Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“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.”
NL Daily Devotion for Saturday, February 8, 2025
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
The Bible section heading reads “Some Women Accompany Jesus.” I don’t know why I find this a little funny. Like Jesus pulls together this hand-picked group of men (“the twelve”) to be his inner circle and then, oh, by the way, a bunch of women are also trailing along for the ride. I feel like Luke is on the fence about the whole thing.
Here's what I think. (Call it midrash.) Jesus chose both men and women for his inner circle and treated them absolutely equally. The writer of Luke knew this but was afraid that the audience of first century Jews he was trying to bring into the faith through his writing might not really be ready for Jesus’ message of radical inclusivity. But he also didn’t want to piss off the women who had “the resources” that supported this bunch of wandering faithful, so he was careful to include them, calling them out by name to make sure they didn’t feel slighted and pick up their resources and go home.
It’s a shame, really, how much was lost as Christianity morphed into Christendom, especially this equality of women, which we’re still trying to get back to. May we always remember that Jesus didn’t exclude anyone, so that we don’t either.
Who is my favorite woman in the Bible?
