When kneeling keeps us in good standing – Friday, 23rd week in ordinary time–I Timothy 1: 1-2, 12-14

From today, our scripture readings focus on St Paul’s letter to Timothy. Along with the letter to Titus, these letters form what are called the Pastoral Epistles because they are addressed to shepherds or pastors of the Christian communities and because they deal with church life and practice.

Timothy, like Titus was one of Paul’s closest companions. Timothy was born of mixed Jewish and pagan parentage and at some stage becomes a Christian and a follower of Paul; this after meeting him at Lystra (Acts 16: 1-3). He serves as Paul’s representative on missions to Thessalonica, to Corinth and probably also to Philippi. He was in close contact with Paul during his imprisonment in Ephesus and was with him in Corinth when the letter to Romans was written(JBC).

The letter of St Paul to Timothy is interesting because in these letters, we get a picture of an infant Church caught in a ‘sea of paganism.’ The early Christians were constantly lured back to their old ways. Once again, as in the Colossian community, false teachers attempted to lure the community to teachings of Jewish myths, the promotion of extreme asceticism which opposed marriage, the abstinence from food and the belief that the resurrection of the believers was already accomplished.