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Posts Tagged ‘Timothy’

Prominent Women

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 28, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Acts 17:4, 12
Some of the Jews were persuaded [in Thessalonica] and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and not a few prominent women… Many of the Jews believed [in Berea], as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.

I don’t really know much about ancient Greece except that men viewed women in much the same way as women were viewed in Israel and other ancient cultures. Generally, women were relegated to the home and were not encouraged to participate in politics or other “manly” pursuits. And yet, there seemed to be a group of women who broke this mold and managed to become “prominent” or influential all the same. I think most people assume these women were wealthy or connected to free-thinking fathers or husbands who encouraged their independence and abilities.

These were women of power.

And so, when Paul specifically notes that these “prominent women” became believers, this was important. Their faith and leadership would make a difference. Their stand for the Christ would bring others to the faith.

Women have changed the face of our world many times. In recent years, the women’s movement gave rise to prominent women in a variety of fields and interests. [See Women’s Hall of Fame for a short list of just American women who had made a mark.]

Who are the prominent women of faith today (in my own lifetime)? Who is really using her influence and placement to further the message of Christ? I’d really like to start building a list. Can you help? Do these qualify? What makes a woman influential? What makes a woman prominent?

Phyllis Tickle, Mother Teresa, Joyce Meyer, Pearl S. Buck, Joni Eareckson Tada, Beth Moore, Kay Arthur, Sandi Patty?

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For Appearances’ Sake

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , on November 20, 2009| 1 Comment »

Acts 16:3a
Paul wanted to take him [Timothy] along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area…

Well, this certainly took me off guard. First, all those promises of freedom for the gentiles who were coming into the faith (including release from having to get circumcised), then, that freedom was tweaked and the gentiles had to follow at least “some” of the laws and it was assumed they would attend synagogues for ongoing instruction. Now, poor Timothy, who was already well respected by the all the believers in Lystra and Iconium, is tapped by Paul to join their band of merry men and become a leader among the believers. Paul wanted to bring Timothy along on the missionary journey. But… and there it is … but!… Paul insisted that Timothy be circumcised!

And the reason? Apparently, it was known that Timothy’s father was Greek and appearances required that he be circumcised. They all agreed that Timothy’s new leadership position required stricter adherence to the laws and traditions of Judaism. He basically needed to “go under the knife” to give himself additional legitimacy.

This outward act did nothing to bring Timothy any closer to God. Its primary purpose was to ease the perceptions of others.

Do we do this with our own leadership? Do we require the outer trappings in order to feel more confident of the person’s heart?

No one does well under the microscope. There is a fabulous episode of Twilight Zone called “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street.” The entire story is built around the power of speculation and interpretation of innocent events which lead to distrust and tragedy. In the end, the aliens really have landed and they discover how easy it was to create paranoia and panic, concluding that the easiest way to conquer the Earth is to let the people of the Earth destroy themselves, one “Maple Street” at a time. We can destroy one another with our assumptions based on appearances.

This is human nature. But, as believers, shouldn’t we look beyond appearances? Let us not put heavier “expectations” on our leaders for the wrong reasons: for appearances’ sake. Let us, instead, look to the heart.

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Born of God

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 6, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 1:12, 13b
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God … born of God.

This is the gift of Christ Jesus, to have the flame within ignited by the Spirit of God. We are born… or reborn… this is the root of the saying, “born again.”

As I mentioned before, we all have the light, but our personal light needs to be linked to the Source.

And once that happens, as Paul tells Timothy (2 Timothy 1:6), “… I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you…” We do this through the personal devotion, koinonia [community], and connecting with the flame of others.

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On Virtue 5

Posted in Fifty days with Jesus, tagged , , , , on October 16, 2008| Leave a Comment »

This idea of recognizing good in order to “do it” is discussed in the Pastor’s blog today. Since we may fail in identifying good from within, another way may to model our behavior based on observation of another.

Certainly, our greatest model is Christ. In II Timothy 1:13, Paul tells Timothy to model his behavior after him, “What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus.” During on of our bible study discussions, we talked about the people who were our first or stand-out examples of someone who walked out in authenticity as a Christian. These were people we can model after even today.

In acting school, we were taught many different kinds of acting styles, but generally, they all fall into two basic types, one is discovery of truth from within and the other is to create the outer appearance and behaviors and by doing so, discover truth. These two concepts can hold true here.

If you’re inner life and connection to Christ is not strong enough yet to guide you, then model your behaviors and choices on those whose journey reflects “moral excellence.”

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