1 TIMOTHY 1:12

A MEDITATION ON 1 TIMOTHY 1:12

(Shared at the closing chapel service at TTS on 21.03.13)

“Lord, you have given us your word for a light to shine upon our path. Grant us so to meditate on that word, and to follow its teaching, that we may find in it the light that shines more and more until the perfect day; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”

Paul is writing this letter to a young man Timothy. Pastoral letters are letters to the leaders of the church to stand firm against false teachings and advice on their conduct. Paul uses his experience and his background to advice, encourage and motivate Timothy whom he has left behind at Ephesus. Through the life experience of Paul we can see that he is a wonderful role model for a minister who has been chosen and deemed faithful to serve Christ.

Coming to our text 1 Tim 1:12 let us understand this portion of scripture from the background of a pastoral letter and ministry in the church.

Paul says I am greatful to Christ Jesus. We see Paul do an unusual thing. He moves away from his usual eucaristo salutation and uses the phrase Χάριν ἔχω τῷ. Though the word charin depicts grace in this context and in 2 Tim 1:3 this phrase brings out the meaning thanksgiving or gratitude. It is not about just saying a meaningless thank you. But evaluating his life looking at the divine influence upon his heart and it’s reflection in his life. So gratitude becomes something to hold on to. It becomes an attitude. It is an attitude that those called to serve God should learn to cultivate and live with. This gives a positive outlook to ministry. Through Paul is created an attitude of greatfulness.

Do we take time to reflect on our lives each day and identify points of thanksgiving? To many it will be a yes. But for what are we thankful? Most of the time, our thankfulness is for all we receive for our self-existence.

Very rarely do we find anyone wanting to thank God for the hardships and danger that one will face. Everyone will thank God only for being protected from such circumstances.

Paul’s experience is different. He is greatful for being appointed to the service of Christ Jesus. How many people are really greatful for being chosen to serve Jesus. Remember Paul is very clear when he says serve. Paul is reminding Timothy that being a minister is not easy. It is not only about authority, power and fame. But it is about εἰς διακονίαν. It is about being appointed to the divine service of apostles and teachers. The foundation of doing God’s work.  To understand the meaning of diakonia let us turn to the John’s Gospel.

The model of service which I really like is “Jesus got up from the meal, removed his outer clothing, wrapped a towel around his waist and washed the feet of his disciples. For me to serve means to come down to the ground level. To wash the feet of those reclining at the table the servant has to go down on their knees to reach the feet. (Illustration – sweeping). So service results in hardships. Paul reminds us that service is a vital attribute of any ministry be it deacon, priest, bishop or any other responsibility one will hold. Take the element of service out of ministry and all we have is a dominative and authoritative power structure. Such ministries are not useful to establish kingdom values.

For being called to serve Christ in such a capacity one needs strength. In this context Paul is thankful for ἐνδυναμώσαντι. This is not the physical strength, but the strength used to equip an individual with the power necessary to the office of an apostle. It is all about being empowered by Christ Jesus. It is a reminder to those who are called to serve God that they are given the strength. They are empowered. To those who realise that they are empowered by the strength of God their trust should be in Christ Jesus and not in chariots and horses or in princes.

It is those who forget that they are empowered by the strength given by Christ Jesus are the one who hide themselves within groups, castes, regions. Such actions obstruct God to work in our midst. So as a result we have a stunted Christian community or a stunted church.  The moment we take things into our hands we deny the power of God. That may be the reason that the world is unable to see Christ in the church but is able to see Christ outside. (In that sense we could be thankful for two church leaders who have taken up office within the last few days – Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby and Pope Francis who both have a background of working with those in need)

But there is one question that we need to ask? Why should Paul be thankful for being chosen to such a service? He is thankful for the faith and confidence (πιστόν) and being considered worthy by Christ Jesus. Why? Because Paul realized that “I was a blasphemer, a persecutor and a man of violence and ignorance.” His encounter with Christ was the turning point. Oscar Wilde says “every saint has a past and every sinner has a future”. I suppose that is why Paul attributed everything in his life to Christ rather than to any of the apostles. When we encounter Christ in our lives we are changed, we are empowered.

Paul shares his experience to encourage Timothy. He is giving Timothy a formula for his ministry. Your ministry is not one of fame and recognition but one of humility – called to serve. Realise that you are empowered with strength from God, remember that you are chosen because God has considered you faithful. And I think that is why we are all seated here.

Friends we are called to carry out a Christ centered, Christ dependent ministry. It is a challenge. We cannot hide under flimsy excuses that we are not Christ or we are not Paul. This shows that we have betrayed the trust Christ has in us when he calls us to serve him. Empowered by his strength we have to serve him.

May God give us strength to be his faithful servants.