Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket
or under a bed, and not to be placed on a lampstand?
Paul desired that the shining light he knew filled both Timothy and Titus would not be hidden but rather placed on a lampstand. He recognized that Timothy had received "sincere faith" from his mother and grandmother. He knew Titus to be his "true child in our common faith". For this reason he was not afraid to entrust them with responsibility, such as leaving Titus in Crete to "set right what remains to be done and appoint presbyters in every town".
But Paul knew that Timothy and Titus would face obstacles and opposition just as Paul had. Even though they had sincere faith there was still the risk that they would give in to "a spirit of cowardice". One potential obstacle was youth, as in the case of Timothy, and so Paul told him "Let no one have contempt for your youth, but set an example for those who believe, in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity" (see First Timothy 4:12). Paul realized there were reasons people were typically skeptical about the young, so he advised, "turn from youthful desires and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord with purity of heart" (see Second Timothy 2:22). He believed deeply in the capability of both Timothy and Titus to perform the missions with which they were entrusted.
The challenge to both Timothy and Titus was to boldly live out their faith in a way that was exemplary and free from reproach. The greatest risk, according to Paul, was a spirit of cowardice. But the antidote was not a spirit of self-assured boldness. It was rather a spirit "of power and love and self-control" that was given by God. For Paul power was not some generic variety of strength that could be exerted in order to force one's will upon others. Rather, for Paul, it was Christ himself, and in particular the message of his cross, that was true power.
but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God (see First Corinthians 1:24)
The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (see First Corinthians 1:18).
It is this sort of power, rooted in their identity in Christ, that was so closely tied to love and to self-control. It was the antidote to a spirit of cowardice, for what was left to fear in the face of the cross? It was the antidote to the rash boldness of youth; it was the great reversal that could make wise teachers and leaders even of the young.
The Spirit that was given to Timothy and Titus had within himself all the power they would need, together with the love and the self-control that would direct them as they sought to use that power in order to bear their "share of hardship for the Gospel with the strength that comes from God". Yet it would not simply work automatically with no participation on their part.
For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame
the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.
Although the promise was made "before time began", and although the gift of God had been given, it was still up to Timothy and Titus to ensure that the flames of that gift did not die out by seeking again and again to stir that gift back into flames. It was Christians who did this that became the ones whom Jesus said have and yet are given still more Those that failed to do so risked losing even the embers that may remained. How then, were they to fan this gift into flames? How are we to do so? If Christ himself was power, if his Spirit was the spirit of power, the flames that could overcome cowardice, we might infer that the closer we come to Christ and the more we open ourselves to his Spirit the more this fire of divine love will grow within us. Prayer, Scripture, the Sacraments, and Christian community are all places where the presence of Jesus is found. It is there that we learn to grow in docility to the Spirit, which allows his presence within us to enflame us with his love.
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