Remembrance

The wind is strong today, determined to wipe the last stubborn leaves off the trees. When you drive in the hollows, the trees are protected and colorful. But here I’m in the open and glad for the evergreens around the yard that stand up to the wind and ward off the grey stooping ceiling. Sentinels in spiky uniforms.

Today I went in for radiation two hours early, forgetting to adjust my calendar for my day off yesterday—Remembrance of the 11^th hour on the 11^th day of the 11^th month. Everyone was wearing red poppies. For soldiers left behind in Flanders.

We remember soldiers of all kinds. I have just finished my book, and the last chapter is about  women “soldiers.” (I avoid military imagery when talking about Christians service, but sometimes we forget about the people who have been killed in “battle” for their faith. As evangelicals we don’t have a moment of silence for our martyrs, or any remembrance at all that I know of.) My reading highlighted the women in the roll call at the end of Romans: Phoebe, Prisca, Mary, Junia, Tryphaena and Trphosa, Persis, the mother of Rufus, Julia, the sister of Nereus. I’ll tell you what the book says about them.

Phoebe heads the list. She is a deacon (not a deaconess; apparently there is no such thing in the Bible) from the church of Cenchrea, a port near Corinth, from where Paul was most likely writing, and from the way she is commended to the Roman Christians, it’s possible she was the carrier of the letter and read it aloud to them, as would have been the custom, the first interpreter of its Pauline tones. Some translations call her a helper or servant, but when the same word is applied to Paul, it becomes “minister.” The deacons we know about in Acts were certainly gifted ministers of the gospel, leaders of the early church, and probably Phoebe was, too, because she’s also called a benefactor, one who “stands before” others to preside and/or aid, and when Paul uses this word elsewhere, it means elders or leaders.

Prisca (Aquila’s wife) we know about from the book of Acts, a tent-maker, a hospitality giver. Her name goes before that of her husband, and she’s known for gently, discreetly mentoring Apollos. Paul talks about her as a fellow missionary, doing the work of God to proclaim the gospel, and he claims that “all the churches of the Gentiles” give thanks for her ministry with Aquila.

Junia, probably married to Andronicus, is counted as “prominent among the apostles.” A female apostle, and an outstanding one! For a thousand years no one questioned this. But Martin Luther decided that this wasn’t possible, so he changed her name to Junias, a male, when he wrote the German translation of the Bible. Sex-change-by-translation, someone called it. Someone else went back to check the records. The name Junias simply doesn’t exist. There are lots of “Junia’s” in ancient Roman inscriptions, and they are women, every one. So says my book.

Mary, Trypheaena, Tryphosa, Persis. These women, like the others, were known for their “hard work,” which for Paul means the hard work of spreading the gospel and ministering to the churches. The last three may have been slaves, and the two Try’s might have been sisters (often named similarly), even sex workers, because their names meant “dainty” and “luscious.” Whatever they were before meeting Jesus, Paul knew them as fellow workers, soldiering on beside him through thick and thin to bring God to people. 

Then there is one who became like a mother to Paul, and Julia who may be the mother of Nereus’ sister, bringing her up to serve just like Mom. It’s hard to tell, since Paul doesn’t mention the blood lines, marriages or social status of the women. No. They are co-workers, working hard. If you've done research on them and know other things about them, let me know. Burning question: if Paul welcomed women as leaders in the church, as it appears he did, why didn't he make this obvious? Why did God allow the ambiguity that's caused so much conflict and unheld babies?

Whatever their role, I'm glad Paul included these women in his roll call of honor. I'm glad to be reminded of them.