urges him not to be afraid.

For this reason, we come to the other type of faith. This is the “faith which is believed.” It doesn’t mean that we have faith in faith itself. That is dangerous. It falls apart all too easily. It is a weak foundation and leaves us depending on ourselves and our feelings. No, the “faith which is believed” is the very Christian faith. It’s the whole message of God’s law and gospel. It’s the Christian faith which we confess in the creeds. That’s what Paul reminds Timothy of. God calls his people to himself to be saved. It’s by God’s grace, and it existed before time did. It’s a message that remembers Jesus has risen from the dead and abolished death. It’s the faith that Jesus can keep us in until the very end. This should bring hope and confidence to Timothy, even when he is afraid.

Maybe we come face to face with our fears. Maybe we are likely to doubt, especially when others run us down and disrespect us. Maybe we are ready to flinch when someone confronts us with questions we haven’t thought about before. There’s no need to fear. God has delivered us the Christian faith, that Jesus, perfect God and perfect man, has borne our sins to death, has risen from the dead, has ascended to heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father making prayers for us. He will raise us as well in the last day. What’s left to fear? Not a thing.

Take courage, Timothy! Take courage, reader.

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18 - Lectionary for Pentecost 23 C

10/19/2016

10/19/16

Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.

In our Epistle reading for this week, from 2 Timothy 4, the apostle Paul talks about how he has poured out his life for Christ. At times he found that nobody stood with him. The verses which we passed over discuss those who have left Paul. What is his conclusion? It’s a surprising one. The Lord has rescued him and will care for him eternally. Paul gives glory to God even though he has suffered many trials, including abandonment.

Many times we are tempted to despair. We view ourselves as victims of our circumstances. We focus on the wrongs which have been done to us and around us. We find our hardships beat us down. We look for strength in ourselves.

The Scripture paints a picture of something outside of ourselves - the resurrection of Jesus - which will strengthen us for eternity. The Bible discusses the idea of communion feeding us for eternal life. We find that in baptism and in the teaching of the Gospel we are made disciples to the very end of the age. May we have the grace to see the mercy of the Lord in this age and in the age to come.

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

2 Timothy 3:14-4:5 - Lectionary for Pentecost 22 C

10/12/2016

10/12/16
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.

What’s in your Bible? One pastor and mentor I had a number of years ago would talk about the difference between a “thin Bible” and a “thick Bible.” In the “thick Bible” scenario he found that readers would trust that God had indeed spoken to all sorts of human needs. While God never says what color shoes you should wear or whether you should take the job in Montana, the Bible speaks to all sorts of human issues. How should we treat our employer? How do we view our family? What concern should we have about the planet? Should we use technology indiscriminately? What is right? What is wrong?

This “thick Bible” view of life is the one in which Paul encourages Timothy. Timothy knows the Scripture. He has been well trained in it. He knows the good power of God speaking through God’s Word. How is Timothy to live? In 2 Timothy 4:1--2 he is told very clearly what do do as a pastor. He uses God’s Word, applying it to the lives of those around him.

May God in his mercy enable all his people to use the Scripture wisely. May we be “thick Bible” people.

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

2 Timothy 2:1-13 - Lectionary for Pentecost 21 C, 10/9/16

10/5/2016

Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.

This week’s Epistle reading, from 2 Timothy chapter 2, serves as the primary New Testament teaching about passing on the Christian faith from one generation to another. While it does contain that concept, it strikes me that the bulk of the passage is focused on the actual work of the pastor. Timothy was a pastor, sent to Crete by Paul. He is responsible to care for the spread of the Christian message in the various communities in Crete.

How many distractions are there to the work of a pastor? In verse three Paul mentions hardship. Yet his illustrations which continue in verses four through six speak of the kind of work which can be won or lost based on our reaction to disruptions. Are we understanding the signs of our time? Do we know the parameters of our work? In verse eight we are told to remember Jesus. He is heart and center of Christian life and ministry.

What demands are there on a pastor’s life? Do some of them take away from the calling he received? So many pastors are distracted by good and bad things which tear them away from the rightful dedication to God’s Word and prayer. May we have grace to remember Jesus. It is only in this way that we can pass along the Christian faith to the next generations.

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

2 Timothy 1:1-14 - Lectionary for Pentecost 20 C, 10/2/16

9/28/2016

9/28/16
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.

God has given his minister Timothy some great gifts. In our Epistle reading for this week, 2 Timothy 1:1-14, it seems Timothy is experiencing some doubts. Paul reminds him that his gifts come from the Lord, that Timothy’s family members, and even Paul himself have been re-created by God in Christ.This allows them to serve God without shame.

Verses 9-10 describe very clearly how Jesus saved Paul by his grace, rather than by Paul’s works. This grace of God is central to all that Paul or Timothy will do. It is by God’s grace that any good would come about. Yet, by the grace of God Paul has been a faithful servant of Jesus. He expects that Timothy can be faithful as well.

When God gives his gifts to his people, they are to be used for the good of Christ’s kingdom. May we have grace to be faithful servants.

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.