Luke 8:1-3

1 Timothy 6:2c-12

Psalm 49:6-7, 8-10, 17-18, 19-20

Luke 8:1-3

Jesus journeyed from one town and village to another,

preaching and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God.

Accompanying him were the Twelve

and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities,

Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,

Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza,

Susanna, and many others

who provided for them out of their resources.

Opening Prayer: Lord God, you call all people to accompany your Son and form part of the Church. Help me to know what my role is in the company of your Son. Enable me to place the gifts and talents you have given me at the service of the Gospel.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Mary of Magdala: The Gospel of Luke tells us that Jesus was not only accompanied by the Twelve Apostles as he journeyed through Galilee and proclaimed the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, but that he was also accompanied by many women, who ministered to Jesus out of their resources. Mary of Magdala has a certain prominence, and recent excavations in Magdala have revealed that it was a wealthy town with a thriving fish market. Fish from the Sea of Galilee would be salted with salt from the Dead Sea and shipped to Mediterranean cities in the Roman Empire. The city of Magdala had a large and busy port and was a commercial hub. Mary of Magdala was wealthy, but she placed her wealth at the service of the Gospel. She was grateful for what Jesus had done in her life and was ready, like the poor woman who gave all she had, to give everything she had to God.

2. Joanna and Susanna: Joanna is mentioned in today’s Gospel and also Luke 24:10. Her name means “YHWH has been gracious.” Her husband, Chuza, was a steward or household manager of King Herod Antipas. Chuza was a man of wealth and received a good salary for managing Herod’s properties and income. Like Mary of Magdala, she had been cured by Jesus of either evil spirits or an infirmity. It is possible that Joanna is also mentioned in Paul’s Letter to the Romans (16:7) as Junia, which is a Latin name similar to the Hebrew name Joanna. Paul describes Junia as being in Rome and being “prominent among the Apostles.” Susanna was also a woman who followed Jesus from Galilee and who ministered to Jesus and his disciples out of their livelihood. The Eastern Orthodox Church includes Joanna and Susanna as two of the eight “myrrh-bearers,” who anointed the body of Jesus in the tomb. 

3. False Teaching and True Wealth: In his First Letter to Timothy, Paul has returned several times to the danger of false teaching and teachers. The standard for teaching in the Church is conformity with the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. The first negative mark of a false teacher is conceit. They are deluded or blinded by the smoke of their self-importance (see Montague, First and Second Timothy, Titus, 124). Instead of possessing and sharing in divine wisdom and understanding, the false teacher understands nothing. They love to get into arguments and verbal disputes. They fall prey to the vice of envy. “Sterile competition betrays a desire simply to win an argument, to put down the opponent, to stand in solitary splendor over one’s defeated adversaries. Worse yet are personal attacks, verbal abuse, name calling, slanderous claims, and suspicions of the most serious kind. A further effect is the mutual friction that contaminates minds” (Montague, First and Second Timothy, Titus, 124). Following Christ does not bring monetary wealth, but rather simplicity of life. The foolish person loves money, fleeting pleasures, and passing things, while the wise person, like Mary of Magdala and the other women, is detached from earthly wealth, administers it wisely, and places everything at the service of love.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, as I contemplate the group of your followers and the mystery of your Resurrection, I am filled with hope. I know that you can welcome me, purify me, and strengthen me to work for your Kingdom. You are the Resurrection and the Life!

Living the Word of God: Am I providing for others out of my resources? If I were to stand before God today, can I say I have fed the hungry, clothed the naked, sheltered the homeless, cared for the sick, and visited the lonely? Have I practiced the seven spiritual works of mercy? What can I do better?