A Sermon Delivered on October 19, 2025 by the Rev. Dr. Patrick H. Wrisley.

How many of you have a will? A will is a legal document that specifies how you want your assets and estate to be distributed after you die. But did you know there is also such a thing as an “ethical will”?

An ethical will contains a person’s spiritual, moral, and ethical values for those they love. It’s not about leaving money or property; it’s about bequeathing your values to the next generation. Ethical wills can be written or recorded. They can take the form of photographs, videos, or simple storytelling. When you leave an ethical will, you’re sharing the lessons that shaped your life — the values you hope your family and friends will remember.^[1]

Today’s passage in 2 Timothy can be read as the Apostle Paul’s ethical will. These pastoral epistles are personal letters to his protégé Timothy, who was serving the church in Ephesus. Paul, now an old man, writes from a Roman prison awaiting his trial before Emperor Nero. These are believed to be the last words he ever wrote.

What we have here are some of the most tender words in Scripture; they are the words of a man who has spent thirty years traveling, preaching, teaching, and planting churches and is now reflecting on what truly matters. Paul knows his time is almost up. As you listen, pay attention to what Paul values most and you will hear that he most values relationships with the people and Christ, his relationship towards possessions, and his relationship with time. Hear the Word of the Lord.

Timothy 4:6-22

            ⁶As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. ⁷I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

⁹Do your best to come to me soon, ¹⁰for Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. ¹¹Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful in my ministry. ¹²I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus. ¹³When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. ¹⁴Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will pay him back for his deeds. ¹⁵You also must beware of him, for he strongly opposed our message.

¹⁶At my first defense no one came to my support, but all deserted me. May it not be counted against them! ¹⁷But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, 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. ¹⁸The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. 

¹⁹Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. ²⁰Erastus remained in Corinth; Trophimus I left ill in Miletus. ²¹Do your best to come before winter. Eubulus sends greetings to you, as do Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers and sisters. ²²The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.^[2]

Did you notice what was most important to Paul? Relationships. Relationships with friends, colleagues, members of the church family and most of all in his relationship with Jesus. You can hear the ache in his voice as he lists those who have deserted him and those who have remained faithful. Demas, once a close ministry companion, has chosen the comforts of the world and returned to Thessalonica. Crescens and Titus are off on their own assignments. Only Luke remains.

Still, Paul asks Timothy to bring Mark with him. This is John Mark, the same one Paul once dismissed as unreliable, the young man whose perceived immaturity led to a sharp conflict between Paul and Barnabas. But time and grace have changed things. Paul has matured. Mark has matured. Old wounds have healed. Now, facing death, Paul wants Mark by his side. Even in his final days, Paul shows us that broken relationships can be mended. Forgiveness matters. Reconciliation matters. Relationships matter.^[3]

Beloved, who are the people who matter most to you? Have you told them so? Do they know it? Are there people you need to forgive, to reconcile with, to let go of old anger or hurt? Sometimes, like Paul, we need to lay down the burdens of resentment and make peace within ourselves and, if possible, with one another.

Notice, too, how Paul relates to his possessions. He has learned to live lightly. His stewardship was simple and centered on trust in God’s provision. Wherever he went, from Philippi to Corinth to Galatia, he experienced the Lord providing through the generosity of others and through his own work as a tentmaker. Paul’s “estate” was not comprised of money or property. His true possessions were the experiences of grace he had received from Christ.

When he was beaten and stoned, he possessed the presence of Christ. When shipwrecked and clinging to debris, he possessed the presence of Christ. When blinded on the Damascus Road, his only possession was the presence of Christ. For Paul, that was enough.

The only material possessions he asks Timothy to bring are his books, some parchments, and a cloak to keep warm in the chill of the Italian winter. We don’t know exactly what the books and parchments were. Some believe they were scrolls of Scripture; others think they might have been Paul’s personal notes on the churches he founded. Some even suggest that Paul hoped to work with Luke and Mark to edit the written accounts of Jesus’ life. We simply don’t know for sure. What we do know is that all Paul owned could fit in a single travel bag.

So, we might ask ourselves: What do we possess? Or, another way to ask it is whether or not our possessions own us or do we own our possessions? Paul’s few belongings helped strengthen his faith and relationships. What about ours? Do the things we hold on to draw us closer to God and to one another? If we had to pack one suitcase with what matters most, what would be in it?

Finally, did you catch Paul’s relationship with time and his sense of urgency? “Do your best to come before winter,” he pleads. Paul knows time is running short. Winter seas would soon make travel impossible, and he longs to see Timothy, to feel the warmth of friendship before the cold of death closes in.

His words carry a timeless truth: Some things can’t wait. Years ago, Dr. Clarence McCartney, pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh, preached a famous sermon called “Come Before Winter.” Reflecting on this very passage, he imagined what might have happened if Timothy had delayed his journey. What if he had said, “I’ll go, but first I need to finish my work here, ordain some elders, visit another church, handle a few details”? By the time Timothy reached Troas, the shipping season would have ended. The sea routes would be shut down until spring.

McCartney pictures Timothy finally arriving in Rome months later, only to learn that Paul had been executed during the winter. He imagines the pain of realizing that an opportunity to say goodbye, to show love, had been missed forever. “Every time the jailer put the key in the door of his cell,” McCartney writes, “Paul thought you were coming.” How Timothy must have wished he had come before winter.^[4]

Beloved, Paul’s words are words of urgency for both Timothy and for us. “Come before winter.” What are the things you and I need to do before the seasons change? Before time runs out? Are there letters that need to be written, phone calls to be made, relationships to be mended, commitments to be renewed?

Sometimes we tell ourselves we have plenty of time, that winter is a long way off. But life can change quickly. Seasons turn before we’re ready. Paul’s closing words invite us to live with urgency, to attend to what truly matters which is our faith, our relationships, our calling in Christ. Don’t wait until spring. Come before winter. Amen.

© 2025 by the Rev. Dr. Patrick H. Wrisley. Sermon manuscripts are available for the edification of members and friends of First Presbyterian Church of Glens Falls, 8 West Notre Dame Street, Glens Falls, NY 12801 and shall not be altered, re-purposed, published or preached without permission.   All rights reserved.

^[1] Please see Ethical Wills at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethical_will.

^[2] New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

^[3] See Acts 15:36 ff.

^[4] Clarence Macartney (1879–1957), Come Before Winter, accessed 10/25/2019 at https://www.preceptaustin.org/come_before_winter.