2 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength because he considered me faithful. So he appointed me to ministry 13 even though I used to speak against him, attack his people, and I was proud. But I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and without faith. 14 Our Lord’s favor poured all over me along with the faithfulness and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 This saying is reliable and deserves full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I’m the biggest sinner of all. 16 But this is why I was shown mercy, so that Christ Jesus could show his endless patience to me first of all. So I’m an example for those who are going to believe in him for eternal life. 17 Now to the king of the ages, to the immortal, invisible, and only God, may honor and glory be given to him forever and always! Amen.
18 Timothy, my child, I’m giving you these instructions based on the prophecies that were once made about you. So if you follow them, you can wage a good war 19 because you have faith and a good conscience. Some people have ruined their faith because they refused to listen to their conscience, 20 such as Hymenaeus and Alexander. I’ve handed them over to Satan so that they can be taught not to speak against God.
Reflection
Today is Juneteenth, the day the last enslaved people in the US found out they were free. The date was June 19, 1865, 4 years after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect and 2 months after the Civil War was officially over. Those in Galveston, Texas, were still under Confederate rule until the Union army arrived to change that.
I am not an expert on the Civil War, slavery, or black culture, but I am trying to learn more. We grew up in a very white area, and we definitely heard racist ideas. Sometimes those voices come into my brain and all I can do is pray, dismiss them, and move forward because I don’t believe them. I sometimes think about Paul’s mission after his conversion – he made a total turnaround. He killed people who believed in Christ, then he became such a stalwart missionary that he was put to death for his belief. He remembered his past, but used his story with God’s help to further the kingdom of God. We hear him tell us that in our scripture. It is amazing what God can do to change a person!
As we mark Juneteenth, we should all celebrate the freedom of people and the freedom God gives us. We should also work to further the freedom of ALL people as we continue to see – after hundreds of years in this country, that all people are not treated equally, even though that’s what we as a nation are supposed to be about.
With God’s help and strength, Paul was able to preach and help others come to Christ. We can do the same by welcoming all. As the saying goes, “people don’t care what you know until they know you care.” We move forward and then it feels like we move backward, but as Christians we should be striving to end racism, even as we see others use the Bible to try to further it. It is not easily done, but if we make personal gains in this area we can collectively come together to make greater gains.
by Janet Waryck
For Pondering and Prayer
Today, Juneteenth is celebrated with education and service alongside food, music, art and dance. Dr. Everett McCovey, founder of the American Spiritual Ensemble, says the American Negro spirituals speak to the history, suffering, hope, and resolve of a people who were able to sing through their suffering and tell and re-tell their heroic stories of triumph and survival through these songs. Several songs that the Library of Congress reports to come from those who were enslaved are: “This Little Light of Mine”, “Didn’t my Lawd Deliver David”, “Wade in the Water”, “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”, “Steal Away”, and “Joshua at the Battle of Jericho”. These songs have such strong messages of hope, and in many ways were codes for other things happening in the lives of enslaved people. Even in times that seemed hopeless, they were able to sing to the Lord. When we hear or sing these songs, let’s remember the history and the collective people behind them, and may we want to learn more and do more to provide love for those who may be different than we are.
Prayer: God of freedom, we thank you for the life you have given us and we ask that you help us to be aware that not all people are treated equally by people, but to know all people are yours. Help us to do your work here on earth to further your kingdom. Amen.