Forsaken: The Poignancy of Loss at Christmas
Forsaken means to be abandoned, deserted, and forgotten. To leave someone or something behind, is to forsake them. If referring to a place it is a place where no one goes. As I prepared to write on 2 Timothy 4, I googled the words people were most searching for, and forsaken and loss were off the charts throughout the U.S. Paul, in his letter to Timothy speaks to us of the pain of loss and being forsaken.
No one is a stranger to the ways in which life can wound us. Those in our lives who were to care for us may not have done so, while some may have even inflicted harm. Many are suffering the pain of multiple and varied losses, fractured relationships, broken promises, illness, death, or lamenting the what ifs or if only. We may be like Paul knowing he is nearing the end of his life and living with the reality that those he had trusted and believed would be with him until the end had forsaken him. Paul, writing from a prison cell in Rome, found that in his great time of need those he trusted had abandoned him.
Let’s read together from 2 Timothy 4: 16-18. “At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed, and all the Gentiles might hear it. So, I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (ESV)
Satan the master opportunist leaves no crack in a person’s life unentered. Despite all that scripture teaches us of being together, encouraging each other, sharing burdens, walking together, coming together to sit, talk and reason, our relationships can become infused with satan’s touches of doubt and misunderstandings, hurt and anger. This leads to friendships, parent-child, and husband-wife relationships coming apart instead of together in Christ. The poignancy of this loss may never be more apparent of felt than at this time of year. If this season finds you in your own time of “forsaken”, join us as we seek to embrace Paul’s message to Timothy.
Second Timothy was written by Paul towards the end of his life. Paul was in a Roman prison cell under the rule of the emperor Nero. His life was in the earthly hands of an emperor descending into madness. The Roman historian Sallust said that few prisons were as dark, dim and dirty as the one Paul occupied. He said the prison was known as the Tullianum dungeon, its darkness and stench gave it a terrifying appearance. It is believed that Paul stayed here for about 2 years before he was beheaded. You can read more about this prison as well as see a short video of the actual prison at the following links. https://www.insight.org/resources/article-library/individual/historical-background-of-paul-s-final-imprisonment
The video showing the actual prison is found at https://youtu.be/5_0mrDQ9-P8?si=chsRv3w2KXzH-xvQ
For Nero, Christians became his target, his scapegoat for what turned out to be Rome’s unpreparedness to fight a fire that destroyed the city. Christianity was under attack and Paul tells us that many had forsaken him including some of those he believed to be his closest friends. Paul wrote to Timothy to give encouragement and strength in time of trials, in times of being wronged and abandoned by those we trust. He wrote to Timothy to stand strong in the Lord.
What did Paul focus on as he faced these incredible trials and time of being forsaken at the end of his life? To begin with he did not focus on the injustice, the loss and abandonment that surrounded him, but on the continued trust in God. We are also told that Paul asks Timothy to bring his books and parchment so he can continue to study the Lord’s word. Paul is walking with God, and staying close to His word right up until the end of his life.
Paul’s sense of loss is great as he describes everyone in Asia having deserted him in addition to those close to him, Demas, Crescens and Titus who also left him. The suffering of loneliness is significant in this letter, and this is a suffering that can and will find many of us and prove to be especially difficult and poignant at this time of year.
Whatever circumstances we are facing our strength and security will come from our ability to stand strong in our belief, trust and faith in our Lord. Paul tells us in 2 Timothy verses 17-18 that the Lord stood by him and strengthened him, rescued him and will rescue him and bring him safely into his heavenly kingdom. We too can know that our Father knows us, knows our pain, and will be with us to guide and strengthen us. Our Lord will never forsake us. Even if you may find yourself far from the Lord, or possibly not know Him as well as you would like, you can trust in the Father’s love and care for you. We can all take comfort in knowing that our well-being does not hinge on how well we know the Lord but on the fact that our Lord and Father knows each of us.
The podcast for this episode can be found at https://roughplacesintolevelground.buzzsprout.com/2114739/14154969-forsaken-the-poignanc-of-loss-at-christmas
