2 Timothy 1:3-10 Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke
Second Sunday after Pentecost Sunday, June 29, 2025 “Saved and Called”
What do you think of when you hear the term “mission work”? Do you think of Wisconsin Synod missions from the late 1800s that first started on the relatively nearby Apache reservations? Do you think of brave German-speaking immigrant pastors who made the efforts to learn a language and serve a people in a place quite different from Wisconsin and for that matter, anyplace in the Midwest? Do you think about missionaries to Africa or Asia where the same thing is done across oceans? Do you think of any particular missionaries that you have heard of or heard from? Perhaps you do. Perhaps you even think about Paul, a missionary from many centuries ago. And you’d have good reason to think of Paul. Four separate times, he traveled throughout the Mediterranean world for the specific purpose of sharing God’s Word with people who had not heard it. You would have good reason to think of any number of missionaries who have followed in the footsteps of Paul and traveled great distances to share God’s Word, often across language and cultural barriers. You would have good reason to think about mission work as something that has been done far away, but in the context of today’s readings, I also want you to think about mission and mission work as something that takes place much closer to home. In fact, it takes place in our homes and our neighborhoods and our churches. By the time Paul wrote the words of 2 Timothy, a letter to a younger man who was serving as a pastor, Paul was done with his missionary journeys. In fact, Paul was in prison. This may have been the very last of all the letters that Paul wrote. He expected that this imprisonment would end with his death. The words we read as our Second Reading come from the early part of this letter to Timothy. After some formal greetings, Paul launches into his friendly and warm description of his feelings toward and efforts on behalf of Timothy, whom Paul describes as his own child. Paul describes his thankfulness, remembering Timothy in prayers, longing to see him, and considering his faith. Paul, and we should keep in mind that the Holy Spirit was working through him as he wrote, Paul went on to offer direct encouragement to Timothy, that he would fan into flame the gift of God, that he would be bold in proclaiming God’s Word, that he would even be so bold as to suffer if necessary for proclaiming that Word. And here’s why Paul directs Timothy in that way: God saved us and called us with a holy calling. Out of all the verses in front of us, this one must succinctly summarizes the main issue. God made us his own. He forgave our sins. He rescued us from hell. He saved us. It wasn’t because of our works. It wasn’t because of what we have done. It was because of his grace. And for the same reason, his grace and his loving purpose, God called us. He gave us a mission. He gave us direction, focus. He gave us a goal. Timothy as a pastor would have that as his career goal as it were. He would follow in Paul’s footsteps making the proclamation of the Word of God his life’s work and even his own livelihood. He wouldn’t necessarily travel the world in the same way, and that was not a requirement. Timothy would have opportunities to serve closer to home and he was to be ready for those opportunities. Timothy was to be bold, not timid, to be ready to testify about God and what he had done for him. But there’s another thread that runs through these verses that is maybe a little bit less obvious until you look for it. And our theme for the week and our other readings help us tune into that as well. Do you see just how many people are referenced in connection to mission? I don’t mean mission work overseas or traveling, but the mission of Christians to share the good news with others. Obviously, you have Paul who is passing this encouragement to Timothy. But you also have his ancestors, who served God with a clean conscience. And we may not want to identify them as Christians, because they would have lived before Christ, but they were believers. They were faithful people. That’s why Paul