II Tim 1:1-14; Famous Last Words (II)

I was reading last evening that Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy, spent eight years as a recluse in his life after the unexpected death of his first wife. He was a rising military star in the mid 1830s, and he married the love of his life, Sarah Knox Taylor, on June 17, 1835. When they were visiting his sister in Louisiana, both Davis and his wife contracted malaria. Sarah died from it. For the next eight years, until he was elected to Congress from MS, he spent time largely alone studying government and history, and engaging in political discussions with his brother. The entire tenor of his life then changed, and he emerged as a statesman of significant dimensions. Even though he has been vilified in American history because of his position as head of the Confederacy, he possessed skills and insight that helped galvanize millions of people for several years.

But my point is that Davis, like others, retreated from life for a while, possibly not knowing how he would "re-engage" with life after his enforced time of self-exile. Other examples are not hard to find. Indeed, many of us retreat from the steaming cauldron of life's battles for a variety of reasons. But the last words of the Apostle are to rekindle the gift. Don't let it lay unused forever. Now may be the time for you or others you know to rekindle a gift they have. You will not live a satisfied or fulfilled life in faith if you continually ignore the inner tuggings of your heart to (re)kindle gifts you know are yours. What explorations are you desirous of pursuing? Which voices are you trying to tamp down? Which gift do you need to rekindle today? The world will be grateful for your expressing the gifts you know are yours--and you will feel a deep and abiding sense of personal satisfaction.

B. Don't Be Ashamed (vv. 8-12)

The Apostle then counsels his young friend not to be ashamed of the Gospel, since he himself is not ashamed of the message he brings. I think that his advice is not only helpful with respect to the specific point he makes (not being ashamed to admit our faith), but has a more general application. Shame is an ever-present and dominant emotion in many people's lives. We are ashamed of so much from our past, much of which we had no power to control. People are often ashamed of their family of origin or the types of behavior that went on in that family, some of which they were powerless to affect. People are ashamed about their education, their injuries or failures from youth that still "stay with them" today. Then, there are the shames from the present. These range from actual crimes we or others may have committed to failures we experienced to bad decisions we have made.

There is so much that tends to shame us in life. Others try to "help" us feel ashamed, too, through their unfeeling comments about our appearance, our past, our being a "loser," our being "worthless." We are shamed by people who want to withhold information from us or talk to us in ways that aren't clear so that they can get or maintain an advantage over us. You can and probably should add your own reflections on the "shamings" that you see or experience "out there." Make no mistake about it, however. All of these shamings add up and make us a little less hopeful about the day.

The Apostolic advice is for us not to be ashamed. I wonder if this is easier said than done. Certainly the point is the goal to which we aspire, but shame tends to cling to us like mold to a bathroom wall, like cellophane or plastic that we have rubbed against us and just can't seem to remove from our skin or throw away. The thing that removes the shame in the passage is knowledge of "the one in whom I have put my trust" (v. 12). Christ, then, is the great shame-remover. In the majority of cases, I would say that this, along with conversations with trusted other people, will allow a person not only to "rekindle the gift" but to feel that the shame that has so long bound a person need not control his/her destiny or future.

C. Guard the Treasure (vv. 13-14)

It is appropriate that this be the last word for, in some ways, it is the most important one. We find our utility and meaning in life when we realize the task we have to do here in life. Let me quickly add, however, that this is not always clear to us, even probably up to the moment of our death. But the purpose of kindling the gift or of eliminating the shame is not simply to have a "gifted" and "unshamed" person running around on the earth. The purpose is better to guard the great treasure that is entrusted to us.

In using this language to describe the final exhortation, the author picks up on Pauline language in II Cor. 4. Let's hear that passage, since it provides such a great context to hear this passage.

"For it is the God who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us" (II Cor 4:6-7).

And then, once Paul has stated this basic theological point, he becomes as eloquent as he ever does in his epistles. Listen to the next words:

"We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair, persecuted but not forsaken, struck down, but not destroyed, always carrying in the ody the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies" (II Cor. 4:8-10).

Certainly for the Apostle Paul the act of having the treasure is all the more reason to guard this treasure.

Conclusion

Learning to pay close attention to someone's final words prepares us to be good listeners in all of life. But that is another (long) story. Suffice it to say for today that if we follow these three simple three-word clauses we have a template for a useful and satisfying life of faith.

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