2 Timothy 1:15-2:13
“You are aware that all who are in Asia have turned away from me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes. May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chain…” (2 Timothy 1:15-16)
One of my greatest challenges in my faith is how to receive valid reports of Christians who misbehave, especially when they happen to be Christians with a larger-than-typical platform or profile.
You know the type, right? The megachurch pastor who is found to be having an extramarital affair. The pastor whose taxes are not at all pursued with a “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s” mentality. Or, even, the cases where we hear of a church casting out a member because she came out as LGBTQ. Then, of course, I cannot remember a natural disaster – typically a hurricane – that some televangelist didn’t capitalize upon in order to proclaim the coming of the Lord’s wrath (unless you send two payments of $49.95 by calling this toll-free number). All that to say, one does not need to be part of the Body of Christ very long before realizing this Body has some real unsightly deformities. It’s hard. It’s really hard.
In our reading today, Paul is facing something similar. We aren’t given the full backstory, but it is clear that “all who are in Asia have turned away from me.” But then Paul demonstrates that he’s not just a cry baby because he remembers, “Oh, that’s right, except for Onesiphorus! He was great. He sought me out in my imprisonment and ‘often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chain.’”
And that’s just the thing I’ve learned when facing the misdeeds and malpractice of public Christians. Somewhere, typically in the background, are a few folks who know better and are brave enough to say so. Behind every sex-scandal pastor are a few congregants ready to acknowledge the sinfulness of such deeds and hold him accountable. Within every church that rejects and spiritual harms a gay member are one or two folks who risk standing in solidarity. All this to say, Paul lays out a model for us in which we still acknowledge the headline – no matter how embarrassing – and we look for those who keep the faith in spite of it all.
The Church is a messy, broken place. Not all parts of the Body work as they should and never all at once. There is always going to be some good excuse to throw your hands up and dust your sandals off. And yet, there is Onesiphorus, keeping the faith, refreshing our spirits, and preserving a just community for another day. Let us all, then, strive to imitate this good and faithful servant. Amen.
