STS. TIMOTHY AND TITUS
Introduction
Today we celebrate two close associates of the apostle Paul. Paul put them in charge of Christian communities and wrote letters to them to tell them what is expected of leaders of Christian communities, especially how they should be servants and models of the people entrusted to them.
2 Tm 1:1-8
I, Paul, am on special assignment for Christ, carrying out God’s plan laid out in the Message of Life by Jesus. I write this to you, Timothy, the son I love so much. All the best from our God and Christ be yours!
Every time I say your name in prayer—which is practically all the time—I thank God for you, the God I worship with my whole life in the tradition of my ancestors. I miss you a lot, especially when I remember that last tearful good-bye, and I look forward to a joy-packed reunion. That precious memory triggers another: your honest faith—and what a rich faith it is, handed down from your grandmother Lois to your mother Eunice, and now to you! And the special gift of ministry you received when I laid hands on you and prayed—keep that ablaze! God doesn’t want us to be shy with his gifts, but bold and loving and sensible. So don’t be embarrassed to speak up for our Master or for me, his prisoner. Take your share of suffering for the Message along with the rest of us. We can only keep on going, after all, by the power of God, who first saved us and then called us to this holy work. We had nothing to do with it. It was all his idea, a gift prepared for us in Jesus long before we knew anything about it. But we know it now. Since the appearance of our Savior, nothing could be plainer: death defeated, life vindicated in a steady blaze of light, all through the work of Jesus.
Mk 4:21-25
Jesus went on: “Does anyone bring a lamp home and put it under a bucket or beneath the bed? Don’t you put it up on a table or on the mantel? We’re not keeping secrets, we’re telling them; we’re not hiding things, we’re bringing them out into the open. “Are you listening to this? Really listening? “Listen carefully to what I am saying—and be wary of the shrewd advice that tells you how to get ahead in the world on your own. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity. Stinginess impoverishes.”
Prayer
Lord our God,
Saints Timothy and Titus, assistants of St. Paul,
passed on the mighty word of your Son
and tried to live by them.
Give to your Church credible leaders
who lead in living by the word and life of Jesus
Let their words stir our hearts
and bring us the new life
of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Reflection:
26 January 2023
Saints Timothy and Titus, Bishops
2 Timothy 1:1-8
Bring Jesus to people wherever you go
Saints Timothy and Titus were companions in the missionary journey of St. Paul. Later they were appointed as Administrators of Communities he had established: Timothy for the Ephesians and Titus for Crete. In Paul’s letter he reminds them of the Holy Spirits’ gift of faith.
These two are mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles and the letters of Paul, and we know a fair amount about how they acted and what they accomplished, but that is not what draws ourattention today. Timothy and Titus were important members of that first generation of bishops, and by their response to the Spirit of Jesus, they began to define what a successor to the apostles should be.
In the passage from the Letter to Timothy, Paul expresses his deep affection for Timothy, his companion on many missions, and a strong desire to see him. He thanks God for Timothy’s faith which he owes to his Jewish mother Eunice and grandmother Lois. At the same time, Paul reminds Timothy of the gift he received when he laid his hands on him. That gift, says Paul, was not one of timidity but one of power, love and self-control, bringing with it the courage of witnessing to the Gospel even when, as in the case of Paul, it involved persecution and suffering. Like Paul, Timothy was to rely “on the power of God who has saved us and called us to be holy”.
Each of us is sent in our own way, as a priestly people, to mediate Christ to those we live with, by who we are and what we do. Paul’s letter written from a Roman prison cell almost 2,000 years ago has travelled far beyond Timothy, Bishop of Ephesus in Turkey. Paul’s personal letter of sincere love and encouragement to teach and model Jesus’ ” justice, faith, charity,…peace… and mercy” reaches us today.
Today, the words of St. Paul invite us to love, to make peace, to bestow justice, and above all to show mercy.