"I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith."

I am in the midst of preparing for a funeral for one of our oldest members.  We will be listening to this passage from Paul's second letter to his disciple Timothy who was a pastor to community of faith.  Paul was in prison and the only way he was leaving was to travel to the executioner.  Thus he writes.....

"I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come.  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day....."  2 Timothy 4.6-8

I often recommend this passage. It reflects the truth for many: those who have battled long and hard against an unseen enemy and those who have lived very long lives. "I have founght the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith...."

When folks have faced the pain and loss and exhaustion of fighting against forces which are robbing one of health or happiness this passage can be a moment of release - a blessing on the deep truth that it is a gift that the end has come.  Loved ones have been 'poured out' as a libation (which is an offering to God), drained of strength and often they have lost their very sense of self.

For those who have lived a long life, it speaks to the endurance needed to cling to God over long distances and through multiple obstacles.  They are ready to rest in the arms of their Savior, to be received into the heavenly places in ways only God can know.

"I have kept the faith......"  These are the words that capture my attention.  I'm in the faith business and sometimes it is a challenge for me to keep the faith.  The ethereal business of faith is practiced in the rough and tumble world of sin; the demands of discipleship are layered over the demands of making a living and keeping afloat.  When one recognizes that being a person of faith means bringing the teaching of Jesus out of the clouds and into the present, the work gets harder.  Sin is not an abstract concept; we run into it everyday and it often makes our days more than difficult.

Faith in Jesus is a relationship, and a relationship with Jesus will transform.  With each authentic encounter with the truth of God's love for the world in Jesus, we are opened to newer vistas: new ways of thinking, new ways of being, and new content for our confessional conversations with God.  Authentic relationship with Jesus brings peace, while at the same time, it brings every part of our lives into a bright light/

Trusting that God is in charge, that Jesus reigns, that tomorrow can and will be different than today because it is all in God's hands - the God who through the Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead - to trust that promise is no small feat.  To trust in that God while experiencing chemo or watching a loved one disappear to dementia, or commending our 21 year old grandson into God's hands.....that is hard work.  Allowing God to push and pull us into a deeper faith life, allowing ourselves to be open to the Spirit's call to both action and repentance, listening for God today when you are in your 90th year of todays is also hard work.

What can we do?  How can we be strengthened for this difficult journey?  We can come to the table to encounter the risen Jesus.  We can study and listen to God's Word in the old stories of faith in the modern examples of it.  We can travel among the lost and lonely so to be God's hands at work in this world.

I need to do this again and again and again.  Otherwise I will lose sight of the Jesus who has claimed me for life.  Otherwise, I would become one of the lost ones.

What about you?