Today the Boston Globe and New York Times shared a new discovery
online. It is a small piece of papyrus,
about the size of a business card, that seems to date to fourth century
Egypt. On it are printed words
attributed Jesus Christ: he speaks of his "wife" and says "she
will be able to be my disciple."
In the text Jesus also refers to his mother who "gave to me
life" and he uses the name "Mary." Because the artifact is fragmentary, it is unclear if
"Mary" is used in reference to his mother or wife (possibly Mary
Magdalene). The context of the fragment
is unknown.
It
was in 2010 that the anonymous owner of the papyrus contacted Prof. Karen L.
King, of Harvard Divinity School, and asked her to study it. She is now presenting initial results of her
work at a conference in Rome. Although
authentication continues, it is believed that the papyrus is ancient and the
grammar seems consistent with early Coptic texts (the form of Egyptian language
first used during the time of the Roman Empire). If proven authentic, it will be the earliest known document to
suggest that Jesus of Nazareth was married.
Dr.
King has titled the fragment The Gospel of Jesus' Wife. She believes that the artifact may be a
hand-written copy of an earlier work from the second century, given its
similarity to other texts of that era.
By contrast, the canonical gospels included in the Christian Bible date
to the first century. The earliest is the Gospel of Mark, probably written
about the year AD 70.
Does
this discovery prove that Jesus was married as some, like Dan Brown of The
Da Vinci Code fame, have suggested?
No. It doesn't and it
can't. The gospels included in the
Bible are more ancient, much more reliable, and remain entirely silent on the
question of Jesus' marital status. For
whatever reason, this apparently was not a concern for the earliest
Christians. However, if this text is as
ancient as believed, it testifies to the fact that within segments of the
(later) early church community some followers of Jesus had come to believe that
he was married and that women could be considered disciples. Other, more dominant early Christians did
not share this belief, or at least they did not write about it.
Besides
being of historical interest, this discovery is relevant today as churches
grapple with the issue of women serving in leadership positions. For some, like the Episcopal Church, as well
as the larger Lutheran, Methodist, and Presbyterian denominations in the United
States, the issue is settled and women serve in all capacities (although,
debate continues among our international partners). In fact, many of my own mentors in ministry have been women priests
and I was ordained to the priesthood by a woman bishop. But in other denominations, ordained
ministry is limited to men, usually on the grounds that Jesus only called male
disciples. Furthermore, the tradition
of a celibate priesthood is often
supported by the belief that Jesus himself was not married. Thus, this discovery has the potential to
spark new debate about the place of women in Christian discipleship and
leadership, both in the ancient world and today. However, given its still
uncertain authenticity and fragmentary nature it is unlikely to influence
policy any time soon. Nor probably
should it, except as a small part of much broader conversations about the
diversity of the church's practices and beliefs, both historically and now.
The
fact is, we do not need a tiny fragment of papyrus to know that women have
always played a central role in the Christian community, whether ordained,
called "disciples," or not.
In reading the Bible we learn that women supported the ministries of
Jesus and the early church financially.
More importantly, we read that while Jesus' male disciples often failed
to understand his teaching and abandoned him as he was crucified, the women who
followed him were steadfast, keeping vigil at the foot of the cross. What's more, it was they who first discovered
the empty tomb on Easter morning and proclaimed the resurrection to the male
disciples. Women became the apostles to
the apostles: preaching, teaching, and sharing the Good News. Countless women, both lay and ordained,
undertake that same apostolic ministry today.
For their faith, witness, and discipleship I am very thankful.
©
The Rev. Matthew P. Cadwell
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