The Festival of St. Timothy, Bishop and Confessor
Posted on January 24, 2026 by under
Scripture: 1 Timothy 5:11-16 (NKJV)
5:11 But refuse the younger widows; for when they have begun to grow wanton against Christ, they desire to marry, 12 having condemnation because they have cast off their first faith. 13 And besides they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle but also gossips and busybodies, saying things which they ought not. 14 Therefore I desire that the younger widows marry, bear children, manage the house, give no opportunity to the adversary to speak reproachfully. 15 For some have already turned aside after Satan. 16 If any believing man or woman has widows, let them relieve them, and do not let the church be burdened, that it may relieve those who are really widows.
Devotion
In our reading for today, St. Paul instructs St. Timothy (and the rest of the Church, for all time) by inspiration how to treat Christian widows and the needy. Younger widows should be encouraged to remarry, for it is God-pleasing for women to have children and manage households. This is another expression of how important the family is in God’s plans and desires for us, and how important the role of bringing up children in a Christian home. Timothy would have remembered this, because St. Paul mentions Eunice and Lois (St. Timothy’s mother and grandmother, respectively) by name in his second epistle to St. Timothy. St. Paul understands that it is all too human (and thus a problem) to be tempted to idleness, being a busybody and a gossip. Such things are not a credit to the Church but a detriment, as those activities serve no useful purpose and give occasion for those outside to criticize.
Meanwhile, St. Paul uses this occasion to remind us that we have individual obligations to take care of our aged and bereaved relatives, so that the Church can focus on those who are truly alone and have no one else to help care for them.
Collect: O Lord, as Thou didst preserve faithful Timothy to a steadfast confession of Thy Holy Word, even as he instructed those who would be set apart for ministry in Thy Church, we pray that Thou wouldst so bless Thy people in this generation with steadfast confessors; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Collect for the Second Sunday after the Epiphany of our Lord
Almighty and Everlasting God, Who dost govern all things in heaven and earth: Mercifully hear the supplications of Thy people, and grant us Thy peace all the days of our life; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
