Who is Saint Timothy?

by Brenden Bell

Have you ever gotten to know a saint? I mean really gotten to know them as you get to know a friend. You know their personality and can recognize their voice when they speak to you. This might sound strange to many who think saints are people who are long dead. But as Catholics, we believe in the Communion of the Saints, that the saints in heaven are still alive and intercede on our behalf.

Many people have a deep devotion to different saints, maybe because of experiences in prayer or for graces received through the saint’s intercession. But sometimes that devotion can become a supernatural friendship, where you feel the saint’s presence in your life and can relate to events and struggles that they experienced when they were on this Earth.

This can sometimes happen with modern saints like St. Mother Teresa or St. John Paul II, where some of us can remember experiences with them or even meeting them, or through video and audio recordings. This can also come from reading the personal writings of saints, like St. Augustine’s Confessions or St. Therese’s, Story of a Soul. You come to meet this saint in their writing. You hear their thoughts and prayers and get a sense of who they are and maybe find something in their heart that touches your own.

I have been blessed to experience this a few times in my life. I consider saints like St. Catherine of Siena, St. Therese, and St. Joseph as close friends and patrons. So, when I was asked to write an article about “Who was Saint Timothy” I did not just want to give a basic biography, but I really wanted to introduce you to the saint who is the patron of our church.

But the problem is how do you get to know St. Timothy? Unlike Saint Augustine or Saint Therese, we don’t have anything written by Saint Timothy. We only have what was recorded about him in the Bible, from St. Luke in the Acts of the Apostles and from St. Paul’s letters. But if we look at what was said about him, an amazing image of who St. Timothy was emerges.

It is remarkable how often Timothy is in the New Testament, he appears in the Acts of the Apostles, is mentioned in all but three of St. Paul’s letters, two letters being addressed to him, and is also mentioned in the Letter to the Hebrews.

We know from the Acts of the Apostles that Timothy was from the Greek city of Lystra in modern day Turkey. St. Paul met him there during his second missionary journey. Timothy was the son of a Jewish mother and a Greek father and it seems he had feet in both his Jewish and Gentile backgrounds. He was not fully Jewish because he was not circumcised until Paul had him circumcised to appease the Jews of that area (Acts 16:1-3). But he must have been taught something of the Jewish faith from his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois because Paul says to him in Second Timothy that “from infancy you have know the sacred scriptures” (2Tim 1:5, 3:15).

He must have been a remarkable young man, because despite his youth he had impressed the Christian community of Lystra and Iconium and Paul wanted him to accompany them on his missionary journey (Acts 16:2-3). It seems that from that point on Timothy became St. Paul’s right-hand man. As stated above, Timothy is mentioned in ten out of thirteen of Paul’s letters (Rom 16:21, 1 Cor 4:17, 16:10, 2 Cor 1:1,19, Phil 1:1, 2:19, Col 1:1, 1 Thes 1:1, 3:2,6, 2Thes 1:1, Philemon 1, 1Tim, 2 Tim). Timothy is one of only three people included as “co-authors” in the opening salutation of Paul’s letters (along with

Sosthenes and Silvanus) and he is “co-author” six times (1 Cor 1:1, 2 Cor 1:1, Phil 1:1, Col 1:1, 1 Thes 1:1, 2Thes 1:1, Philemon 1). Timothy was also sent as Paul’s representative to at least three different communities, the Corinthians, the Philippians, and the Thessalonians; if Paul could not go there himself, he preferred to send Timothy (1 Cor 16:10, Phil 2:19, 1 Thes 3:2).

As remarkable as Timothy was there is some indication that he may have been somewhat timid. When Paul sends Timothy to the Corinthians, he gives them some strange instructions on how to welcome him. “If Timothy comes, see that he is without fear in your company, for he is doing the work of the Lord just as I am. Therefore no one should disdain him. Rather, send him on his way in peace that he may come to me, for I am expecting him with the brothers” (1 Cor 16:10-11). What did Timothy have to fear from the Corinthians that Paul had to instruct them in this way. It might say more about the Corinthians than Timothy, but it also aligns with advice Paul gives to Timothy in the first letter addressed to him, “Let no one have contempt for your youth” (1 Tim 4:12). It seems that Timothy’s young age might mean people often did not take him seriously and Timothy needed to be encouraged to overcome opposition. Timothy might also have suffered from some medical conditions for Paul advises, “Stop drinking only water, but have a little wine for the sake of your stomach and frequent illnesses” (1 Tim 5:23).

Whatever his shortcomings Paul had remarkable faith in him. Paul says to the Philippians “I hope, in the Lord Jesus, to send Timothy to you soon… For I have no one comparable to him for genuine interest in whatever concerns you. For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know his worth, how as a child with a father he served along with me in the cause of the gospel” (Phil 2:19-22). From Paul’s words we get a real insight into Timothy’s character. We see his childlike obedience and his unselfishness and genuine concern for others. Paul says he has “no one comparable” to Timothy.

We get more insight into Timothy’s character from the affectionate way in which Paul speaks about him. Often Paul will refer to Timothy as “my co-worker” or “our brother” but occasionally he will refer to him as “beloved and faithful son” or “my dear child” especially when addressing Timothy directly. (Rom 16:21, 1 Cor 4:17, 2 Cor 1:1, 2 Tim 1:2). In First Timothy, Paul’s emotions seem to get the better of him as he exclaims, “O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you” (1 Tim 6:20). Paul’s affection and gratitude for his spiritual son is expressed in Second Timothy when he says, “I am grateful to God… as I remember you constantly in my prayers, night and day.” Paul writing from prison in the same letter says he “yearns” to see Timothy again and twice asks him to come to him soon (2 Tim 1:4, 4:9,22). Paul’s words don’t just express the love that Paul had for Timothy, but I think reflect the deep love and devotion Timothy had for Paul and for the church. The letter to Philemon shows that at some point Timothy spent time with Paul in his imprisonment and the letter to the Hebrews seems to indicate Timothy was released from imprisonment on his own (Philemon 1. Hebrews 13:23).

Timothy was ordained by Paul and according to tradition became the first bishop of Ephesus, where Timothy would receive his two letters from Paul (1 Tim 1:3, 4:14, 2 Tim 1:6). Whatever fears or timid inclinations he might have had, he faced his fears, for tradition holds he was martyred in Ephesus while speaking out against a pagan celebration of the goddess Artemis.

I said at the beginning of this article that I wanted to introduce you to St. Timothy, and I think an interesting image of this saint comes to us out of the scriptures. He was a young man with substantial natural abilities, not without his own weaknesses, but his true greatness came from his unselfish concern for others and commitment to the mission God entrusted to him. Let us try to be worthy of so great a patron and friend by imitating these virtues. St. Timothy has been sent to us as he was sent to those Christian communities so long ago, “to strengthen and encourage you in your faith”. (1 Thes 3:2).