2 Tim 1:1-8 or Titus 1:1-5 / Luke 10:1-9
Introduction
Today, we celebrate two close associates of the apostle Paul. Paul put them in charge of Christian communities and wrote letters to them to tell them what is expected of leaders of Christian communities, especially how they should be servants and models of the people entrusted to them.
Instead of sending the disciples in pairs, if Jesus had sent one disciple per town, he would have covered 72 locations, rather than, say 36. Why two by two? Perhaps Jesus did so to convey a fundamental Gospel message: Christian faith is to be no solo affair, but a collective act. Christian worship and practice are to be exercised in, with, and through the community.
There is no Christian without community. Today we are celebrating the feast of two saints together—Timothy and Titus. No one works alone for the Gospel. Perhaps it is easier and far more convenient to be a solo Christian, for it is often difficult to work with others, especially when their idiosyncrasies, differences of opinion, and attitudinal problems conflict with ours. Jesus had his frustrating moments with his disciples, but he chose to have them share in his work rather than do it all by himself. For, in painstakingly dealing with such difficult moments in community, we learn to be an authentic Christian community.
How willing are you to exercise your vocational ministry in your family or workplace or in the church in shared mission?
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One of the ways to motivate people to take on higher responsibilities is to recognize the contributions they are already making and the talents they have. They need to be affirmed of whatever gifts that God has bestowed upon them so that what they have and what they are doing with it can be reinforced. When St. Paul chose Timothy and Titus to be bishops of their respective churches, he was not looking merely at their gifts and talents.
In fact, Timothy and Titus were rather young to be the bishops of the churches. Rather, St. Paul recognized the faith that they had.
And especially for Timothy, St. Paul reminded him of the sincere faith which was handed down from his grandmother and his mother. St. Paul affirmed Timothy that he saw this faith in him, and that was sufficient for him to lead the church that was entrusted to him. Here, it is good to remember that faith is not so much taught as it is caught. The faith that we have is "caught" from others - our parents, our teachers, our friends, etc. Hence, we have a faith to share, a faith that others are waiting to catch, so that they too will come to know God and believe in Him.
