fighting, struggle

Morning Prayer - Daily Office Year 1
Epistle: I Tim. 6:6-21


The writer of 1 Timothy is speaking as Paul to his young protégé, urging him to fight the good fight, to keep his focus and not to get distracted by temptations or contentiousness.
The format of the letter, written as from a teacher to a student and giving advice for leading faithfully in a time of conflict, has similarities to what we’re doing here in the Iona School. Here, some of you are passing on a deposit of faith and learning, and some of us are preparing to carry it forward into an uncertain future.
I feel a little odd preaching to you about it, since it feels like a role-reversal – you all are to me certainly more like Paul than Timothy.
It’s also a bit odd, because a few of the themes here – namely money and conflict - are not ones comfortably addressed in our culture – but a pulpit is still one place where people partly expect and even accept occasionally being bothered about them.
This may be part of my training as a deacon – my rector, Fr. Hugh Magers, seems to feel I have a ways to go in the diaconal gift of irritating people - but there are few things more irritating, I would imagine, than someone – especially a young person - preaching to you about how to view your money, so here we go – forging right ahead.
Warnings about the love of money are particularly adamant in this passage, as in the much-misquoted verse ‘for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.’ The dangers of falling into this desire are so great, Timothy is told to shun it or flee from it. One commentary noted that this warning is as severe as those against idolotry and sexual immorality and makes this observation: "evidently some threats to piety are so subtle and so powerful that they can be dealt with only by running from them." (New Interpreter’s Bible)
I think this is a very wise defensive tactic – it may look wimpy, but it works really well. I do fencing, and one of the first and most important concepts we learn is keeping distance from your opponent. If you are farther away than your opponent can reach, you don’t get hit. It’s a very simple concept – and the most effective method of defense – just back up – get out of the way.
I think it’s good to know the areas where we’re weak or most likely to have trouble – and this is an area that universally troubles most people – this verse is probably so much quoted and misquoted because the love of money and the pains people pierce themselves with because of it are obvious in society today.
For example, there are unfortunately so many examples of this dynamic at work in our society and in our churches even, that each of us could probably name five or six without having to think hard.
Think of one example and have it in mind -- If the culprit had run away from that temptation, what might be different? Since the culprit didn’t run, what’s remembered: the noble and lonely last stand or the terrible fall?
As well as running from temptation, Timothy is urged to run or chase after a collection of virtues that all complement each other: righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness – and to ‘fight the good fight of the faith.’
Several commentaries noted that the word translated as ‘fight’ comes from the Greek word that gives us ‘agonize.’ It can be translated several ways, including ‘to struggle,’ ‘to contend,’ or ‘to compete’ as in competing for a trophy in a sports event. ‘Compete’ brings out the connotation that living faithfully requires the energy and discipline of a good athlete. (New Interpreter’s Bible) Just as athletes must practice to compete well, anyone struggling to live faithfully needs a disciplined practice as well, and it will take energy and time. ‘Contend’ and ‘fight’ include the idea of an adversary, and people trying to live faithfully certainly face adversaries, but ‘struggle’ is closer here because the meaning is more like perseverance against many kinds of odds than just combat - except that ‘struggle the good struggle’ doesn’t sound right.
This urge to ‘fight the good fight’ seems very relevant to us here, at this time. Last month, Bishop Wimberly met with the deacon candidates, and he talked some about what the church is facing in the next few months and how this intra-Episcopal struggle has been for him. ‘Agonizing’ would probably be a good word. What does it mean for the church if its members are struggling with each other? What might it mean for us in this room, as we begin to carry this struggle forward? It would seem that fights may be a given.
I think in the fact of facing struggles internally and externally, we’re not so different from the communities addressed in many of the letters, including 1 Timothy. Right from the beginning, there was conflict among members of the church, all the way through its history to the present day. These stories offer both perspective and encouragement.
Today, for example, is the lesser feast of St. Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury in the 900s. He was a confessor, among other things. I don’t know much about what being a confessor implies, except that initially, saints were given that title after enduring persecution and torture for confessing their faith rather than recanting it. St. Dunstan’s story also involves falling in and out of favor with a succession of kings and political rulers, but he stayed constant. So there was certainly struggle in his faith practice.
In light of the church’s fairly consistent behavior regarding conflict, it should probably not seem strange that we are going through it now. The issues change, but struggle itself seems fairly constant. The set of issues the Episcopal Church is wrestling with now are not what many would have chosen - I wouldn’t have picked them - but this is the situation we’ve been called to live faithfully in.
Eight years ago when I was confirmed in the Episcopal church, I didn’t know any of this was on the horizon; probably many of us didn’t. I hadn’t planned to consider ordination; the diaconate didn’t even exist in this diocese at the time. Now, a completely uncertain future with many possibilities stretches ahead, and it seems uttlerly overwhelming at times. We are learning enough here to know that there’s a whole lot we don’t know, but also getting inspired enough to want to try and do something anyway.
"Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?" (R. Browning "Andrea del Sarto: Called ‘The Faultless Painter’")
We should struggle to reach goals that are beyond our ability to achieve – like righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness – and we should also trust God to strengthen us, as we ask in the Collect for Renewal of Life: Drive far from us all wrong desires, incline our hearts to keep your law, and guide our feet into the way of peace.
And we should keep our distance from distractions – they’re not ‘the right hill to die on’. When it comes to making stands, we need to be fighting the good fight of the faith and staying away from contentiousness. Let God make up for our weakness in this area with His strength.
I think this is the other part of the message written to Timothy – struggle with all your strength and skill – and wait on the Lord, who will do things according to His plan in His good time.
This is the same dynamic as faith and works, the same as the debate about grace and the law.
We have to learn both to labor and to wait.
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Given to the Iona School for Ministry
May 19, 2007