The widows in the Church
1 Do not rebuke an older man; on the con trary, advise him as if he were your father. Treat the young as your brothers,
2 the elder women as mothers and the young girls as your sisters, with great purity.
3 Take care of widows who are really widows.
4 If a widow has children or grandchildren, they should first learn their family duties and give their parents financial help. This is correct and pleases God.
5 A true widow is one who, in being left alone, has set her hope in God, praying day and night to God and asking him for help.
6 On the contrary, a widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives.
7 Warn them about this that they may be blameless.
8 Those who do not take care of their own, especially those of their household, have denied the faith and are worse than unbelievers.
9 Let no one be put on the list of widows unless she is sixty years old and has been married only once.
10 She must be commended for her good works and the education of her children. Has she offered hospitality to, washed the feet of the saints, helped the suffering and practiced other good deeds?
11 Do not accept younger widows; they may have other desires than for Christ and want to marry;
12 then they deserve condemnation for break ing their first commitment.
13 Besides they form the habit of being idle, going from house to house. And it is not just idleness! They become gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not.
14 So I want young widows to marry and have children, to rule their household and give adversaries no grounds for criticism.
15 Some have already strayed to follow Satan.
16 If any Christian wo man has widows in her family, let her assist them; in this way the church will not be burdened and may assist those who are truly widows.
Regarding the presbyters
17 Let the elders who preside well receive double compensation, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.
18 Scripture says: Do not muzzle the ox while it threshes grain, and: The worker deserves his wages.
19 Do not accept accusations against an elder except on the evi dence of two or three witnesses.
20 If he continues to sin, re buke him in the presence of the community, as a warning to the rest.
21 I urge you, in the presence of God and Christ Jesus and of the holy angels, to obey these rules with impartiality, without making distinctions.
22 Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, thus becoming an ac complice in the sins of others. Keep yourself free from blame.
24 The sins of some people are plain to see, even before they are examined; the sins of others are known only later on.
25 Likewise good deeds are conspicuous; even when they are not, they cannot remain hidden.
23 (Do not drink only water but take a little wine to help your digestion, because of your frequent illness.)
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Comments 1 Letter to Timothy, Chapter 5
• 5.1 From the beginning, women had their own unique role in the Church. Some of them, called widows occupied an official position.
Paul sees three kinds of widows: some did not need help from the Church because they had relatives; others did need Church assistance. Finally, there were some, with or without the help of the Church, who were in charge of certain functions.
They deserve condem nation… (v. 12). This means that by leaving her position and marrying, the “widow” of the third category broke a commitment she had made publicly. The “widows” were dedicated to the service of Christ in the same way as religious women of today.
A true widow is she who has set her hope on God. We should read what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7 concerning the greater freedom celibates have to serve the Lord. Every baptized person is called to belong totally to Christ. If, through circumstances of life, we are alone again and free from family responsibilities, this may be an invitation from God to dedicate ourselves completely to the service of the Church and to constant prayer.
If today retired Christians looked into their lives in the light of God’s presence, the Church would have more leaders and missionaries than are necessary.
• 17. Paul speaks again of the elders or “presbyters” who are in charge of the local community. Paul wants the community to help its leaders spiritually and financially.
We have already noted that the elders who were in charge of the community and who presided at the Eucharist were chosen from the most esteemed believers. This paragraph shows that the primary service expected from them was the preaching of the Word.
They deserve double compensation. It is rather astonishing to see that in many parishes the council consists of more lay peo ple competent in social or material matters than persons of the Word, learned or pro phe t ic, capable of giving life to the community.
They must fulfill their duties. Rebuke him in the presence of the community as a warning to the rest: the first Christians were no angels. Sometimes their enthusiastic and sincere faith needed strong discipline in order for them to remain faithful to their commitments. Besides when have leaders of communities not caused problems?
In 5:18 note the quotation of the Gospel: “the worker deserves his wages” (Lk 10:7). This passage shows us that when this letter was written, towards the year 90, the Gospels were already considered “Scripture.”
At the beginning and end of the chapter, the author insists on faithfulness to tradition. Faith is not a doctrine that can be adapted to one’s tastes. Leaders are required to have a respectful and humble attitude towards this treasure entrusted to them to be transmitted to others. We can already see two faults:
– instead of deepening faith, some multiply words;
– some replace surrender to God’s Word with a critical attitude that attempts to judge faith and decide if it agrees with their own ideas.
Money is mentioned twice (6:10 and 6:17-19). After the first years of enthusiastic faith, the Church finds that, even for believers, everything is lost when love for money persists. That is the drama in certain countries where solid Christian groups have been caught up with the best of society in the pursuit of money: faith continues to be important for them but this faith only motivates fidelity to religious practice. Money that has become our security lessens our trust in God (6:10) and isolates us from others.
The pastors of the Church should be the most aware of the danger (6:11). Salvation for them will be to place themselves in the less secure areas of life and society, where an act of faith is constantly necessary to overcome difficulties and joyously accept sacrifices (v. 12). It is not in seeking first of all our personal fulfillment that we become God’s agent and a witness of Christ, as he himself has been the witness of the Father (6:13).
Paul calls upon Timothy to avoid all those dangers and remain true to faith and free from greed. By doing so, he will be “a man of God,” a witness of Christ.