Finishing the Race—Lectionary Reflection for Pentecost 20C/Proper 25 (2 Timothy 4)



2 Timothy 4:6-18 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

Do your best to come to me soon, 10 for Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. 11 Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me in ministry. 12 I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus. 13 When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. 14 Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will pay him back for his deeds. 15 You also must beware of him, for he strongly opposed our message.

16 At my first defense no one came to my support, but all deserted me. May it not be counted against them! 17 But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

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                It is largely a scholarly consensus that the Pastoral Letters are post-Pauline, perhaps a generation or more later. Yet, in this final chapter of the second letter to Timothy, we read something deeply personal. It’s almost a final testament. The author, Paul, both seems content with his life, and yet he feels alone and even abandoned in his hour of need. Only Luke remains with him and so he asks Timothy to come to him, bringing with him another colleague—Mark—along with a cloak and books and parchments. There are those who suggest that while 1 Timothy probably is post-Pauline, there is enough personal material in 2 Timothy to make Pauline authorship plausible. We can’t resolve those questions in this reflection, but it’s worth pondering the personal dimensions of the passage. It also makes it worthwhile to include verses nine through fifteen as they provide important insight into the mindset of the author.

                Paul (yes, I will once again refer to him as Paul), who has been dispensing pastoral wisdom to his protĂ©gĂ© Timothy, now believes his life is coming to a close. The time of his departure is at hand. He’s fought the good fight and finished the race. These are the kind of words one might use at the funeral service for a beloved church leader. It speaks of being faithful in times of distress, most likely in this case imprisonment and likely execution. While he has been faithful in this calling, having kept the faith, the time has come for him to receive the “crown of righteousness.” He’s ready to receive his heavenly reward which will be given him by the Lord of Righteousness. There is here no sense of fear of death. He’s confident that his future lies in the presence of God. Judgment may come but he welcomes it because he knows he’ll be judged righteous. While he’s confident in this future reward, he knows he won’t be alone. The same reward is due to all who have “longed for his appearing” (vs. 8). We see here that eschatological note, that expectation that at some point the day of judgment will occur. He’s ready for it.

                This first paragraph is full of faith and expectation. There is even a sense of joy as he contemplates his future. At the same time, and this is why verses nine through fifteen should be included, he’s feeling lonely, maybe even abandoned. He laments the departure of Demas, whom he says deserted him because he was in love with this world. This sentence is interesting because he doesn’t say the same about Crescens and Titus who had also departed. Though the latter two have destinations attached suggesting that they, like Tychicus (who went to Ephesus) might have been sent off by Paul to fulfill some kind of mission work. Only Demas deserts Paul, and that desertion appears to both him. Demas appears elsewhere as a coworker (Philem. 24; Col. 4:14), but perhaps he now exemplifies the bad soldier who gets entangled with this world (2 Tim. 2:4).  Whatever the case, Demas has hurt Paul with his departure. Now, only Luke is with him. So, he asks Timothy to bring Mark with him and come join him in this time of need. There are things Paul needs Timothy to bring, but most of all it seems as if Paul needs some company as he faces his final days.

                There is another word here that is intriguing. While Demas was a co-worker who abandoned Paul in his moment of need, he speaks as well of Alexander the Coppersmith who did him harm. Paul warns Timothy to be wary of this man who had done him harm. As to his identity, we are left with several possibilities but no clear answer. Whoever he is, he had done Paul serious harm by opposing Paul’s message and needed to be avoided if possible. As to Alexander’s fate, Paul trusts that to God’s handling, though recompense (revenge?) is expected. 

                One of the reasons I included the excluded verses is that they seem to be essential to interpreting Paul’s claim that everyone deserted him when he made his first defense. Who deserted him? Well, it could be Demas, Crescens, and Titus. As for making the defense, one might assume that the reason for his current predicament is that his nemesis—Alexander the Coppersmith—had attacked him.  Despite feeling abandoned by his co-workers, he doesn’t hold anything against them, or so it seems. While his friends might have abandoned him in his hour of need the same is not true of the Lord. Assuming that he means the risen Christ here, he shares with Timothy that in his hour of need Jesus stood by him and gave him strength. Not only did Jesus strengthen him but he felt empowered to proclaim the Gospel message so that “all the Gentiles might hear it.” This statement reaffirms Paul’s claim to be an apostle to the Gentiles. That was his calling and even in a time of distress, he did not falter. Let us remember that in chapter 2 he claims to be suffering hardship for preaching the Gospel. His suffering included being chained like a criminal, confirming that he was currently imprisoned (2 Tim. 2:9).

                Though he expects death to be coming his way soon, he also speaks of being delivered from the lion’s mouth. This could be a reference to Daniel’s experience in the lion’s den (Dan. 6:19-24) and likely is a metaphorical reference to the Roman Empire, from whose grasp he had been rescued (at least for the moment). The reading closes with a confession of faith. Paul knows that Jesus will rescue him from every evil attack. In other words, he needn’t fear any evil deed perpetrated against him. That doesn’t mean he won’t suffer and even die. He’s expecting that to happen. Instead, this is a confession of faith that what lies ahead will transcend this momentary act of suffering. That future reward would be the heavenly kingdom. Whatever the world throws his way, it will not erase his expected heavenly reward that comes due to his willingness to stay faithful to his calling. He also knows that he is not going on this journey alone. He has Jesus to accompany him. Therefore, because he has run the race to win, he would be delivered from the Lion’s mouth.

                Perhaps the question for us as we read this letter concerns the message it sends us concerning faithfulness to the Gospel. That question goes first and foremost to clergy, many of whom are struggling to stay faithful in difficult times. We may not be facing imminent death, but these are challenging times for the church. This letter is a reminder to us that the call of God is not a leisurely one, but can entail suffering and more. But there is a promise of a heavenly reward to spur us on. So, may we fight the good fight and stay true to our calling as believers in Jesus.    


Image Attribution: Church, Frederic Edwin, 1826-1900. Vision of the Cross, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=55746 [retrieved October 13, 2022]. Original source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Frederic_Edwin_Church_-_Vision_of_the_Cross_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg.

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