1 Timothy 1:13-17 "Scorpions"

Being a pastor is not always an easy job – especially when you are starting a church from scratch! The Apostle Paul understood this fact of life – which was why he took the time to write to one struggling young church leader in Ephesus named Timothy. Actually, it was why Paul wrote numerous letters to those nascent faith communities that he had nurtured in his extensive travels throughout Asia Minor, and many of these letters that have survived make up the bulk of our New Testament.

You see, the Pauline epistles take up more word space than any other group of writings in this Christian part of our Holy Scriptures – more than the Acts of the Apostle, the Book of Revelation, and even the Gospels.

However, did you know that many modern Biblical scholars do not believe that Paul himself wrote each and every letter included in our Canon? Their research into everything from vocabulary and literary style to comparative theology would indicate that the later letters were written by people who took Paul’s name as a respected and honored teacher to boost their own street cred, a common practice in antiquity. By using Paul’s name, these later authors simply hoped that people would actually read what they had written and take it to heart.

This letter to Timothy that we are focusing on this morning is one of those later epistles – probably not written by Paul himself but still a remarkable look into the life of an early Christian church community. As U.C.C. pastor Kate Huey wrote, “After (Paul) (and, in this case, “Paul” in quotes) left a church behind, he wrote letters back to it, offering advice and encouragement, and today our churches hear these letters as if they were written to us as well.

Once a church is planted and attracts enthusiastic people, there's work to be done to help them thrive, to grow in God's love, and besides, you know how people are: every time we come together, whether we form a book club or start a religious order, organize a softball league or get married--dare we say, "establish an institution"--there are going to be matters to be handled, questions, challenges, and of course a few rough spots along the way.”

Rev. Huey continues by pointing out that “Paul is writing back to his young friend to encourage and guide him, and he begins his letter of instruction by establishing his credentials, or at least his credibility, by reminding Timothy that he, Paul, was "the foremost" of sinners, and yet one whose life was transformed by the power of God's mercy and grace.

Everyone knows his story, when Paul--a man of deep and sincere faith--was so sure of himself and the rightness of his cause, back when he was persecuting Christians, and yet God knocked him off his horse and blinded him until his heart and mind were opened to the grace of Jesus Christ in his life. That call on the road to Damascus, the experience of life-changing grace and his response to it, gives Paul authority to write the things he is about to tell Timothy.”

But today – this morning – we are not going to look at the nitty gritty details of the letter, such as protocol for church worship, expectations for church leadership, qualifications for helpers in the church, and admonitions against false teachings – all of which are found in later chapters of this epistle.

No – today we are going to simply rest for a few brief moments in this beautiful Pauline personal confession that we just read and be soothed by the acknowledgement of God’s grace that flows from this passage. “The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” Surely – if you have ever examined your own life to any great extent and acknowledged your foibles and petty failures - it can not get much better than that!

There was once a school teacher who, for reasons of her own, asked the children one day: "If all the bad children were painted red and all the good children were painted green, which color would you be?" One very wise child answered the teacher: "Striped.” Surely, as that child recognized, even we who have done pretty well for ourselves, even we are in need of God’s abundant love and mercy overflowing.

You see, each one of us is a curious combination of black and white, right and wrong, dark and light, lost and found. As United church of Canada pastor Richard Fairchild reminds us, “Rarely are we completely lost. And rarely are we completely found. There is always a part of us that needs to be dragged and cajoled into the light, and there is always a part of us that is already there. (However), the wonderful thing is that the lost part of us (the black part, the wrong part, the dark part) is as valuable to God as the found part, (the white part, the right part, the light part). God wants to bless us - all of us.”

Dutch Reformed pastor and professor Henri Nouwen told a story once about an man who used to meditate each day on the Ganges River in India.

One morning he saw a scorpion floating on the water. When the scorpion drifted near the old man he reached to rescue it but was stung by the scorpion. A bit later he tried again and was stung again, the bite swelling his hand and giving him much pain. Another man passing by saw what was happening and yelled at the old man, "Hey, stupid old man, what's wrong with you? Only a fool would risk his life for sake of an ugly, evil creature. Don't you know you could kill yourself trying to save that ungrateful scorpion?"

The old man calmly replied, "My friend, just it is in the scorpion's nature to sting, that does not change my nature to save."

And so it is with God – and us. It is in God's nature to save - because it is in God's nature to love. It is what God does – seeking, healing, forgiving, offering hope to you and me, to all of us who at one time or another in our lives have been – or will be - in need. It is what God has promised us. It is what the story of the cross is all about.

And just as important for us here today who have chosen to spend an hour or so sitting in these wooden and somewhat uncomfortable pews, it is the story of what the church is all about too. You see, it is not enough for us to somehow understand our sacred transformation to be complete simply because we believe that we are saved or that we have a personal relationship with Jesus. That alone does not exempt us from responsibility for the world around us.

Because we are the church, much more is required of us. You see, as Christ did for Paul, so we are called to do for those around us: to see the Christ potential in everyone we meet and then to be a community of Christ that is open, inviting, and welcoming – none of which is particularly easy.

However, that is our calling. It is who we are as the church. It is why we do missions. It is why we fling open our doors to everyone – even if they are odd or different or make us feel fearful and uncomfortable. You see, we are called to consider the ways in which we grow in faith….We are invited to think about our responsibility to nurture the gift of God's love in our lives and in the lives of others.

Our role as the church is to find that Christ-like potential in everyone we encounter, from young to old, from friend to stranger. And to do so in gratitude - because God’s love and mercy has indeed saved us – saved us from ourselves.


Rev. Nancy Foran is pastor of the Raymond Village Community Church, Raymond, Maine



http://www.rvccme.org/