I can’t pass up the opportunity to point out the obvious – Jesus had female followers. There, I said it. Recently, I was surprised by how many of my close family and friends turned out for the Women’s March on January 21. From Washington D.C. to San Francisco, to Minneapolis, women showed up to speak out. One of my FB friends posted something like this… “Who knew there were so many women in the world? Whose big idea was it to piss them all off at the same time?” Snarky, but also funny. It made me think, you’d better think twice about stirring up women all at once, because women working together are a force to be reckoned with!

Clearly, for thousands of years, women have been speaking out and standing up for what they believe in. We might be led to believe Jesus was here for the men, worked only with men, only had men following him. But without the women, Jesus’ movement would not have been what it was. Paul’s missionary journeys would not have been as successful. Without a woman, Jesus would never have been born! Go celebrate the women in your life today. 

Text:

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.