For Sunday, our passage is from 2 Timothy 1: 1-14
“Paul, an
apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, for the sake of the promise of life
that is in Christ Jesus, To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and
peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I am grateful to
God—whom I worship with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did—when I remember
you constantly in my prayers night and day. Recalling your tears, I long
to see you so that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere
faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice
and now, I am sure, lives in you.
For this
reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the
laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but
rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline. Do not be
ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner, but join
with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God, who
saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but
according to his own purpose and grace. This grace was given to us in Christ
Jesus before the ages began, but it has now been revealed through the
appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and
immortality to light through the gospel. For this gospel I was appointed a
herald and an apostle and a teacher, and for this reason I suffer as I do.
But I am not ashamed, for I know the one in whom I have put my trust, and I am
sure that he is able to guard until that day what I have entrusted to
him. Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me,
in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard the good treasure
entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.”
Paul is writing to Timothy, a third generation believer in Christ Jesus; Timothy, son of Eunice, daughter of Lois. Three generations is impressive for a church like ours with a history of 151 years. But three generations when the WHOLE church was not even a generation old? It can be tough enough to get our kids (of whatever age) to come, but three generations all joined at once, all, according to other references in his letters, important to Paul.
This passage turns on the opening
sentence of the second paragraph. “For this reason I remind you to rekindle the
gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands…” We do this in church, the laying on of
hands. In our services of installation
and ordination, the newly, or 'renewly' serving elders and deacons are gathered
to the front of the church and all those previously ordained come down to
lay hands upon them.
What follows through the end of the
passage is a primer and ‘explanation of expectations’, offered in brief as to what it means
to serve the Lord.
This Sunday is a worldwide event also
designed to rekindle the gift of God that is within us. We and our sister churches will join hands
and hearts and faith in Christ Jesus for World Communion Sunday. Communion is another ‘primer’, this one given
to us by Jesus to remember His death and resurrection. It is so important, it has been promoted into
‘sacramental’ status, something it shares, in our tradition, only with
baptism. Sacraments are those traditions laid down
for us to do by order of Jesus Christ.
Rekindling the gift of God within us. It is a call for an honest reckoning as to whether
that gift has lost its light in our lives.
Has church become a ritual? Or
worse, a chore? Something that we want
but…
You know who comes down hardest on us
when that light has dimmed in our lives?
It’s not God. It’s not even
church (but there are always those people...).
It is not even our families, those closest to us. We are hardest
on ourselves. Because no one else can
hold us back from the rekindled light of Jesus Christ, except us.
As Paul invites Timothy, if the light of Christ has grown dim within you, we invite you to let God rekindle that gift within you. If you are able, come join us for communion, wherever in the world, for a new beginning.
Peace,
Pastor Pete
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