Sunday 10/23/22 - Sidney UMC
Sermon Title: “Fought The Good Fight!” (“2 Timothy Series”: Part 4 of 4)
Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 65
New Testament Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18
Gospel Lesson: Luke 18:9-14
I
still remember that time of the year, every year in physical education class.
For those that had the same experience as me, we had to take what was called
the “FitnessGram.” I actually liked the “FitnessGram.” We did pull ups, sit-ups,
push-ups, climbed the rope, did sit and reach, etc. We also ran a mile every
year. I don’t know why, but I never looked forward to the one-mile run of the “FitnessGram,”
every year. Maybe it was because I was never a runner, or that I was not as
fast as my other classmates. What I did know though, was it felt great when I
finished that one-mile race. It was also always at the end of our “FitnessGram”
every year, and I would never stop midway through that mile. I was going to
finish.
Finishing good, even if parts of the
journey are hard and or undesirable is important for the Christian journey, and
in general. I have found in my years as a pastor, that when folks begin to get
on in years they begin think about there life. They sometimes take stock, look
back, see successes, and failures. They relish triumphant moments and the
opposite. It would seem that as some people get on in years that they begin to
think about there legacy, how they will be remembered, and also how they will
finish.
Or to put it another way, if we have
limited time on this earth, which we all do, how do we want to spend what remains
of it? What are those things that we want to hold onto, maintain, or keep? It must
be good for person to be able to say, “It did everything I could to help others
in my life here on earth”. Do we want to end well? I am not trying to be
morbid, but how do we want to spend the limited time that we all have here on
earth? Do want to be able to say at the end, “I made mistakes, I was not
perfect, but I loved my family.” Is it important to try to end well?
As I said, I never looked forward to
that one-mile run in our annual “FitnessGram,” but I was always glad that I finished
the race. Many of us have raced many races in our lives. Some literal races,
some careers, some raising kids, etc., etc. How we end these races matters
deeply to many people.
This morning in our 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18 reading
the Apostle Paul, once again, is telling his young friend and apprentice
Timothy that his time of this earth is soon coming to an end. The Apostle Paul,
it would seem, is in part taking stock of his life, and what God has done in
and through him. The Apostle Paul is reflecting upon how he did with all of
these things. Or to put it another way, did the Apostle Paul pass his spiritual
“FitnessGram”?
How many of us here have ever looked back upon our
life, thought about our choices and what we have done? We might have regrets,
things that we would have done differently, but hopefully we want to end the
race well. I know that I do. When I am hopefully, old and gray, and my time is
getting close, I hope that I will have done all I can to serve God through
Jesus Christ, and I hope that I will have remained faithful.
In our reading from Psalm 65 for this morning, once
again, the Psalmist gives thanks for the bounty of the earth, and for God’s
love and faithfulness. Maybe this is where we got the idea for the ministry, “Share
the Bounty”. Serving Christ, loving others, ending well.
As many of us know, the past three weeks I have been
preaching a sermon series on the Apostle Paul’s letter or book of 2 Timothy. I felt
called by God to preach this four-week sermon series, once again, because there
are just so many good things in these readings. All four of my sermon titles for
this 2 Timothy sermon series, once again, are right out of our scripture readings
themselves.
These four consecutive readings from 2 Timothy ends
this morning. In the first week of this sermon series that Apostle Paul told Timothy
and us to “Guard
The Good Treasure” that is in Jesus Christ. In the second week of this sermon
series, the Apostle Paul told Timothy and us to preach “The Word Of Truth!”
that is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Last Sunday, the Apostle Paul told Timothy
and us to “Proclaim The Message” of the gospel of Jesus Christ. If we want to
live fully, to love fully, to care deeply, and to be spiritually transformed, then
the gospel of Jesus Christ is the best and only way to do this completely.
Being changed, restored, offered eternal life, and being perfected in love. So
powerful is our spiritual transformations in Christ, and so powerful is the way
that the gospel of Jesus Christ changes people and the world, that the Apostle
Paul emphatically tells Timothy and us in 2 Timothy over and over, offer the
world Christ. Be the love of Christ, preach the love of Christ, care like
Christ, serve like Christ, and transform the world for Christ.
As a sort of capstone in
this the fourth and last week of this 2 Timothy sermon series, as I said, the
Apostle Paul’s hour to depart this earth for eternity is rapidly approaching.
His tone shifts a little from the last three 2 Timothy readings that we have
had in the last three weeks. Instead of just instructing Timothy and us how to
live and offer the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world, the Apostle Paul tells
Timothy and us, near the end of his earthly life that he has “Fought The Good
Fight!”
In looking more closely
at our 2 Timothy read for this morning, let us pick up starting in 4:6 where it
says:
6 As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. 8 From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing (2 Tim. 4:6-8, NRSV).
