“I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae, that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well.” -Romans 16:1–2
The remainder of Paul’s letter consists of salutations, commending those saints who have served the church and helped him in the ministry. He begins with Phoebe, whom he calls διάκονος (translated servant or deaconess). One theory is that a deaconess in Paul’s day might possibly refer to those widows he describes in his letter to Timothy (his son in the ministry) who are above sixty years old who committed to living out their days serving the church. Consider this excerpt in which he instructs Timothy in how to minister to widows:
“Let a widow be enrolled if she is not less than sixty years of age, having been the wife of one husband, and having a reputation for good works: if she has brought up children, has shown hospitality, has washed the feet of the saints, has cared for the afflicted, and has devoted herself to every good work. But refuse to enroll younger widows, for when their passions draw them away from Christ, they desire to marry and so incur condemnation for having abandoned their former faith. Besides that, they learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not. So I would have younger widows marry, bear children, manage their households, and give the adversary no occasion for slander. For some have already strayed after Satan. If any believing woman has relatives who are widows, let her care for them. Let the church not be burdened, so that it may care for those who are truly widows.” -1 Timothy 5:9–16
The word translated “enrolled” in verse 9 of the letter to Timothy is καταλέγω, which means to enumerate or to make a selection for membership in a group. It is often used of soldiers who are counted members of the rank and file. Paul lays out a list of qualifications for enrolling those who are “truly widows” so as not to burden the church. Nevertheless, Phoebe appears to be a wealthy woman, or a least a woman of means, for Paul calls her a patron (προστάτιςa), which is synonymous with benefactor or succorer. If Phoebe is enrolled in the service of the church as a widow, it seems her particular situation set her apart to serve the church in a manner that did not require the church to provide her sustenance. Such may not be the situation for every widow. In any case, the widow/deaconess theory is only a reasonable speculation.
Phoebe is called a servant of the church at Cenchreae, a Greek seaport of Corinth. Thus, her patronage should not be confused as being part of the Roman patron-client order; she was a woman who had generously and faithfully supported the Church with her resources (i.e., time and money). Because she was apparently carrying out the duties of a courier to the church at Rome, Paul urges them to receive her as a faithful servant of the Church.
In the modern commercialized world of church hopping and shopping, one can see, by contrast, how important a faithful testimony was in the days when the Church was yet to be recognized. Perhaps this is worth further contemplation as we witness the Church’s influence and recognition being in such decline in the modern world.
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