The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 357: Truth and Love (2023)

Episode Date: December 23, 2023

Fr. Mike emphasizes that Christian love isn't just about feelings—it's about living in God's truth by obeying his commandments. Fr. Mike also explains the context for St. Paul's words to St. Timothy about asceticism and caring for widows, and he ends today's reflection by encouraging us to keep fighting the good fight of faith. Today's readings are 2 John, 3 John; 1 Timothy 4-6; Proverbs 30:29-33. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz, and you're listening to the Bible in a Year podcast, where we encounter God's voice and live life through the lens of Scripture. The Bible in a Year podcast is brought to you by Ascension. Using the Great Adventure Bible Timeline, we'll read all the way from Genesis to Revelation, discovering how the story of salvation unfolds. And while we fit into that story today, it is day 357. We're reading 2 John and 3 John, the entirety of both of those letters of St. John, as well as the conclusion of the first letter of Paul to Timothy, reading chapters 4, 5, and 6.

Also, we are reading Proverbs chapter 30, verses 29 through 33. As always, the Bible translation I'm reading from is the Revised Standard Version, 2nd Catholic Edition. I'm using the Great Adventure Bible from Ascension. If you want to download your own Bible in the Year reading plan for this last week and a half, you can visit ascensionpress.com slash Bible in the Year. You can also subscribe to this podcast by clicking on subscribe. Or you know what? Actually, hold out. Hold out. You don't want to give in now. It's been 357 days. You do not want to crack at the last minute. So just please don't subscribe. Don't be part of this. Just kidding. You are part of this.

And we are so grateful. It is day 357. We are reading 2 John, 3 John, 1 Timothy chapters 4, 5, and 6, and Proverbs chapter 30, verses 29 through 33. The second letter of John. Salutation. The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth, and not only I, but also all who know the truth, because of the truth which abides in us and will be with us

forever. Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father's Son, in truth and love. Truth and love. I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children following the truth, just as we have been commanded by the Father. And now I beg you, lady, not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning, that we love one another. And this is love, that we follow his commandments. This is the commandment, as you have heard from the beginning, that you follow love.

For many deceivers have gone out into the world, men who will not acknowledge the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. Look to yourselves that you may not lose what you have worked for, but may win a full reward. Anyone who goes ahead and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into the house or give him any greeting, for he who greets him shares his wicked work. Final Greetings

Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink, but I hope to come and see you and talk with you face to face that our joy may be complete. The children of your elect sister greet you. The Third Letter of John Salutation The Elder, to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth. Gaius commended for his service. Gaius commended for his service. to hear that my children follow the truth. Beloved, it is a loyal thing you do when you render any service to the brethren,

especially to strangers, who have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey as befits God's service. For they have set out for his sake and have accepted nothing from the heathen. So we ought to support such men that we may be fellow workers in the truth.

Diotrephes and Demetrius I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge my authority. So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, accusing me falsely with evil words. And not content with that, he refuses himself to welcome the brethren, and also stops those who want to welcome them and puts them out of the church. Beloved, do not imitate evil, but imitate good. He who does good is of God. He who does evil has not seen God. Demetrius has testimony from everyone and from the truth itself. I testify to him too, and you know my testimony is true. I testify to him too, and you know my testimony is true.

Final greetings. I had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink. I hope to see you soon, and we will talk together face to face. Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends, every one of them. The First Letter of Paul to Timothy, chapter 4, false asceticism. Now, the Spirit expressly says that in later times, some will depart from the faith by giving heed to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, though the pretensions of liars whose consciences

are seared, who forbid marriage and enjoin abstinence from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving. For then it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer. A good minister of Jesus Christ. If you put these instructions before the brethren, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the words of the faith and of the good doctrine which you have followed. Have nothing to do with godless and silly myths. Train yourself in godliness.

