Beloved:
Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David:
such is my Gospel, for which I am suffering,
even to the point of chains, like a criminal.
Paul pointed Timothy to the central tenet of the Christian faith, the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Naturally, he desired that Timothy keep a general focus on the kerygma, the central doctrines of Christianity. And this was necessary because otherwise he might succumb to a temptation that apparently happening in the community at that time, "disputing about words". Among those actively practicing the faith this continues to be a reality in our own time. A large part of the antidote, according to Paul, is keeping the central truths of the faith at the forefront of our minds. Then we will be less likely to chase after speculative trivialities or try to impress others by our elegant phraseology and rhetoric. It is too easy for those who hear such superficiality to be harmed by it, possibly never even able to understand and internalize the Gospel because of it.
Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David
There was a second and more immediately practical reason why Paul insisted on the importance of the resurrection. It was because it was this fundamental truth that allowed him to make sense of his own mission and his suffering. From a human perspective much of his ministry appeared to be a failure. He was suffering "even to the point of chains, like a criminal". But the resurrection was definitive proof that "the word of God is not chained", not even by death itself. And not only that, it was proof that Paul's own current suffering wasn't the end of his own story.
If we have died with him
we shall also live with him;
if we persevere
we shall also reign with him.
The truth, then, was too vital to abuse with superficial disputes and idle speculation. Especially in a society where persecution of Christians was commonplace, it was necessary to be grounded in the truth. Only such grounding was proof against the temptation to deny Jesus when to affirm him might lead one to a fate like that of Paul's present condition, or worse. Only the insistence that death had in fact been defeated was a valid motivation to risk even death itself for the sake of the Gospel.
But if we deny him
he will deny us.
If we are unfaithful
he remains faithful,
for he cannot deny himself.
If we turn from the truth of the resurrection, no matter the reason, it does not become any less true. Jesus, truth itself, cannot pretend reality is other than it is, for he himself holds all things in being. He will always be internally consistent even if we ourselves swerve from the path of truth. He can't follow us into affirming lies that would make creation other than it is or speak of a salvation other than the true one which he has won for us. He has no desire to deny us and himself gives us the grace to remain faithful to him. This grace can make us workmen who cause no disgrace. It is his word of truth at work in us that allows us to impart that word to others without deviation.
Which is the first of all the commandments?
In today's Gospel Jesus also speaks of the central truths of faith. This was another example of how keeping first things first could prevent the temptation to get lost in the weeds. The Pharisees, for their part, often seemed to set one commandment against another and to get lost in disputes about words and interpretations of words. Jesus was able to cut through their traps because he understand the things that were most central: love of God and love of neighbor. The class of the professionally religious might forget and begin to believe religion was about something more suited to demonstrating their expertise. But Jesus himself never needed to appeal to the extravagant. His Gospel was always unvarnished, and it was this that Paul and the other Apostles inherited and passed on to us.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
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