Our first reading today (2 Timothy 4:1-8) is our last from 2 Timothy. It is organized into two parts. The first consists of an exhortation to Timothy to be unwavering in his work of evangelizing and preaching. In the second part, Paul looks back on his own record as an evangelizer.
It is clear that Paul has great affection for and respect for his young protégé and how Timothy has taken over Paul’s mission after his incarceration. As he closes his letter, Paul urges Timothy to persevere in his mission. The eternal lives of his listeners depend on the commitment that Timothy gives to his work. Paul says: “I solemnly urge you: proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage with the utmost patience in teaching.” This admonition is necessary because Paul knows there will come a time when people will tire of solid teaching and will go chasing after all kinds of novelties: “For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound teaching, but having their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths.”
What was true in Paul’s time is just as true today. In spite of the spiritual wealth and wisdom that we have in our Christian tradition, we have so many, including Catholics, who pick and choose from elements of other religious practices that they find more interesting. People still move from one titillating excitement to another. We Christians must admit that this is partly because of our own weaknesses and failure to clearly communicate our message. The Christianity that many reject is frequently a serious distortion of the original message, because it is all they have ever heard. Many others have not even heard the message in any form. It can lose all meaning in face of the bombardment of new ideas which pour out from all kinds of sources.
In all such situations, Timothy is urged to ‘keep his cool’. There is a need to: “…be sober in everything, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.” That we must also do. But to do so effectively, we must be, as we saw in yesterday’s reading, deeply inserted into the Word of God in the Scriptures.
In the second part of today’s reading, Paul looks back on his own record as an evangelizer with a certain amount of satisfaction: “As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come.”
It was the custom, both among Jews and other religious believers, to pour libations of wine, water or oil over the victims to be sacrificed. Paul views his approaching death as the pouring out of his life as an offering to Christ. Earlier, he had written to the Christians at Philippi: “But even if I am being poured out as a libation over the sacrifice and the service of your faith, I rejoice, and I rejoice together with all of you. (Philippians 2:17) Now he knows his leaving from this life, is not far away. Now in prison and at the end of his life, Paul sees himself being poured out as a total offering to God. He has given his all and is holding nothing back: “I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.”
Paul now looks back over his 30 years of labor as an Apostle. Like an athlete who has engaged successfully in a contest (“fought the good fight”), he has now “finished the race” and had “kept the faith”, he had carefully adhered to the teaching of the Gospel. Like a runner in a race, he now deserves the garland of victory with which he is confident that the Lord will crown him when the Lord, whom he so passionately loves, comes again in judgement.
Can we make the same boast as Paul? There is still time. Let us start today.
May God Bless You and Grant You His Peace!