So,
the Apostle Paul is saying that has and is being poured out as a “libation.” I
was a little fuzzy on the word “libation,” so I re-looked it up. The definition
in part is pouring out a drink to an ancient God. The way that pagans would
create altars to idols and to their gods, and place food on drink on them,
pouring out a drink to a pagan god is a libation (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libation).
This
tradition of “libation” still exists today, but I have mostly seen it as people
pouring out some liquid or alcohol in someone’s memory. As if there pour onto
the ground is being drank by the person who has died. In fact, I remember doing
a burial service 5-6 years ago. They burial was at 11:00 am, and I arrived
early, as I always do. After I did the service, the family surprised me by
pulling out a bottle of Jack Daniels. They opened it, and took out a bunch of
shot glasses, and why not, it’s 11:15 am on a Thursday morning. One family
member poured some of the Jack Daniels into the hole that had the urn and ashes
of the man who had passed. This was a “libation.” Then all the adults in the
family had a shot of Jack Daniels in honor of the man who had passed. They even
offered me one, you know at 11:15 AM on a Thursday. I told them I was on the
clock though, and they understood.
The
Apostle Paul is telling Timothy and us this morning, that he has gave and gave.
He has been poured out and poured out. He is finally like a “libation” at this
last time of being poured out. In the Apostle Paul believing that he has done
his best to preach, live, and model the gospel of Jesus Christ, he says, once
again, in 2 Timothy 4:7-8:
7 I have fought the good fight; I have
finished the race; I have kept the faith. 8 From now on there is reserved for
me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give
me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his
appearing (2
Tim. 4:6-8, NRSV).
Sort
of like the physical education “FitnessGram” I did every year as a kid, I
finished the race every year. There were some challenges, and some things that
were undesirable, but I finished. As the Apostle Paul is considering his life
of faith in Christ, he seems to be content. He says he fought and fought for
Christ, he finished his earthly race, and most important he kept the faith. If
you have ever had a Christian say to you, “Keep the faith,” this where this
comes from.
The
Apostle Paul, while his earthly life is drawing to a close, he looks forward to
eternity with Christ. According to church tradition the Apostle Paul did not
die of natural causes, but died from being beheaded. Church tradition says that
the Apostle Paul was beheaded in Rome, and he was beheaded because he was a
Roman Citizen. Since the Apostle Paul was a Roman Citizen, his execution had to
be quick and as painless as possible. According to church tradition the Apostle
Paul died for Christ, died for his faith. Before he did, he was content with
what Christ called him to do, and he was content with going to be with Christ.
In
fact, the Apostle Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:8, once again:
8 From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing (2 Tim. 4:6-8, NRSV).
The
Apostle Paul says that his race is over, he fought the good fight, he kept the
faith, and he is now going to be with the Heavenly Father.
In
concluding this reading from 2 Timothy, with 4:16-18, the Apostle Paul says,
once again:
16 At my first defense no one came to my support, but all deserted me. May it not be counted against them! 17 But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen (2 Tim. 4:16-18, NRSV).
The
Apostle Paul said, many people deserted him, like many deserted Christ at the
end of his earthly life. The Apostle Paul forgives them and hopes that this
betrayal will not be counted against them. The Apostle Paul then said through
all of his missionary journeys, through everything he experienced, God was with
him. God strengthened him to proclaim Christ when it was hard, to love like Christ
when it was not easy, and that God saved him from being killed. The Apostle Paul
said that God has and will rescue him from evil, and save a place in heaven for
him. The Apostle Paul then once again, gives God all the eternal glory, forever
and ever. Paul’s letter or epistle to 2 Timothy then ends soon after in 4:22
with his farewell.
I
think it is fair to say then, that the tone and the emphasis of our 2 Timothy reading
for this morning is very different than the last three Sundays. The last three
Sundays the Apostle Paul is telling Timothy over and over to keep, preach, and
live the gospel. The Apostle Paul finally tells us on this our fourth and last
sermon of this sermon series that he is soon to die and go to heaven. Scripture
readings like this can give us cause to reflect on our own lives. If today was
our last day on this earth, could we with absolute confidence believe that:
7 I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. (2 Tim. 4:7, NRSV).
I
hope and pray that this is the case for me. That I will be able to say on my
last earthly day that:
7 I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. (2 Tim. 4:7, NRSV).
In
looking at our gospel of Luke 18:9-14 for this morning, once again, we have the
parable or story from Jesus of “the Pharisee and the tax collector.” Picking up
starting in Luke 18:9 it says once again for this morning:
9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other, for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted” (Lk. 18:9-14, NRSV).
When
we are looking back on our earthy life, and if our time to end this earthly
life may be drawing near, will we remember ourselves as thinking we were better
than others? Or we will be able to say that we were humble and repentant
towards God, and that we love all people equally and the best we could.
Friends, I do not know about you, but when it gets close to the end of my
earthly life, I want to be able to say:
7 I have fought the good fight; I have
finished the race; I have kept the faith.
(2 Tim. 4:7,
NRSV). Amen.
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