Equal To The Apostles

Assuming we can ignore the past and forget a timeless perspective invites us to become slaves to time, either past, present, or future. We were made for more!

Founding Father Thomas Jefferson is quoted as saying, “Equal rights for all; special privileges for none.” At the heart of the American Constitutional experiment is this notion of equality. And yet, Jefferson owned slaves.

You may wonder what this has to do with a Daily Devotional, and you’d be right to ask.

It has everything to do with how foundational principles will be formed and where your thoughts and opinions begin. If your foundation is merely materialistic, you will no doubt see “equality” as a sum total of what you are allowed to do and have. But, if your foundation rests on the Eternal, your perspective is going to change.

As I write this, I’m anticipating comments, so don’t be afraid to fill the comm box with your thoughts.

Our lesson today offers us a classic invitation to hear and learn an eternal perspective rather than continue being enslaved by that Time-Bound dead end of modern secular thinking and acting.

Look at our lesson today in Luke 8:1-3:

At that time Jesus went on through cities and villages, preaching and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for him out of their means.

The culture of human interaction is filled with challenges, and the reality of Jesus's life confronts us all. Our Gospel lesson today invites us to confront the reality that one of the most important followers of Jesus Christ was Mary Magdalene, and today is the day we commemorate this saint called “Equal to the Apostles.”

What a powerful testimony to the reality of this woman’s life. She is considered “Equal” to the Apostles called by Christ to serve as the recapitulation of the founding of the nation of Israel and the promise of God to Abraham that God’s people would be as numerous as the sands of the seashore and a blessing to all the world. The Christian Gospel fulfills the promises God made to Abraham.

But what does “equal” mean here? Does it mean there are no differences between Mary and the Apostles? Does it mean that Mary was a female apostle? You will be tempted to answer these questions and others too quickly. Plus, if we use the current thinking of the day, we will assume we know the answer. Let me assure you, you cannot answer these and other questions IF you ignore the wisdom preserved in the Faith.

We remember St. Mary, Equal to the Apostles, as equal to the apostles because of her actions, her inherent dignity as a person created in the image of God, and her love for Christ. Equal worth and dignity don’t mean absolutely equal in every aspect, though that might be what some would like. Our current age seems to suggest that men and women are merely social constructs and interchangeable pieces of humanity. On the other side, it doesn’t mean that men and women are two different species of humans. Doesn’t it strike you odd that the extremes on either end wind up sick and twisted?

Hint, Hint!

The power of the Timeless wisdom of the Faith is that it insists we deal with reality, no matter how challenging or difficult. We are all of equal dignity, but that doesn’t mean we are merely interchangeable pieces. Nor does it mean that the spiritual medicine needed to heal our deepest wounds and restore us to life-giving communion with our Creator is all the same. What will heal a man may not be effective in healing a woman. What will heal you may not be effective in healing another. But it is HEALING that is the goal, not some social experiment meant to make us “feel” better about ourselves.

Today, as we venerate this great heroine of the Faith, Mary, Equal to the Apostles, let’s abandon the perpetual childishness of some “battle of the sexes” and embrace the healing medicine of the wisdom of a Normal Orthodox life.

P.S. When God, the Mighty, the Transcendent in essence, came in the flesh into the world, He received you, O Mary, as His true disciple as was meet. For you had your whole desire and your love set upon Him; wherefore, you did bring to pass many cures for the ailing; and now translated to the Heavens' heights, you ever fervently pray for all the world.

Fr. Barnabas Powell is the parish priest at Sts. Raphael, Nicholas, and Irene Greek Orthodox Church in Cumming, GA. He is also the founder of Faith Encouraged Ministries and produces the Faith Encouraged Daily Devotional on Substack.