St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Owings Mills MD
May 5, 2024
Year B: The Sixth Sunday of Easter
The Baptism of Phoebe Anne Shellhammer
Acts 10:44-48
Psalm 98
Romans 16
John 15:9-17
Radiant With Love
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
If you were here last week, you may remember that we heard Jesus describe himself as the Vine – as the True Vine – and we, his disciples, are the branches.
And Jesus the True Vine called us to abide – to belong.
And now in today’s lesson from the Gospel of John, we pick up right where we left off last Sunday.
Jesus drops the metaphor and speaks plainly, speaks commandingly:
To abide with Jesus is to love one another as he loves us.
To belong to Jesus is to give away our lives in service to others, just as Jesus gave away his life for us.
Jesus’ message is a simple one – love and service – simple but very challenging – so challenging that, especially in a world shadowed by fear and greed and violence, we might think it’s impossible.
Well, fortunately, the history of the Church is full of examples of people – women and men – who took Jesus at his word and really did it, really loved and sacrificed wholeheartedly.
Recently, I read a good book about some of these people. The book is called Tell Her Story and it’s about the women of the New Testament.
Because Jesus and the Twelve Apostles were all men, and because men dominated the leadership of the Church for so long, it might be easy for us to forget the important, essential, roles played by women, both in Jesus’ earthly lifetime and during the early years of the Church.
There’s Mary the Mother of Jesus, of course, whose courageous and faithful “yes” set in motion the Good News and the salvation of the world.
And at the other end of the story, there’s Mary Magdalene, who encountered the Risen Christ in the garden, was called by name, and carried the best news of all time to the others.
There are the sisters Mary and Martha, who loved Jesus and supported him and his work.
There are also the unnamed but important women like the Samaritan woman at the well and the Syrophoenician woman desperate to save her daughter’s life, so determined that she’s speaks up to Jesus, reminding him that even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master’s table.
And, later on, women played important roles in the foundation of the Church.
Sometimes, St. Paul gets labeled as a misogynist but, in fact, he had women co-workers. He mentions at least some of them by name in his letters, offering his gratitude and respect.
And one of those co-workers was a woman named Phoebe.
Phoebe – whose name means “bright, shining, radiant” – is mentioned just once, in the short passage that we heard today from Paul’s Letter to the Romans.
But there’s a lot packed into those few words of introduction.
Phoebe was a deacon - a minister in her hometown, a seaport near the important Greek city of Corinth.
Phoebe probably hosted a house church in her own home.
She was a generous supporter – a benefactor - of Paul and other Jesus followers, indicating that she was a woman of some means.
And, most noteworthy of all, Paul entrusted Phoebe to carry his most important letter all the way from Greece to the Christian community in Rome.
This was a big deal.
Rome was the capital city, of course, with a large population, plus there would have always been lots of visitors passing through.
The Christian community in Rome was founded very early, but not by Paul.
In fact, at the time he wrote his letter, Paul hadn’t been there yet.
No doubt, the Roman Christians had heard about Paul and maybe some of what they heard about him and his teaching had puzzled them.
So, for Paul and the early church, the Letter to the Romans was most important.
Now, back in the first century, there was no postal system, so if you wanted to send a letter over a great distance, you had to find someone reliable, someone willing and able to travel far.
But the letter-carrier’s role, Phoebe’s role, was more than just transporting, and then dropping off, a letter.
She may have read Paul’s letter to those Roman Christians, and probably interpreted it for them– and if you’ve ever read this particularly complex letter, you know that was no easy task!
She probably responded to the questions and comments from the church in Rome and eventually brought those replies back to Paul.
All we know about Phoebe is what’s contained in those few words written by Paul in his Letter to the Romans and that we heard today.
But that’s probably enough, because we know that she was a woman of faith, a woman of generosity, a woman of courage, a woman of intelligence, and a woman worthy of trust.
Phoebe must have radiated love and service.
I wanted to talk about Phoebe today because this morning I’ll have the privilege of baptizing another Phoebe.
What a wonderful name: “bright, shining, radiant.”
And what a tremendous legacy and inspiration for our Phoebe to carry through life.
In a few moments, our Phoebe will be washed in the water of Baptism, like the earlier Phoebe, long ago.
In the water of Baptism, Phoebe will be grafted onto the True Vine of Jesus, finding the place to belong, forever.
And, just like both Phoebes, past and present, in and through our Baptism we are all called to follow Jesus’ command to love and serve one another, to live lives of faith, generosity, and trustworthiness.
Back in the first century, the world was shadowed by fear and greed and violence.
Just like today.
Phoebe made her way in and through that harsh world, offering love and service - costly love and generous service.
And now today, with God’s help, it’s our turn.
For us, love and service probably won’t require carrying a letter to a faraway land.
But, just like Phoebe, we’re called to be faithful, generous, and trustworthy.
The details will look a little different for each of us.
But, when the world shudders with fear, let’s offer love and service.
When the world grabs as much as it can, let’s offer love and service.
When the world slashes and destroys, let’s offer love and service.
Jesus commands us to love and serve one another, as he has loved and served us.
In a difficult time, Phoebe obeyed that command.
In this difficult time, may our Phoebe, may all of us, be radiant with love.
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Amen.
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