27
January 60 A.D. Commemoration
of New Testament Women
Graves,
Dan. “Commemoration of New Testament Women.”
Christianity.com. Jun 2014.
http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1-300/commemoration-of-new-testament-women-11629577.html. Accessed 11 Jul 2014.
The woman walking up the Roman Road hugged a
secret. Hidden beneath her robe was the future of Christian theology. For she bore
with her a letter to the church in Rome that would spell out, like no other
document ever written, the implications and significance of the gospel.
Paul had turned to her out of
need. While in Corinth he had written a letter to the distant Roman church. He
could not slip the letter into an envelope, lick a couple stamps and drop it
into a mailbox; there was no postal service. Instead, he must find someone to
carry the letter. As F. W. Boreham points out, Paul could write the letter but
at that time could not carry it. Phoebe could not have written the letter, but
she could carry it. As Christians we need one
another.
What do we know about Phoebe?
Not much. Paul mentions her in just one place (Romans 16:1, 2): "I commend
to you our sister Phoebe, a deaconess of the church at Cenchrea [the port of
Corinth], that you may receive her in the Lord as befits the saints, and help
her in whatever she may require from you, for she has been a helper of many and
of myself as well."
This day,
January 27th, is remembered in honor of Phoebe and two other
early Christian women, Dorcas and Lydia. All three shared one pre-eminent
quality: they helped others.
Dorcas was known for her
assistance to the poor. So highly regarded was she, that when she died, the
saints of Joppa appealed to Peter. He prayed over her and God raised her from
the dead.
Lydia was a seller of purple
cloth. After Paul shared the gospel with her, Lydia and her entire household
were baptized--his first convert in Europe. She insisted Luke and Paul stay at
her house. Her prosperous home became the original church at Philippi.
As these three individuals of
the New Testament show, middle class women were already beginning to play an
important role in the Christian world.
Bibliography:
Boreham, F. W. "The Lion and the Mouse." Cliffs of
Opal. London: Epworth, 1948.
Tenney, Merrill C. Pictorial Bible Dictionary.
Nashville: Southwestern Co. 1972.
Various internet sources.
Last updated June,
2007
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