Women Providing for Jesus' Ministry

by Jane A. Bucher

Soon afterwards Jesus went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources.

Luke 8:1-3

Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna and many others responded to God’s love as revealed in Jesus Christ and joined his ministry. They were with Jesus at his crucifixion, at his burial, at the empty tomb.

Mary Magdalene is mentioned in all four Gospels. Susanna and Joanna are mentioned in Luke. Joanna is a person of wealth and status and the only one the Scripture says is married.

Jane Schaberg’s article on Luke in The Women’s Bible Commentary says scholars have differing interpretations on the women’s role. Some suggest the women’s duties were domestic, others that they preached about the kingdom, and still others that they were wealthy philanthropists or benefactors.

Biblical scholar Renita Weems, in her book Just a Sister Away, reflects on the women who followed Jesus. Her writings speak to us as we focus on giving. Stating that undoubtedly women from all economic backgrounds were changed by Jesus, Ms. Weems suggests that those imagined as wealthy women may very well have simply been committed women giving all they had to a vision of a new kingdom -- not rich women but generous women who gave all they had even if what they had was very little.

Ms. Weems also notes that this is a community of women. Whenever the Gospel writers refer to Jesus’ female companions, more than one woman is mentioned. Perhaps they stayed together because there is strength and visibility when in community. Ms. Weems writes:

"Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna and other female traveling evangelists made up the band of female workers who surrendered and sacrificed everything to follow Jesus....between teaching, they did the cooking; beyond recruiting, they did the mending; in excess of donating their funds, they donated their time.

"To his ministry, they had given everything they had: their gifts, talents, time, money...their very substance. Anything to keep his dream going. In short, the women had ministered to Jesus out of the abundance of their hearts."

United Methodist Women follow the example of these biblical women. We are a community of women committed to following Jesus. Giving of our time, our resources and our money is part of who we are as women organized for mission.

Our giving is an expression of our faith -- a response to God’s grace. Sacrificial giving is part of our heritage:

• In 1869, women in Boston responded to the needs of women in India by raising money to send a teacher, Isabella Thoburn, and a doctor, Dr. Clara Swain, as missionaries.
• Hester Williams, a former slave, led Methodist women in the South in raising funds for education for freed women. She sold a "missionary" hen named Dorcas for $8 and a row of sugar cane for $6 to challenge women to give for schools.
• Belle Bennett saw the need for women to be trained for missionary service. She traveled 20,000 miles and wrote 3,000 letters to raise money to establish Scarritt Training and Bible School in 1891.

Responding to the needs of women, children and youth, United Methodist Women in 1999 continue to give for mission. Members give their prayers, talents, time and money. Their financial gifts of more than $20 million a year support mission across the United States and around the world.

Reading closely

Let us more closely at what it means to give to mission by looking more closely at Luke 8:1-3. Read this passage again, thinking about who these women -- named and unnamed -- were. Then imagine yourself as one of these women. Ask yourself:

• How would I tell the story?
• How would I tell the story to Luke if he were interviewing me?
• What would I want him to tell his readers?

Considering your answers, write the story in Luke 8:1-3 from the perspective of one of the women. When you’ve finished writing, ask yourself -- and others if you are using this Bible study in a group -- the following question:

What does your version of the story say to you and other members of United Methodist Women about your giving as women committed to mission?

Spirit as missionary

Often we are tempted to see giving as one more thing we "ought" to do -- a burden. Author Lesslie Newbigin suggests another approach to mission giving in his book, Mission in Christ’s Way:

"It is not that the church has a mission and the Spirit helps us in fulfilling it. It is rather that the Spirit is the active missionary, and the faithful church is the place where the Spirit is enabled to complete the Spirit’s work."

Mr. Newbigin goes on to explain that mission is the overflow of a great gift -- the fulfillment of God’s promise to us. Quoting Acts 1:8 -- ...you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you; and you will be my witnesses... -- he emphasizes that this is a promise not a command. The passage does not say, "You must go and be witnesses." It says, "The Holy Spirit will come and you will be witnesses." There is a vast difference in these two statements.

God has given us the gift of sharing in God’s mission in the world by witnessing to God’s acts in the past and in the present. Giving is being in mission. Giving to mission is a commitment to proclaiming the Gospel.

Sacrificial giving

Author Kenneth Irving Brown explains this attitude toward giving in another way:

"If you believe in something, you support it. If you support something, the time comes when good wishes and cordial words are not enough and your hand reaches for your pocketbook. Then the fun begins. For giving is fun."

He suggests that our checkbooks offer an honest list of those things in which we believe.

Our foremothers reached for their pocketbooks to support mission. They gave sacrificially. This is true of many United Methodist Women members today. Like the women who followed Jesus, they are committed women consistently giving what they have. Others in our organization have not been challenged with the opportunity to give to mission in such a way.

Let us think about how we might offer that challenge to ourselves and to others. Begin by reading the story of the widow’s mite -- Mark 12:41-44 and Luke 21:1-4. Think about -- and discuss if you are in a group -- the following questions:

• How do you and can you follow the widow’s example?
• What blocks you from giving sacrificially?
• What experiences have you had that encourage you to give more to mission?
• What messages can you share with other women to encourage them to give to mission?
• Are there ways you can work in community with other women in your church to increase your giving?

When we give out of joy and gratitude and faith that God will do great things with our gifts, we will be changed. Like Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna and the many other women who followed Jesus, we will experience growth and renewal in relationship to God and to our sisters and brothers.

Like our foremothers, let us travel with Christ in community with each other providing for Christ’s peoples out of our resources. Let us praise God for the opportunity to be in mission through giving.

From response, September 1999