Timidity is not A Virtue.

Homily for January 26, 2018.

“I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love and self-control. Do not be ashamed then of testifying to our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel in the power of God.” 2 Timothy 1:6-8. 

Yesterday, we celebrated the feast of the conversion of St. Paul, today we are celebrating the memorial of two bishops we may likely refer to as the spiritual sons of St. Paul. Every great leader is a mentor. As the saying goes, success without a successor is failure.

As we see in today’s Gospel passage, even Jesus recognized the fact that he alone as a person cannot do all the preaching and he decided to appoint for himself seventy two others whom he tutored and sent out ahead of him in pairs to preach.

From Paul’s letter to Timothy, one great lesson we learn is that timidity is not a virtue. Paul advises Timothy today that God did not and will never give anyone a spirit of timidity, rather a Spirit of Power and Love and Self-Control.

Hence there is no room for being ashamed of testifying for the Lord. Even though this faith entails suffering, we should not be afraid of identifying with it. We are lights and a light cannot be put under a bed.

Dear friends, if we don’t believe in ourselves, how do we convince the world that we are lights? Why are we constantly trying to blend in to the world and its standards? We should only be timid when it comes to evil not when it comes to letting our light shine. A minimal Christian is as good as a non-Christian.

Being timid is trying to hide the gifts and talents that God has deposited in you. It is a form of spiritual coldness or slothfulness. It is keeping quiet when you should raise your voice for God out of fear of what people would do to you.

As St. Paul advices Timothy, the cure for spiritual timidity is REKINDLING THE GIFT OF GOD or as some translations put it, FANNING INTO FLAMES GIFT OF GOD that is within you. Yes, a person’s anointing can grow cold, it can literally expire! Like one’s muscles, the less they are exercised, the weaker a person becomes.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, renew my anointing every day. Amen

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. (Memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus. Bible Study: 2 Timothy 1:1-8 and Luke 10:1-9).