28
th
Week After Pentecost Á-? Wednesday
TodayÁ-?s readings, followed by a few pastoral & personal thoughts
.
2 Timothy 4:9-22
9
Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me:
10
For Demas hath forsaken
me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to
Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.
11
Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with
thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.
12
And Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus.
13
The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the
books, but especially the parchments.
14
Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil:
the Lord reward him according to his works:
15
Of whom be thou ware also; for he hath
greatly withstood our words.
16
At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men
forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.
17
Notwithstanding the
Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully
known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the
lion.
18
And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto
his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
19
Salute Prisca and
Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus.
20
Erastus abode at Corinth: but Trophimus
have I left at Miletum sick.
21
Do thy diligence to come before winter. Eubulus greeteth
thee, and Pudens, and Linus, and Claudia, and all the brethren.
22
The Lord Jesus
Christ be with thy spirit. Grace be with you. Amen.
Luke 20:1-8 1
And it came to pass, that on one of those days, as he taught the people in the
temple, and preached the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes came upon him with
the elders,
2
And spake unto him, saying, Tell us, by what authority doest thou these
things? or who is he that gave thee this authority?
3
And he answered and said unto
them, I will also ask you one thing; and answer me:
4
The baptism of John, was it from
heaven, or of men?
5
And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From
heaven; he will say, Why then believed ye him not?
6
But and if we say, Of men; all the
people will stone us: for they be persuaded that John was a prophet.
7
And they
answered, that they could not tell whence it was.
8
And Jesus said unto them, Neither
tell I you by what authority I do these things.
St Paul wrote this letter when he was in prison for the second and last time. It was most
probably the last letter in the canon of scripture that he wrote. In vs. 16, his
Á-°first
answerÁ-?
refers most probably refers to his discourse recorded in Acts 22. This was just
previous to his first imprisonment.
In this, his second imprisonment, there is a sense of retrospective in his words. Here is a
man who has Á-°fought the good fightÁ-?, and was contemplating the end of his life, which
could come at any time.
St PaulÁ-?s words remind me of one of the greatest temptation of the pastor, and indeed,
even the zealous Christian: loneliness. This loneliness is not because of lacking the
company of persons, but because of the great sense of sadness that floods the heart of
the believer because of the overwhelming volume of unbelief, timidity and inconstancy