Hello and welcome to Friday’s daily podcast. I hope these short thoughts and reflections have been a big help to you during this week. If we haven’t met yet, I’m James and it is a privilege to read the Bible together today. It is a short passage today – 3 verses only – however, all of it is gold… we might struggle to keep this to a 6 minute reflection but I will endeavour to do my best!

REFLECTION:

Let me read it aloud for us to hear now as part of the reflection:

For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.  [2 Tim 4:6-8]

There is a force in and through these words about finishing well. I don’t know about you, but I am not great at finishing things. Now, that might seem an odd confession if you were to also realise that my boss listens daily to these podcasts so let me qualify that statement quickly. It is not that I am work shy or distractible. I’ve come to discover that it is part of my personality to tweak things, or review them over and over. I often struggle to put things down and call them finished. I do it with all sorts of things, from cooking a Bolognese to handing in this podcast script. I’m that guy who goes rooting through the cupboards to find one more herb and spice. The only reason it eventually ends up on the plate is because I run out of time or my wife and kids really need to be fed. I could keep tweaking the sentences held in this reflection forever but the good people of STC and my colleagues who help get this to our devices eventually need a copy of something so we can all consider God’s word today. That’s me. Deadlines get the best out of me. I’ve still got a lot to learn about finishing well. What about you? What’s your relationship like to finishing things? You might be the tick-box-task-list oriented type. However, finishing is different to finishing well. Let’s consider this Bible story again and what it can teach us about the Christian life, Christian truth and our hope for the future.

Verse 6. “the time for my departure is near.” Paul is clearly talking about his death. He is aware that he is soon to die. We know from history that Paul was mistreated and arrested by emperor Nero, head of the Roman empire. But there is a tone in Paul’s writing that is not of defeat but of triumph and of hope. Three statements are then made swiftly in verse 7. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Boom. Boom. Boom. This totally mirrors how he ended his letter to his young apprentice in his first letter that we looked at a few weeks ago. Where he appealed that Timothy to keep fighting the good fight of the faith… now he is aware that his own fight is coming to an end with a tone of triumph.

I suppose the emphasis in these examples is not at all on the speed of completion of the task. They are not about winning per se, although they ring of victory. They speak of perseverance, endurance and of pace. Paul makes no claim to have won the race but hat he is content to have stayed the course. I’ve read in a commentary that this sports analogy is a favourite metaphor of Paul’s. We see it all over the New Testament. Here is some Christian truth for us to finish this week of reflections… the Christian life is not a sprint, it is a marathon. If you are a young person, a student or young adult who is listening, we want to be as on fire for Jesus and as faithful to him in our 70s as we had been when we were in our 20s. Amen? Amen!

Let me tell a story of someone who I have seen finish well through the opportunity of this podcast – now what makes STC Sheffield such a special place to worship is that there are many faithful people who have persevered well – but there is a lovely Yorkshireman who mentored me for a while as a University student and I got to see a glimpse of this up close. A man called Malc Drew. This week was one of his last working on the staff team at STC. We didn’t get to send him out with a pie and pea supper like we had hoped to because of the coronavirus. But I want to honour this man for his faithful service to our church and the great example he has set to me – I’m sure others too! There is a lot I could say but I’m aware the purpose of this reflection isn’t just to big up Malc. The point I want to make is this. Malc has kept the faith even into advancing years. Well done! Malc Drew when I get to where you are I pray I finish half as well as you! We will miss you!

In considering the life of Paul in the Bible passages we have today, through the letters we have read these past few weeks, one of the secrets to the triumph in his tone rather than despair in his closing remarks is that he knows what the finish line has in store for him. His prize is resurrection life. Though this life may soon end for him, he still has the hope of heaven. The day when sin, sickness and suffering will be no more. And we will be with God forever, restored, healed and fully alive. Oh what a glorious finish for those that place their hope in Jesus.

Although Paul was a remarkable man, it is made clear: this gift is for all of us who longed for Jesus to appear again. Not just a special few who are especially victorious. Victory looks like faithfulness, perseverance and endurance. So wherever we are at in our race… maybe we are just starting out… let’s get the pace right that we may make it to the end of the game and be strong in the faith. I know this might sound odd, but that could even mean slowing down a little that we might pace ourselves. Here we are trusting the Holy Spirit to guide us individually as we listen to the Bible. Alternatively, if you are a little bit further on, then keep fighting the good fight of faith. Finish the race well. We’re watching you and we are cheering you on! More importantly the Lord, the righteous Judge is watching you too! He has a righteous gift just for you who longed for him to be revealed to the whole world.

PRAYER:

God, we are aware we all have our own race to run. Help us to do so with perseverance and with endurance. And we await that glorious day, hen you will be revealed and all will be well! Thank you for the promise of an eternal life with you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

BIBLE READING: 2 Timothy 4: 6-8

For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.