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”
My vote goes to the first female priest in Christendom.
Mary Magdalene was the apostle to the apostles, so I'm inclined to think she gets the appellation "first." Wish the Swag sellers would re-issue her coffee mug.
I second the wish for a Mary Magdalene mug!!
Oh yes, please!
I didn't know how I'd cast my vote up to the moment I did so. In the end I went for Phoebe. But both these saints did so much for the growth of the early church and the spread of God's Word.
I too am a fan of John but I hear Phoebe has a mean breaking fast ball so I am down with that.
As someone whose first name is John after John the Evangelist, I had to go with him.
John is a star. Phoebe is a comet. There are many male stars in the Biblical galaxy,
but when a comet appears, it's a sparkling rarity. Thanks, Phoebe!
I like this, Lurlene!
John the Evangelist vs Phoebe
Definitely many overtimes on this contest. The hardest choice in the bracket. Romans or Gospel of John. Should be the final choice, for sure
Phoebe is very compelling, but given that my home parish is named for St. John the Evangelist, I’m bound by honor to vote for him.
Hardest choice yet. I would have loved to vote for Phoebe, but the glorious conceptualization of God among us in the start of John's Gospel has always for me captured the mystery, and the wonder, of God.
Much as I love what we can piece together of Phoebe's story, I came to faith through a Church of John the Evangelist, and my faith has since been deepened and strengthened by the beauty, poetry and mystery of John's gospel. I cast my vote for the author who wrote that all may come to believe in Jesus.
Go Phoebe! As someone else commented, for her to be recognized by name for doing good works and trusted to take communications to parishes, she really must have been a fantastic woman leader in the early church. She truly was a wonderful communicator as the letter to the Romans that she carried and read is still such an important document to us! She deserves our vote!
I voted for Phoebe. Maybe it is because I just spent countless hours working on Ephesians 1:3-14 and understand how hard it is to translate Paul. Yes, I am one of those who takes Ephesians 1:1 as literal.
I am grateful for Phoebe and her ministry of hospitality, but I voted for John, the beloved. May we each be as confident as John that we are beloved by God!
John the Evangelist vs Phoebe
. The hardest choice in the bracket. Romans or Gospel of John. Should be the final choice, for sure
Voted for all the disciples and authors with the appellation "John." More bang for the buck!
A female, a former slave who rises to a high position in society, able to provide funds to the new church deserves a vote. But there's more - she is a woman who is trusted as Paul's partner in supervising new churches, a high achievement in any time, let alone back then. In addition, she's trusted to convey Paul's message to the Romans and obviously did very well at that. This is an epic story of a wondrously blessed and gifted woman who got my vote this morning.
I'm curious about this slave business. I wonder why "it is likely" that she was a slave. I'd love to know about this!
A quick survey shows very few (about 5%) male voices but may I speak (softly) on behalf of my namesake?
Not to detract from the incredible ministry and leadership of Phoebe, I really just wanted to see John and Peter square off in the Saintly 16.
As compelling as Phoebe might be, I couldn’t not vote for the Disciple whom Jesus loved... the disciple to whom Jesus entrusted the care of his mother... the one who listened for the heartbeat of God.
Beautifully stated.
I voted for Phoebe as part of my recovery from Paul’s defeat.
A hearty, "I hear ya!"
It wasn't easy (none of the matchups so far have been), but I voted for Phoebe. There aren't a lot of women named in the New Testament, and as not only a supporter of the fledgling Church but an emissary of Paul, she deserves recognition.
And the granddaughter of a friend is named Phoebe.
I'm for Phoebe. Of late, I'm so inspired by the average folk, who drilled deep and found ways to live out their faith in whatever circumstance they found themselves living in. That's what it's all about, right?
I love all I read about Phoebe and her role as a female leader in the early church. But as a longtime time friend of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist who have been an enormous gift to me over the years, I have to vote for their Patron.
I love Phoebe but I voted for John because it will be the first time I can legally vote for 4 people. Really.
it is because< " In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." No one writes better than John except Paul on a very, very good day. John's words are hypnotic and I understand them deep in my soul even though I can not explain to another person what they mean.
Nicely stated.
Phoebe for me!
Does anyone else find themselves diagramming John's gospel whenever they hear it? Or is diagramming no longer a part of the language arts curriculum, which in my day was called English? It is so easy to lose yourself in the process that the gospel becomes a mere mishmash of meaningless words.
Thank you. Thank you. Diagramming a sentence is as archaic as Home Economics or Shop. All useful tools that cannot be assessed on a standardized test. Is your #2 pencil sharpened? No stray marks allowed. 🙂
LOL
Do they no longer have "shop" in high school? I loved woodshop.
I loved diagramming sentences! What a great new challenge--diagramming the gospels!
Phoebe!
So far, I've found myself consistently voting for the women (for various reasons) and would otherwise vote for Phoebe as another strong but unsung churchwoman, but as my parish is the Chapel of St. John the Divine, Episcopal (Champaign, Illinois), my loyalties must lie elsewhere this time.
While John lives on in his writings, it is only recently that we have discovered the crucial role that women played in church leadership...under St, Paul, no less, who has been criticized for his alleged misogyny . My vote is for Phoebe
Phoebe, because we have always known that women are called to ministry - the deaconate and even, gasp, ordained priesthood (the "gasp" for my since-infancy church that has a selective memory and, try as it may, will not be able to restrain the Holy Spirit).
Phoebe, who was generous and trustworthy in the early days of the Church.
I was torn today...male versus female! I have to agree with the comments about Phoebe's awesome role in spreading the word, BUT John took care of Mary while doing other wonderful deeds in Jesus' name. I finally had to cast my vote for John.