Shine your light
“Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.” (2 Tim 1:14)
Paul the Apostle is writing to Timothy, his “son in faith.” He shared his work of evangelizing with Timothy and entrusted the community in Ephesus to him.
As Paul feels his time of death drawing close, he encourages Timothy in this demanding task of leadership. Timothy, in fact, has received a “precious gift,” that is, the content of the Christian faith as passed on by the Apostles. He, in turn, is responsible for faithfully communicating it to future generations.
For Paul this means protecting and revealing the beauty of the gift received, as well as being willing to give his life to spread the good news that is the Gospel.
“Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.”
Paul and Timothy received the Holy Spirit as light and guarantee for their unique role as pastors and evangelizers. Through their witness and that of their successors, the proclamation of the Gospel has come down to us.
In the same way, every Christian has a “mission” in his or her own social and religious community: to build a united family, educate young people, engage in politics and work, care for vulnerable people, enlighten culture and art with the wisdom of the Gospel put into practice, and consecrate his or her life to God for the service of others.
Indeed, according to the words of Pope Francis to the youth, “Every man and woman is a mission.”[1] We always have the opportunity to consciously renew our commitment to witnessing to our faith, with our hearts filled with evangelical love that generates welcome, encounter and dialogue.
“Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.”
Every Christian is a “temple” of
the Holy Spirit. This enables us to discover and preserve the “precious gifts”
entrusted to us, to make them grow and put them at the service of other people.
The first of these
treasures is faith in Jesus. We Christians need to awaken this and nourish it
with prayer, and then communicate it through the witness of charity