εὐαγγελίζω (euaggelizo)
“to announce the Good News of victory in battle”
“to announce the Good News of victory in battle”
“But you, man of God, pursue righteousness,
devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.”
devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.”
θεωρέω (theoreo)
(“to perceive, discover, ponder a deeper meaning”)
(“to perceive, discover, ponder a deeper meaning”)
A bit of context may be helpful to appreciate more deeply St. Paul’s exhortation to St. Timothy in this Sunday’s proclamation of God’s Word. From the New American Bible Revised Edition, 1 Timothy 6:11 states, “But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness...” The clause, “flee these things” is omitted in the Proclamation. What are “these things?” In 1 Timothy 6:1-10, St. Paul addresses a number of concerns, not the least of which include heretical teaching, sinful attitudes and actions such as “envy, rivalry, insults, evil suspicions, and mutual friction among people with corrupted minds” and a lack of “contentment” that fuels a “love for money” that becomes “root of all evils.” In the face of “these things,” St. Paul exhorts St. Timothy to 2 actions: flee and purse.
St. Paul’s call for a two-fold action, expresses an essential element of the Hebrew verb שׁוּב šuḇ (shuv). Often translated into English as return, the action of returning demands leaving, or expressed in another way: a turning from AND a turning to/towards. As important as the turning is, AND is essential - not just a turning from or a turning to, but rather both: from AND towards. This wisdom of the Hebrew Scriptures distills an insight expressed by the Aristotelian axiom (admittedly somewhat debated), ‘nature abhors a vacuum.’ Put simply, removing 1 reality requires consciously filling that newly formed emptiness with another reality. Failure to do so, results in some other element, normally some form of chaos (sin), filling the void.
In the catechesis St. Paul offers St. Timothy, grace initiated attitudes and works of “righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness” are the conscious engagements that fill the void when one turns from “envy, rivalry, insults, evil suspicions, and mutual friction.” It is noble to desire the ridding of “envy, rivalry, insults, evil suspicions, and mutual friction” and even more praiseworthy to avoid these intentionally. Yet from the human side of daily living, one will fail miserably unless this riddance is approached from the perspective of grace and putting right or proper actions in their place.
Each response encouraged by St. Paul easily involves a lifetime of reflecting and executing as well as reflection to know what needs to be done in the light of grace and the actual doing initiated and sustained by the grace of the Holy Spirit. It is interesting to note that the list of essential activities sounded by St. Paul begins with righteousness (δικαιοσύνη dikaiosynē). The English word righteous certainly expresses praiseworthy behaviors generally summarized as an upright, moral way of living that keeps and observes legal stipulations. Without a doubt, this sense of righteousness truly is a good for individuals and society. Yet the biblical sense offers additional nuances, especially important and challenging for a disciple of Jesus.
Many times in the Greek translation of the Old Testament (Septuagint), righteousness (δικαιοσύνη dikaiosynē) is the translation of צַדִּיק (ṣaddiyq). Saddiyq certainly expresses a morally upright manner of living. Yet it is an upright life lived in response to the Covenant. It is because of the commitment to the relational ideals of the Covenant that one chooses freely to live an upright life. Right or proper relational living with God, others, the true self and all creation is the Covenant’s basis for all righteous thoughts, words and deeds. All righteous choices elected by a person aim at intensifying the relational bonds of living.
For St. Paul, opting not to choose “envy, rivalry, insults, evil suspicions, and mutual friction” because such are disordered or violate a law is good. Yet the disciple of Jesus is motivated to turn from these and turn to Him. It is because each has been offered, generously and gratuitously, a life-giving relationship with Father, Son and Holy Spirit that one flees “envy, rivalry, insults, evil suspicions, and mutual friction” and pursues the holiness of God the Father.
St. Paul’s call for a two-fold action, expresses an essential element of the Hebrew verb שׁוּב šuḇ (shuv). Often translated into English as return, the action of returning demands leaving, or expressed in another way: a turning from AND a turning to/towards. As important as the turning is, AND is essential - not just a turning from or a turning to, but rather both: from AND towards. This wisdom of the Hebrew Scriptures distills an insight expressed by the Aristotelian axiom (admittedly somewhat debated), ‘nature abhors a vacuum.’ Put simply, removing 1 reality requires consciously filling that newly formed emptiness with another reality. Failure to do so, results in some other element, normally some form of chaos (sin), filling the void.
In the catechesis St. Paul offers St. Timothy, grace initiated attitudes and works of “righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness” are the conscious engagements that fill the void when one turns from “envy, rivalry, insults, evil suspicions, and mutual friction.” It is noble to desire the ridding of “envy, rivalry, insults, evil suspicions, and mutual friction” and even more praiseworthy to avoid these intentionally. Yet from the human side of daily living, one will fail miserably unless this riddance is approached from the perspective of grace and putting right or proper actions in their place.
Each response encouraged by St. Paul easily involves a lifetime of reflecting and executing as well as reflection to know what needs to be done in the light of grace and the actual doing initiated and sustained by the grace of the Holy Spirit. It is interesting to note that the list of essential activities sounded by St. Paul begins with righteousness (δικαιοσύνη dikaiosynē). The English word righteous certainly expresses praiseworthy behaviors generally summarized as an upright, moral way of living that keeps and observes legal stipulations. Without a doubt, this sense of righteousness truly is a good for individuals and society. Yet the biblical sense offers additional nuances, especially important and challenging for a disciple of Jesus.
For St. Paul, opting not to choose “envy, rivalry, insults, evil suspicions, and mutual friction” because such are disordered or violate a law is good. Yet the disciple of Jesus is motivated to turn from these and turn to Him. It is because each has been offered, generously and gratuitously, a life-giving relationship with Father, Son and Holy Spirit that one flees “envy, rivalry, insults, evil suspicions, and mutual friction” and pursues the holiness of God the Father.
Podcast featuring an excerpt from Saint Peter Chrysologus’
Sermon 122 —
Sermon 122 —
