Romans 16: 3-9, 16, 22-27; Psalm 145; Luke 16: 9-15
Paul ends his letter to the Romans: “To the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever! Amen.” As he concludes, he thanks those who have supported him, including Prisca, Mary and Junia, “prominent among the apostles.” Some manuscripts change Junia (f) to Junius (m)—so unusual is it that a woman should be counted an apostle. Likewise today. Our liturgists have omitted the first two verses of this last chapter in which Paul thanks Phoebe, called a deaconess of the church at Cenchrae and a helper or benefactor. We have plenty of evidence that there were deaconneses in the early church. Helper is prostatis in Greek. It is nowhere else used in the New Testament, which is written in a dialect of Greek. It is used in secular Greek and in the Greek translation of Chronicles in the Jewish scriptures. It means supervisor, overseer, governor. Super in Latin is over in English and epi in Greek; visor in Latin is look in English and scopus in Greek. A supervisor, overseer might well be the episcopos, the bishop of Cenchrae. Our church is poorer for not calling women to be priests and bishops, but as the Alleluia verse reminds us, our powerlessness is like the Word incarnate’s: “Jesus Christ was rich, but he became poor to make you rich out of his poverty.”
Again, move through the day consecrating each task to the glory of God. Remember all the influential women in your life. How were their gifts used for the glory of God? What do you hope for women in our church? In the Muslim world? Anywhere in the world where there is poverty? Share your hopes with Jesus, the poor one.
Thank you, Jesus, for emptying yourself, becoming like us in all things, even in the powerlessness that so many women experience. Give us your Spirit who is power.