Monday
Romans 16.1-2 “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me.”
This is Paul’s character reference for Phoebe, one of his most faithful supporters. She was entrusted to deliver Paul’s letter, read it to them and explain its contents. She was a leader in the church, and a financial supporter, “benefactor of many people”. Networking, building connections, and nurturing fellowship; from the beginning the church was to be a community of mutual support and practical kindness. “Benefactor of many people” – that’s a good mission goal for any church!
Tuesday
Romans 16.3 “Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow-workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me. Not only I, but all the churches of the Gentiles, are grateful to them.”
If Phoebe was generous, Priscilla and Aquila were courageous, and persistent in their friendship with Paul. One of Paul’s favourite compound words is ‘fellow-worker.’ It’s a good way of describing what it is we do in a Christian community – work together, support each other, and be there for and with each other. Paul trusted these two, they had form as his friends, and they had his back! Be like Priscilla and Aquila!
Wednesday
Romans 16.5 “Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.”
This is all we know of Epenetus, but it’s enough. The first convert in Asia, the first sign that the Gospel is for all peoples, a pioneer of faith and a testimony to the radical call of Christ in whom there is neither Jew nor Gentile. Paul calls him a much loved friend, someone who knew exactly what Paul was about, understood his heart, and could give a character reference for Paul himself. There is a depth of fellowship in Christ that knits hearts together into shared purposes and shared stories.
Thursday
Romans 16.6 “Greet Mary who worked very hard for you.”
Another single mentioned name. Who was Mary of Rome? We have no idea. But Paul chooses his words carefully – she worked very hard. She saw what needed done and made it happen. She took initiatives and got things started. She wasn’t only a self-starter but someone whose energy got others involved. Go on! Be like Mary!
Friday
Romans 16.7a “Greet Andronicus and Junia, my relatives who have been in prison with me.
These two have been with Paul in some of the darkest places. The bonds of fellowship forged in shared hardship for Christ are particularly strong. They may well be husband and wife, and they are to be respected and listened to. Their leadership style is rooted in the publicly known cost of their faithfulness to Christ, and its authenticity enacted in their willingness to sit beside Paul as fellow-prisoners.
Saturday
Romans 16.7b “They (Andronicus and Junia) are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.”
Paul choosing his words carefully again – outstanding service as Apostles. As they say in Glasgow, “Pure quality!” There’s neither male nor female in Christ when it comes to apostolic leadership. Paul’s admiration for them is obvious and genuine – and they are his seniors, “they were in Christ before I was.” Too much is made of leadership as authority, strategy and status. That’s not the way of Christ. Long before it became a thing in our own media soaked culture, Paul was pointing out the real influencers! Those like Andronicus and Junia, whose lives in Christ are ‘outstanding’, and whose ministry is exemplary.
Sunday
Romans 16.13 “Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me too.”
Rufus may well be the son of Simon of Cyrene – see Mark 15.21. That gives even more significance to him being ‘chosen in the Lord’, the son of the man who bore Christ’s cross to Calvary. His mother would be revered in the churches, and clearly had become a close and supportive friend to Paul. Her inclusion in this long list of Paul’s friends and supporters represents a line of connection all the way back to Jesus, and the events from which our Christian faith was born.
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The communion of saints is the living environment of grace, the lived reality of the love of God in Christ transcending time and space. God continues to create a people inhabited by the Lord of the Church, energised by the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead, and called to make Christ known. These verses are more than a list of greetings; they are the sacred yet human threads of life in the fellowship in Christ.
Brother, sister, let me serve you,
let me be as Christ to you;
pray that I may have the grace to
let you be my servant too. Amen.
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