2 Timothy 1:1-8
Chapter 1
Greeting and Thanksgiving
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, for the promise of eternal life in Christ Jesus,to my dear child Timothy: May grace, mercy, and peace be yours from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience, just as my ancestors did, as I constantly remember you in my prayers day and night.
I recall your tears and long to see you again so that I may be filled with joy.
I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am convinced that it also lives in you.
Faithful to the Good News
Therefore, I urge you to rekindle the gift of God you received through the imposition of my hands.
For God did not give us a spirit of fear but of power, love, and self-control.
Do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord or to see me in chains. Instead, do your part in working for the gospel with the strength that comes from God.
Commentaries
Greeting and Thanksgiving.
After Paul’s typical greeting and gratitude, the author emphasizes Timothy. The main issue is passing on apostolic authority to the new generation of Christian leaders who, perhaps lacking the prestige and personal charisma of the Apostle, required more acknowledgment of their leadership from the community. Moving from the First to the Second Letter to Timothy, we notice a different tone—more personal in the memories, more warm in the advice and warnings. We know that Timothy was born to a pagan father and a Jewish convert mother (cf. Acts 16:1), and that his grandmother and mother raised him in the Christian faith. These memories lead the Apostle to pray day and night for his beloved son in the faith (1 Tim 1:2).
Faithful to the Good News.
Paul’s words carry the urgency and emotion of his final advice. He sees himself as a “preacher, apostle, and teacher” (11), a prisoner for the Gospel of Jesus, with whom he identifies. The deposit of faith, the Gospel, must also guide the life of his disciple Timothy, empowered by the Spirit.