Sermon: Wittenberg Academy – Sep 19, 2023

19 Sep 2023

Text: 1 Tim 2:1-15

In the name of + Jesus.  Amen.

St. Paul urges that we pray for “all people,” but especially “for kings and all who are in high positions.”  Some people interpret this to mean that we should always support the government – even when they are wicked or acting illegally.  St. Paul himself would be executed by Caesar just a few years after writing this letter to St. Timothy.  So would St. Peter.  And for nearly three hundred years, Christians would suffer periods of persecution under various emperors of Rome. And yet we are to pray for them.

Certainly, this is a continuation of our Lord’s instruction that we pray for our enemies, and even love them (Matt 5:44).  We love our enemies by seeking their repentance, not by joining in their wickedness, not by taking part in their crimes, not by supporting them in their governance.  For “God our Savior… desires all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.”  St. Paul understands this better than anyone, as he was a person of authority who was persecuting Christians.  He came to the knowledge of the truth.  He was saved from what he truly deserved for his sins.  Just like the rest of us. Indeed, the apostle points himself out as an example, and adds, “I am telling the truth, I am not lying.”

And so we pray for all authorities, whether they are legitimate or illegitimate, whether they are from our party or the opposition, whether they are Christians or non-Christians – and even if they are tyrants and mass murderers.  We pray for their conversion – for the sake of their own souls, for the sake of the lives that will be saved by their repentance, for the sake of the preaching of the Gospel, and “that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life.”

Paul reminds Timothy – and all pastors – as well as all Christians, that the Christian life is radical.  It is a complete reprioritization of what we consider important.  It means that men should pray.  How often do we see husbands and fathers neglecting this duty.  It means that women should be modest in their appearance, not ostentatious or overly concerned about their looks.  It means that women should submit to their husbands at home, and women should not be in positions of authority in church and society, but rather should see their vocation of “childbearing” as holy.

This way of life was radical in the days when Paul wrote to Timothy, in a society in which emperors were literally worshiped as gods, when kings ruled with absolute authority, when soldiers patrolled the streets with almost no control of their brutality, when women were priests, divorce was common, children were legally murdered, men neglected their fatherly responsibilities, and women were obsessed with their appearance as they jockeyed to compete with the men for leadership.

And the Christian life is radical today, dear friends.  In many ways, we are re-living Rome.  And this should not surprise us.  Paul and Timothy lived in the days before Christianity became normal.  We are living in the early days of a post-Christian society.  And so we must double down on our countercultural worship of Jesus as God, on the fact that God is our Savior, that women are saved as they bear children, and men are saved as they pray.  We are not saved by doing these things, but we are saved to do these things.  And as radical Christians, we do love our enemies by praying for them, even when our kings and presidents and elected officials are amoral thugs who happen to work in marble-columned temples. 

Let us pray for them.  Let us pray for their conversion.  Let us pray for life and peace and the freedom to proclaim the Gospel.  Let us pray for ourselves, that we carry out the vocations to which we are called.  And let us pray prayers of thanksgiving to our merciful God whose grace makes the impossible possible.

Amen.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.