Friday, 18th September 2020

Collect

Forgiving God, your mercy endures forever: make us know the extent to which we are forgiven, that by your grace we will become a forgiving people; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Eucharist Readings:

1 Corinthians 15:12-20        Psalm 17:1-7       Luke 8:1-3

In our Gospel reading, Jesus went on a preaching tour. There is no mention of synagogues and it may well be that interesting hostility on the part of the synagogue establishment led Him to concentrate on preaching and teaching in the open air. Once more we are confronted with a fact which we have already noted. This passage lists a group of women who served him out of their resources. It was always considered to be a sincere act to support a Rabbi, and the fact that the devoted followers of Jesus helped him in this way was in direct line with the ordinary practice.

He was accompanied by the Twelve and a group of women whom he had healed. The rabbis refused to teach women and gave them an inferior place, but Jesus admitted them freely into His fellowship as on this occasion and accepted their service.  There was Mary Magdalene, from the town Magdala, (a place-name meaning: The Tower). Luke says that Jesus casted seven demons out of her, which shows that Jesus had rescued her from a very distressing existence. Clearly, she had a past which was dark and terrible. There, was Joanna, she was the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward and was a man of substance. There could be a no more trusted and important official, and it is an amazing thing to find Mary Magdalene, with the dark past, and Joanna the lady of the court in one company, also Susanna and many others. It is one of highest achievements of Jesus that he can enable the most diverse people to live together without in the least losing their own personalities or qualities.

Here we learn that these women responded in love and gratitude for what Jesus had done for them and in this list of women, we have a group whose help was practical. Being women, they were not allowed to preach but they gave the gifts they had. It is not always the person in the foreground who is doing the greatest work. There is no gift which cannot be used in the service of Christ. Many of the greatest servants are in the background, unseen but essential to their cause.