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Holy Trinity Anglican Orthodox Church
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Enduring Hardship |
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2
Timothy 2:1-12 Second
Sunday of Lent February
28, 2010 It
has been my intent to preach and teach from the Epistle or Gospel readings
this year, and to concentrate on the Gospel readings during Lent as we
follow our Lord's life and ministry to Jerusalem and the cross. I want to break from this pattern today because I want to
preach from the Second Lesson for Morning Prayer yesterday, 2 Timothy
2:1-15. I especially want to emphasize
verse 2, "endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." Hardness
comes in many ways, but Paul has two main things in mind. The first is
persecution. Paul knew
something about persecution. He
wrote this letter to Timothy in the autumn of the year 65 A.D.
He was at that time in the Mamertine prison, a place of incredible
suffering. He knew he would be called to give his life for the cause of
Christ that winter. He wrote
this letter to encourage Timothy to persevere in the faith, even if it
brings persecution and death. Paul
wrote, "I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is
at hand. I have fought a good
fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith."
Paul is telling Timothy he has run his race; he has endured
hardship, but Timothy still has much of his race ahead of him and he is
not to be deterred by opposition or persecution. The
second kind of hardness Paul has in mind is personal sacrifice for the
sake of serving Christ. He is
not talking about sin. We all
know that has to go. We all
know we have to give up sinful habits, attitudes and actions, and that
rooting them out of our lives is a continuous and intensive labor.
I use the words, "rooting out" intentionally, for it
reminds us of hours on our knees in the garden grubbing out weeds by their
roots. What happens to a
garden left untended? It is
taken over by weeds. I am
convinced that one of the main reasons for the weakness, doctrinal
unsoundness, and shallowness of the contemporary church is the lack of
hours on our knees pulling the sins out of lives by the roots.
But it is not sin that Paul's refers to in this passage, it is good
things we must sacrifice just because there is not time in our days for
both them and Christ. Life is
short and time is limited, and we just can't do everything.
So we must set priorities and make choices. It
is something like marriage. When
you are single you can do whatever you want, but when you join your life
with another you have to change. Your
spouse becomes a priority, so your activities and interests have to
change. The same is true of
becoming a parent. You become
responsible for another person, and your priorities and activities have to
change. Some of the things you did before may have been good things,
but now they have to go. The
Saturday golf game becomes the Saturday nursery cleaning.
Evening TV time becomes baby bath time. Night out money becomes
diaper money. Like
wise, being a Christian requires changes in our lives, and some of those
changes involve letting some good things go in order to devote ourselves
to God. Paul give three
examples to explain this; the soldier, the athlete, and the farmer. Notice
that these are all vocations that require dedication and sacrifice. The soldier on the eve of battle is not found on the party
circuit, but in the camp. He
is checking his armour and weapons. He
is ensuring that he has water and food for the coming day.
He is steeling himself for the coming fight.
When not in battle he is in training, practicing with his weapons,
drilling, practicing the moves and marches that will keep his unit
together and, hopefully, keep him alive. The athlete also sacrifices to
excel in his sport. He gives
himself to exercise and practice, letting other things go that he may
improve and win. The farmer
is no connoisseur of night life. Early
to bed and early to rise was his lot in Rome as it is today.
Many pleasures were forgone in order to milk the cows and tend the
crops. But his sacrifice was
not without reward. The
harvest is his. The first
fruits belong to him and he is the first to taste the fruit of his labour.
The athlete wins the prize. The
soldier wins the battle and keeps his life. We,
too, must make the sacrifices necessary to devote ourselves to our
vocation, which is to love and serve God.
We could go to the beach, or just sleep in on Sundays, but we
choose to be here, in Church because this is the command of God, and we
are willing to let the other things go in order to obey Him.
We could take nice vacations or buy new things, but instead we give
money to the Church. We could
be social butterflies, but instead we devote ourselves to private and
family prayer and Bible study. I
want you to know how proud I am of you for making these sacrifices, and
the many others you have made to be a part of this congregation and the
work of Christ. I know some
of what it has cost you to leave cherished ties and buildings, and I
commend you. But I would be untrue as your pastor and friend if I did not
urge you to excel still more. Like
Timothy, you have much of your race still ahead of you, and I urge you to
devote yourself to it. Fight
the good fight, run the course, win the prize.
Sacrifice anything that impedes your progress. Be good soldiers of Jesus Christ.
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