We hear in today’s Gospel, “Jesus journeyed from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. Accompanying him were the Twelve and some women.” When we read this verse through our 21st century lens, it is easy to skim right past it. OK, so the apostles and some women walked with Jesus. And the sky was blue, the sun was warm, and people breathed the air. But this was not the 21st century. Yes, God is eternal. He exists outside of time, though through Jesus he stepped into time. He stepped into the first century, and he turned the world on its ear.
When Jesus placed his glorious toe into the stream of time, the same blue sky stretched overhead, the same warm sun shone in the sky, and the same air filled the lungs of the people, but so much was different. Women had a purpose and a role in the culture, but in the view of the time certainly not anything as important as the men. But then came Jesus. He baffled the powerful by his indifference to their position. He spoke to them with care, compassion, and respect, but he spoke to the wretched in the same way. He did not question the leaders’ authority, but somehow, he carried an authority greater than their own, and it gnawed at them.
God had set the stage of this revolution as salvation history evolved — Sarah, Hannah, Deborah, Ruth, Judith, Esther, all women who heeded his call and changed history. And when it came time for the incarnation, time for God to become one of us, how did he enter the world? The same way we do — through a woman — and Our Mother Mary, just happens to be the greatest woman who ever lived.
In his written record where no word is wasted, Luke purposely tells us in today’s Gospel that accompanying Jesus were some women. They were women who had been drawn to his message of hope and healing. They included Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Chuza, and Suzanna, women whose lives had been changed, women who were dedicated to him just as the Twelve were. Those twelve men were called to the priesthood, a beautiful, profound, and important call which their successors continue to answer. Those women were also called to a different mission, but no less beautiful, profound, and important.
Later generations of these women who follow Christ would be given greater authority and go on to build schools and hospitals, to care for the sick, the orphaned, the forgotten. They continue to do so today.
“Accompanying him then were the Twelve and some women … ”
These are simple words, but what a powerful recognition of the full, complementary richness of both men and women who form the body of Christ.
Pamela Kavanaugh is a grateful wife, mother, and grandmother who has dedicated her professional life to Catholic education. Though she has done her very best to teach her students well in the subjects of language and religion, she knows that she has learned more than she has taught. She lives, teaches, and writes in southwest suburban Chicago. Reach Kavanaugh at pdkavanaugh@gmail.com.
