A hymn that I learned to sing in college says, “We’ll work
till Jesus comes.” Because there is such a thing as Labor Day, this post deals
with the nature of Christian work. The passage we will meditate upon, however,
is not quite conventional. In fact, at first sight, Luke 8:1-3 does not seem to
offer much about the nature of Christian work, but actually, it offers three
fundamental things about Christian work that all Christians should know about.
Jesus traveled about from one
town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of
God. The Twelve were with him, 2 and also some women
who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called
Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; 3 Joanna
the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many
others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.
Unnamed and Unpaid
One of the interesting things about this passage is the fact
that apart from the three named women—Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Susanna—all
the other women are unnamed. The only description we have from the text about
these workers are that they are “some women” (8:2), “many others” (8:3), and
“these women” (8:3). Many of these active workers who travelled with Jesus
“from one town and village to another” (8:1) were basically unnamed. Maybe
there were so many that it was simply too tedious to write all of their names.
Maybe they were coming and going because they had obligations elsewhere so they
were not really prominent. Maybe they had quiet and shy personalities that made
them less noticed. Whatever the reason was, there were many women workers who
accompanied Jesus who remain unknown to us today.
This is one of the natures of Christian work: anonymity.
Majority of the workers of the kingdom are unnamed heroes. These are workers
who are unrecognized and unappreciated. They are nameless, faceless, and
invisible. They are hiding behind the curtains, unwilling to receive the
spotlight. But they are there, doing the work of the kingdom alongside those
who are under the spotlight. To be honest, given our fallen human nature, it is
hard to be nameless. We feel that it is unfair to be unrecognized. It is
hurting not to be appreciated. It is hard not to desire recognition,
appreciation and applauses. But if we listen to the words of Jesus, this was
precisely what He wants us to do: “Be careful not to practice your
righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will
have no reward from your Father in heaven. “So when you give to the needy, do
not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on
the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received
their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left
hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in
secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you”
(Matt 6:1-4).
Help and Support
The passage says that these nameless women followed Jesus
wherever He went and “were helping to support Him and the disciples” (Luke
8:3). The Greek word used for support is diakoneo, which literally means
“to serve.” The word can actually refer to any activity or ministry, which is
why even scholars have yet to reach a consensus about what specific kind of
service these women were doing. What is crucial, however, is that while Jesus
and the disciples were preaching, teaching, and healing, the nameless women
served in other ways. While Jesus and the disciples were fulfilling their
roles, these women were also fulfilling theirs. This was what Paul admonished
about in Romans 12:6-8, “We have different gifts, according to the grace
given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in
accordance with your faith; if it is serving,
then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then
give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is
to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully” (Rom
12:6-8).
The word diakoneo is very important, particularly
because it means serving in whatever way is needed. Furthermore, if we compare
these unnamed women to the named male disciples, we actually see such striking
contrasts, which also enables us appreciate the lives of these women.
First, the women stepped back and out when it was needed.
In contrast to their self-effacing attitude, we see the disciples who were
already at the forefront arguing with each other about who was the greatest
among them: “They came to
Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, ‘What were
you arguing about on the road?’ But they kept quiet because on the way
they had argued about who was the greatest (Mark 9:33-34; also 10:35-41).
The women disciples stayed behind the curtains and served silently and joyfully
even without being recognized, while the disciples who were already seen by
other people were still competing for even greater status. The women did not
compete with the disciples for prominence and recognition. They did not occupy key
roles where people can see them. They were serving behind the scenes. They were
invisible to many people. The women exemplified the true meaning of diakoneo,
because to serve is to do anything that is needed to be done without
being recognized.
Secondly, the women stepped up and in when they were
needed. Again, diakoneo means serving by doing whatever needs to be
done. The contrast with the disciples is again striking. In Luke 9:1-3, when
Jesus was welcomed by the people, the disciples were at the forefront while the
ladies were at the background. But the moment Jesus was arrested, there was a
reversal of roles. The disciples went at the back (in hiding!) and the women
stepped out. Apart from John, the disciples were nowhere near Jesus at the
crucifixion, but women were “near the cross” (John 19:25). The disciples were
nowhere to be found when Jesus was laid down in the tomb, but “the women who
had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his
body was laid in it” (Luke 23:55). It is customary in Jewish culture that when
someone dies, the family members and closest friends should bury him or her. In
the case of Jesus, the disciples were too afraid to even honor Jesus in His
burial. His burial was handled by a not-well-advertised disciple Joseph of
Arimathea, and surprise: unknown women. The disciples were unwilling to visit
the tomb for fear of the Jews, but the very first thing the women did as soon
as Sabbath was over, was to visit the tomb to serve the body of Jesus (Luke
23:56-24:1). These women were not afraid of the religious leaders. They did not
care for their lives so long as they can serve Jesus even in his death.
What does diakoneo mean? To serve wherever, whenever,
and whatever is needed to be done, especially the things that nobody wants to
do. This is the comparison: the disciples were at the forefront during the
glory days of Jesus and the women were only working behind the scenes; in
Jesus’s humiliation, the disciples were hiding and the nameless women were the
ones so courageous at the forefront.
Out of their Own Means
The women were not only unnamed and were willing to perform
whatever service is needed wherever and whenever the needs arise, they were
also helping in the ministry of Jesus “out of their own means’ (Luke 8:3). They
were helping Jesus according to their own capacity. They did not rely on the
help of others in order to help Jesus. They did not look at the wallet of
others, but looked into their own purses, and they helped out of their own
savings. We see this sort of story in Moses. When God called him, Moses was
very reluctant because he did not see himself as a man of many talents and
capabilities. But God asked him a very simple question: “What is that in your
hand?” (Exo 4:2). God was not looking for something that Moses did not have. In
fact, God used Moses in accordance to what Moses already had: a simple staff.
This was the same with the women who served with Jesus. They served out of
their own means.
Like these unnamed women, our required capital in serving is
not much. These women were not the richest or even the most socially
influential. In fact, as Herman Henstrickx commented, “these women came mostly
from the lower and poorer strata of Jewish society and that they combined what
economic resources they possessed to offset the cost of Jesus’ itinerant
ministry. They majority of them were probably single (unmarried women, widows,
divorced women and, with less certainty, former prostitutes) for only women of
single status enjoyed some personal and economic independence.”[1]
These women did not have much. They served out of their own small means. This
is another meaning of diakoneo, serving not only whenever, wherever and
whatever is needed to be done, but also however one might be able to do it.
Conclusions
Imagine a job hiring where the recruitments conditions are
that you will not be recognized; in fact the company does not even want to know
your name; you will stay at the background and are not allowed to compete for
attention with the big guns; you will work hard but you will not be getting any
applause; you will not be paid, and most importantly; you will need to use your
own money and resources in order to work. Then there is a big PS: Be prepared that
when your bosses do not show up for work, without previous notice you will be
required to do their abandoned responsibilities.
Not many people are willing to work under these harsh
conditions. There is no earthly gain. There is only sacrifice. In fact, most of
the times, these people hear more criticisms and suggestions about how they
might do their job better, than hearing words of encouragement and
appreciation. But this is the life of service and work that we are called to do
as Christians. The church is recruiting unnamed and unpaid supporters who would
minister out of their own means. These are the people who would be involved in
the harvest.
[1] Herman Henstrickx, The Third Gospel for the Third World,
vol 2B (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1998), 113-7.
