It
has been a few weeks since I preached at this service, and I want to pick up
the occasional series hearing Paul’s letters to younger believers. Last time,
we considered his letter to Philemon, and this time we’re listening-in on his
second letter to Timothy. Here’s the background:
On
several occasions, Paul found himself in prison. Most often this was,
ostensibly at least, for his own safety. People opposed to his message would
stir up a riot, and, instead of imprisoning them for disturbance of the peace,
the authorities found it more expedient to detain Paul. Eventually, Paul, a
Roman citizen by birth, appealed to the Emperor for his freedom, and so found
himself detained, transported, and eventually under house arrest in Rome. It is
from there that he wrote to Timothy. Now, there is a school of thought that
sees this as being the final months of Paul’s life; and there is another school
of thought that thinks Paul was granted his freedom by the Emperor, travelled –
as he had hoped to do – to Spain, carrying the gospel there before ending up
back in Rome, back in prison, and only then executed for his faith. We simply
can’t say, for certain.
Timothy,
whom Paul met on his travels, was like a son to him. That is to say, Paul
assumed the role of Timothy’s father, to apprentice Timothy up to eventually take
over from him, much as Moses had done with Joshua, and Elijah had done with
Elisha. They had travelled together, co-authored letters to churches together,
and in time Paul had appointed Timothy to be overseer of the church he [Paul] had
planted in Ephesus. But with Paul imprisoned in Rome, Timothy was having a
wobble.
We’ll
come back to Paul and Timothy, but first I want to tell you about Benjamin and
Ali. Many of you will know that Benjamin and Ali are brothers from Iran who
have become part of our Minster family since arriving in Sunderland earlier
this year. Ali was only 17 when they arrived. We celebrated his 18th birthday
recently; and the next time they went to Middlesbrough to report to the police,
as asylum seekers have to do on a regular basis, they were detained and
transported to an immigration Removal Centre in Scotland. You see, they had passed
through Germany on their journey to claim asylum in the UK, and so our
officials say that they must claim asylum there. So they are currently in
detention, awaiting deportation.
Some
of you have written to their solicitor and to our MP, and many people are praying
for them. The place where they are being kept is by no means terrible – they are
not free, but the facilities are good, and the staff seem kind – but being
removed there has been a traumatic experience, and we are concerned for their
wellbeing. Chris went up to see them last Monday, and Jo and I drove up to
visit them on Friday. Our observation would be that Ali is coping better than
he was at first – though he still has a one-to-one officer with him at all
times making sure he is okay – but that Benjamin is struggling more than he was
to begin with. They were both overjoyed to see us, and to hear the love we
brought with us from you. We continue to pray for them, that God would somehow
be at work in their circumstances to bring about good for them, and to redeem
that which has been far from good.
With
our brothers and our whole community in mind, let us return to Paul and
Timothy. Paul was detained under house arrest, and Timothy was experiencing
what we might call a crisis of faith. In response, Paul asks Timothy to look at
the situation from a different perspective.
The
first thing I want us to note is that Paul sees his circumstances as an
opportunity to share in Jesus’ experience; to be able to identify, in however
small a way, with what was done to Jesus. You see, Jesus is not only our
Saviour but also our Lord, who calls us to follow him, who seeks to conform our
lives more fully to his; who does not promise to keep us from bodily harm but in
whom we have the promise of being saved even from the clutches of death. Paul
sees his imprisonment as a privilege he did not have when he was free. And in
the light of that, he asks Timothy to see his own freedom, and Paul’s
imprisonment, as opportunity to experience oneness with Jesus through suffering
the things he suffered. This is not about seeking out trouble, but rather about
expecting it, about not being surprised by it. Benjamin and Ali came to this
country to follow Jesus, and find themselves imprisoned and rejected – and Jesus
is right there with them.
The
next thing I want us to note is that Paul turns his circumstances completely on
their head, as an opportunity to embrace a greater understanding of the gospel.
He uses the very language of imprisonment under guard to encourage Timothy to
entrust himself to God as the one who will guard his life – remember, Paul has
been turned over to a guard for his personal safety. Moreover, God has asked
Timothy to be guard over the life God has entrusted him with, with the help of
the Holy Spirit. In verses 12-14, Paul uses the words ‘trust,’ ‘guard,’ ‘entrusted,’
‘guard,’ and ‘entrusted’ again, to fully develop his point: even prison can be
used by the Holy Spirit for our spiritual growth, and that of others. It is an
unexpected and frankly an audacious move! Far from a disaster, God is at work
to bring good out of circumstances that are not great. Likewise, what has
happened to Benjamin and Ali ought to encourage us to reflect on our lives and
ask what we need to entrust to God, what good treasure has been entrusted to
us.
Leading
on from that, the final thing I want us to note is that Paul encourages Timothy
to rekindle or fan into flame the gift that God has given him, which was
publicly recognised when Paul laid hands of blessing and commissioning on
Timothy. We’re not told what the gift was – wouldn’t you like to know? – but
Paul does tell us about how he has stirred up his own God-given gifts of being
a herald and an apostle and a teacher, even while under house arrest. In these
circumstances, the herald gets to proclaim the gospel to the household of the
Emperor, the apostle is sent to the very heart of the Roman Empire, and the
teacher has opportunity to write to his disciple. God has given each one of us
a gift or gifts with which to play our part. How will we rekindle them when
they die down, as will happen again and again? Benjamin has practical, hands-on
gifts, and he is hoping to make a wooden holding cross in the workshop. Ali is
more academic, hopes to be a doctor one day, and we encouraged him to make
whatever use he can of the library. And what of you?
It
has been a challenging week. Today is a gift, an opportunity to renew our faith
in God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; God who is Creator, Redeemer, and
Life-giver. To be made-anew; to be delivered once again from whatever would
hold us captive; to be enlivened to follow Jesus all the way home. Let us not
lose hope, but receive power and love and self-discipline, to live within grace,
mercy, and peace. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment