Today in Lent Madness, two Biblical-era saints face off as Phoebe goes up against John the Evangelist. Will a woman who played an integral role in the early church prevail or will the author of the fourth Gospel advance?
In yesterday's action, Anna Alexander defeated Peter Claver 59% to 41% to advance to the Saintly Sixteen against the winner of John Wesley vs. Edith Cavell. This was fueled in part by the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia's unflagging support for one of their own. They even produced a video celebrating Anna's ministry which is worth your time whether or not you voted for her.
Finally, in case you somehow missed yesterday's stirring edition of Monday Madness, you can watch it here. Every week Tim and Scott wax eloquent on all things Lent Madness, keeping the Lent Madness faithful up-to-date on the latest news. It is indeed must-see penitential TV.
Phoebe
All that we know about Phoebe of Cenchreae comes from two short verses at the end of Paul’s letter to the churches in Rome. Notwithstanding such scant reference, she was quite an important figure and was key to interpreting the message of what many see as Paul’s most important letter.
Phoebe was likely a former slave and a Gentile convert. In spite of her humble beginnings, she rose to prominence as a freedwoman. Paul describes her as a “benefactor of many,” including himself. She probably supported the church in Cenchreae (a port about seven miles southeast of Corinth), perhaps even hosting the church in her house. In the letter to the Romans, Paul implies that she is functioning as his partner and currently supporting his mission to Spain.
Paul also describes Phoebe as a deacon. While formal offices were yet to be established when Paul was writing, the use of deacon in reference to Phoebe suggests that she was not only a financial supporter of the church but also a leader in the congregation. Her role included preaching and tending to churches, and Paul sent her as a missionary to Rome.
Paul’s confidence in Phoebe is perhaps clearest in the fact that he sent her as the bearer of the Letter to the Romans. Phoebe did not function as some glorified mail woman. As the deliverer of the letter, Phoebe had the responsibility to read the letter to the congregations and to help them understand what Paul was trying to say (modern interpreters of Paul know what a difficult task this could be). This was an enormous responsibility: Paul, writing to churches that he has never met and that likely had some misgivings about him, trusted Phoebe to be his faithful emissary.
Given that we still read Paul’s letter to the Romans to this day, it looks as though Phoebe was a wise choice.
Collect for Phoebe
Filled with your Holy Spirit, gracious God, your earliest disciples served you with the gifts each had been given: Phoebe as a deacon who served many. Inspire us today to build up your Church with our gifts in hospitality, charity, and bold witness to the Gospel of Christ; who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
John the Evangelist
John the Evangelist is the name traditionally given to the person who wrote the fourth canonical gospel. He is likely an amalgam of a few Johns present in New Testament scripture: John the Apostle, John the Revelator, and John the Presbyter. What matters most when it comes to John the Evangelist is not his historicity but rather the tradition that informs and sustains his identity.
As one of the sons of Zebedee (the so-called “Sons of Thunder”) and brother of James, John is a fisherman turned fisher-of-men. The gospels also reveal to us that John formed the triad of Jesus’ closest disciples along with Peter and his brother James. This triad was present both when Jesus raised Jairus’s daughter and during the Transfiguration. Christian tradition describes John as the “disciple Jesus loved,” which suggests a close relationship with Jesus. John is the one who takes the Blessed Virgin Mary into his care during and after the crucifixion and is among the first disciples to understand the significance of the empty tomb.
After the ascension of Jesus Christ, John is found in several places in the Book of Acts, including healing the lame man outside the beautiful gate, testifying before the Sanhedrin, and conveying the gift of the Holy Spirit to new converts through the laying on of hands. Tradition suggests that John was eventually exiled to Patmos, where he recorded his ecstatic visions in what we now know as the “Revelation to John” or “John’s Apocalypse”(commonly referred to as the Book of Revelation). Of the original twelve apostles, John is the only one to live to an old age and not die a martyr’s death.
John is often depicted in art holding a chalice with a serpent in it, which is likely tied to his willingness to drink from the cup Jesus was to drink from. There is also a legend that suggests that at some point during John’s ministry, someone passed him a chalice filled with poisoned wine. As John said a blessing over the cup, the poison rose from the cup in the form of a snake.
Collect for John the Evangelist
Shed upon your Church, O Lord, the brightness of your light, that we, being illumined by the teaching of your apostle and evangelist John, may so walk in the light of your truth, that at length we may attain to the fullness of eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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276 comments on “Phoebe vs. John the Evangelist”
A woman in ministry who had to put up with Paul? Phoebe gets my vote.
Got to vote for my girl Phoebe. Her story implies so much--it's tantalizing! Just think--she was leader of the Christian community in Rome. I've always wondered how that church was started and by whom. It had already been established before Paul even thought about writing his letter, and certainly well before he travelled there, so who started it? Perhaps Phoebe? She had the drive the understanding, and the funds to make it happen. I'm so impressed, and inspired by that.
I am grateful to gospel writer John for his resurrection story and for his absolutely heart-wrenching account of the death of Lazarus, and of the grief of Jesus, Martha, and Mary. I'm grateful for “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” And I'm grateful for the story of the water-into-wine party Jesus. But most of John is abstruse and theologically kind of "off in the bushes" for me.
Ultimately, this was an easy choice for me!
Now I'm thinking about the movie "Blues Brothers 2000" and their song and dance number "John the Revelator" ... any one up for a revival? Happy Tuesday, all!
I’m perplexed. I took “John the Evangelist” to refer to the author of the Gospel who, to the best of my knowledge, is generally agreed to have been a single person, not an amalgam. The amalgam is the “John” that some believe to have been the apostle, the evangelist, the author of John’s three letters, the author of Revelation, and it seem also (this a new one for me) the “presbyter” mentioned by some Early Church authors. My understanding is that most scholars now agree that those were several persons, and in particular that the Evangelist and the Revelator were not the same. So our candidate is the Gospel author, one man whose account and understanding of Jesus are fundamental to the faith we profess.
Nonetheless, and even though my parish is St. John the Evangelist, and notwithstanding my general esteem for his biographer, I’m joining Jenny in voting for Phoebe to protest the confusion, evident in other replies, which this bio has sown. Not that her biographer hasn’t inferred an awful lot from those two verses . . . .
John the Evangelist!! In honor and great love of the church I was raised in - St. John the Evangelist, Chico, CA.
Phoebe for me in honor of herself and also for all the women in all the ages who run the households and run the churches and run the errands great and small and who explain the complex things and show God to those near and dear to them. (Whew, that run-on sentence was Paul-like!)
The author of the Fourth Gospel and of Revelation could not possibly be the same, as the language styles they use are vastly different. We don’t even know who this “John” is, but we know who Phoebe is: the first female deacon. Go Phoebe!
See, if you want to bother, the comment at 9:26 and my reply.
I just have to go with Phoebe, representative of the many women throughout time who have nourished and led our churches, and who are known only to God.
I have to vote for John the Revelator because of the beautiful call-and-response blues of that name, recorded by Blind Wille Johnson, also performed by Son House, and many others. I just listened to the Son House and Blind Willie Johnson live versions on You Tube, which will stir your soul if you like Delta blues.
Voting for Phoebe because despite some incredibly beautiful and powerful passages in John's gospel, I find the sidelong wink-wink "disciple Jesus loved the best" mentions just too much. He was the most beloved because why? Because he said he was! Right.
Thinking of the Book of Revelation, though, wondering if there are any other fans out there of Connie Willis' wonderful short story "Epiphany"....
John has a gospel, the book of Revelation, and mentions in the Acts.
Phoebe has two sentences.
Let’s raise up Phoebe and other Founding Church Mothers! Team Phoebe!
I totally agree!!!!!!!!!!!
Such difficult choices this year... remarkable people all. But John is kind of a no-brainer... the only non-synoptic gospel, told from the God-Down point of view... kind of like a Picasso, relative to the Man-Up Rembrandt styles of the others... reflecting, as the last to be written, the growing 50 or so year accretion of "what does this all mean" insights of the new Christian churches.
Blessings on Phoebe... and John both.
Wow, what tough choices.
Such an interesting comparison: Picasso versus Rembrandt. Now, I would have gone with Rembrandt, as my eyes are suddenly filled with the thick, rich paint of the side of beef hanging, and I imagine tactilely the humble, solid flesh of mortal creatures, in the case of the steer literally "raised" to be consumed for others' sustenance. The "mere" flesh of kine given solidity, weight, beauty, dignity, value. The creature forever incorruptible in art.
Wow! <3 (That's as close as I can get to a heart emoji on my PC.)
My name saint is losing!! This can't be happening!!!!!
I voted for Phoebe not only because my name is Phoebe, but because she is very important in Paul's letter to the churches in Rome.
Amalgam vs. deacon. John the Apostle and John the Evangelist were both mixed bags unto themselves already, the apostle starting out as a kid scrambling for the best seat and then apparently becoming the beloved; and the evangelist with the the soaring poetic theology of the prolegomena, words that encapsulate my personal faith, but then the bitterness over "the Jews" not embracing Jesus as Messiah; bitterness that has fueled the sin and evil of antisemitism throughout the ages. And I can't believe they were the same person; people didn't live that long back then. Perhaps the author of the gospel was a pseudonymous groupie of the original John. My vote is for Phoebe the deacon today. We may know only two verses about her, but it is enough to know the she was a trusted and respected partner in ministry for Paul.
How could I not vote for the author of the fourth gospel? How could I not vote for the one disciple who died of old age and escaped martyrdom? Those are powerful inducements, and yet I surprised myself and voted for Phoebe. Both of these accounts are stories of relationship: John had a personal relationship with Jesus, and Phoebe had a personal relationship with Paul. I am reminded that relationship is the heart of our spirituality. I had a rector who repeatedly said, "God does not mean for us to do it alone." But in choosing, I am persuaded by Phoebe's important role in the early church. She was a bearer of the message. She supported the church financially. She was a nascent deacon. In reading Paul's letter to the congregation and explaining it, she preached. The collect speaks of her "bold witness." I too seek to be a bold witness. I am joining brave ecumenical witnesses who rally at our local ICE facility. There is not as yet an event organized for March 24 for the "March for Life" that the Florida students called for; I have no idea how one helps to organize such a thing, but this seems a clear enough call to get involved.
Hell’s foundations quiver
At the shout of praise;
Brothers [and sisters], lift your voices,
Loud your anthems raise.
We are not divided;
All one body we:
One in hope and doctrine,
One in charity.
I cast my vote for all the faithful women who supported, organized, and preached on behalf of the early church in witness of their faith in a risen god.
The diabolically difficult match-ups continue!
Some very tough choices already this year.
It is tempting to reflexively vote for the underdog, the one whose story was suppressed, the sidelined (often a woman of course). There is a lot to ponder here.
While admiring Phoebe, today’s matchup is an easy one for me. John the Evangelist all the way!
Is the illustration of John the right one? There is no serpent in a chalice (that I can see, anyway).
Yes, it's the right illustration. He's also symbolically represented in art by an eagle. And the painting's Latin caption says that it is the "beginning of the Gospel of Saint John."
It does show an eagle, the traditional symbol for (the Gospel of) John.
Phoebe had my vote today. The job Paul gave her was proof of her growth in this new religion. Paul was confident in a woman and up to the task of delivering letter and explaining its importance to the church at Rome. Phoebe became a preacher, something it took the modern church centuries to accept and implement.
