WOMEN AT PENTECOST

We know women were at the foot of Jesus’ cross, when most of the men had fled and they were there when they laid Him in the tomb.

It was the women who walked through the desolate graveyard, hours just before dawn, carrying spices to anoint Jesus’ dead body for proper burial.

 And it was to woman that Jesus first appeared  after His resurrection. To them He gave the message to carry back to His apostles and disciples, that He truly was alive.  And what of Pentecost?  Were women present? Why would the Lord exclude them, when they placed such an important role in His life here on earth?

 We know that Jesus’ Mother, Mary, was huddled in the upper room praying with the other women and the rest of the disciples in the days following the resurrection. Luke notes that, upon their return to Jerusalem after Christ’s Ascension, “they were joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus …” (Acts 1:14, which argues for her inclusion among the “they” (2:1) who were “gathered together in one place” on Pentecost.  

The above painting is by the Benedictine nun from Stanbrook Abbey in England, Dame Werburg Welsh. Her painting shows us Jesus’ Mother robed in red, a sign that she was filled with the Holy Spirit from the moment she consented to be the Mother of God. Mary Magdalene is there, too, robed in white like the apostles. She is considered to be  the apostle to the apostles, the one whom Jesus chose to announce His resurrection. Surely she would not be excluded from this gathering!. There is simply no indication in Acts that only males prayed as the 120 disciples were gathered in one place (Acts 1:15). 

In the Acts of the Apostles, which we have daily been reading at Mass throughout this Eastertide, we see there are many more women who played a significant role in the life of the church. They participated in all the activities of the church.

Luke, the author of the  Acts,  shows how the status of women would be greater in the church than in their previous position in Jewish culture. There are twenty-three women or groups of women mentioned in the book of Acts. Not only do we have Jesus' Mother and friends, but also widows, professional women, other prominent women, and relatives of other disciples. We read that they all joined in with the task of the mission of the church in various ways.

To mention a few:  The disciple named Tabitha (Gk. name of Dorcas)  was singled out for her acts of kindness to her community. The primary focus of her ministry was to poor widows, for whom she made tunics and other items of clothing.

Priscilla with her husband, Aquila,  ran a small business in Corinth making tents. Unlike her husband, Priscilla likely wasn’t Jewish but a Roman woman from an upper-class family, judging by her name. After meeting and working with Paul, the well-traveled couple  became valued members of the apostle’s missionary team. Unusual for the time, Priscilla and Aquila are always mentioned together, suggesting they were equal partners in life, business and ministry. Even more unusual, Priscilla is almost always named first, indicating hers was perhaps the higher-profile role within the church. 

Both in his Gospel and in the book of Acts, Luke took great effort to portray women in all their diversity from the rich to the servants (perhaps because he wasn't Jewish?). He shows us real women of warmth and wit and intellect, who played essential roles in the spread of the new faith.

Today, we see a new Pentecost with more and more women taking an active role in the Church's mission to spread the Good News of Jesus' mercy and love.