Pentecost +18 Sunday – C3

Pentecost +18 Sunday – C3

Years C
1 Timothy 6:6-19

For a passage that begins with "Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it", it sure gets active -- "shun", "pursue", "fight", "take hold", "I charge you", "command them", "do good", "store up", and again, "take hold".

While there is an inherent tension in life between letting go and getting on with it, the balance here seems to have been tilted toward the active rather than contemplative life. It dismisses living simply in favor of living passionately (no, don't hold me to that duality).

Given the youth of Timothy, action is perhaps appropriate to his spiritual experience, but it doesn't allow much alternative. Given the youth of Jesus and subsequent Church, action is our forte, not our reflective contemplation.

= = = = = = =

if godliness can be alloyed
with anything at all
contentment is a good choice

all too often godliness
tries to go it alone
and its qualities become brittle

being combined with contentment
is a great boon for a god
as well as for an almost god

mama church would do well
to teach contentment
before godliness

in so doing she would be surprised
that we can't have one
without the other