The two epistles Paul wrote to Timothy are fascinating documents because they give us a glimpse into the mind of the great Apostle. Here is a seasoned veteran sharing his experience with a new pastor. He holds nothing back as he tells his young charge about life within the church. He reveals the challenges, the heartaches, and the struggles right along with the joys, blessings, and richness of serving in ministry. He knows exactly what Timothy will encounter as he enters the field. He knows what it will take to remain faithful.

What he shares with Timothy is something that goes well beyond training for pastors, however. It is also sound advice for anyone attempting to live the life of faith.

One theme in particular comes through as one peruses the letters--persistence. Anyone taking on a faith journey needs to know that the first requirement will be an ability to stick with the effort, to hang in there, and stay focused--all elements of persistence.

For example, take Christ’s parable of the Good Samaritan. Christ tells the story in response to the question about what it takes to be a neighbor as Christ defines it. The story serves well as a meditation on stewardship.

Allow me to explain.

The story of the Good Samaritan is a seemingly simple tale of being good. However, as with all good stories, it operates on a variety of levels, some of which only come into focus with repeated readings and telling. For instance, think about the characters in the story--the traveler, the passersby, and the Samaritan. We usually read the story, thinking we are to identify with the Samaritan. That is true, but that is too simple. The truth is we are identify with ALL of the characters in the story, for at various points in our lives, we will be each of these people. We will be the victim in the road. We will be those who pass by. And we will be the Samaritan who stops.

Life is uncertain. It comes with twists and turns, drops and rises, blind alleys and long straights. Some of us have literally gone through the horror of being robbed. We come to where our car was in the parking deck and find only a puddle of smashed glass. A few of us really have awakened in the night to hear someone rustling around in the house and known for certain it was not a grown child come home on a surprise visit. It is terrifying. It leaves us reeling and violated. We need someone to care, to help, and to make things right. Those feelings are not limited to that literal experience--life has all sorts of ways to rob us of our stability, hope, and being. A relationship changes drastically through an act of betrayal. An accident cataclysmically alters the course of life. A job vanishes. A child falls ill. Each of these experiences leaves us derelict beside the road. Our identity is shaken to the core. Our homes are suddenly strange. Who will help us?

Knowing that experience becomes a link to the world around us. It becomes an opportunity to find a bond between human beings. Paul, as he instructs Timothy, challenges him to seek those moments, to connect with his flock based on his experiences--you will be confronted by suffering, remember your own as it happens.

We have been broken beside the road--remember that moment. Use it to spur care for others. What if no one came? What if we had remained lost? Maybe we were, why let it happen again? Look, here is the first impetus to be a good steward--doing so is the beginning of a ministry of care. You know what it is like to be in need, then how do you respond?

Even as these words come before us, we immediately know the experience of those who passed by. We tend to reject these characters outright as the villains of the tale. Look again. Christ makes no such judgment. By using a priest and a Levite, Christ is letting us know these were people of faith--good church folk. They were leaders in their faith communities, like our own Elders, Deacons, and clergy. They were full up with responsibilities, so much so, they are lost within them. They have so much to do, they cannot see how they can help.

Paul makes no bones about it as he describes life within the church to Timothy--the young man will be pushed and pushed hard by the tasks ahead of him. He will be faced with more than he can handle and more tasks than there are hours in which to do them. He will confront the unending challenge of prioritizing his time--what needs me most? He will have to practice the art of calendar triage--fitting too many demands into too little time. Often he will hit the moment of doing too much and none of it well.

The priest and Levite are good people who make bad choices. They are not evil, they are stressed. They take a path that appears the only way to go.

As we seek to be good stewards and to make wise choices as we make our way together in the church, we feel that same sort of pinch. Can I give more hours to church work as my life demands more hours? Can I make my pledge payment as gas prices soar and the heating bill looms on the horizon? The need presented on all fronts is overwhelming. How can I cope with it? As Paul writes, under stress, the congregation will find voices that meet their stress with allowances and reprieves, but the need still accumulates. What will Timothy do in that circumstance?

Enter the Samaritan.

The key to the Samaritan is persistence. He sees a need. He knows his limitations. He acts anyway. At some point, faith will make that demand of all of us. It can be a horrible moment when it happens. We are not ready. We are not equipped. We are not much of anything needed at that moment. The demand, however, does not diminish. The man still lies there in the ditch. The Samaritan cannot pass by. The need is persistent. So, the Samaritan takes a deep breath and stops.

Many of us have had the terrifying experience of watching a wreck unfold on the highway. It happens in a flash and then we’re left with the choice--stop or keep driving. A good number of us stop. There really is no alternative.

Fortunately, life within the church rarely looks like a wreck on the highway. But Paul knows there remain tremendous moments of need. Someone dies, who will be there for the family? You will, Paul tells Timothy. But what of need that is ongoing, not sudden at all, but simply there? It becomes easier to pass by such needs, but they remain. “Be persistent,” Paul admonishes Timothy. “Endure.”

Note that in the story, the Samaritan does not only meet the immediate needs of the man in the ditch, he goes on and meets the ongoing, long term needs that arise.

Here is the final impetus for stewardship. All of us do well when faced with an immediate crisis--a hurricane rips across the Gulf Coast and the next Sunday a special collection is taken and sent to help, people follow. But what if there were no church to take the collection? What then? What if there were no people who had been taught to care following the pattern of Christ? What if there were no Church to pool the resources of individuals, doubling, tripling their strength to get more done? What if there were no people to open the eyes of the world to need to care at all?

Hollywood has been struck mute by writers’ strike. What would happen to the church should the stewards strike?

That is a frightening thought. But we have it within our power to make sure we never have to face it. Be persistent! Serve the Lord with gladness.