Daily Scripture Reflection & Prayer: June 5, 2024

Date: Wednesday of the 9th Week of Ordinary Time/Memorial of St. Boniface

Scripture Text:  2 Timothy 1:1-3, 6-12

Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God for the promise of life in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my dear child: grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

I am grateful to God, whom I worship with a clear conscience as my ancestors did, as I remember you constantly in my prayers, night and day.

For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control. So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for his sake; but bear your share of hardship for the Gospel with the strength that comes from God.

He saved us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to his own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began, but now made manifest through the appearance of our savior Christ Jesus, who destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel, for which I was appointed preacher and Apostle and teacher. On this account I am suffering these things; but I am not ashamed, for I know him in whom I have believed and am confident that he is able to guard what has been entrusted to me until that day.

Breaking the text open – background and summary:

The first reading today is part of the opening of Paul’s 2nd Letter to Timothy. In it, the Apostle Paul assures Timothy that he prays constantly for him and them reminds Timothy of his responsibility as a disciple of Christ to testify to Jesus Christ through his words and actions. Paul acknowledges that there will be hardships to bear as Christ’s disciple for the sake of the Gospel, but he declares to Timothy “God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control.”

Today’s readers are reminded that we have been saved and called by Christ, not by anything we did, but rather because of the LORD’s desire that we might have life and love for us. Through today’s reading we are urged to bear the hardships of journey of faith, buoyed by hope, because of the LORD’s love for us and our love for the LORD and one another.

Meditating on the text with personal questions:

Do I avoid the hardships of faith in Christ?

Praying:

LORD, as I look upon the crucifix and remember all You endured for love of me, I desire to love You with all I am and all I have. I am reliant upon your Spirit to guide me, to grace me for this journey. I am dependent upon your love to fuel me and to sustain me. As I seek so humbly to remain with You, I know it is only possible because of You. Be with me, Jesus.