Homily 10 — Second Timothy 4, verses 9 to 22

“Make every effort to come to me soon. For Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has gone to Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Take Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for the ministry. And Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. When you come, bring the cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus, and the books, but especially the parchments.” [a]

It is worth asking why he calls Timothy to him, since Timothy had been entrusted with a church, and with a whole nation. It was not from arrogance. Paul was ready to go to him himself; we find him saying, “But if I am delayed, so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God” (First Timothy 3, verse 15). But he was held back by hard necessity. He was no longer master of his own movements. He was in prison; Nero had shut him up, and he was all but at the point of death. So that death would not come before he saw his disciple, he sends for him, wanting to see him before he dies, and perhaps to give him many instructions. That is why he says, “Hurry to come to me before winter.”

“For Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world.” He does not say, “So that I may see you before I leave this life,” which would have grieved Timothy, but, “because I am alone,” he says, “and have no one to help or support me.” [c]

“For Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has gone to Thessalonica.” That is, he loved his own ease and his safety from danger, and chose to live in luxury at home rather than suffer hardships with me and share the danger I am in now. Paul blames him alone. He does not do it for the sake of blaming him, but to make us firm, so that we will not grow soft and unmanly and shrink from toil and danger; for that is what “having loved this present world” means. At the same time he wants to draw his disciple to him.

“Crescens to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.” These he does not criticize. Titus was one of the most admirable of men, so much so that Paul entrusted him with the affairs of the island — and no small island, I mean, but that great one, Crete.

“Only Luke is with me.” Luke stayed with him and never left him. It was he who wrote the Gospel and the Acts. He was devoted to hard work and to learning, and a man of courage. Of him Paul writes, “whose praise is in the Gospel throughout all the churches” (Second Corinthians 8, verse 18). [d]

“Take Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for the ministry.” It is not for his own relief, but for the ministry of the good news; for even in prison he did not stop preaching. So it was for the same reason that he sent for Timothy: not for his own sake, but for the sake of the good news, so that his death might cause no upheaval among the faithful. With many of his own disciples present, there would be people to prevent disorder and to comfort those who could hardly bear up at his death. For it is likely that the believers at Rome were people of standing. “And Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. When you come, bring the cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus, and the books, but especially the parchments.”

The word translated “cloak” here may mean a garment, or, as some say, a bag in which the books were kept. But what did a man about to depart and go to God want with books? He needed them badly, so that he could leave them in the hands of the faithful, who would keep them in place of his own teaching. All the faithful, then, were about to suffer a great blow, but especially those who were present at his death and had enjoyed his company until then. The cloak he asks for so that he will not have to accept one from someone else. We see him making a great point of avoiding that. Elsewhere, speaking to the elders from Ephesus, he says, “You know that these hands ministered to my needs” (Acts 20, verses 34 and 35); and again, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” [f]

Verse 14: “Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm; may the Lord repay him according to his works.” Here he again mentions his trials, not without purpose, but so that his disciple might bear them firmly. Even if the people who cause these trials are mean and contemptible and without honor, they must all, he says, be borne with courage. For the one who suffers wrong from some great personage gains no little distinction from the rank of the one who wrongs him; but the one injured by a vile and abject person is galled all the more. “He did me much harm,” he says; that is, he persecuted me in all sorts of ways. But these things will not go unpunished! For the Lord will repay him according to his works. As he said above: “What persecutions I endured! Yet out of them all the Lord delivered me” (Second Timothy 3, verse 11). So here too he comforts his disciples in two ways: that he himself had suffered wrong, and that the other would be repaid for his evil deeds. Not that the saints rejoice in the punishment of those who persecute them; but the cause of the good news required it, and the weaker would draw comfort from it.

Verse 15: “You also must beware of him, for he has strongly opposed our words.” That is, he is hostile to us and opposes us. Paul has not said, “Take revenge, punish him, drive him out,” though by the grace given him he could have done so. He does nothing of the kind, nor does he arm Timothy against him. He only tells him to avoid the man, leaving vengeance to God; and for the comfort of the weaker he has said these things. That he says them to prepare the mind of his disciple is clear also from what follows. But see how he mentions others of his trials. [h]

Verse 16: “At my first defense,” he says, “no one stood with me, but all forsook me. I pray God that it may not be held against them.” Do you see how he spares his friends, even though what they had done was grievous? For it is not the same thing to be despised by strangers as by our own friends. Do you see how deep his dejection is? Not strangers only, he means, but friends: these too betrayed me. “All,” he says, “forsook me.” And this was no light offense. If the man who in war abandons a comrade exposed to danger, and shrinks from facing the enemy’s hands, is justly struck down by his own friends as one who has betrayed their whole cause, how much more in the case of the good news! But what “first defense” does he mean? He had stood before Nero and had escaped. But afterward, because he had converted Nero’s cup-bearer, he was beheaded. And here again, in what follows, is encouragement for his disciple.

