For your reading, reflection, faith-sharing, comments, questions, discussion.

From: 2 Timothy 4:1-8

Dedication to Preaching

[1] I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the
living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: [2] preach the word,
be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, be unfai-
ling in patience and in teaching. [3] For the time is coming when people will not
endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for them-
selves teachers to suit their own liking, [4] and will turn away from listening to
the truth and wander into myths. [5] As for you, always be steady, endure suf-
fering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

The Crown of Righteousness

[6] For I am already on the point of being sacrificed; 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] Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which
the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me
but also to all who have loved his appearing.

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Commentary:

1. The last chapter of the letter, summing up its main themes, is in fact St Paul’s
last will and testament and has the features of that type of document: it begins in
a formal manner (vv. 1-5), protests the sincerity of his dedicated life (vv. 6-8) and
concludes with some very tender, personal messages (vv. 9-22).

The opening is couched in a solemn form (also found in 1 Tim 5:21) similar to
a Greco-Roman will, laying on the heirs an obligation to carry out the testator’s
wishes: “I charge you”; a series of imperatives follows. To underline the impor-
tance of what the testator is requesting, God the Father and Jesus Christ are
invoked as witnesses, guarantors of the commitments which will devolve on the
heirs. By swearing this document the testator is performing an act of the virtue
of religion, because he is acknowledging God as Supreme Judge, to whom we
must render an account of our actions.

“Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead”: a graphic, catechetical
expression (cf. Acts 10:42; 1 Pet 4:5), confessing belief in the truth that all men
without exception will undergo judgment by Jesus Christ, from whose decision
there is no appeal. This has become part of the Creed; in a solemn profession
of faith, the “Creed of the People of God”, Pope Paul VI elaborated on this arti-
cle of faith as we have seen in the commentary on 2 Thessalonians 1:5 above.

2. “Preach the word”: that is, the message of the Gospel, which includes all the
truths to be believed, the commandments to be kept and the sacraments and
other supernatural resources to be availed of. In the life of the Church the minis-
try of the word has special importance; it is the channel God has established
whereby man can partake of the Gospel; priests have a special duty to preach
the word: “The people of God is formed into one in the first place by the Word of
the living God, which is quite rightly sought from the mouth of priests. For since
nobody can be saved who has not first believed, it is the first task of priests as
co-workers of the bishops to preach the Gospel of God to all men. In this way
they carry out the Lord’s command, ‘Go into all the world and preach the Gos-
pel to the whole creation’ (Mk 16:15) and thus set up and increase the people
of God” (Vatican II, “Presbyterorum Ordinis”, 4).

“In season and out of season”, that is, even in adverse circumstances (cf. v. 3),
or when hearers are disinclined to accept the Christian message. Timothy and,
like him, all other sacred ministers, ought to behave towards the faithful in accor-
dance with the demands of Christian life and doctrine. “What do men want, what
do they expect of the priest, the minister of Christ, the living sign of the presence
of the Good Shepherd? We would venture to say that, although they may not ex-
plicitly say so, they need, want and hope for a priest-priest, a priest through and
through, a man who gives his life for them, by opening to them the horizons of
the soul; a man who unceasingly exercises his ministry whose heart is capable
of understanding, and a man who gives simply and joyfully, in season and even
out of season, what he alone can give—the richness of grace, of divine intimacy
which, through him, God wishes to distribute among men” (A. del Portillo, “On
Priesthood”, p. 66).

3-5. With sadness in his heart and with no little irony St Paul unmasks those
who prefer smooth talk to the truth. Earlier Cicero criticized certain Greeks who
by skillful use of words managed to delude their listeners even though they had
really nothing to say or were misleading them. However where Christian doctrine
is at stake, the danger that can be done to soul is much more grave: “Do not be
afraid, or surprised, to see the resistance of some people’s minds. There will al-
ways be stupid people who deck out the armor of their ignorance with a display
of culture” (St. J. Escriva, “Furrow”, 934).

As an antidote to empty talk, the Apostle recommends solid teaching, constan-
cy in the face of difficulty, and commitment to the ministry. St John Chrysostom
called for fidelity to the Gospel in these words: “What you should fear is not that
people might malign you but that you should be regarded as tainted with the
same hypocrisy as your detractors. For if that were the case you would become
tasteless and people would trample you underfoot. But if you offer the salt in all
sobriety and are criticized on that account, do not be dismayed; for that is what
salt is for—to irritate and disturb the corrupt. People will continue to speak evil of
you, but they will do you no harm; they will only prove your reliability” (”Hom. on
St Matthew”, 15, 7).

