There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them. - Acts 18:2

Today's Scripture Reading (February 2, 2021): Acts 18

Philosopher Bertrand Russell argued that "there is equality where all are slaves, as well as where all are free. This shows that equality, by itself, is not enough to make a good society." Of course, the hole in Russell's theory is that if all are slaves, that implies that there is at least one master, in which case, all are not really slaves. Most are slaves, but someone is the master, even if that is only one person. If all are free, then there is no master, and therefore, it is at least possible that all are equal.

But the truth is that we fight to keep some kind of order to creation. Our societies contain many masters and many slaves, and egalitarianism is still a dream that is a long way off. We still find ways to make some masters and some slaves or, at least, the servants of others. Divisions are often drawn on the lines of gender, race, or religion, and the divisions are genuine.

And part of the division is just in our speech. For instance, it is customary for a man's name to precede that of the woman, all other things being equal. And when that is not true, then something has interfered with custom.

Luke introduces us to what will become one of the power couples of the early church, Aquila and Priscilla. One of the interesting aspects of this power couple is that that is not the order with which we are familiar to hearing their names; the more common order is Priscilla and Aquila. Here and in the final greetings of 1 Corinthians (1 Corinthians 16:9) are the only places where Paul or Luke puts Aquila, the husband, first. It is a reality that reminds us of the sacred place that Priscilla occupied in the early church. Priscilla was one of the prominent early theologians along with Paul. In a world dominated by inequality and the lower place of women, Priscilla is one of the premier examples of egalitarianism in the Bible, the idea that a woman can do anything that a man can do, and sometimes they do it better. And in the case of Priscilla, this includes the ability to teach and lead a congregation.

Luke begins the story of Aquila and his wife, Priscilla, by telling us that Claudius, who reigned as Roman Emperor from 41 to 54, C.E., had kicked all of the Jews out of Rome. The Roman historian, Suetonius, writing in the early years of the second century, reports the Claudius had evicted the Jews from Rome because they were "indulging in constant riots at the instigation of Chrestus." Scholars have wondered about who this Chrestus might have been, but the most common interpretation is that Suetonius was referring to Jesus Christ, getting the name slightly wrong. The year was likely 49 C.E. The charge was fake news that was used as a dividing line to get the Christians, who were thought to be mostly Jews, and their strange teachings out of the capital of the Empire.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 1 Thessalonians 1 & 2