In today’s second reading, St. Paul is writing to St. Timothy, who he has left as bishop in charge of one of his new churches. Not unlike our own times, Timothy was faced with a culture that was not living in a very moral way and was not always open to the Christian message. It would have been easy for Timothy to get discouraged. So, Paul writes a letter of encouragement that we today include among the Sacred Scriptures.
Paul begins by reminding Timothy of his dignity: “But you, man of God…” He uses this rather lofty title, “Man of God” to remind him of his identity, that he has been chosen by God and entrusted with this mission not be accident. After some moral reminders, Paul then has one of his most famous lines, “Compete well for the faith.” In the Greek, it’s better rendered, “Fight the good fight of faith.” The “encouragement” Paul offers is not some reassuring platitude that “everything is alright,” but rather the truth that Timothy should not expect peace, but battle. Be ready to fight, to “lay hold” of eternal life.
Paul then shifts his language to remind Timothy of the “noble confession” he had made. Here Paul is most likely reminding Timothy of the promises he solemnly swore at his baptism. We can often think of our baptismal promises as just some words. In truth, they are a solemn oath that we have sworn to God. Rejecting Satan and choosing God is not easy, it requires battle and fighting, but like a good soldier we have sworn to engage in this fight and we must do our duty.
Finally, Paul ends with a doxology, a “word of glory” in praise of God. However, in doing so, he keeps up his rather militant theme by attacking the most powerful man in the world, Caesar. Among other truths, Paul says that Jesus is “the only ruler,” “the King of Kings and Lord of Lords” who is “alone immortal.” These were all things that the Roman emperors claimed as belonging to them. In this doxology, Paul is both praising God and essentially punching Caesar in the nose. As we might say in our contemporary culture, “Them’s fightin’ words!”