Phoebe
I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me. Romans 16: 1-2
These are the only two sentences in the bible about this woman named Phoebe. According to scholars, she is most likely the person that carried Paul’s letter to Rome.
Who is she? Phoebe’s name in Greek means shining, radiant, bright. She is likely of Gentile origin. She belonged to the church in Cenchreae - one of two ports in Corinth which were very important on the trade route. Cenchrea was a city in which most of the people believed in many different gods and they were idol worshippers. Walking through the city you would see many different shrines and temples and monuments dedicated to worshipping these many different gods.
Yet, in the middle of all this religious darkness, Phoebe believed God. She lived a life of faith that flowed over into a life of service. Paul introduces her in these first two verses of Romans 16 as a sister, as a deacon, and as a benefactor. She is a sister in faith to him and to those believers that she will meet in Rome.
She is also introduced as a deacon in her church implying that she was a position of leadership. Paul was likely using the term to evoke respect of the Roman Christians. He was vouching for her and putting his reputation on the line.
Paul also uses the term benefactor which suggests that Phoebe was a woman of means, who contributed financial support to Paul’s ministry, and probably hosted the house church of Cenchreae in her home, as well as providing shelter and hospitality to Paul when in the town.
Where was she going? The journey from Cenchreae to Rome would have taken her across land and sea for many weeks. Traveling and finding lodging for a woman would have been very dangerous at that time.
She was headed to Rome where women didn’t have any formal status.They couldn’t even be Roman citizens. It was a massive city with an estimated population was between 800,000 and 1.2 million. Of that population, it is estimated that a few hundred to several thousand were Christians in Rome.
Paul references about five separate Christian communities that she would be visiting. He references 29 people in Rome – 20 men and 9 women. Some had Greek names, Latin names, Jewish names and a Persian name. So there were Romans, Greek immigrants, Jews and Persians in these Christian communities.
What did she do? Phoebe appears to have brought Paul’s letter from Corinth to Rome. And because Rome was a non-literate culture at the time, the letter would have been read outloud. She was also most likely the one to have read it to these five communities and first explained it to the Roman Christians.
Can you imagine the weight of her shoulders?
What can we learn from her? In these two sentences in the bible, we learn that she was faithful in the community in which she lived, and we learn about her obedience and courage.
When our family is about to do something fun or hard, my son often says, “We are frigging do it!” So Phoebe - even with the complexity of the travel, her status as a women, the size of the city that she was called to go to, the daunting task she was given, and the multi-cultural audience that she was assigned to connect with, she was obedient. She “friggin did it.”
Reflection
What is something that God is calling each of us to do? Something that might seem hard, impossible, scary, or intimidating? Do you have the faith, courage and obedience of Phoebe to follow through?
Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for the gift of being able to learn in your word about the footsteps of Phoebe, so that we can learn from your faithful, obedient followers. I think through her example, you are calling us to live out our faith. Give us faith and courage to go and “friggin’ do it.” In your name, we pray. Amen.
P.S. The picture is of Rebecca Madden on the edge of the Aegean Sea at the port of Cenchreae in Corinth in Greece.