DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS
1 Timothy 5:1-10 (12/7) Epistle for Monday of the
Twenty-Seventh Week after Pentecost
Church As Community I ~ Care for
Widows: 1 Timothy 5:1-10, especially vs. 3: “Honor widows who are really widows.” Saint
Nikolai of Zica notes that although “...before
Christ men were able with their own spirit and effort to create great
civilizations...it was not possible to arrive at a proper concept of God...as
love.” And to demonstrate
this truth he asks,
“How would men know about charity had God not first acted
with His?” For it is with
Christ that a world-wide community of care, love, and charity came into being
and exists, even with imperfections, to this day, extending care and love
through its members despite their great diversity.
It seems natural to us that the
This week we read four passages that conclude the First
Epistle to Timothy. Each of the
readings is concerned with the status and needs of a particular group or class
of persons within the Church: widows, presbyters, slaves, teachers, and the
wealthy. Since all of these are
members of the Body of Christ, all are of special concern to the Church as a
loving community.
Today’s reading discloses that a monastic-style order
of widows was established in the early days, to avoid having the Church’s
goodwill abused. The general
criteria for admission: “...sixty years old...” and
”...the wife of one man, well reported for good works...”
(vss. 9,10). Younger widows were refused
admission, “...for when they have begun to grow wanton against Christ,
they desire to marry, having condemnation because they have cast off their
first faith” (vss. 11,12). “...younger widows [should] marry,
bear children, manage the house...” (vs. 14),
and, as Tertullian noted later, to take “...the whole course of probation
whereby a female can be tested.”
The Apostle counsels Timothy that care be given to those
widows who truly require the help of the Church, those “...who are really
widows” (vs. 3). Notice,
however, that he divides widows who have “...children or grandchildren...”
(vs. 4) from any widow “...who is...left alone...” (vs. 5). These
latter are of special concern because they have no natural family who might
“...repay their parents...” (vs. 4). Where families are capable of assisting,
they should bear the burden of caring for their dependent relatives:
“...for this is good and acceptable before God” (vs. 4). When one who calls himself a Christian
but “...does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his
household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (vs.
8).
On the other hand, women who have no recourse except to
make “...supplications and prayers night and day” to God for help
(vs. 5) genuinely are the responsibility of the Church, because the community
bears Christ’s name. In the
second century, Saint Ignatius of
Heavenly Father, guide Thy Church to administer justice for
the fatherless and widows.
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