Sts Timothy and Titus

Today members of Christ body throughout the world come together to honor Saints Timothy and Titus.  How they became followers of Christ and collaborators with Paul is worth looking into, for the sake of inspiring us to be courageous, not to hide underneath a bushel basket, but to boldly proclaim the Gospel of Jesus the Christ.

One of the first soul won for Christ on the efforts of Apostle Paul is Saint Timothy.  St Timothy was a mix breed because he had a Greek father and a Jewish mother.  His mother’s name is Eunice.  As a result of the mixed marriage, he was often treated as an illegitimate child.  Tim’s grandmother was the first in the family to become Christian.  Around the year 47, Timothy himself became a convert, and joined Paul on the missionary journey for about 15 years.  He and Paul became close and trusted friends.  He was also with Paul during the house arrest in Rome.  But Timothy was made a bishop of Ephesus which is modern day Turkey.

For this kind of dangerous work of traveling and preaching the Gospel in unfamiliar terrain, Timothy was comparatively young.  Paul writes in the letter to Timothy: “let no one have contempt for your youth.  There are other references that seem to indicate his timidity.  Paul says to him: stop drinking only water, but have a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent illnesses. 

The other saint Holy Mother Church honors today is Saint Titus.  Titus, like Timothy is a close friend of Paul, and also a collaborator with him on the missionary journey.  But unlike Timothy, Titus was fully Greek.  The early Church dealt with issue of circumcision because it was the sign of the covenant made with Abraham.  Yet St Paul would not let Titus be forced to undergo circumcision in Jerusalem.   

Titus played an integral role in the early Church:  Pal writes: “When I went to Troas...I had no relief in my spirit because I did not find my brother Titus. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia.... For even when we came into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted in every way—external conflicts, internal fears. But God, who encourages the downcast, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus...” (2 Corinthians 2:12a, 13; 7:5-6).

When Paul was having trouble with the community at Corinth, Titus was the bearer of Paul’s severe letter and was successful in smoothing things out. Paul writes he was strengthened not only by the arrival of Titus but also “by the encouragement with which he was encouraged in regard to you, as he told us of your yearning, your lament, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more.... And his heart goes out to you all the more, as he remembers the obedience of all of you, when you received him with fear and trembling” (2 Corinthians 7:7a, 15).

The Letter to Titus addresses him as the administrator of the Christian community on the island of Crete, charged with organizing it, correcting abuses and appointing presbyter-Bishops.

Today we honor these two saints Timothy and Titus, our heroes of the faith.  May their tireless efforts for Christ continue to bear fruit.  Amen.