This summer our worship services are focusing on the “Supporting Cast in the Bible.” These are the lesser known Biblical
characters, people whom we hear about only briefly in the scriptures.
Yet, these characters frequently play crucial roles in the Bible, and sometimes
they model ideal Christian discipleship in the way they live their lives.
This Sunday, June 30th,
we will get to know Phoebe, an early Christian.
Phoebe is only mentioned in the Bible for two verses. Here’s what the Apostle Paul wrote in those
two verses:
I commend
to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church at Cenchreae, so that you
may welcome her in the Lord as is fitting for the saints, and help her in
whatever she may require from you, for she has been a benefactor of many and of
myself as well. (Romans 16:1-2)
In the first years following the Resurrection and
Ascension of Jesus, Christianity began to expand beyond Jerusalem and its
Jewish Temple. As the emerging faith
grew, the first Christians adopted some of the attitudes and practices which
they had previously followed within Judaism.
They formed themselves into politeuma. Karen Jo Torjessen explains, “To be part of
the Jewish community was to be part of a politeuma, a “commonwealth”; it
meant to be part of a nation. This sense
of identity was expressed in a distinctive way of life, a moral code, a set of
laws, and a unique form of worship.”[1]
Christians also formed themselves into politeuma,
usually meeting in someone’s home. The
homes were usually owned by the more wealthy Christian converts. These “patrons” also paid most of the costs associated
with maintaining a politeuma.
Patrons were usually householders or business people. “In the ancient world, both men and women
were patrons and householders. The
social authority, economic power, and political influence associated with these
roles were not restricted by gender.”[2]
In his Epistle, Paul describes Phoebe as a “deacon of the
church at Cenchreae.” In her role as a
deacon, Phoebe played an important leadership role in the church at Cenchreae. In fact, the Biblical scholar Karen Jo
Torjessen claims that Phoebe supervised the Cenchreae church.[3] Torjessen also observes that Phoebe “was a
woman of some wealth and social status and traveled to Rome in connection with
her business and social life and the affairs of the Christian church. She had agreed to carry Paul’s letter to the
Romans…”[4]. Biblical scholars also believe that she was a
key assistant to Paul during his missionary journeys.
Although women—such as Phoebe—held important leadership
positions in the first Christian churches, their leadership decreased as
Christianity grew and began to assimilate into the prevailing Hellenistic
culture. In the Greco-Roman worldview,
women were weak and intellectually shallow.
Further, there were distinct roles which women and men were supposed to
play. The woman’s domain was the private
home and management of the household. As
the household manager, the woman may have significant discretion and
power. However, her role was restricted
to the household. The public sphere—including
speaking in public—was the man’s domain.
As the early polieuma grew and eventually moved
out of private homes into public basilicas, then women had less and less
opportunities to assume leadership positions.[5] It was not until much later that women began
to reclaim important leadership roles within the Church. From the perspective of the twenty-first
century, the erosion of women’s leadership roles for some many years has certainly
inhibited the Church from fully responding in faith to God’s Call.
In our
worship service this Sunday, we will celebrate the church leadership of Phoebe
and so many other women down through the centuries, while also lamenting those
times when the Church has inhibited the role of women as church leaders.
If you live in the Lincoln,
Nebraska area and do not have a place to worship, then I invite you to come and
join us at Christ United Methodist Church this Sunday, June 30th. Christ United Methodist Church is located at
4530 “A” Street. We have three worship
services on Sunday mornings at 8:30, 9:45, and 11:00. The 8:30 and 11:00 services feature a
traditional worship format and the services are held in our Sanctuary. My proclamation on Phoebe will be part of the
8:30 and 11:00 services.
“The Gathering” at 9:45 is held in our Family
Life Center (gym); it is more informal and interactive. In “The Gathering” this summer, we are exploring
diverse areas of Christian discipleship, using a different Disney film each week. This week’s film is The Hunchback of Notre
Dame. Using scenes from this film,
we will examine how church buildings can simultaneously offer both a safe sanctuary
and spirit-stifling prison—and what the implications for Christian discipleship
are.
Come, join us at any of our three services.
Everyone is welcome and accepted because
God loves us all.
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