January 27th - Phoebe, Dorcas and Lydia
Trudie
The woman walking up the Roman Road hugged a secret. Hidden beneath her robe was
the entire future of Christian theology. For she bore with her a letter to the
church in Rome that would spell out, like no other document ever written, the
implications and significance of the gospel.
Paul had a problem. In Corinth he had written a letter to the distant Roman
church. He could not slip the letter into an envelope, lick a couple stamps and
drop it into a mailbox; there was no postal service. Instead, he must find
someone to carry the letter.
That someone was the woman, Phoebe. We know about her only from two verses that
Paul wrote (Romans 16:1, 2): "I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deaconess of
the church at Cenchrea [the port of Corinth], that you may receive her in the
Lord as befits the saints, and help her in whatever she may require from you,
for she has been a helper of many and of myself as well."
Almost certainly Phoebe accompanied the letter; It is widely believed that she
carried it. As F. W. Boreham points out, Paul could write the letter but at that
time could not carry it. Phoebe could not have written the letter, but she could
carry it. As Christians we need one another.
This day, January 27th, is remembered in honor of Phoebe and two other early
Christian women, Dorcas and Lydia. All three shared one pre-eminent quality:
they helped others.
Dorcas was known for her assistance to the poor. So highly regarded was she,
that when she died, the saints of Joppa appealed to Peter. He prayed over her
and God raised her from the dead.
Lydia was a seller of purple cloth. After Paul shared the gospel with her, Lydia
and her entire household were baptized-his first convert in Europe. She insisted
Luke and Paul stay at her house. Her prosperous home became the original church
at Philippi.
As these three individuals of the New Testament show, middle class women were
already beginning to play an important role in the Christian world.
Sources:
1. Boreham, F. W. "The Lion and the Mouse." Cliffs of Opal. (London: Epworth,
1948).
2. Tenney, Merrill C. Pictorial Bible Dictionary. (Nashville: Southwestern Co.
1972).
Saint Quote:
We must try to keep the mind in tranquility. For just as the eye which
constantly shifts its gaze, now turning to the right or to the left, now
incessantly peering up or down, cannot see distinctly what lies before it, but
the sight must be fixed firmly on the object in view if one would make his
vision of it clear; so too man's mind when distracted by his countless worldly
cares cannot focus itself distinctly on the truth.
-St. Basil the Great
Bible Quote:
Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the earth. St. Matthew 5:4
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This is one of the five hymns composed by St. Thomas in honor of Our Lord
present in the Most Blessed Sacrament, for the Feast of Corpus Christi
which was instituted by Pope Urban IV, in AD 1264. It is highly suitable
for recitation at Holy Mass:
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At this our solemn feast
Let holy joys abound,
And from the inmost breast
Let songs of praise resound;
Let ancient rites depart,
And all be new around,
In every act, and voice, and heart.
Remember we that eve,
When, the Last Supper spread,
Christ, as we all believe,
The Lamb, with leavenless bread,
Among His brethren shared,
And thus the Law obeyed,
Of all unto their sire declared.
The typic Lamb consumed,
The legal Feast complete,
The Lord unto the Twelve
His Body gave to eat;
The whole to all, no less
The whole to each did mete
With His own hands, as we confess.
He gave them, weak and frail,
His Flesh, their Food to be;
On them, downcast and sad,
His Blood bestowed He:
And thus to them He spake,
"Receive this Cup from Me,
And all of you of this partake."
So He this Sacrifice
To institute did will,
And charged His priests alone
That office to fulfill:
In them He did confide:
To whom it pertains still
To take, and the rest divide.
Thus Angels' Bread is made
The Living Bread for us today:
The Living Bread from heaven
With figures does away:
O wondrous gift indeed!
The poor and lowly may
Upon their Lord and Master feed.
You, therefore, we implore,
O Godhead, One in Three,
So may You visit us
Who worship You with glee;
And lead us on Your way,
That we at last may see
Where You dwell in Eternal Day.
Amen.