Paul was a man of great passion and determination.
After being confronted by the event of the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, he realised that the Creator God, in keeping with His grandfather’s Hebrew stories, had fulfilled His promises and revealed His purposes in a way that no other civilisation had seen before. This was during a time when Rome was dominating the current military, economic and political stage. Its power games, military conquests and financial markets were advancing across the known world, ushering in a new globalised age of technology and trade.
However, Paul was unimpressed with the ‘powers’ and ‘principalities’ that were at work. The ancient scriptures had already told of a time when men found common language to coordinate one another and common building blocks to assemble towers that would reach to the heavens. These towers did not release life into the earth nor liberate people to be more human. Instead they turned artisans into technicians and communities into factories. The Hebrew prophets had repeatedly warned that humanity had the ability to focus on things that would only consume them. Not all of the games we play and the goals we can reach are necessarily life giving. Paul himself had been witness to what amazing exploits were possible when people coordinated their efforts as one. And he knew what it felt like to give himself passionately to dreams that were built on fantasies and fallacies.
So, although the new systems brought massive social breakthroughs and the technology of the time was cutting edge, Paul knew that beneath all the excitement, something even more revolutionary was seething. Behind the social fabric of Roman society and underneath the class structure of a multinational world, he realised that the Creator was inviting and assembling and creating an entirely new breed of human being. All across the Roman empire, Paul was discovering individuals who had already been chosen to be part of this new creation. Throughout every city and neighbourhood he simply announced the news of this long promised reality having begun in Jesus. And out of the woodwork, a movement of people began emerging. These were people from all walks of life and all stratas of society. Some were Roman officials. Other were Jewish businessmen. Many were migrants from other countries trying to survive within the Roman economy. And now they were flocking together like backpackers from a common hometown. The good news of what ‘Father’ had done with Jesus struck a chord with a strange selection of people and they began assembling together like paratroopers regrouping behind enemy lines. The old fear tactics and the latest fads suddenly looked like dead and obsolete idols. They turned away from the usual hooks – money, sex and power – like they were going out of fashion. And instead they rallied together like outposts of an advancing Kingdom – identified by their King, practicing the ways of their King, advancing the image of their King.
For Paul, this was a mystery. Never before had anyone expected Greek philosophers to join with Barbarian warlocks and Roman centurions to celebrate the blood and body of a rural Jewish carpenter. No one could have ever predicted how an obscure, failed, minor political party leader would model for the entire world the kind of leadership that would truly bring life to companies and communities. No other rabbi ever imagined that it would be through Israel’s weaknesses that God’s character would finally be revealed to the world and that through Abraham’s insignificant little family, truth would be embodied and shine like a beacon to all the nations of the earth.
And now, after a lifetime of seeing this mystery at work everywhere he went, Paul finds himself chained up in a Roman prison. After all, not everyone is thrilled by the advance of a new government into the land. Not only is change threatening to the average person to grapple with. It is also damning for those who have vested interests in the old way of doing things. And Paul has faced both. He has had to deal with people who have gathered around the news he has brought to town – and tried to use it as a way to make money. He has also had to deal with people who are responsible for exerting Roman authority against any and all other forms of government. But now, it seems that these groups will win – and Paul knows it.
He will soon be beheaded.
The people in the community who betrayed him have succeeded in their jealous plot. The administrators of Roman authority have judged him to be a threat to the stability of the Roman empire. And like His master, Paul will end his life’s work looking like a complete failure. Not only has he been outrun by the system. His own friends have now abandoned him. Those that received the good news from him with such joy in Asia now will not even admit that they know him. Colleagues who used to work with him cannot afford to be associated with him.
But this is not what is concerning him.
He shows no sign of regret, disappointment or defeat. In fact, it is precisely in this place of weakness and vulnerability that he is convinced that His gospel wins. Paul writes from his prison cell with sober frailty – as a now elderly man bracing himself for the winter in a Roman jail. But his writing exudes a stunning confidence and a shameless invitation.
His only concern is that Timothy will miss the whole point of this adventure that they have shared. Together, they have planted churches, mentored governors, confronted injustice, reinvigorated Jewish tradition with fresh fulfilment, translated truth from Hebrew narrative into Greek concepts and proclaimed it in the metaphors of the day. They have travelled thousands of kilometres together and spent decades of close friendship and partnership.
But if Timothy thinks that this is about being ‘successful’, he will be terribly embarrassed by this pathetic ending. If Timothy thinks this is about looking good, getting stuff done or changing the world, he will be deeply discouraged by this setback.
Paul will have none of this.
This is about one thing – and one thing only: The Good News of the Creator’s Kingdom. It has definitively arrived in the resurrection of Jesus, it is advancing through those who will trust His spirit amongst us and it will fill the entire earth with resurrection life not too far hence.
His last words to Timothy are not shy, scared or sad. They are powerful, clear and compelling. Like only a dying man can do, he calls Timothy back to the things that really matter. And after all his years in the system, outside of the system, confronting the system, Paul is not uncertain about what is ahead of Timothy. But he is even more confident about what is inside of Timothy.
We, today, need this kind of clarity.
We live in an era when technological advance and sociological change is occurring at an unprecedented rate. The rich heritage of historical christianity is being passed from the age-old institutions of Western religion to fragile grass roots movements of new tribes and bands sporting radically different logos, labels and languages. The dreams of the modern age and the disillusionments of the postmodern weigh our industries down while a new generation rises up seeking new convictions to give purpose to our impressive digital capabilities.
Our community in particular is in a phase where there is much activity advancing on the fringes. New projects, house churches, families and businesses are all demanding our time and our energy. We have the privilege of being busy with opportunities to proclaim truth, father and mentor a new generation, enjoy authentic relationships and to engage and shape industries and companies. We are pushing out new frontiers and taking on larger responsibilities.
In amongst all of this Paul becomes a signpost on the road to call us back to our core. It is not enough for us to simply do more and more things. Rather, we must do what we have been given to do with more and more meaning. We must draw from the deep convictions of our identity and purpose and infuse all of our work with it.
This season is an opportunity for us to clarify what it is that we must pass on to the next generation. It is a time to drill down and cut away at the peripheral baggage of our religion and to recover a death conquering understanding of the world.
This is an invitation to sit down together with Timothy, to join with others around this precious letter from Paul. It is an excuse to connect with one another around things that really matter. Here is discussion material, deep questions and provocative statement – fuel for thoughtful, heartfelt conversation.
Most of all, whenever we encounter death and people who are dying – whether that be Jesus on a cross, or Paul on death row – it is a call to relook at God, to challenge our view of success and to learn to worship all over again.
Dying men don’t shout.
They whisper.
And those who care, gather close around the bedside and listen.
Come closer
and join me in the listening.
