On
this account I am suffering these things;but I am not ashamed,
for I know him in whom I have believed
and am confident that he is able to guard
what has been entrusted to me until that day.
Paul’s Second
Letter to Timothy 1:11-12
Jesus’s
cousin, John the Baptist, is executed on a whim. As Jesus is celebrating a last supper with
his friends, he warns them that they too will be tortured and killed. The first
deacon appointed by the apostles, St. Stephen, is promptly stoned to death. Throughout Scripture, bad things happen to
good people.
In
today’s passage, Paul is writing from prison in Rome, anticipating his
execution. He asserts that he is not embarrassed
by this. He does not expect God to
rescue him from misfortune. That is not
part of his faith.
Photo: Red Nebula
