A few years ago, I was involved with the Presbyterian Border ministry.  In fact, First Presbyterian Church is Sapulpa had been so involved with the Presbyterian Border ministry that our church was asked to do mission work a little further into the interior where they were starting some new programs.  Since then I have been on their email list.  Monthly I receive an email detailing the work they are doing and particular prayer requests.  On Thursday I received this message from Chris the director in Nuevo Laredo: “As I fellowship with members of Victoria en Jesucristo mission here in Nuevo Laredo, I am blessed and inspired by their dependence on the Lord in every way.  This week Gloria's brother, Juventino, who has been included several times in this update, passed away after a long battle with Leukemia.  The church family has been supportive of the Hernandez family in every way but, the most sustaining support has been spiritual strength from God and encouragement from the Believing community here as well  as in Chiapas.  Hermano Guillermo sends his thanks to all of you who prayed for them over the months.  As Gloria attended to her brother in Chiapas, Saori, her granddaughter, celebrated her first birthday here in Nuevo Laredo with lots of friends and family. We are thankful to God for new life and for those who enter His presence ahead of us. Signed, Chris.”  As I sat and read this message, I felt as though I had read it a hundred times before, not because I have received similar monthly updates for years, but because the tone and content of this email message is utterly the same as the letters that Paul wrote almost two thousand years ago.  They show a deep concern for individuals and are a great witness to the faith of the writer and recipient. 

          Paul’s second letter to Timothy is an excellent example of this kind of heartfelt writing.  Paul’s letters were the earliest and most personal written witness to the gospel message.  While the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John appear before Paul’s letters in the New Testament, Paul’s letters predate the gospels.  Often we have this idea that the gospel writers recorded the details of their travels and surroundings as those things happened and upon Jesus death and resurrection published their accounts.  This was not the case.  The epistle or letter was actually the earliest written communication for the gospel message which Paul used with much success.  These letters are also more personal than the gospels.  While Luke is the only gospel that is addressed to a specific reader the content of his gospel and the others is not geared to a particular person or group of people, at least in the way that Paul’s letters are.  The gospels use a narrative form to vividly show and explain Jesus message, life, death, and resurrection.  Paul’s letters on the other hand draw on the common personal experiences of the faithful to empower and rekindle their faith.

          Last week I used the parable of Lazarus and the rich man to try to personalize the ministry that we do here.  I want to take that one more level as we look at the 2 Timothy passage today.  This letter is as personal an example as we can get.  Paul is writing from prison where he will soon die.  He is writing to give thanks to God for Timothy’s faith and to encourage him to even greater faith.  Notice his language in this letter: “Timothy my beloved child,” “I am reminded of your sincere faith,” “for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice,” and “who saved us and called us.”  Paul knows Timothy and knows his struggle and is try to lift his spirit and he is doing it in a personal way.  This is not a parable whose point is “lift up peoples faith.”  It is the living embodiment of that kind of faith. 

          What’s surprising is that Paul can be so upbeat given his situation.  Moments of crisis or impending death are not normally times to write upbeat letters to friends.  Moments of crisis are much more likely to give you writings like we read in Psalm 137 this morning. “By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion.” “How shall we sing the LORD's song in a foreign land?”  These are the responses to crisis moments we would expect.  Lamentations.  Not words of encouragement.  My grandfather died over the last Christmas break on Christmas eve in fact.  I did not want to celebrate Christmas.  I did not want be happy.  I did not want to think about what’s next.  I just wanted to be still.  I wanted to be quiet.  I wanted to sit there and watch television and be numb for hours. I wanted to sit by the shores of my own personal waters of Babylon and weep. I did not want to be upbeat and positive. 

          Paul’s response is different though.  In the midst of his troubles, Paul relies on the promises of God that he has come to know in Jesus Christ.  He does not live in a world where imprisonment is the end or even death.  He lives in a world where the possibilities are endless because nothing is outside of God’s power.  He knows that in Christ is true life in this world and in the next and that nothing in this world will stand in the way of that new life. In his letter to Timothy, Paul continues to focus on the manifestation of those promises in the lives of others.  His faith in the promises of God in Jesus Christ are made stronger as he rekindles the faith of Timothy.  Paul remembers their personal history together and the faith of Timothy’s grandmother and mother and his faith is strengthen.  All of this builds, as Paul encourages Timothy.

          One of the beauties and purposes of World Communion Sunday is that it does a similar task.  Hearing of Joanne’s experiences overseas and celebrating communion knowing that millions around the world are celebrating communion together with us unites us and encourages us in faith.  The times in my life when I have felt my faith is deepest has been in those moments where I have been involved with mission because it is there like no other place that we are able to see the true unity and true faith that we have based on the promises of God to us in Jesus Christ.  In a world that is so disconnected today, things like world communion Sunday, Paul’s letters to Timothy, and the email that I read earlier, remind us that the world and more importantly that the body of Christ is a lot smaller than we may imagine. 

          Over the next few weeks and month, as we begin our stewardship campaign, budget, and as we begin a concerted effort towards outreach and evangelism, remember the connections, unity, and common faith that we see today.  Participate in the events.  Give with a renewed sense of purpose to reach out to a broken world.  And most importantly remember to lift one another up as Paul did relying on the blessings and promises of God.