Present Yourself to God - 2 Timothy 2:8-15 (Pentecost 18C)

 

"Remember Jesus Christ!" are the first words of our passage today, as Paul continues to talk to his protege, Timothy, about what he wants to pass on to him. If nothing else, remember Jesus Christ. Last week, I spoke about how Paul was in his last days, in a Roman jail. Things are bleak for him, and through the passage this week, we find out a little more about that. Paul has suffered, and is sharing with Timothy his experience. Know that I suffered for my faith, Timothy, and yet I was faithful! Know that God sees our suffering for him and is faithful! Know that you will also suffer, and you need to learn to be faithful! 

Passing down wisdom is a hard thing. It's more than, as the days are getting colder, reminding my children to grab a coat because the summer days are behind and far in front of us. It's more than just telling stories, because it's not guaranteed that the wisdom will be passed alongside the story. 

I was listening to a speaker this week who was talking about how it's hard to look into the future because the possibilites are so open. The generational gap between even my baby boomer parents and I, the millennial, seems that much wider because how much of this life could we have imagined through our technological boom and renaissance? Jobs that they and you could have only dreamed of are now commonplace. Yet, each of us want to think that we ourselves have not changed. That's how the grumbles can begin. I remember when in my first year of college, gas was at its lowest point in my lifetime - eighty cents a gallon, give or take. I'm not a betting man, but I'd take the bet on whether I will ever see that again. 

When I was 18/19 years old, could I have imagined myself as a pastor, actually doing the job, with a world of possibilities in front of me? Seeing my friends going into computer science, and seeing what a blank slate that world was, I could have made my mark (somehow?), being a website designer, or coder, entrepreneur. I was interested in it all, the world fascinated me, as it should at that age. How many alternative plans have I had over the years, things that just never panned out because I either grew tired of them or realized that I didn't have the skills or the work was much harder than I could ever do? It's hard to say. It'd be nice if I had been more of a guy who journals, to see what my day to day life looked like more then. 

What I didn't have on my radar at the time was what was going to happen when I had to present myself to God. Paul, though, had already had that experience, in a way. He met Jesus, in a blaze of light, in the most dramatic way. I'm sure he didn't know what to think in those moments either. Now, at the other end of his life, he's making sure that he passes on all the good wisdom he's learned from the time since that day to make sure that he's done everything he can when he presents himself again; hoping to hear "Well done, my good and faithful servant." 

Paul - being in jail, didn't really have a good way out - when he said that Jesus was God, he angered the Jews; he also irritated the Romans, who thought of their emperor as their God, but flipping that, many came to become Christians because of it, even in Caesar's own palace. When Paul said that Jesus was also fully human, he angered the Greeks, who thought a god who had contact with humans was blasphemous and rejected it; yet, disciples were made in those lands. As we know, the truth is that we have a hard time with this concept even now, but who are we to say what God can do? Or are we going to accept the message of freedom and grace that God offers? 

Verse fourteen really has to be one of my favorites though - from the New Living Translation - "Remind your people of these great facts, and command them in the name of the Lord not to argue over unimportant things. Such arguments are confusing, useless, and even harmful." I wonder if that last word - harmful - could even be interpreted as sinful. Arguing over unimportant things seems like a bit of a paradox. We argue, but if both of us think that the topic is unimportant, aren't we just trying to see who is right? 

Remember Jesus Christ. What would Jesus do? It is in his association and identification with Christ that he can make these claims. Are your arguments worth going to the grave for? Then it's probably unimportant. You may be suffering, but how much of it are you causing yourself, let alone the person who you're arguing with? Is this the best way of showing the love of Christ? Remember God's promises, remember God's warnings as well. 

Christ will deny those who deny him. Do we have any examples of that? I mean - besides Judas, who is the most obvious choice. But couldn't it be that he had his followers, more than the disciples, but the pharisees and sadducees who were listening to what he had to say, but didn't they also miss the point? They were caught up in being right in their interpretation that they couldn't see the Messiah right in front of them. 

Christ is faithful when we are not. Oh Lord - are we not, as we confessed earlier in our service. These two things seem like another paradox, a crossing of words that we can't understand or figure out. The first one is a warning, the second one seems like gloating, but instead is a promise of grace. Despite all that we are doing, Christ is faithful while we are not. 

Remember Christ, and his faithfulness. Be faithful like Christ. Our faith journey is a marathon, not a sprint; so we need to make sure that we can have endurance in our loyalty and diligence to Christ. We need to always be aware of where God is leading us. 

Our series this month is "Not Ashamed", and to transform ever more Christ-like, we need to be moving ever closer to that spirit. As we strengthen our relationship with Christ, we become more approved by God. How can you this week do so to be a light of hope to others? How can God's light shine through you in loving all who come in contact with you?

Do your best, remember Jesus Christ, and his suffering so that you know you are worthy of the sacrifice that was made on Calvary. In your suffering, know that he suffered as well, and you will be remembered by Him.

Amen.