“Soon afterwards he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources.” Luke 8: 1-3 (NRSV)
If you were to look at my bookshelf at home you’d see double stacks of books in each shelf. I find it incredibly hard to let go of books. For the most part I’ve read them all at least once, I have a good stack of fiction, a fair amount of comic books and graphic novels, and an ever-growing amount of school books. They’ve all taught me things; from magic wardrobes to the Lonely Mountain in Middle earth to even some Jane Austen or Dietrich Bonhoeffer, all of these stories and books have been important in my life.
Stories were incredibly important to the people of the Early Church, too. These stories of Jesus and his teachings weren’t collected together in a nicely bound book, but rather these stories were told at gatherings in the homes of Christians. I find the fact that these meetings took place in homes to be interesting for a couple of reasons. First, the public sphere did not accommodate or allow open practice of other religions that rivaled the established religion of the Roman Empire; so where did you go? You went to the homes.
Secondly, who would host these meetings? The private realm of the home was lead by the wife; the comings and goings were under her supervision. More often than not these weren’t your lower class women who were hosting, either; the only people who could accommodate large gatherings would be the upper class of society. This was a space where women could be in charge and not be seen as odd for doing so. It might be silly to praise something that we take for granted in 2019, but it was significant that this still new and forming religion included women or even allowed them to lead. Women ran the home churches during and after the time of Paul (note that he greets women and commends them on their work in the letter to the Romans). It wasn’t until the worship services were moved into the public sphere (a more male dominated space) that women stopped leading.
Women have long been involved with the spreading and teaching of the Gospel. A prime example is the way the author of Luke writes women into the narrative. Women are included in Jesus’ miracle stories. In two different chapters we have Jesus healing a woman on the Sabbath (Luke 13:10-17) and then Jesus healing a man on the Sabbath (Luke 14 1:-6). We also see it in the parables Jesus taught. When talking about what the love of God is like we are given the story of the shepherd who is searching for his lost sheep, and we are given the woman who is looking for her lost coin (Luke 15:3-10).
My favorite of these examples, however, is the inclusion of the women in Jesus’ ministry. Take for example Luke 8: 1-3. Luke mentions three women along with the twelve disciples who are with Jesus. Mary Magalene, Joanna, and Susanna. The text goes on to say “and many others” provided for them, and I would like to humbly suggest that these “many others” refers to other women who helped Jesus and his ministry out of their own pocket and resources.
The author of Luke does not shy away from the importance of women in the story and ministry of Jesus. The mention of these women can be tied to Luke 23:49 and how Jesus’ disciples fled—including the women. This same group can also be tied to proclaiming the empty tomb to the disciples in chapter 24. Luke’s account has managed to preserve the women in the narrative of Jesus. He has made it clear through his narrative structure that men and women are equal; equal in receiving the grace of God and equals in the ministry and furthering of the Kingdom of God.
We see women furthering the work and ministry of Jesus just like the men mentioned in the gospel. The representation of women disciples must have meant so much to the women leading and teaching the early church gatherings. For me, this inclusion of women into a usually male dominated story does more than make me feel good about seeing representation; it actualizes the gospel by showcasing active women in ministry. These are the kind stories I want to pass down, that we should all strive to pass down.
Emily Cortez is a senior English Literature student and currently minoring in Religous Studies at La Sierra University. Her poem “Lumpia” recently won the Roadrunner Poetry Prize: https://roadrunner.lasierra.edu/lumpia-colonial-compliments/.