Women. Gals, girls, females, mamas, aunts, daughters, ladies, matrons, sinners, saints. Sisters.

Throughout Scripture, women play such a powerful role in the story of humankind. From the height of creation to the lows of the fall, from carrying and bearing life to camping in the wilderness, from evil divas to devoted daughters, women line the story of the Word with appalling displays of indiscretion and heroic tales of bravery and love. We are a complicated bunch, arent we? When Christ called us to be a family, when He said in Matthew and in Mark Whoever does Gods will is my brother and sister and mother, He effectively untangled the knot of human blood relation and firmly established us in His divine DNA as blood sisters. You are spiritually more related to the women sitting around you than to those wild cousins of yours. Look around you. You are blood. You are family. By divine DNA. And as Jesuss sisters, we have incredible potential to change our lives, our homes, our neighborhoods, our city, our world. Women who lay aside the weakness of ego and selfishness and contention become powerful agents of birthing relationships and life and connectivity. And Jesus knows it.

While He was still walking the face of this earth, traveling with the Twelve, teaching about Gods kingdom, it wasnt an all-boys trek. In addition to the Twelve, there were women who traveled with them. Women who came from different experiences and walks. Some women who had walked in obscurity and some who had walked in halls of influence. Each had come to Jesus with their own issues, their own demons, their own maladies. Mary of Magdala. Joanna, wife of the manager of Herods household. Susanna. And many more. He had healed them. And made them sisters. These women were the core, the machine that made Jesuss public ministry progress on a wider level. They traveled with Jesus, supported the ministry through their funds, cared for the needs of the group and of Him. They were the original SisterHood of the Traveling Triumphants, women, who, against the cultural norms and societal expectations, had been included intimately in the most significant series of events in history. And it would be these women who followed Jesus to the cross, even when several of the men would fail Him through betrayal or fear. And it would be these women to whom He appeared in the glory of His resurrection. These sisters of the blood DNA of the cross. It was their support, their courage and their testimonies that gave legacy and leverage to a burgeoning faith in the first century. And their legacy can be ours.

If we let it. So we gather. Women from different backgrounds, women of different ages, women with different walks, all healed by the same Jewish Rabbi. We gather to share our stories. We gather to share our challenges. We gather to glean wisdom. We gather to pray. We gather as family. As the SisterHood. Yes, in our modern vernacular, the hood is shorthand for neighborhood. We gather with the sisters who reside in our geographic area. But hood has another meaning, you know. It means covering. In antiquity, it also meant helmet. We are all sisters under the same covering. We are all sisters under the helmet of salvation. The sisters in your hood. The sisters in your covering. The sisters of your salvation. Take a look around. Drink deeply. Embrace your family. Pray, talk, laugh, share. And then go walk in the legacy of the women who walked with Jesus down dusty Galilean roads, up rocky paths to Golgatha, and through gardens to the tomb. Go speak the Good News. Go teach the Good News. Go be the Good News. He is risen. And we are saved.
Julie Lyles Carr 2012

Questions:
1.

What do you think are the most significant strengths of women and their relationships with one another? What are some of the spiritual and emotional challenges that women battle? How do those sins of the flesh (and hormones) affect our effectiveness?

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3.

Describe one of your female heroes of the faith, someone who has mentored you, set an example, made an impression. What is your biggest challenge in your relationships with other women? Why? What is an area of your life where you feel you represent Christ with honor? Is it your marriage? Your care for an aging parent? Your work ethic? Dont be shy.

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6. 7.

What do you want to do for the Kingdom? And a harder question still.does that desire have any sprinkle of notoriety to it that flavors your drive? Public acclaim or attention? Or do you shrink from a more public role out of fear?

8.

What can you do to strengthen your friendships with women? What can you lay down that would open yourself up to deeper friendships? What does friendship look like to you?

9.

Do you truly see your sisters in the faith as family? Or is there still a boundary there? How do we cross that boundary?