Verse 17: “But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me.” Though men deserted him, God does not let him come to any harm. “He strengthened me,” he says; that is, he gave me boldness in speaking; he did not let me sink. “So that through me the preaching might be fully known.” That is, might be fulfilled. Notice his great humility. He does not say that God strengthened him because he deserved the gift, but “so that the preaching” entrusted to me “might be fully known” — as if someone wearing a purple robe and a diadem owed his safety to that alone. “And that all the Gentiles might hear.” What does this mean? That the splendor of the good news, and the care of his providence for me, might be made known to all. [j]

“And I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.” Verse 18: “And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work.” See how near to death he had come. He had fallen into the very jaws of the lion; for he calls Nero a lion, because of his ferocity and the violent and daring character of his rule. “The Lord delivered me,” he says, “and will deliver me.” But if he says, “He will deliver me,” why does he say, “I am ready to be offered up”? Pay attention to the wording. “He delivered me,” he says, “from the lion’s mouth”; and again, “He will deliver me” — not from the lion’s mouth, but “from every evil work.” Then he delivered me from danger; but now that enough has been done for the good news, he will deliver me again, from every sin. That is, he will not let me depart under condemnation. For to resist to the point of blood, “striving against sin” (Hebrews 12, verse 4), and not to give way, is deliverance from another lion, the devil. So this rescue is greater than the former, though he seems to be given up.

“And will preserve me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.” This, then, is salvation: when we shine out there. But what does “He will preserve me for his kingdom” mean? He will free me from all blame and keep me safe there. For to be preserved for his kingdom is this: to die here for its sake. For “whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (John 12, verse 25). “To him be glory.” Look, here is a doxology to the Son. [k]

Verse 19: “Greet Priscilla and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus.” For Onesiphorus was then in Rome — the man of whom he said, “May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day” (Second Timothy 1, verse 18). By naming him this way, he makes his household more eager for such good deeds too. “Greet Priscilla and Aquila.” These are the ones he mentions again and again, with whom he had lodged, and who had taken Apollos in. He names the wife first, I suppose because she was more eager and more faithful, for it was she who had then taken Apollos in; or it may have been done without any particular reason. It was no small comfort to them to be greeted like this. It was a mark of esteem and love, and a share in much grace. For the mere greeting of that holy and blessed man was enough to fill whoever received it with grace.

Verse 20: “Erastus stayed at Corinth, but Trophimus I left sick at Miletus.” This Trophimus and Tychicus, as we know from the book of Acts, sailed with him from Judea and were his companions everywhere, perhaps because they were more zealous than the rest. “Trophimus I left sick at Miletus.” Why, then, did you not heal him, instead of leaving him behind? The apostles could not do everything; or else they did not use their gifts of miracles on every occasion, lest more should be ascribed to them than was right. So it was with Moses, whose voice was weak. Why was this defect not removed? More than that, he was often overcome by grief and dejection, and he was not allowed into the Promised Land. [m]

For God allowed many things so that the weakness of human nature would be shown. If, even with these defects, the senseless Jews could ask, “Where is Moses, who brought us out?” — what would they not have felt toward him if he had also brought them into the Promised Land? If he had not been allowed to be overcome by fear of Pharaoh, would they not have taken him for a god? We see that the people of Lystra were affected this way in the case of Paul and Barnabas, who tore their clothes and rushed in among the crowd. And Peter, when he had healed the man lame from birth, and all were amazed at the miracle, answered and said, “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this, or why do you stare so at us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man walk?” (Acts 3, verse 12).

Hear also the blessed Paul saying, “A thorn in the flesh was given to me, so that I would not be exalted beyond measure” (Second Corinthians 12, verse 7). “But this was said out of humility.” Far from it. The thorn was not sent to him to make him humble, nor does he say this only out of humility. There are other reasons for it besides. See, then, how God, explaining it, says, “My grace is enough for you” — not “so that you may not be exalted beyond measure,” but what? “For my strength is made perfect in weakness.” So two ends were served at once: what was being done was made plainly visible, and the whole of it was credited to God. That is why he says elsewhere, “We carry this treasure in clay jars” (Second Corinthians 4, verse 7) — that is, in bodies that are weak and subject to suffering. Why? “So that the excellence of the power may be from God and not from us.” If our bodies were not subject to weakness, everything would be credited to them. And elsewhere we see him grieving over the illness of Epaphroditus, of whom he writes, “He was sick almost to death, but God had mercy on him” (Philippians 2, verse 27). And there are many other cases of his not knowing how things would turn out, which was good both for him and for his disciples.

