If We Die with the Lord, We shall Live with the Lord!

Homily for the Twenth-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Some Scripture scholars look at the Second Letter of St. Paul to Timothy as the great evangelist’s last will and testament. As I mentioned last week when we began to read from this particular epistle, the letter seems to address Timothy’s loss of ardor or zeal as a result of the shame or dishonor that has been evoked by St. Paul’s imprisonment. If we look at this letter as St. Paul’s last will and testament, we must ask ourselves exactly what it is that St. Paul leaves behind after his death. We know that it cannot be any kind of wealth as this man has spent his life in the service of the Gospel. Because he ends his life in prison and is eventually executed, we also know that he cannot leave behind any kind of status or celebrity in the human sense of the word. The passage from which we read today, however, gives us an understanding of how St. Paul viewed himself and his mission as the great evangelizer of the Gentiles.

The opening statement of today’s passage seems to bequeath the Gospel itself to Timothy and the community which he guides. “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.” Shortly after this statement, St. Paul quotes an early Christian hymn. In nineteen sixty-five, a French Catholic priest by the name of Lucien Deiss of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, published a setting of these words which became a familiar antiphon and acclamation which was frequently sung as the Eucharistic acclamation after the consecration of the bread and wine in the Eucharistic Prayer. “Keep in mind that Jesus Christ has died for us and is risen from the dead. He is our saving Lord and a joy for all ages.” Both St. Paul and Fr. Lucien realized that this brief statement is the central message of the Gospel. This credal statement sums up our faith. As St. Paul himself has told us, “If Christ had not been raised from the dead, our faith would be in vain.” This is St. Paul’s legacy and the gift that he bequeaths from his prison cell. This is what Paul suffered for. As he languishes in prison in Rome awaiting his eventual death, he reminds Timothy and those who come after him that suffering is an essential component of faith in the Lord Jesus.

This credal statement is followed by another of St. Paul’s rhetorical practices; namely, he includes a Christological hymn. In five brief lines, St. Paul spells out some conditions under which Christians must understand the death and resurrection of Jesus. The immediate context of the hymn gives us a clear indication of how the author wants us to interpret its five lines. In verses eight through ten, St. Paul presents himself as one who is suffering for the Gospel and remaining steadfast in his tribulations. Though he is in chains in the prison cell in Rome, he maintains that the Word of God is not nor can it ever be chained. Because the Word of God cannot be chained, Paul discounts his own imprisonment and claims that remaining steadfast in everything for the sake of the Gospel is his way toward salvation. In other words, the hymn offers consolation and hope during our battles for and over the faith. The final verse of the poem or hymn breaks the rhythm of the poem so suddenly that we are forced to stop and consider its message. Even though we may falter in our faithfulness, Jesus cannot falter; for to do so would be to disown himself.

Paul has told us in other letters that he realizes that his end is near. In the light of the coming persecution of the Church, he leaves behind this last will and testament to bolster the faith and the steadfastness of those who will be left behind. You and I stand here some two thousand years later and realize that we are called to the same faithfulness that Paul exhibits. While so much of the culture that surrounds us in our own day seeks to negate the importance of faith in God and in his son Jesus, St. Paul leaves behind a legacy of faithful obedience which he freely offers to all who have died with Christ and who seek to live with him forever. If we die with the Lord, we shall live with the Lord!