If we persevere we shall reign with him.

Sunday, 10/9/16

Let’s look at todays second reading, which is a letter that St. Paul wrote to Timothy, his closest follower.

A thing that sets Timothy apart from everyone else in the New Testament is that we  know the name of both his mother and grandmother. His mother was Eunice. His grandmother was Lois.

Timothy’s father, though, was Jewish, and Paul thought that if Timothy were Jewish that would be helpful for Timothy when he went preaching in synagogues.

So, although Paul repeatedly said that circumcision had no effect on a man’s soul, Paul personally circumcised Timothy to make him acceptable to Jews. It’s an example of how sometimes we need to bend a rule to make us acceptable.

In this letter Paul gives us the most concise explanation of the gospel, of the good-news we believe in. It is that Jesus died for our sins and rose again for us.

Writing to Timothy, Paul made our part clear: “If we die with him we shall live with him. If we persevere, we shall also reign with him; but if we deny him, he will deny us."