On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. – Acts 16:13

Today's Scripture Reading (March 16, 2024): Acts 16

I freely admit that most of what I know about Judaism has been learned from Jewish educational groups like "The Maccabeats" and "Schlock Rock." Don't judge me; I am just glad that there is somewhere that a Gentile can go to get a Jewish education in an enjoyable and memorable way. But one of my favorite Jewish educational songs exists at the crossroads between these two groups. "Minyan Man" is a great song that explains a "minyan" and is sung by "The Maccabeats" and Lenny Solomon (Schlock Rock).

Minyan Man tells the story of a traveler coming through Mobile, Alabama, just before the Sabbath, searching for a place to worship. He meets with a man who "looks like him" and takes him to the back of a hardware store where nine men had come to start their Sabbath worship experience. But as the song highlights, they were "nine men looking for one more." According to the Sabbath Law, a Minyan, recognized as ten men, must be present to have a legal Jewish worship experience. Once, ten men had met at the back of this hardware store, but one of them had died, so the nine men waited for one more. Incidentally, some modern synagogues operate with what they call a "double minyan," or ten men and ten women. But that is a contemporary adjustment.

Paul came to Philippi, and as was his custom, he looked for a synagogue in which to worship on the Sabbath. But the town doesn't have a synagogue, not even one at the back of a hardware store. The problem wasn't that they didn't have ten people, but that they didn't have ten men. And no number of women could make up for even one missing man.

There was no synagogue, so several women gathered at the local river to worship. A minyan wasn't available, but these women gathered for worship anyway. For everyone who believes that Paul was a misogynist, it is essential to note that these women, meeting at a river in Philippi, were important enough to Paul to get his attention. They were worth him coming to teach. And that is precisely what he did. He went to the river and began to speak to the women about Jesus Christ. This isn't the only occasion that Paul taught women, but it proves that Paul valued female Jewish believers. He came and stayed with them, he taught them, and many of them became missionaries for the fledgling Christian Church. Over the centuries, that really hasn't changed. Women have been key Christian leaders, especially in areas that don't have a church. And we owe these pioneers a debt of respect for all of the trials through which they suffered as they advanced the cause of the Christian Church. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Acts 17