The Martyrdom of Saint Timothy
Byzantine Artist ca. 1025-1050
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
From: 2 Timothy 1:1-8
Greeting
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[1] Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life which is in Christ Jesus, [2] To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. [3] I thank God whom I serve with a clear conscience, as did my fathers, when I remember you constantly in my prayers. [4] As I remember your tears, I long night and day to see you, that I may be filled with joy. [5] I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you.
Response to Grace
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[6] Hence I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; [7] God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love and self-control.
St Paul, Herald of the Gospel
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[8] Do not be ashamed then of testifying to our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but take your share of suffering for the gospel in the power of God.
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Commentary:
1-2. The greeting is like that of 1 Timothy, although now St Paul adds a specific reference to the purpose of his God-given call to the apostolate--"according to the promise of the life which is in Christ Jesus". Christ fulfills all the promises of happiness given to Abraham and the other Old Testament patriarchs. The purpose of the Gospel message is to let men know that they have been called to enjoy a new life in Christ, that is, the divine life whose germ we receive at Baptism. That sacrament initiates the life of grace in the soul, and ultimately that life will blossom into eternal life (cf. 1 Tim 1:16; 6:12; Tit 1:2; 3:9).
On the exact meaning of the expression "in Christ Jesus", see the note on1 Tim 1:14.
3. "I thank God": this is not a spontaneous expression of gratitude but rather a permanent disposition of Paul's soul.
St Paul makes the point that his attitude of service and worship is the same as that of his ancestors, the righteous of the Old Testament, for although the Gospel is something new it does not involve a break with the earlier revelation; rather it brings that revelation to fulfillment. The Apostle pays tribute to the chosen people, not hiding his satisfaction at being a Jew himself (cf. Rom 9:3; 11:1; Gal 2:15). "The Church of Christ acknowledges", Vatican II states, "that in God's plan of salvation the beginning of her faith and election is to be found in the patriarchs, Moses and the prophets [...]. The Church cannot forget that she received the revelation of the Old Testament by way of that people with whom God in his inexpressible mercy established the ancient covenant [...]. She is mindful, moreover, that the Apostles, the pillars on which the Church stands, were of Jewish descent, as were many of those early disciples who proclaimed the Gospel of Christ to the world" ("Nostra Aetate", 4).
6. "The gift of God" is the priestly character which Timothy received on the day of his ordination. St Paul is using very graphic and precise language: by the sacrament of Order a divine gift is conferred on the priest; it is like an ember which needs to be revived from time to time in order to make it glow and give forth the warmth it contains. St Thomas Aquinas comments that "the grace of God is like a fire. which does not flow when it is covered by ashes; the same thing happens when grace is covered over in a person by sluggishness or natural fear" ("Commentary on 2 Tim, ad loc.").
The gifts which God confers on the priest "are not transitory or temporary in him, but stable and permanent, attached as they are to an indelible character, impressed on his soul, by which he is made a priest forever (cf. Ps 109:4), in the likeness of Him in whose priesthood he has been made to share" (Pius XI, "Ad Catholici Sacerdotii", 17).
"The laying on of my hands": see the note on 1 Tim 4:14.
7. The gift of God, received in the sacrament of Order by the laying on of hands, includes sanctifying grace and sacramental grace, and the actual graces needed for performing ministerial functions in a worthy manner. The Council of Trent uses this text (vv. 6-7) when it solemnly defines that Priestly Order is a sacrament instituted by Jesus Christ (cf. "De Sacram. Ordinis", chap. 3).
The minister, then, must be courageous in performing his office: he should preach the truth unambiguously even if it clashes with the surroundings; he should do so with love, and be open to everyone despite their faults; with sobriety and moderation, always seeing the good of souls, not his own advantage. Since the days of the Fathers the Church has urged priests to develop these virtues: "Priests should be compassionate", St Polycarp warns; "they should show mercy to all; they should try to reclaim those who go astray, visit the sick, and care for the poor, the orphan and the widow. They should be concerned always to do what is honorable in the sight of God and men. They should avoid any show of anger, any partiality or trace of greed. They should not be over-ready to believe ill of anyone, not too severe in their censure, being well aware that we all owe the debt of sin" ("Letter to the Philippians", chap. 6).
or
From: Titus 1:1-5
Greeting
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[1] Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to further the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth which accords with godliness, [2] in hope of eternal life which God, who never lies, promised ages ago [3] and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by command of God our Savior; [4] To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. [5] This is why I left you in Crete, that you might amend what was defective, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you,
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Commentary:
1-4. The heading is particularly long and formal. It contains, as usual (cf. Rom 1:1-2; 1 Cor 1:13; etc.), the sender's name--Paul; the addressee's--Titus; and the greeting--"Grace and peace". In this case, however, Paul's title (Apostle), and the prerogatives of his authority and his God-given mandate to preach are given special emphasis (v. 3). This has led some scholars to argue that the epistle was in fact written by a disciple of St Paul--who would have put in all this about the Apostle's authority in order to give the letter more weight. However, it is more reasonable to suppose that when St Paul was writing the letter he had Titus very much in mind and also the community in Crete, whom false teachers were beginning to unsettle; the solemn, official tone would be due to the serious nature of their doctrinal aberrations and to the need to ensure that the church in Crete was property organized.
