Whether you think of them as scholars, super sleuths, or stars of the documentary, it is easy to feel the spirit of Easter joy in professors Joan Taylor and Helen Bond. With their particular brand of creativity, humor, and light heartedness, they offer an engaging and inspiring view of the women disciples of Jesus, as well as those who worked alongside Paul.
On Holy Thursday, over 300 people were transfixed as Joan and Helen joined FutureChurch to tell the stories of Tabitha, Mary, the mother of John Mark, Lydia, and the prophetic daughters of Philip anew. With their skilled storytelling, the lives and ministries of Phoebe, Prisca, and Junia came alive. We learned that Celsus’ “delirious woman” was none other than our friend, Mary Magdalene. And, in a world where most every biblical story is shaped and often distorted by “the male gaze,” the fact that the Resurrection stories focus on the women who stayed with Jesus through the crucifixion when all the male disciples had run away and who proclaimed his resurrection is proof of just how important women were in the founding and expansion of Christianity.
If you haven’t read their book, “Women Remembered, Jesus’s Female Disciples, you will definitely want to get it. And if you want to get a flavor of their documentary style and content on this same topic, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17QWDhomle8.
Here is another article about their work: https://uscatholic.org/articles/202209/two-historians-track-down-jesus-women-disciples/
As we enter into this last day of the Triduum with its culmination -- the Resurrection -- all of us at FutureChurch wish you and your family and friends a most joyous and grace-filled Easter.
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