2 TIMOTHY 2:7-10 DIVINE REFLECTION

7 Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.

8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained. 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.

St. Paul’s recipe for the life of the Christian disciple is prayerful reflection on the Christ-centered and spiritually liberating message of the Gospel. Through such reflection we are made knowledgeable about God and our proper relationship with him by divine insight. The working out of our inspired understanding of the Gospel is our living testimony to God’s nature and will through which others too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.

I take the command to Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David as a validation of the Son-centered message of both the New Testament (Jesus Christ raised from the dead) and the Old Testament (Jesus Christ descended from David). We are not free to pick and choose books of the Bible, specific passages from the Bible or even what we have divided up as the two testaments of the Bible. The whole Bible is God’s Word and it is consistent throughout. When we reflect on the Bible we must have the entire biblical message in mind. The challenge presented to us by the passages that do not instantly resonate with our experience and thinking today is not to try to figure out how it applied then but not now, but rather to seek the revelation of the timeless message that lies behind the articulation and customs of the day. There is no way we can but speculate on our own. The only way we can gain proper insight is to go to the Author in prayerful reflection, humbly and honestly seeking insight into his purpose. He who had the Disciples proclaim the Gospel in many languages to the assemble multitude on the first Pentecost after the crucifixion certainly can speak into our hearts and minds the true message of any passage of his Word.

Thankfully, this is not a solitary exercise. As St. Paul was in the community of the Apostles (and prior to that, the scripturally centered community of the Pharisees), and Timothy was in fellowship with St. Paul, we are to “read” Scripture within the corrective milieu of the community of believers, the Church. Remember that in the Garden Satan brought doubt to God’s word and in the wilderness Satan misused Scripture. The true Church throughout time has provided protection from being misled by keeping the focus on Jesus raised from the dead and affording a foil to individual rationalization.

Father, help me to keep Jesus in the center of my life and of my thinking. Keep me from too quickly dismissing as irrelevant those passages of the Bible that I do not or do not wish to understand. When I look into the pool of your Word may I see the reflection of Jesus rather than my own. Inspire me to invest all my being in listening to you and prayerfully seeking your Spirit-given insight. Amen.