Proper 20C’25
21 September 2025
I Tim 2.1-7
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church
North Little Rock, Arkansas
The Rev. Carey Stone <+>
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven: In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Back when I was a kid, I had a friend named Steve and we used to take turns going to each other’s house for sleepovers. When it was my turn to stay at Steve’s house, I would always feel a little uneasy. The main reason for my unease was Steve’s mother, – “Bertha.” I could never be sure if I would make it through the weekend without violating the house rules. Every time I went I learned to hold my breath in suspense.
One night, Steve and me were in the kitchen looking for a snack. Just when I was starting to open the refrigerator door I was startled by Steve, who in his sock feet, came skidding across the tile floor like “Tom Cruise in Risky Business” and saying in a soft voice, “doooooooonn’t!” As he gently closed the fridge door shut, he said, “Man, don’t let my mom catch you doing that!” About that time in walked Bertha batting her ‘laser beam eyes’ that could cut through steel and said – “Don’t be ugly.” That was her favorite thing to say anytime you did or were about to do something she didn’t like here it would come again, “Don’t be ugly.” I learned real fast there were certain rules in her household that you dared not to trespass. In fairness to Bertha, most people have some household rules about what is and is not acceptable and about what is expected, and St. Paul and the household of God was no exception.
In several of his letters in the New Testament Paul prescribes some household rules for the first century churches that met in homes. His letter to Timothy, one of his young missionary companions who was a pastor and evangelist, prescribed some rules for the household of faith that are just as applicable for us in the 21st century.
Back in the first century there was a dire political situation that made it extremely difficult and often dangerous for the followers of Christ. The Roman government believed that the emperor was divine, and demanded that all of his subjects pray to him. Because Christians claimed a different God, the empire of Rome felt threatened by them, so they persecuted as well as prosecuted them. Other religious sects saw them as competitors who were out to steal converts so they tried to root them out. The rule that St. Paul prescribed for these churches was first and foremost a rule for prayer, he writes: “First of all, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.”1
This short household rule included four different types of prayer. The first is “supplications.” This word in Latin is supplicare and it means, “to bend the knee.” Here we pause before God in reverent praise, simply to acknowledge that only God is divine and the ultimate authority of our lives.
The second type of prayer is what he simply calls “prayers.” These prayers are a form of “petition”, where we actively seek God and ask for something specific usually for ourselves. These come from the depths of our hearts and are born out of the ‘nitty gritty’ of our daily lives. Here we are free to be real with the Real God about what is really going on in our lives; as George Buttrick puts it: “Sometimes in sorrow, dread, or helplessness…a beating on heaven’s door with bruised knuckles in the dark.”2
The third type of prayer mentioned is “intercessions.” These are the prayers we offer on behalf of others. Here we lay aside the concerns for ourselves and we turn our attention to the world around us. An example of this type of prayer in its simplest form can be found in “the prayers of the people” portion of the liturgy where we pray for leaders of the church and of the world, for the sick, poor, and needy etc.
The fourth type of prayer St. Paul mentions is called “thanksgivings.” These are the prayers that help us get up in the morning and say “Good morning God” instead of “Good God morning!” As we make gratitude for all we have been given our daily practice, we are transformed into people who spread positive energy everywhere we go. A suggestion for allowing gratitude to grow in our hearts, try an experiment by getting up each morning and writing down three things you are grateful for and see how that affects your day. It’s great medicine for a poor disposition.
Within his rule, St. Paul then gives a very specific instruction: “To pray for all kings and all who are in high positions.” While the empire demanded that prayer be made to the divine emperor, Christians prayed to the Divine God on the emperor’s behalf. They didn’t believe the emperor was divine, but they did believe that the power and authority of government offices were divinely appointed (see Romans chapter 13). As an added incentive to pray for leaders, a promise is tacked on: “so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.” The view of the early Church was that even in the midst of a pagan empire led by a godless self-proclaimed ‘Divine’ emperor – God was in the details. The decisions made by rulers both good and bad, could be guided by the unseen hand of God for the larger purpose of facilitating and spreading the Good News of God’s salvation for everyone, and could also bring relative peace to their own lives, and yes ultimately the fall of the oppressive empire.
But, do we really believe in prayer? Are we really praying? If we go to a restaurant and simply read the menu, are we really eating? Spiritual writer Parker Palmer pointed out that we all can fall into the trap he called “functional atheism . . . the belief that ultimate responsibility for everything rests with me.”
As a nation we seem to have lost our “household rules.”
Americans used to listen to each other but now we identify, label, and demonize each other, and then turn on each other. I’d say our “quiet and peaceable lives” are being shaken to the core. But as Christians under the rules of the household of God, we are called to pray for President Donald Trump, to pray for Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, to pray for our senators, and representatives. There are some excellent prayers found in the Book of Common Prayer if you need help getting started found on pp.820-822. Leaders so desperately need to be guided by Godly wisdom rooted in love, not the pet peeves of powerful special interests.
My brothers and sisters of the household of faith, if there has ever been a time in our history to pray for our leaders and those in positions of authority it is now! If there has ever been a time to put all our eggs in the basket of God’s kingdom it is now! As Christians we are called to love one another, love all people, pray for our enemies, and to pray for our leaders. Let us remember the powerful words and household rules of the Church:
“I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires everyone to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.”
Amen.
Pray always, and do not lose heart Luke 18.1
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1 From I Timothy 2.1-7 NRSV
2 Buttrick, George in Devotional Classics (HarperCollins Publishers: San Francisco) p.90