“Trophimus I left sick at Miletus.” Miletus was near Ephesus. Did this happen when he sailed for Judea, or on some other occasion? For after he had been in Rome, he went to Spain; but whether he came back from there to these parts again, we do not know. In any case we see him deserted by all. “For Demas,” he says, “has forsaken me. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Erastus stayed at Corinth. Trophimus I left sick at Miletus.” [p]

Verse 21: “Make every effort to come before winter. Eubulus greets you, and Pudens and Linus and Claudia.” This Linus, some say, was the second bishop of the church of Rome after Peter. “And Claudia.” You see how zealous for the faith the women were, how ardent! Such were Priscilla and this Claudia: already crucified, already prepared for battle! But why, when there were so many believers, does he mention only these women? Plainly because in their resolve they had already withdrawn from worldly affairs, and were more distinguished than the others. For being a woman, as such, puts no obstacle in her way. It is the work of divine grace that this sex should be hindered only in the affairs of this life — or rather, not even in them. For a woman carries no small share of the whole management of things, as the keeper of the house; without her not even public affairs could be properly run. If people’s households were in confusion and disorder, those engaged in public life would be kept at home, and public business would be badly managed. So neither in those matters, nor in spiritual ones, is she inferior. She is able, if she wishes, to endure a thousand deaths; and in fact many women have suffered martyrdom. She is able to practice chastity even more than men, since no such strong flame troubles her;

and “holiness, without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12, verse 14); and contempt of wealth, if she will; in short, all the other virtues. [r]

“Make every effort to come before winter.” See how he presses him, yet says nothing to grieve him. He does not say, “Before I die,” so as not to distress him, but, “Before winter,” so that you will not be held up. “Eubulus greets you,” he says, “and Pudens and Linus and Claudia, and all the brothers and sisters.” He does not name the rest. Do you see that these were the most zealous?

Verse 22: “The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.” There can be no better prayer than this. Do not grieve at my departure; the Lord will be with you. And he does not say “with you,” but “with your spirit.” So the help is twofold: the grace of the Spirit, and God helping it. Otherwise God will not be with us, if we do not have spiritual grace; for if grace deserts us, how will he be with us? “Grace be with us. Amen.”

In this way he prays for himself too, that they may always be pleasing to God, that they may have grace together with the spiritual gift; for where this is, nothing will be hard to bear. Just as the man who sees the king and stands in his favor feels no unease, so too, though our friends forsake us, though disaster overtakes us, we will feel no distress if that grace is with us and strengthens us. [s]

But how will we draw grace down on ourselves? By doing what pleases God and obeying him in everything. In great houses, do we not see that the household servants in favor are those who do not look to their own interest but promote their masters’ with all zeal and eagerness, and who put everything in good order, not because the master compels them, but out of their own affection and goodwill? They are the ones always before their masters’ eyes, at work in the house, not busy with private concerns or caring for their own, but treating their masters’ concerns as their own. For the one who makes what is his own his master’s does not really give up his own to his master; rather, he makes his master’s interest his own. He gives orders in his master’s affairs as if they were his own, and rules equally with him. Often the other servants fear him as much as the master; whatever he says, his master says too; and from then on all his enemies dread him.

And if in worldly matters the one who puts his master’s interests ahead of his own does not really neglect his own interest, but advances it all the more, much more is this so in spiritual matters. Despise your own concerns, and you will receive God’s. This is what he himself wants. Despise every one of them, and seize the kingdom of heaven. Live there, not here. Be someone to be feared there, not here. If you are feared there, you will be feared not by men but by demons, and even by the devil himself. But if you rely on worldly wealth, you will be contemptible to them, and often to men as well. However rich you are, you will be rich in the things of slaves. But if you despise these things, you will be radiant in the house of the King. [t]

Such were the apostles, who despised the house of slaves and worldly wealth! And see how they gave orders in their Master’s affairs. They said: “Let this one be freed from disease, that one from demon possession. Bind this man, and loose that one.” This was done by them on earth, but it was fulfilled as in heaven. For “whatever you bind on earth,” he said, “will be bound in heaven” (Matthew 18, verse 18). And he gave them greater power than his own. That I am not lying is clear from his own words: “Whoever believes in me will do greater works than these that I do” (John 14, verse 12). Why so? Because this honor reflects on the Master. So it is in our own affairs: if the servant has great power, the master is admired all the more; for if the servant is so powerful, how much more the one who commands him! But if a servant neglects his master’s business and thinks only of his wife, his son, or his own slave, and tries to get rich and to store up treasure by stealing from his master and robbing him of his possessions, he is soon ruined, and his wealth perishes with him.

