Paul’s letter to Titus may not seem at first glance the ideal place to go for a message about Christmas. After all there is no mention in it about Jesus’ birth and the message of the Advent seems less clear.
A deeper look at Paul’s message to Titus, however, will show that it is indeed as relevant to the season as ever because of its basic message.
Titus was one of Paul’s most trusted fellow workers who he, Paul had converted some time before. Titus was a Gentile possibly from Macedonia, but what was most important is that Titus truly embodied the Christian life in word and action.
Paul’s letter to Titus is meant to guide him in teaching sound doctrine and countering the strong opposition to his teaching that he faced in Crete. One of the main purposes of Titus in Crete was to appoint individuals of sound character to lead the churches that were being established. Titus is regarded as one of the Pastoral epistles because of its focus on the work of the churches and calling of church leaders. It was written about the same time as First Timothy and is remarkably similar in content and focus.
It must be said that not everything that Paul writes could be deemed acceptable in our modern context such as his apparent endorsement of slavery and the role of women as merely housekeepers who should keep quiet in an assembly but we must remember that Paul was a person of his time and he in most cases reflected the socio-cultural norms and values of the day. Many of these would be considered unacceptable and even offensive in our modern context.
Paul writes to tell Titus two key things which can be found in verse twelve of the text where he writes that the grace of God, “teaches us to say No to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age while we wait for the blessed hope-the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us…” (Titus 2:12 NIV)
In this one verse we find the essence of Paul’s message to Titus and two important things that I want to share with you tonight arise from the text.
First, we learn that as Christians, we are a people waiting.
We are waiting, expecting someone and that is the appearance of our Lord Jesus. Towards the end of the first century many believers had expected that Jesus’ second coming would be imminent and some even became a little careless in their daily lives as they waited. (See 2 Thessalonians 3) The important thing is that we all are waiting expectantly for something or someone. For many people Christmas is a time of great anticipation. We expect gifts. We expect to see family and friends. Children expect to see or possibly hear Santa Claus coming down the chimney or by whatever means he comes with gifts aplenty. We expect to attend a wide variety of events marking the season and above all we expect to feel particularly happy during the season. Whatever the year was like up to now, during Christmas we expect to feel better and in an emotionally better place as our mood is lifted by all that is happening around us. We are indeed waiting and expecting the season to bring us and our families all that is good.
What are you waiting for tonight? What are you expecting as you go through tomorrow and the rest of this year?
The reminder from Paul’s letter to Titus is that there is one thing that we must all have great expectation for which is the coming of our Lord Jesus, not as a baby but as the God of love into our hearts.
The second point that comes forcefully from the text addresses the matter of how we wait, or what do we do as we wait.
It’s quite common that when most of us are expecting someone to visit us we make good preparations to host that person, especially if that person is someone of significant importance or high social position. If you heard that the Prime Minister or the Governor General was planning to come into your area and your house is one that he or she would be coming to, I believe most persons would do everything possible to be a good host. Paul wanted Titus to emphasize in his teaching that it was by living godly and upright lives that the believers would best prepare themselves for Christ’s coming.
The need to prepare one’s heart by living in a godly and upright way is the only way to wait in expectancy for our Lord Jesus. It is in living the life that pleases God, we show how we are preparing for the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus. In a way this echoes the same message that John the Baptizer had for the people who came out to see him and be baptized in the Jordan. His message was to prepare the way of the Lord. (See St. Matthew 3:1-11) We prepare that way by opening our hearts to him and welcoming his transformative power in our lives so that we become people who are truly waiting, not just for Christmas day, but for his coming again in glory, or we going to meet him in eternity.
As we go from here let us focus our hearts and minds on living our lives to reflect our faith in the God who came in Jesus and who will come again to bring us to himself in eternity.
Now is the time to think not just of the gifts you will receive but of what you give to others worse off than you. Now is the time to think about being a good friend or companion to someone or others who are lonely. Now is the time to visit with not only family but someone else who is filled with grief this Christmas. Now is the time to reach out to those who are spending this season without adequate food or protection from the weather. Now is the time to assure someone whose faith in God is diminishing that God still cares and there is hope no matter how it may seem dark to them now. Now is the time to show Christian principles as the key elements of your family life so that your family can be an example to your neighbors and all whom you interact with. These must not be seasonal but all year round. There is work to be done as we wait for God’s coming. May we all in some way be God’s gift to someone else today and may we live a life that shines light in a darkened world that reminds others that God is indeed with us today and always. Amen.