Luke 8 1-3 Women disciples

     In today’s gospel reading from Luke we have a difficult matter; the presence of women traveling with Jesus and playing an important role in his ministry, during Jesus’ time this was very controversial, however, maybe not so much for us today.

     In my effort to gain greater insight and understanding of the role of women in Jesus’ ministry, I was meet with what I feel is an even more difficult issue for us today. Accepting The Kingdom of Heaven is open to everyone.

     Jesus’ little traveling group of disciples represents the Kingdom he is to establish. The role of women with the group has an importance beyond the fact they were women. The women represent all of human kind, both the respectable and not so well thought-of represented by Mary Magdalene from whom seven demons were removed. (In the writing of that day seven demons was about as bad as you could get.)

     The disciples also included ones that were well to do, represented by Joanna wife of Herod’s steward, and also the poor; discipleship was open to everyone. This really questioned the social standards of that day and can also challenge our standards of today.

     We need to keep in mind, our ministry as church also includes those on the borderline of society, and those we normally would not be associated with.  The Kingdoms’ openness to everyone no mater what their class or status was a major part of Jesus’ teachings which we need to be reminded of every once in awhile.

                    “Such is the Kingdom”.    “Such is our call as Church”.