Tuesday, April 4, 2023

Today’s Scripture Reading
1 Timothy 6:1–16

Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will bring about at the right time — he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords. It is he alone who has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see; to him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. (NRSV)

Reflection

“Fight the good fight” — such a profound biblical scripture. Do you? Have you ever? Is there really such a thing as a good fight? Women’s suffrage. Civil rights. What about homelessness? Gun violence?

How many times have you thought “Not worth my time,” “It’s not that important to me”? I was often told “You don’t need to put all 180 pounds into everything you do” (there’s a few more pounds now, but you get the point). We constantly make decisions about when, what cause, and under what terms will we pursue the good fight. What are we willing to lose, and what is our duty?

As you read Paul’s letters to Timothy know that Paul is speaking not to a community but to a person — a person who professed faith and did so in the presence of many witnesses. Paul is Timothy’s teacher, and it appears that Timothy needed a nudge. If you’re of a certain age, you know this as a come-to-Jesus moment: “fight the good fight; (make) the good confession; keep this commandment; be blameless.” And get this, God is watching! Did you just feel a tremble? Recall a moment when you failed to heed the advice of your teacher, leader, pastor, and, dare I mention, even your doctor. Was it a good outcome? Doubtful.

We live in a world where we fight over the meaningless and retreat from the meaningful. We avoid the uncomfortable. We make expedient decisions, fiscally prudent choices and offer measured responses. When we opt out, deselect, and don’t even speak up, we are accommodating the status quo. We are complicit. Every scourge the world knows exists because quiet voices remained complicit. There is no model where complicity is a moral choice. Timothy had a duty; we have a duty.

A recent visit to Gandhi’s home in Mumbai, India, reacquainted me with this sense of duty: “The still small voice within you must always be the final arbiter when there is a conflict of duty. … I shall lose my usefulness the moment I stifle the still small voice within.” Is your still small voice audible? Are you speaking the truth in love? (Ephesians 4:15 KJV)

Fight the good fight; avoid complicity, own our duty, and take precious comfort in Paul’s final expressions: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7 KJV).

Prayer

In the words of Howard Thurman we pray

“That we may find strength for these days. ...

In confidence we rest in your sustaining grace

Which makes possible triumph in defeat, gain in loss, and

love in hate. ...

Our little lives, our big problems — these we place upon your altar.

Amen.

(Howard Thurman, “Our Little Lives,” Meditations of the Heart)

Written by Clyde Yancy, Member of Fourth Presbyterian Church

Reflection and prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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