For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance. For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe. Command and teach these things. Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Till I come, attend to the public reading of scripture, to preaching, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given to you by prophetic utterance when the elders laid their hands upon you. Practice these duties. Devote yourself to them, so that all may see

your progress. Take heed to yourself and to your teaching. Hold to that, for by so doing, you will save both yourself and your hearers. Chapter 5. Duties Toward Believers Do not rebuke an older man, but exhort him as you would a father. Treat younger men like brothers, older women like mothers, younger women like sisters, in all purity. Honor widows who are real widows. If a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn their religious duty to their own family and make some return to their parents, for this is acceptable in the sight of God. turn to their parents, for this is acceptable in the sight of God. She who is a real widow and is left all alone has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day, whereas she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives. Command this, so that they may be without reproach. If anyone does not provide for his relatives and especially for his own

family, he has disowned the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. Let a widow be enrolled if she is not less than sixty years of age, having been the wife of one husband. And she must be well attested for her good deeds, as one who has brought up children, shown hospitality, washed the feet of saints, relieved the afflicted, and devoted herself to doing good in every way. But refuse to enroll younger widows, for when they grow wanton against Christ, they desire to marry, and so they incur condemnation for having violated their first pledge. Besides that, they learn to be idlers, gadding about from house to house, and not only idlers, but gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not.

So, I would have younger widows marry, bear children, rule their households, and give the enemy no occasion to revile us. For some have already strayed after Satan. If any believing woman has relatives who are widows, let her assist them. Let the church not be burdened, so that it may assist those who are real widows. Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. For the scripture says, you shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain, and the laborer deserves his wages. Never admit any charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses.

As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels, I charge you to keep these rules without favor, doing nothing from partiality. Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor participate in another man's sins. Keep yourself pure. No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments. Men's Deeds, False Teaching, and True Riches The sins of some men are conspicuous, pointing to judgment, but the sins of others appear later. So also, good deeds are conspicuous, and even when they are not, they cannot remain hidden.

Chapter 6 Let all who are under the yoke of slavery regard their masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be defamed. Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brethren. Rather, they must serve all the better, since those who benefit from their service are believers and beloved. Teach and urge these duties. If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ

and the teaching which accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit. He knows nothing. He has a morbid craving for controversy and for disputes about words which produce envy, dissension, slander, base suspicions, and wrangling among men who are depraved in mind and bereft of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. There is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare,

into many senseless and hurtful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs. The Good Fight of Faith But as for you, man of God, shun all this. Aim at righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the presence of God who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. And this will be made manifest at the proper time by the blessed and only sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light,

whom no man has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. As for the rich in this world, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on uncertain riches, but on God, who richly furnishes us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good deeds, liberal and generous,

thus laying up for themselves a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life which is life indeed. Personal Instructions and Benediction O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. Avoid the godless chatter and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge. For by professing it, some have missed the mark as regards the faith. Grace be with you. The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 30, verses 29 through 33.

Three things are stately in their tread, four are stately in their stride. The lion, which is mightiest among beasts, and does not turn back before any, the striding cock, the he-goat, and a king striding before his people. If you have been foolish, exalting yourself, or if you have been devising evil, put your hand on your mouth. For pressing milk produces curds, pressing the nose produces blood,

and pressing anger produces strife. Father in heaven, we give you praise and glory. We thank you. Thank you for your word. Thank you for calling us your children and making us into your children and your beloved son, Jesus Christ. We ask you to please help us to walk in faith,

help us to walk in hope, and help us to walk in love in all things, in all ways. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, amen. So as we noted before, the second letter and third letter So as we noted before, the second letter

and third letter of John are quite short, and yet the same themes apply where John is saying, okay, this is the key. This is the key. Love. That's it. And not only love in this idea of affective love, like affection. Affection is fine. Affection is good. But John is talking about effective love in the same way that Jesus, when he preached love, he's talking about effective love, love that actually clothes the naked, love that actually does something. That's effective, right?

Not just affection, which is a feeling, which is great. Love is felt, but it's more than a feeling. We recognize that love to truly be the love that God has must be effective. And that's one of the reasons why, as John reminds us, this is love,

that we follow his commandments. It's so important. This is love, that we follow God's commandments. And that's, not only is it love, but also it is doctrine, it's truth. And so John talks about this truth and love. And that's, these are two things that must go together truth without love is a hammer right truth without love is just a sledgehammer but love without truth is ineffectual love without truth is syrup essentially and neither of those actually does a lot of good neither of those build up and what we're called to do is belong to the Lord and help in building up the people around us. Anyways, that's John. And the next time we see John, we're going to be hitting the book of Revelation, which is basically the day after tomorrow, which is kind of awesome. But we also have the conclusion of the first letter of St. Paul to Timothy. Now, remember,