Phoebe’s example speaks to me today. I find that every Lent develops its own theme. This year it crashed in on me on Ash Wednesday. Both of these saints went out and spoke up. Both worked with others to improve the world. Both had to overcome obstacles. But somehow Phoebe’s obstacles and work relate more closely to my life and what I hope to learn this Lent.
Where is the like button? Some of the replies are as interesting (and more entertaining) than the actual biographies of the saints!
Just hit reply under your favorite comments to show your appreciation, like this! 🙂
P.S.- You should also be able to get a "thumbs up" by typing y between ( ). In the interest of saintly encouragement, let's see if it works here.... (y)
My first thought is to vote for Phoebe, of whom we know so little, having just finished Lindsay Freeman's "Bible Women," in which I learned so much, to support the overlooked women of Christianity. But in anticipation of the Kitsch round, I switched over to John, who I am sure will have lots of interesting kitsch, while I'm afraid Phoebe will have none.
There is a "Phoebe couture cocktail dress" in basic black which would have wowed the Roman congregation as their personal evangelist expounded upon Pauline theology.
Unfortunately, WordPress doesn't seem to allow me to paste a picture into the text box. Was that too much of a Lenten miracle to ask for? Just google it.
Too, there is a Phoebe Snow cocktail involving 1 1/2 ounces cognac, 1 1/2 ounces Dubonnet Rouge and a dash of absinthe (or 2 dashes Pernod Pastis, if absinthe isn’t available). Shaken not stirred.
So I'm sure our Phoebe could have been well represented in the kitsch category. A little faith and some creativity go a long way. (Non-alcoholic versions available by angelic request.)
Amen.
There's the eponymous little gray songbird that sings "Phoebe" these winter days; Phoebe Snow is good, and there's also the actress Phoebe Cates, the character Phoebe from "Friends" played by Lisa Kudrow, and, of course the Greek goddess for whom Saturn's moon Phoebe is named. Plenty of kitsch potential!!
You had me at "eponymous."
HA!!
uhhhh that John bio is terrible and wrong. See Jenny's comment up above. Also Where's Fredrick Douglas today is his saints day
I'm voting for Phoebe because I had never noticed her before Lent Madness, yet the blog points out how much can legitimately be read between Paul's few lines about her importance and achievements. John already has superstar cred--he doesn't need any more time in the spotlight! Besides, I've always been annoyed by the constant refrain in the Gospel of "the disciple whom Jesus loved," as though Jesus didn't love the rest of them nearly as much. Seems self-serving to me.
Tough choice today. Phoebe as a woman and church leader, but never mentioned in my church, can not be ignored. She should be celebrated, held up as an example, and this is one small way to do it. At the same time John is John, close to Jesus and then Mary, my confirmation name, a Gospel markedly different than the other three.
Thank you, Christine, I enjoyed John the Revelator Delta Blues. Phoebe was key to interpreting the message. She rose to prominence. I think she did this with vision, courage, and strength. She gets my vote.
Well. I almost voted for Phoebe, but have been nourished too often by the prologue to John's gospel. A respectful tip sf my hat ti Phoebe, but my vote is for John.
I vote for John, partly because of so many favorite passages in his/their? Gospel, but also because of the passage in 1 John beginning "There is no fear in love, for perfect love has cast out all fear." I learned this at two very important points in my life, when I was struggling with my growing realization that my soon-to-be husband was probably the one with whom I was meant to live out my life, and then when I was struggling with the equally terrifying conviction that I was being called to ordained ministry. At both these times, praying for guidance, I opened my Bible to find this passage staring back at me and reassuring me that God's love could cast out my fear and enable me to go farther in life. Now, at age 80, I'm still married to the man and still struggling to ascertain what it means to be in ministry as a retiree.
What a lovely story! Thank you for sharing it.
While I want to vote for my son's name sake (John), I also am eager to learn more about Phoebe. Sending her to the next round would let us all learn more about her. Voted for Phoebe today!
I love and am fascinated by all the writings attributed to John in the New Testament. I wish we had some writings from Phoebe.