Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons.”
NL Daily Devotion for Friday, January 17, 2020
by R. Fergus Moir, Clergy Stuff
Twelve was an important number to the Jewish people. There were twelve tribes of Israel, after all, and the gospel writers wanted to make it clear that Jesus was present to the world as a Jew, who would redeem God’s chosen people. So the appointing of twelve disciples was symbolic of a new twelve tribes, a kind of rebirth of God’s people into a new relationship.
That’s all well and good, and I get that symbolism is important. But we can’t forget that the gospel writers were all Jewish men who were ultimately entrenched in the patriarchal society of the time. So Jesus’ women disciples (and there were many) were discounted, relegated to the role of making meals and serving Jesus and the twelve.
In fact, there are plenty of places in the gospels where it suggests, without directly saying it, that women were as much appointed by Jesus to proclaim the message and cast out demons as the men. Some scholars make a viable claim that when Jesus sent the disciples out, they were sent in pairs consisting of a man and a woman.
All this is to say that while Christians hold fast to this idea of the twelve apostles, don’t forget to listen for the voices we don’t hear in the gospels—like the voices of the women. And never discount your own call to be an apostle of Jesus—or anyone else’s—simply because of gender identity.
God who calls all to witness to your saving love, weave my voice into the proclamation of your gospel, that all might be welcomed. Amen.
An
Exceptional
People
Blog Posts
SIGN UP NOW