Sosthenes, Apollo, Cephas, Tychicus, Epaphroditus, Cæsar and Onesiphorus
So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus will tell you everything. He is a dear brother and a faithful minister in the Lord. I am sending him to you for this very purpose, to let you know how we are and to encourage your hearts.
Ephesians 6: 21-22 NRSVue
Tychicus (/ˈtɪkɪkəs/: Greek: Τυχικός) was an Asiatic Christian who, with Trophimus, accompanied the Apostle Paul on a part of his journey from Macedonia to Jerusalem. He is also alluded to have been with Paul in Rome, where the apostle sent him to Ephesus, probably for the purpose of building up and encouraging the church there.
Wikipedia
I mentioned recently that during the past couple of months I've broadened my daily scripture reading from a psalm to the other suggested readings from the Older and Newer Testaments. I admitted that my ability to turn with confidence to a particular book was rusty, in no small part because of the ease of simply typing in a reference to a search engine or online bible resource. It's been good to sharpen those skills again.
A couple of the epistle readings have been from the concluding chapters of Pauline letters, Romans and Ephesians. Yesterday I read from the farewell words of Paul to the congregation in Ephesus and noticed the name of someone named Tychicus who was knew to me. I am regularly humbled by the stories I either don't remember or have never read, and the names of people I've never heard of. I assumed that Tychicus is a one-time mention in the New Testament, but no, he shows up five times! He seems to have been a confidant and friend of Paul. How have I missed him?
I've realized that even though Paul "thinks deep thoughts" in both of these letters he makes sure he acknowledges those who are trustworthy and faithful members of these fledgling Christian congregations. In Romans 16 he gives affectionate shout-outs to 26 people by name, as well as others. He thanks someone named Rufus and his mother, saying she was a mother to him as well -- high praise. He expresses gratitude to Prisca and Aquila "who risked their necks for my life." What was it they did, I wonder?
Most of these people, including Tychicus, are Christians we don't know much about and they aren't the "stars" of the spread of the faith. Yet Paul appreciates their witness and their worth, their friendship and faithfulness.
This got me reminiscing about the hundreds of "nobody" Christians in congregations I served through the decades who were, in fact, somebodies, essential to the work or Christ's church. Often they were low-profile but rock solid in their contributions. Coincidentally -- providentially? -- I passed one of those persons while cycling along the Bay of Quinte this morning. Before I retired I commended her for the many ways in which she contributed to the life of the congregation, usually without any public recognition. She seemed surprised by my praise but she deserved it.And I know that she's still very involved. I see the same with lots of people in the congregation that is our church home now.
My life in ministry was enriched by so many of these folk, including the ones whose names I would struggle to recall now. Hey, if Paul forgot a name or three I can't be too hard on myself and I was in ministry a lot longer than he was!
2 comments:
I do not remember ever reading about this guy... but your comments about the value of those folk in our pews who never make waves or bring attention to themselves is a very important one !
The person I refer to you know well, Judy, because you have worked with her through the years, and sung alongside her as well!
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