These introductory verses provide a very succinct definition of the mission of an Apostle: it derives from God himself, the Savior of all (vv. 1, 3); the Apostle has a mandate from God, he is God's representative (v. 3); the purpose of his mission is to communicate the word of God, which is true, which "accord with godliness" and leads to eternal life (v. 2). His letter is addressed to the believers, who had been endowed with faith (v. 1) and whom he has to lead to heaven (v. 2).
1. "Servant of God": in the language of the Bible, serving God means rendering him the worship that is his due. While keeping this basic meaning, "servant of God" means one who fulfills the task his Lord gives him. Like the Old Testament prophets (who were conscious of having a sacred mission, which they could not avoid: cf. Amos 3:7; Jer 7:25), St Paul knows that he has a God-given mission which he has a duty to perform.
"To further the faith of God's elect": God sends his apostles to instruct people in the faith so that they know the truth that saves and view their lives and the world from a supernatural vantage-point. As the Church's Magisterium has reminded us, evangelization begins by teaching the essential revealed truths: "It is not superfluous to recall the following points: to evangelize is first of all to bear witness, in a simple and direct way, to God revealed by Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit; to bear witness that in his Son God has loved the world--that in his Incarnate Word he has given being to all things and has called men to eternal life" (Paul VI, "Evangelii Nuntiandi", 26).
"The truth that accords with godliness": The virtue of godliness or "piety" includes, particularly, openness to God, docility to his commandments and recognition of his divinity--in a word, religion. Godliness and truth are very closely connected: to acquire a solid, well-grounded piety one needs to have a good grasp of the truth. St Teresa of Avila explains this in her inimitable way: "I should prefer spirituality to be unaccompanied by prayer than not to be founded upon the truth. Learning is a great thing, for it instructs those of us who have little knowledge, and enlightens us, so that when we are faced with the truth of Holy Scripture, we act as we should. From foolish devotions may God deliver us!" ("Life", 13, 16).
2. In doing the work given him, the Apostle always keeps before his eyes the "hope of eternal life"; this determines the content and purpose of his preaching--eternal beatitude for himself and for all who accept the word of God, the attainment of the indescribable joy which is God's reward to those who love him: "What words can describe what is to come--the pleasure, the good fortune, the joy of being with Christ? It is impossible to explain the blessedness and the advantage the soul has when it is returned to its noble self and can from then on contemplate its Lord. And it is not only that he enjoys good things to hand: his joy is permanent because these good things will never cease to be his" (St John Chrysostom, "Ad Theod. Lapsum", 1, 13).
"In hope of eternal life": hope of eternal life should imbue our devout life, and it should also inspire the truth we teach, the faith we profess and the apostolic ministry itself.
Promised "ages ago": this ambiguous Semitic expression (it can also be translated as "from all eternity") refers to God's promise of salvation made in ancient times to the patriarchs and prophets of the Old Testament; but it refers mainly to God's eternal plan: from all eternity God decided to save men. This decision of his is the basis of the theological virtue of hope; we place our hope in God "who never lies", who cannot deceive or be deceived.
3-4. "At the proper time": salvation (God's plan for all eternity, communicated in a veiled way to the prophets) has been manifested in the fullness of time by the advent of the Son of God (cf. Heb 1:1); preaching concerns itself exclusively with this message of salvation. The Apostle preaches "by command of God our Savior", not on his personal initiative. It is worth pointing out that this whole passage is very dense and very typical of Paul's style: lots of ideas are crammed into very few words. The key factor is the divine plan of salvation; but the way that plan is communicated is also important, as is the way it is carried out; the word of God, in addition to making the plan of salvation known, is itself salvific, it is an effective instrument of salvation. The Apostle is very conscious that his mission is divine, for God keeps urging him on; he chose him for this very purpose and granted him the title of "servant of God" (cf. v. 1).
On the meaning of the greeting "Grace and peace", see the note on 1 Tim 1:2 and Rom 1:7.
5. St Paul seems to have given Titus two jobs to do. One, which is implied here, was to complete the catechetical instruction of the young community in Crete; there is a lot of emphasis throughout the letter on firmness in the truth, on counteracting false teachers, and on the need for all believers, particularly pastors, to have a well-grounded faith.
The second job is to complete the hierarchical structuring of the Church. The elders mentioned here perform the same role as that of the bishops in the First Letter to Timothy, and they are all required to have the same qualities (on the as yet unfixed bishop/priest terminology, see the note on 1 Tim 3:1). St Paul's insistence on appointing successors is a pointer to the Apostolicity of the Church: not only do bishops have the same mission as the Apostles; that mission comes to them from the Apostles: "In fact, not only had (the Apostles) various helpers in their ministry, but, in order that the mission entrusted to them might be continued after their death, they consigned, by will and testament, as it were, to their immediate collaborators the duty of completing and consolidating the work they had begun, urging them to tend to the whole flock, in which the Holy Spirit had appointed them to shepherd the Church of God (cf. Acts 20: 28)" ("Lumen Gentium", 20).
Very little information is available as to when St Paul visited Crete and evangelized it. When he was being brought as a prisoner to Rome in the autumn of the year 60, he probably evangelized some Cretans (cf. Acts 27:7-12); there may also have been some Christians there ever since St Peter preached for the first time in Jerusalem (cf. Acts 2:11). It could be that the Apostle spent a while on the island at some stage and established a Christian community there. Crete was fairly important, being a necessary port of call on the Greece-Asia Minor sea route.