THE WORD OF GOD TRANSFORMS US


SAINTS TIMOTHY AND TITUS, BISHOPS  

Titus 1:1-5 or 2 Tim 1:1-8; Ps 96:1-3,7-8,10; Mk 3:22-30

The Power of the Word of God

We celebrate the memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus, who were companions of Saint Paul at some point in his preaching mission. In each of the letters Saint Paul addressed to them, we clearly note the statement of Paul’s dedication to the Gospel, which is the Word of God for the salvation of all men. To Timothy, he writes: “From Paul, appointed by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus in his design to promise life in Christ Jesus; to Timothy, dear child of mine, wishing you grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Christ Jesus our Lord.” Paul emphasised the importance of his call and dedication to the revealed plan of God for the fulfilment of His promise of eternal life in Jesus Christ. He came to the knowledge of his appointment through his encounter with the Word of God. The deep knowledge of his call and vocation was the means through which Timothy was also called and appointed as a disciple of the Word. He so entered into the Spirit of the Gospel that he considered himself to have taken the place of Jesus Christ in bringing Timothy to the faith; Hence, he addressed him as a dear child of his. This points to the transforming power of the Word of God.

We see the same communication and communion in his letter to Saint Titus. Because he was a fruit of his consecration to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, Saint Paul addressed him as his child. “To Titus, true child of mine in the faith that we share, wishing you grace and peace from God the Father and from Christ Jesus our saviour.” He is able to claim the fatherhood of these saints because of his total dedication to the Gospel of Christ; thereby, he sees himself as living no more, but Christ Jesus living in him to give a new and eternal life to the souls of men. He expresses this as follows. “From Paul, servant of God, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to bring those whom God has chosen to faith and to the knowledge of the truth that leads to true religion; and to give them the hope of the eternal life that was promised so long ago by God.” Saint Paul saw himself as a medium of the eternal life God promised long ago and now fulfilled in Jesus Christ. As a member of the body of Jesus Christ, he is even more than a medium; As another Christ, he is able to give birth to sons of God, who share in the hope of eternal life that is given in Jesus Christ. The Incarnation of the Eternal Word is the revelation of the decision of God the Father to bring men to share in eternal life. The same revelation that is in Jesus Christ was within Saint Paul, and through him, in Timothy and Titus as disciples of Paul, and hence, of Jesus Christ.

The Son of Man, the Incarnate Word of God, contains the mystery of eternal life for men. He transmitted the content to his apostles and disciples when he ended his mission, ascended into heaven, and sent the Holy Spirit on them. The Gospel gives us the consternation of our Lord when the scribes attempted to remove or tarnish the content of the Word, which has authority to subdue all our enemies, win an eternal victory for us, and leave an inestimable material and spiritual spoils for us. “The scribes who had come down from Jerusalem were saying, ‘Beelzebul is in him’ and, ‘It is through the prince of devils that he casts devils out.’” Our Lord was harsh on them because they were preventing people from believing and coming to him with such utterances. In his response to these rash statements, our Lord pointed out the presence of the divine, which can overcome evil. “But no one can make his way into a strong man’s house and burgle his property unless he has tied up the strong man first. Only then can he burgle his house.” He also revealed the possible block to the divine transformation of a soul. “I tell you solemnly, all men’s sins will be forgiven, and all their blasphemies; but let anyone blaspheme against the Holy Spirit and he will never have forgiveness: he is guilty of an eternal sin.” To refuse to believe the great work of God among us, even when it is evident to all, is pure obstinacy in sin. One who does that refuses to be born of the Spirit of God; he remains an offspring of the evil one. All who are born of God proclaim the wonders of the Lord within and among us.

Let us pray: O God, who adorned Saint Timothy and Titus with apostolic virtues, grant, through the intercession of them both, that, living justly and devoutly in this present age, we may merit to reach our heavenly homeland. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.          

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