6-8. Conscious of his closeness to death, St Paul writes in poetic strain about
his life in the service of the Gospel, about the meaning of death and his hope of
heaven. The imagery he uses shows how he interprets his experience in the light
of faith. “On the point of being sacrificed”: literally “poured out in sacrifice”: death
is an offering to God, like the libations of oil poured on the altar of sacrifices.
Death is the beginning of a journey: “the point of my departure has come”, the
anchor is being weighed, the sails unfurled.

The Christian life is like magnificent Games taking place in the presence of God,
who acts as the judge. In Greece the Games had close connections with religious
worship; St Paul presents the Christian life as a type of spiritual sport: “races” in-
dicates the continuous effort to achieve perfection (cf. Phil 3:14); training for athle-
tics indicates the practice of self-denial (cf. 1 Cor 9:26-27); fighting stands for the
effort required to resist sin even if that means death, as can happen in the event
of persecution (cf. Heb 12:4). It is well worthwhile taking part in this competition,
because, as St John Chrysostom points out, “the crown which it bestows never
withers. It is not made of laurel leaves, it is not a man who places it on our head,
it has not been won in the presence of a crowd made up of men, but in a stadium
full of angels. In earthly competitions a man fights and strives for days and the on-
ly reward he receives is a crown which withers in a matter of hours [...]. That does
not happen here: the crown he is given is a glory and honor whose brilliance lasts
forever (”Hom. on 2 Tim, ad loc”.).

All Christians who “have loved his appearing”, that is, who stay true to Christ,
share St Paul’s expectation of eternal life. “We who know about the eternal joys
of the heavenly fatherland should hasten to reach it by the more direct route” (St
Gregory the Great, “In Evangelia Homiliae”, 16).

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: Mark 12:38-44

Jesus Censures the Scribes

[38] And in His (Jesus’) teaching He said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to
go about in long robes, and to have salutations in the market places [39] and the
best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, [40] who devour
widow’s houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the grea-
ter condemnation.”

The Widow’s Mite

[41] And He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the multitude putting
money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. [42] And a poor
widow came, and put in two copper coins, which make a penny. [43] And He
called His disciples to Him, and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor wi-
dow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. [44] For
they all contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in
everything she had, her whole living.”

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Commentary:

38-40. Our Lord reproves disordered desire for human honors: “We should notice
that salutations in the marketplace are not forbidden, nor people taking the best
seats if that befits their position; rather, the faithful are warned to avoid, as they
would evil men, those who set too much store by such honors” (St. Bede, “In
Marci Evangelium Expositio, in loc.”). See also notes on Matthew 23:2-3, 5, 11
and 14.

41-44. Our Lord uses this little event to teach us the importance of things which
apparently are insignificant. He puts it somewhat paradoxically; the poor widow
has contributed more than all the rich. In God’s sight the value of such an action
lies more in upright intention and generosity of spirit than in the quantity one gives.
“Didn’t you see the light in Jesus’ eyes as the poor widow left her little alms in the
temple? Give Him what you can: the merit is not in whether it is big or small, but
in the intention with which you give it” (St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 829).

By the same token, our actions are pleasing to God even if they are not as per-
fect as we would like. St. Francis de Sales comments: “Now as among the trea-
sures of the temple, the poor widow’s mite was much esteemed, so the least lit-
tle good works, even though performed somewhat coldly and not according to the
whole extent of the charity which is in us, are agreeable to God, and esteemed
by Him; so that though of themselves they cannot cause and increase in the ex-
isting love [...] yet Divine Providence, counting on them and, out of His goodness,
valuing them, forthwith rewards them with increase in charity for the present, and
assigns to them a greater Heavenly glory for the future” (St. Francis de Sales,
“Treatise on the Love of God”, Book 3, Chapter 2).

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

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Mass Readings

First reading	2 Timothy 4:1-8 ©

Before God and before Christ Jesus who is to be judge of the living and the dead, I put this duty to you, in the name of his Appearing and of his kingdom: proclaim the message and, welcome or unwelcome, insist on it. Refute falsehood, correct error, call to obedience – but do all with patience and with the intention of teaching. The time is sure to come when, far from being content with sound teaching, people will be avid for the latest novelty and collect themselves a whole series of teachers according to their own tastes; and then, instead of listening to the truth, they will turn to myths. Be careful always to choose the right course; be brave under trials; make the preaching of the Good News your life’s work, in thoroughgoing service.

As for me, my life is already being poured away as a libation, and the time has come for me to be gone. I have fought the good fight to the end; I have run the race to the finish; I have kept the faith; all there is to come now is the crown of righteousness reserved for me, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that Day; and not only to me but to all those who have longed for his Appearing.

Psalm	Psalm 70:8-9,14-17,22 ©