So let me ask you, do you get up after the end of a movie at a theater, or do you hang around for the credits to roll? Until recently, I would have been the one to leave quickly, especially if the movie was bad. But lately I stay and watch the credits roll. Why? well there’s some cute bits at the end of the credits, bloopers, funny cartoons and silly stuff, which even if the movie was bad, can make me smile.
So, If I had left, I would have missed what might be the best part of the movie. Putting this practice of waiting for the credits, let me ask you another question. When you read a book do you look at the opening dedications, acknowledgements or the place where credits are announced? I guess I’m weird but I do as it kinda helps me to understand who the author is and what or whom he cares about.
The same is true about reading the Bible, there is quite a bit of information in the beginning of each book as well as the endings. Case in point is Paul’s letters or what they are sometimes called epistles, which is a letter. Paul always begins his letters by the common salutations and greetings as was the culture of the time. It lets us know who he is writing to. Also, If we look at the ending of the letters, he usually chooses to say help or give credit to someone from the location he is at when he is writing or to the recipient church.
What I found when reading his letter to the church at Rome, he gives a substantial list at the end. Over 26 + or – depending on the number of people in the households he names. One name he credits first is that of the deacon Phoebe, who is the messenger carrying the letter all the way to Rome by ship. This is interesting to note because according to tradition, the deliverer of a letter was tasked with bringing a letter from Paul to the church it was addressed, reading it out loud and then explaining it. Letter of recommendation were given by Paul to authenticate and provide authority to read them before the churches. In this case it was a woman, Phoebe whose Paul commends, authorizes and gives her the title of servant or in some translations deacon of a specific church in Cenchrea. Cenchrea was not some little village either, but a crucial trade port in Greece.
Christians today should be thankful for Phoebe’s service in delivering what has been for the church a great letter. Along with her name are the names of several women (about half of the entire number) that Paul credits with their service to the church and whom he refers to as his co-worker in the Lord. Many of the women are credited for “working very hard in the Lord” Of the list are those who are his relatives, one Junias, a woman he mentions as having been in prison with him and along with her male counterpart Andronicus, “They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was” (Romans 16:7). Yeah, you read that right apostles.
As I mentioned, there’s a lot in the credits worth looking at. So next time when you are trying to rush through reading a passage in the Bible, don’t forget the beginning and the ending. This is where we find the real heroes of the Bible. The men and the women who took the message of the Gospel to their home churches, churches where they were the leaders and shepherds, as well as taking the letters to other churches around the world through the system of Roman roads and on the sea on trade boats (these were not cruises, but working ships), risking their lives as Paul also mentions. But perhaps we should also notice the bigger story here, Paul needed help in this big task of spreading the good news to the lost. He even mentions of his sister in Christ Phoebe “I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people, including me. Did you see that? Even Paul whom Christians kind paint as this Chuck Norris character of the Bible who gets beaten, shipwrecked etc but still keeps going, needed the help of a female deacon who helped many people and was what Paul called a saint. I bet a lot of people don’t like what Paul says here about women serving in leadership roles, they would rather single out verses that condemns it, but well here we have it in the credits, Paul recognizing women for their contribution. Why didn’t Paul send the letter with a man on the high seas? Were there none trustworthy? Or maybe he didn’t care? Or maybe, He recognized her as a very capable deacon who had proved herself in her own church in Greece with the huge task of hand delivering a letter to Rome, Italy. Roll the credits!.God Bless- Nancy
Moving Forward 