Roman 16's Women of Influence - Margaret Blakey

In the church in which I grew up the Bible really mattered.  It was always open.  Obviously it was open in services, but if you met outside of church the Bible was always open, too.  If you ate a meal with another family, then the Bible was open.  If you met in a home, then the Bible was open.  If you travelled in a car, then the Bible was open.  It mattered. 

But as I have travelled my journey I have discovered verses that I didn’t really know existed.  I have found words of scripture that were not part of that immersing in the Word of God.  One such passage is Romans 16.

I am sure that Romans 16 was read aloud from time to time, but I suspect that I, along with others, glazed over at a long list of names whose gender wasn’t instantly obvious. Our ears will have pricked up to the obvious acclaim of women who ‘worked hard in the Lord’, but our imagination will have seen woman busy preparing food, being in the background, facilitating. 

These early church women were women of influence.  They were often affluent and had authority over a household which will have included significant numbers of slaves.  Phoebe is described as a ‘diakonon’ (root of our modern word ‘deacon’) and ‘prostates’ (patron) of Paul and others.  Phoebe used her finance and position to enable Paul to preach to the church in Corinth.  Phoebe was a facilitator, but not in a quiet, behind the scenes way, but in a determined and courageous manner.  Phoebe used her authority, status and finance to enable the gospel of Christ into her community. 

What did it mean for these women to ‘work hard in the Lord’?  Like Phoebe, I am sure that they used their positions and skills to spread the gospel and equip the church.  Paul describes Persis as ‘a dear friend’ and Rufus’ mother as ‘being a mother to me’.  He clearly loved and respected the contribution of these women.  Meanwhile, he describes Junia as ‘outstanding among the apostles’ – who can doubt that this woman had a significant role sharing the word of God in her community, so much so that she was imprisoned for it?

What does it mean for us to ‘work hard in the Lord’?  We, who have access to world class education. We, who enjoy the majority of the world’s wealth.  We, who often have the skills needed to take on positions of authority.  We need to broaden our horizons beyond the confines of our own culture and history.  We need to determine to understand the word of God in the context it was written and then understand our own context as only being a very small part of a global context, with lives, cultures and needs so very different and so often far greater than our own.  The Bible was written for all of us.

Those women in my childhood who tirelessly prepared buffets for large groups of people ‘worked hard in the Lord’.  My mother, who still cares for the elderly in her neighbourhood ‘works hard in the Lord’.  I know many women church leaders, pastors and missionaries who ‘work hard in the Lord’.  Whatever your theological viewpoint, Paul bestowed great honour on the active women of faith in Romans 16.  As women, we need to listen to Gods calling on our lives and step out with courage and conviction to ‘work hard in the Lord’ whatever that means for each of us.

Margaret Blakey is a musician, deacon and worship leader, as well as a wife and mother.  She grew up in a strict brethren church and her writing reflects her journey from a complementarian viewpoint to an egalitarian viewpoint. She is still on this journey. You can follow her on her blog and contact on twitter: @GaretKey.

This is our final reflection in our exploration of 'Just the tea-makers? Women in the early church', our topic for Week IV of our Gender in the New Testament series. What do you think? Share your thoughts by commenting on this blog, discussing on Facebook or tweeting @sophianetwork using #genderinNT. Let's join in the discussion together.

(Image courtesy of Paige Larson Photography).