The Feast of St. Timothy, Pastor and Confessor, January 24

The Collect of the Day

Lord Jesus Christ, You have always given to Your Church on earth faithful shepherds such as Timothy to guide and feed Your flock. Make all pastors diligent to preach Your holy Word and administer Your means of grace, and grant Your people wisdom to follow in the way that leads to life eternal; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

The Appointed Lessons: Acts 16:1–5 Psalm 71: 15–24 (v. 6) 1 Timothy 6: 11–16 St. Matthew 24: 42–47

Bio:  St. Timothy had Christian believers in his family. His mother, Eunice, was a Christian woman and was the daughter of a Christian woman named Lois (2 Timothy 1:5). Acts records that St. Paul met Timothy on his second missionary journey and wanted Timothy to continue on with him (16:1-3). Over time, Timothy became a dear friend and close associate of Paul to whom Paul entrusted mission work in Greece and Asia Minor. Timothy was also with Paul in Rome. According to tradition, after Paul’s death, Timothy went to Ephesus, where he served as bishop and was martyred around AD 97. Timothy is best remembered as a faithful companion of Paul, one who rendered great service among the Gentile churches.

Reflection by  Fr. Valerius Herberger (21 April 1562-18 May 1627, German Lutheran preacher and theologian):

“Dearly beloved, today we celebrate the commemoration of St. Timothy. He was born in Lystra (Acts 16:2); his father was a pagan, but his mother, Eunice, born an Israelite, had accepted the Christian faith and had committed her son, Timothy, to be raised by her mother, Lois, who was also a Christian. So Timothy learned the catechism from his grandmother. See, dear parents, what the diligent training of children can do! Now since he was a good, excellent thinker, St. Paul accepted him as his colleague or chaplain, and since he improved himself daily, Paul eventually ordained him as bishop of Ephesus, where he was also killed by the raging pagans. St. Paul loved him dearly, which we can see from both epistles that he wrote to him. In 1 Timothy 1:2, he calls him his true son in the faith. From these two epistles, many passages shine forth like the stars of heaven:

1 Timothy 1:5: “The aim of the commandment is love from a pure heart and from a good conscience and from a faith unfeigned.”

1 Timothy 1:15: “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”

2 Timothy 3:12: “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

2 Timothy 3:16-17: “All Scripture is breathed out (inspired) by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”

Since St. Paul and St. Timothy were dear friends, they were put beside each other in the calendar, and also on the day of St. Timothy, the Gospel of John 15:9-16 is read, which speaks of pure love and friendship.” (From The Treasury of Daily Prayer)

Reflection on the Day:  Our Lord’s Passion, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Friday is called by the Church, the Triduum, translated: The Three Days.  Today and the next two days is a kind of Triduum: Today, January 24th the Festival of St. Timothy; tomorrow, January 25th, the Festival of Conversion of St. Paul;  January 26^th is  the Festival of  St. Titus.  All three of these saints were called by the Lord and His Church into the Holy Ministry. This is a triduum of the Holy Ministry. These three pastors shared in the unity of the faith and doctrine of Christ in His Church. They were faithful to the Word and not their religious ideas.  

In the middle day of this pastoral triduum is the Apostle Paul and he is flanked by two pastors.  This triduum is a good time to reflect on pastors, pray for your pastor(s), rejoice in the Holy Ministry of the Church and your pastor feeding you the Word of God in Biblical teaching, praying, preaching and administering the Sacraments to all sorts of people in so many situations of life. Pray for your faithfulness to the Word of God which is inspired by the Holy Spirit in the Holy Scriptures. The Scripture passages cited above in the reflection by Valerius Herberger are good to set to memory.