When walking by faith is a plod

Do your best to come to me quickly, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments. 2 Timothy 4:9-13

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children… Hebrews 12:7

Have you ever wondered what the early Christians did in their leisure moments? What was life like when the light was dimming (no electric light, of course) and the day’s work was done (no television or computer games or telephones)? What were meal-times like?

Can you imagine Peter in his carpet slippers, or Paul challenging his hosts Priscilla and Aquila (see Acts 18:1-4) to some popular board game? How well did Paul and Aquila co-operate in their tent-making? Did they ever disagree?

You may be slightly shocked that I should even ask such questions. Surely, you might subconsciously assume, they spent every minute of every day praying and reading the scriptures? In those famous medieval paintings, aren’t they always gazing adoringly into heaven with haloes over their heads? Well, yes, they are – and so much the worse for those paintings! - because we can be sure it really wasn’t like that at all!

The earliest Christians were ordinary men and women like us, which is why we should value little snippets like these verses, where we get a glimpse of Paul feeling lonely and even abandoned (“Demas has deserted me”), feeling the cold (“bring me my cloak”) and wanting his books. He is in some kind of custody (see 1:8 and 2:9) when he writes these words, which only serves to make his sheer humanness and frailty all the more real.

He tells Timothy to come and visit him – “quickly”! (he repeats the request in verse 21). He’s missing the company of trusted friends – Demas through desertion, Crescens (whoever he is) gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia and Tychicus to Ephesus, all serving elsewhere.

And he’s also missing Mark – which is touching because this is the John Mark who, as a young man, let him and Barnabas down in missionary service (see Acts 13:13), causing serious bad blood between Paul and Barnabas (Acts 15:36-41). Mark, apparently, is “helpful to me in my ministry” – clearly the rift had been healed. (Never give up on a bruised or fractured relationship!)

“Only Luke is with me”, he says – and that little statement, that “only”, has a real tinge of sadness, especially as he doesn’t expect to see his friends on earth all that much longer (verses 6-8). According to Colossians 4:14 Luke is “our dear friend Luke, the doctor”. (Thanks be to God for friends like that!)

What can we glean to fill out our mental picture of this great apostle?

First, he had the same physical needs as we do. He felt the cold in that prison cell. (I wonder who the Carpus of Troas (that’s Troy) was, in whose home he had left his cloak?)

Second, he had the same intellectual needs as we do. He asks Timothy to “bring me my scrolls and parchments”. We have no clear idea what these might be, though the “scrolls” were perhaps rolled up manuscripts, like we see today in museums, very limited in their capacity, and the “parchments” more like the stitched together sheets which were the forerunners of what we think of as books today.

Did they contain scriptures? It would surely be surprising if they didn’t, though the scope would be very limited and, of course, what we now know as the “New Testament” didn’t yet exist.

Whatever, speaking as a keen reader I must admit that the thought of being without books even for an hour or two is quite alarming – and I can well identify with Paul longing for some written matter to feed his mind on.

Not all of us are keen readers, and that’s fine. But do we take care over what we do read, what we allow into our minds, making sure that it is pure and wholesome?

Third, Paul had the same emotional needs as we do. I’ve touched on his sense of isolation (where would he have been without Luke?).

“Demas has deserted me”, he says. Does that mean Demas has abandoned his faith altogether, or that he has found sharing in Paul’s ministry more than he could cope with (perhaps like the young John Mark all those years ago in Perga)? We don’t know, but it must have been a painful experience - according to Colossians 4:14 Demas had earlier sent greetings along with Luke, presumably all best of friends. He pops up again in Philemon 23.

The sense of betrayal by those who lose their way is part and parcel of the Christian life and Christian service – one only has to think of Jesus and Judas… We shouldn’t be surprised if/when it happens to us.

Where does all this lead?

Just to this… There is, and always has been, a real ordinariness in the Christian life. It isn’t miracles and visions all the way! It’s often more like frustrations and disappointments, sadnesses and discomforts, physical problems whether great or small, and petty annoyances. These are the means God uses to test and strengthen our faith. So take heart!

Father, I confess that following Jesus can sometimes seem hard and wearisome, sometimes even rather dull. Please help me to keep going day by day, trusting that the day will dawn when all the troubles and irritations of life will be gone for ever. Amen.