2nd Timothy and the NBA

Proper 25C

2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18

October 27, 2019

St. Matthias

I have finally given up on my dream of becoming a professional basketball player.  It started when I was 13 years old and grew 7 inches in 1 summer.  I thought surely this would mean that I would be the one to break the 5 foot 7 inch barrier in my family.  Surely I would be 6 foot 3 or maybe even 6 foot 7 inches tall.  And then I could be a pro basketball star.  But as you can see – it did not happen.  So I think it is time to move on from my NBA career.

I have also given up on being a movie star, winning an Olympic Gold Medal, owning a yacht, or landing on the moon.  I have decided to give up running just 1 more marathon – my knees are too old – Brussel Sprouts – for reasons obvious to me – and growing roses again.  I did grow them once many years ago but it’s just too much work.  Now you may be wondering why I’ve decided to share all these things I am giving up and its because when I read this morning’s scripture lesson from the 2^nd letter of Timothy – it sounds to me like the Apostle Paul has decided to GIVE UP.  He is writing to Timothy, an early Christian missionary who is much younger than the Apostle Paul and who had traveled with Paul on at least two of his missionary journeys.  Paul says to Timothy:

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

And in one sense Paul had every reason to give up.  He is in prison in Rome.  Timothy is probably about 1200 miles away in Ephesus.  Paul has been arrested for treason since he was preaching the Gospel of Christ rather than the worship of the emperor.  This was not the first time Paul had been arrested – however this time Paul expected that he would soon be executed.  And so he is writing to Timothy asking him to come to Rome before he dies.

           And you should read the 2^nd Letter to Timothy.  It is only 4 chapters long, 83 verses total, and covers less than 3 and a half pages in my Bible.  It is not a typical book of the Bible, but rather a letter between 2 old friends.  Paul had known Timothy’s mother and grandmother.  He calls Timothy “the son he never had!”  There are verses in 2 Timothy that you’ve heard before and just didn’t realize they were from this book of the Bible.  Last Sunday, we heard a verse from 2^nd Timothy which is the only place in the Bible I think that talks about itching ears. Faith, Hope, and love come up quite a bit.  And then there is one of my favorite verses in the whole Bible which is some pretty good advice – Have nothing to do with stupid and senseless controversies.  Oh, that the Church and the world would pay more attention to that one.

           But even THAT is not the most important lesson in 2nd Timothy.  From a prison cell in Rome where it is cold and dark and damp and like nothing we probably have ever experienced in our lives, Paul tells Timothy that no matter what has happened, whether he was imprisoned, about to be eaten by a lion, threatened with stoning, and even death – no matter what happens we live in the certainty that God will save us.  God is always there with us.  God is always faithful.

           I have seen this so many times.  In Haiti the people wanted walls in their church.  They were poor and they could only bring rocks for their offering to God.  Today they have walls thanks to those rocks and a cinderblock machine from the Diocese of Alabama.  God is always faithful.  Sawyerville, the Magnolia Preschool, and Kairos are just a few of the examples where nothing became something through the faith of God’s people, and we have seen the Glory of God.  Even here at St. Matthias, Carol tells me we are about to reach 10,000 families fed with beans and rice and Jeff is getting ready for another round of Thanksgiving and Christmas food boxes when we will add to the more than 10 tons of food we have already given away.  God is faithful.  Always!  And it is up to us to fight the good fight – to finish the race – and to keep the faith.  Each day brings new opportunities to see the Glory of God and experience God’s faithfulness if and when we are ready to look and listen and act.  If we are tired and ready to give up, share the love of God with someone else.  Grace is energy and it brings smiles and joy and spiritual strength. Stop saying we cannot do anything more and starting asking what we can do next.  A small group of people on the other side of the world followed a poor Jewish carpenter because they believed he was the Son of God and today we gather here this morning and proclaim – We Believe – and God is faithful.  That is the power of Easter and resurrection and it has been given to us.

           Now many of you know that I believe that since Heaven will be a perfect place – then I get to be 6 foot 3 and maybe even 6 foot 7.  I don’t think I would have really enjoyed being an actor or owning a yacht.  I do like to hand out beans and rice.  And I am confident there is more that we will do as St. Matthias because God faithful.  We will fight the fight, run the race, and keep the faith.  God will give us strength and rescue us from every evil attack.  And we will see the Glory of the Kingdom of Heaven right here at St. Mathias.  Because God is faithful.  Amen.