Jesus continues his teaching/healing ministry with a number of parables and miracles that are depicted in the other synoptic gospels: the parable of the sower, the calming of the storm, the healing of a demoniac, and the little girl and old woman healed together. But Luke prefaces this flurry of ministry activity with a unique and interesting detail: some of Jesus' disciples (including major funders of his ministry) are women.
In Matthew and Mark, Mary Magdalene is not mentioned by name until the crucifixion. But Luke takes time early on to name Mary Magdalene, detailing that she was cured of seven demons, as well as Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward, and Susanna. Luke says they and others "provided for them out of their resources." Jesus' ministry was supported and funded by women.
I am honored to serve in a church that ordains women to preach the gospel and administer the sacraments, and has for 50 years. I'm blessed to have called some of these women my pastors, and later on, my colleagues. And I'm grateful for the contributions of faithful women through the history of God's people, both clergy and lay. Jesus calls people of all genders to follow, and without all its members, the body of Christ is incomplete.
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