Having these examples, then, I beg you: let us not look to our possessions, so that we may look to ourselves. More than that, let us despise them, so that we may obtain them. If we despise them, he will take care of them; if we take care of them, God will despise them. Let us work at God’s concerns, not our own — or rather, truly at our own, for his are ours. I am not speaking of heaven, or of earth, or of the things of this world; these are unworthy of him, and they belong alike to the faithful and to unbelievers. What, then, do I call his? His glory and his kingdom. These are his, and ours for his sake. How? “If we have died with him,” he says, “we will also live with him. If we suffer, we will also reign with him” (Second Timothy 2, verses 11 and 12). We have become “joint heirs,” and are called his “brothers.” Why do we sink downward, when he is drawing us up toward himself? How long will we be poor and beggarly? Heaven is set before us, and do we linger on earth? His kingdom is opened to us, and do we choose the poverty that is here? Immortal life is offered to us, and do we spend ourselves on land, on wood and stones?

Be truly rich; I want you to be. Be greedy and grasping; I do not blame you for it. Here it is a fault not to be greedy; here it is blameworthy not to be grasping. What is this? “The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force” (Matthew 11, verse 12). There, be violent! Be grasping! It is not diminished by being seized. For virtue is not divided, nor is godliness lessened, nor the kingdom of heaven. Virtue increases when you seize it, whereas the goods of this life are lessened when they are seized. This is plain from the following. Suppose there are ten thousand men in a city. If all of them seize on virtue, it is multiplied, for they become righteous in ten thousand things. If no one seizes it, it is diminished, for it is nowhere to be found.

You see, then, that good things are multiplied when many possess them, while earthly goods are rather diminished by being seized. So let us not sit down content with poverty; let us choose riches. God is rich precisely when those who enjoy his kingdom are many. For “he is rich,” it says, “to all who call on him” (Romans 10, verse 12). Increase his wealth, then; and you will increase it by taking possession of it, by being greedy for it, by seizing it by force. And truly violence is needed. Why? Because there are so many obstacles — wives and children, cares and worldly business — and besides these, the demons and their ruler, the devil. So violence is needed; courage is needed. The one who takes by violence is exposed to hard labor. How? He endures everything; he struggles against hardships. How? He all but attempts the impossible. If such are those who take by violence, and we shrink from attempting even what is possible, how will we ever win? When will we enjoy the things we strive for? “The violent,” it says, “take” the kingdom of heaven “by force.” Violence and grasping are needed. For it is not simply set before us, ready to hand. [v]

The one who seizes by violence is always sober and watchful; he is anxious and thoughtful, so that he may make his seizure at the right moment. Do you not see that in war the man about to make a seizure keeps watch and stays under arms all night? If those who aim at seizing worldly goods watch and are armed all night long, should we, who want to seize spiritual things, sleep and snore in the daytime, and stay always naked and unarmed? For the one who is engaged in sin is unarmed, just as the one who practices righteousness is armed. We do not fortify ourselves with almsgiving. We do not prepare burning lamps for ourselves; we do not fence ourselves in with spiritual armor. We do not learn the way that leads there. We are not sober and watchful, and so we can seize no spoil.

If a man wants to make an attempt on a kingdom, does he not set death before his eyes in a thousand shapes? Is he not armed at every point? Does he not practice the art of war, do everything with this aim, and so rush to the attack? But we do not act this way. We want to take the spoil while we sleep, and so we come away empty-handed. Do you not see plunderers, how they flee, how fast they move, how they force their way through everything? Speed is needed here too. The devil is chasing you. He orders those ahead of you to hold you back. But if you are strong, if you are watchful, you will kick one aside, push another away, and escape them all, like a bird. Yes — if only you depart from here, if you escape from the marketplace and its uproar (I mean this life) and reach those higher regions beyond, in the world to come! For there, as in a solitary place, there is no uproar, no one to disturb you or to stop you on your way.

Have you seized it? A little more effort is still needed after the seizure, so that what you have seized is not taken from you. If we keep running, if we look at none of the things set before our eyes, if we think of nothing but how to escape those who would hinder us, we will be able to keep what we have seized in complete safety. Have you seized chastity? Do not linger; flee beyond the devil’s reach. If he sees that he cannot catch you, he will stop chasing you — just as we, when we can no longer see those who have robbed us, give up the chase: we stop pursuing them, we do not call on others to stop the thief, but let them get away. So run hard at the start, and once you are beyond the devil’s reach he will not attack you afterward. You will be safe, securely enjoying those blessings beyond words. May God grant that we all obtain them, through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be glory, power, honor, and worship, now and always, and forever and ever. Amen.