Emmanuel Church, Bungay, Suffolk

The Minister's Sermons

"Never Underestimate the Power of an Early Morning Phone Call" by Revd Bruce Waldron - 17th October 2004
I am a little sad that I have not been around to hear what Ian has been saying to you as he has worked his way through these readings from Paul's letter to Timothy. Sad, because I'm sure I would have found it edifying and inspiring and sad because I'm quite scared of saying something that may be repeating or contradicting something that Ian might have already said.
May the Holy Spirit guide my words so that this is not so, and guide your thoughts so that, if it is, you will find God's wisdom in the diversity.
Diversity isn't a bad thing, provided it is the right sort of diversity. There is, within our faith, a great deal of diversity and that's good because no one person can possibly encompass the a full understanding of God, so God creates diversity of perspective, of colour, of approach, of personality, of gender, of intellect and of temperament. All of these different ways of being contribute to the ways we begin to understand something of God who is always beyond our understanding. As soon as one person starts to believe they have all the truth, they are making God out to be like them, but bigger.
Of course Truth, in the Christian sense, is never a purely academic matter. In Christian faith, truth is not just about what we think or don't think, it is always rooted in the way we live.
People can argue until the chooks come home to roost about what this or that word or phrase means, or over this or that fine point of doctrine, but in this letter to Timothy, Paul turns to a different kind of argument, "Look at my life." He says. "This is the evidence I speak God's truth."
My lecturer in Pastoral Theology last year, made the point that a profound and primary commitment to love and compassion is a profound theological statement. In this letter, Paul devotes a considerable amount of attention to talking about people who get into endless controversies over words, who put on a form of Godliness but deny the power of it.
In other words, they talk a lot but they don't have anything in their life to show that the power of the Spirit is at work in their lives. For Paul, the proof of the truth is in the living. The aim of our walk with God is that our lives will begin to display the love and grace of Christ, persistently, consistently. Talking about it, believing it, are important because they make a difference to how we live. We have an incarnational faith, it becomes flesh, like Christ did. And that "becoming flesh" of our faith, has an impact on other people and their faith.
When I was very young Christian I remember people arguing over whether 2 Tim. 3:16 should read, "All scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction to righteousness." Or whether it should read "Every inspired scripture is given by God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction to righteousness." Both are possible accurate translations. The argument was about whether Paul means that every word of the Old Testament Scripture was inspired and useful, or whether he means that the inspired parts are inspired and useful. It was really an argument over the meaning of inspiration in the Scriptures.
The ironic thing is that people tore into each other in a most unloving and ungracious way, arguing very aggressively over the words that are supposed to be there to help us become loving and compassionate imitations of Christ. It was particularly ironic because this passage comes straight after a passage where the writer warns people to "have nothing to do with stupid and senseless controversies you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kindly to everyone, an apt teacher, patient, correcting opponents with gentleness. Pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace!"
To me, and a few other young people in the church, this arguing over doctrine nearly wrecked our faith.
"Continue in what you have learned and believed, knowing from whom you learned it." Paul writes to Timothy. "You have observed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith ,my patience, my love, my steadfastness."
Paul knows that a person's life counts, that when the steadfastness, love, patience and faithfulness of God is reflected in the life of the person of God, then it makes a huge difference to others. It encourages and inspires them.
What we do is very significant. We who are part of the church are unavoidably and unconsciously mentoring people of growing and fragile faith. What we do will have an affect on others that will far outlive our own existence.
Timothy is where he is because Paul was faithful - not only in what he said but how he was. This new leader in the church is what he is because he has learned from the life of another, and Paul knows it. He urges Timothy to the same faithfulness - to the same steadfastness of life, of patience, of faith, of love.
"Be persistent" he says, and this doesn't just mean in the words Timothy uses but in the way he uses them, the manner of his living. "Whether it's a favourable or unfavourable climate." Our faith is real if it's consistent when the chips are down, when the temptation is to let loose and be cranky and unforgiving and self centred.
It is easier to be consistent in our faithfulness to God's way if the lives of those around us is inspiring us. When we are faithful to God in our living, we are not just there for ourselves but we are enabling others to be faithful. The encouragement of your life is of inestimable value for other's faith.
The other day, I rang up my cycling and running mate Chris to see if he was wanting to go out for a run in the morning rain.
"Oh!" he groaned. "It's you. My torturer."
"Are you coming out?" I asked.
"I dunno," he said. "It's pretty pooey weather out there. (pause) Oh all right. I'll see you in half an hour."
And as we started off Chris said to me "its amazing, how easy it is to start making excuses for not going out. But if you've got someone else going out with you, it's a lot harder to make excuses because someone else is depending on you. You know it affects someone else."
So it is in the Christian life. To be spiritually fit we need accompanists, people who will run with us and our steadfastness, our persistence, affects those who travel with us, and theirs enables and encourages us.
Paul believes his life is coming to an end, and in this letter to Timothy you can hear something of a thanksgiving. Paul knows that his life has left a legacy, his faithfulness has inspired and shaped another's and for this he gives God the thanks. So may yours, and so may mine.