On this, the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, I would like to spend some time with you on our second reading, which is from an epistle of St. Paul that is addressed to Timothy.
Timothy was one of St. Paul’s co-workers, and according to tradition, was the first bishop of Ephesus, where he was martyred. We’ve been hearing parts of this letter for the past couple of Sundays. We should remember that right before the passage we heard today, St. Paul warned Timothy against the love of money saying, “the love of money is the root of all evils” (1 Tim 6:10).
Saint Paul’s First Letter to Timothy exhorts him, asks him, to fight the good fight of the faith. In the Polish translation, the text reads, “fight in the good competition for the faith”. In Greek, the text has agonizomai, which reminds us of “agony” in English. This is a good reminder of how intense the fight for the faith can be at times. Now, for many of us, to fight, to strive, to compete, will bring up images of someone being aggressive, cutting, competitive and forceful. Politicians striving to win an election will be forceful and will try to outdo their opponents and convince the public that they should form the next government. Athletes competing for medals will try to make the podium, to come in at least the top three. Business leaders seeking a profit will naturally try to be better than the competition. The men and women who took part in the rail spike drive competition at the train station on Saturday surely wanted to do their best, with a healthy spirit of sportsmanship. Congratulations to our parishioner, who came in second place.
But Timothy is to fight in another way, and St. Paul spells out in detail how Timothy is to act.Timothy is to “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness”. What is interesting is that his striving for godliness and righteousness is to be accompanied by endurance and gentleness. What could endurance mean? It seems that the Christian does not aim for a quick knockout – he or she is in it for the long run, for the long haul, for the bigger reward. What could gentleness mean? That in the face of opponents, we are steadfast, but not violent, we don’t try to cut people down, in word or in action. Faith and love – agape – complete the picture. We act in faith – in good faith – and we act charitably towards others.
Does this mean that there is no space for competition in faith? I would argue that there is space for healthy competition, but perhaps not with others – but with ourselves. We are in rivalry with our own individual fallen human nature, with our own stubborn self-will, and sometimes, with the suggestions of the evil one, as we “fight the good competition of the faith” – as the Polish translation puts it.
As we face conflicts in our life – as we face conflicts in marriage, family, school and academic life; as we face conflicts in the Church and in the parish– it would be useful to keep St. Paul’s words to Timothy in mind. We are to fight the good fight of the faith – to agonize in this fight, sometimes – but at the same time, we are to keep our striving for godliness and righteousness balanced with gentleness, endurance and charity. This is quite possibly a part of the Christian theology of fighting, of striving for the faith. Finally, Timothy is to “take hold of the eternal life” (1 Tim 6:12) literally to grab it and keep holding on to it, almost like a wrestler takes a hold of his opponent. This is very much like the patriarch Jacob taking hold of the angel that he was wrestling, and not letting him go, until he received a blessing. This is much like Job, who though facing calamity refuses to let go of his hope in the Lord. I believe that we have people among us, who have taken hold of their faith, grabbed on, and have not let go for the past decades. They are still fighting the good fight and expecting a blessing in return. They are the ones who see with the eyes of faith clarified with the light of charity. For these people, the Catholic faith is like a pearl of great price; it is worth more than anything else in the world; more precious than financial success, health, prestige or social standing.
Let us then fight the good fight of the faith, basing ourselves on Christ’s promise to Paul and Timothy. In this, we count upon the prayers of the Archangels, and of our Blessed Virgin Mother. Amen.
(Fr. Pawel Ratajczak, OMI, Sept. 29, 2019)