writing to Timothy, Timothy's living in Ephesus. And so the Ephesian Christians have got a number of things wrong. And one of the things that they had gotten wrong is they started to have this, as the header of chapter four says, have a false asceticism. They were denying certain things. They were forbidding marriage. They were enjoining abstinence from some foods. And Paul is writing to Timothy saying, no, no, no. Remember, marriage is good. Marriage is a gift from God. And also remember in the new covenant, you can eat all foods, whatever and also remember in the new covenant you can eat all foods whatever food you can you have you can eat those foods it says nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving for then it is consecrated by the word of god and prayer

there also is the thing there's also some people who were not living a very noble lives in fact there's groups of older men who were, the stories are that they might've been walking around drunk all the time. There were older women who were widows, but you know, they were wealthy widows. And so they're basically kind of living off of the generosity of the church and they were giving the church a bad name. Not only were they giving a bad name, not only were they giving a bad name, they were also gossiping. And that is, as we know, gossip is deadly to community. Gossip is deadly to relationships. And so here's Paul writing to Timothy saying, listen, those men, correct them, but correct them as you would correct a father, right? So you're not just lambasting them in front of everybody. And these women, remember,

we need to give our support to true widows, those who actually are in need and those who are willing to take the gifts that we're giving them and not just live idly, but live nobly. calls that we have, which is not simply to kind of throw charity wherever, but to apply it where it's needed. In fact, the reminder that St. Paul gives to Timothy to pass on to everyone in Ephesus is the church is not the first line of defense against poverty. The church isn't the first line of defense against someone living a life of desolation, that it's actually the family. And so if you're going to be a Christian and you're not taking care of your own family, then you're failing in religion. In fact, he says you're worse than an unbeliever. A Christian who doesn't take care of their own family when they can is worse than an unbeliever, which is convicting for so many of us who might be separated from our families and might be

distant from our families and say, okay, how can I do that now in this life, in this day, and then in this age will be a call for all of us. I love the fact that St. Paul writes to Timothy in chapter four, and he says, train yourself in godliness for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is a value in every way. And I like it because I find myself, you know, going for a run, doing some workouts, exercising this. And Paul says bodily training is of some value. So he doesn't denigrate it. But then he highlights the fact that, but at the same time, godliness, right? Training in the spirit is a value in every way as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

And that is a good reminder, you know, that we just are called to not just have a fitness in our lives or called to have wealth in our just have fitness in our lives, are called to have wealth in our lives, success in our lives, but to be the kind of men and women that God has created and redeemed us to be. The last thing here is the good fight of faith. And here is Paul exhorting Timothy, who is young, who is comparatively young, this young bishop, essentially, of Ephesus. As for you,

man of God, shun all of this. Which, all of what? Well, love of money, which is the root of all evil. Remember that money is not the root of all evil, but the love of money is the root of all evil. And through this craving, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs. I've seen this so many times. I maybe haven't seen it in older people. It's probably present, but I work with college students and I see this desire to be successful. I see this desire to accumulate wealth, be the thing that just drives so many of our students from a life of prayer and from a life of service to becoming distant and cold to the Lord because

they're like, I'm going to go, I'm going to get, I'm going to get after it. I'm going to crush the day. And instead of giving God their first fruits and pursuing that training and godliness is this pursuit after wealth, this pursuit after money, the love of money, the root of all evils. And some by craving this have wandered away from the faith. But then that's when Paul says, but you men of God shun all this aim at righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness, and then bam, here's the line, fight the good fight of the faith and take hold of the eternal life to which you were called. And this is so important. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called. My brothers and sisters, you and I have been called

to the eternal life. So why not fight for it? I mean, truly, here we are on day 357. You've been fighting for 357 days. You've been listening to the Lord's word for 357 days. Take hold of the eternal life that God has in store for you, that he wants for you, that he wills for you, that he's given you in Christ Jesus

and through the power of the Holy Spirit. Fight for it. This is the most precious gift you and I have ever been given. So we fight to not lose it, but to take hold of it. And by doing so, to follow the commandments, to love one another as God has loved us, and to be worthy of the gift. Be worthy of the gift. Man, it's been great.

It's been great to walk with you. Thank you so much for being on this journey together with me, with each other. Let's keep fighting. I'm praying for you. Please, please pray for me. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow.

God bless.