Joanna: A generous heart
Joanna’s story can be found in Luke 8:1-3 and Luke 24:9-11:
‘…The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: …Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household…and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.'
‘When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.’
Mixing with the poor
Joanna was married to King Herod's household manager, so she was obviously a wealthy woman. She would have been used to mixing in high society, yet she chose to not only socialise but to provide for the poor (Lk 8:3). Others of her class, perhaps even her husband, would have looked down on her for doing so.
Who do we spend time with?
Do we only socialise with people like ourselves; or do we mix with those we can't relate to as easily?
As there is so little biblical material on Joanna, it's worth thinking deeply about what we do have. Here's a short meditation (embellished with some imagination) to help us enter into what it might have been like for Joanna to meet Jesus. You can picture yourself as an observer, one of Jesus' followers, or whoever you like:
The market place is quiet this morning and Joanna has almost finished buying her goods for the week. As she directs the stall owner to her favourite olives, she notices a man laying his hands on a young woman. His voice is deep and authoritative, yet his clothes reveal his poor status. At first indignant, wondering what this man was doing touching a woman, Joanna strides towards them, abandoning the olives. Her step slows, however, as she begins hearing what he is saying. He prays to God for her healing, whilst the woman kneels, a look of serenity on her tear-stained face. It is only when the prayer finishes that the man notices her. She suddenly becomes self-conscious, aware that her richly embroidered dress and jewellery only highlights their poverty.
About to turn away, she suddenly recognises one of the other women with this man: Mary Magdalene, whom she had so often tried to befriend and persuade to leave her life of prostitution. This time, though, it was Mary’s clothes she noticed. From provocative, scantily clad garments, now a modest dress with a green headscarf adorned her. Mary smiles at Joanna, introducing the man who, she said, had healed her from her brokenness. This man is like no other, Joanna thinks; simply meeting his eyes gives her a sense of being known, a deep peace in her soul. He invites her to eat with them. She pauses before answering... Doing so would cause others in her social class to talk. The very fervent supporters of Rome might think she was a traitor, supporting some sort of Jewish cult. Despite all this, she couldn’t deny what a difference she saw in Mary. She also saw that she could make a difference for this man; she could share some of her wealth. Although it meant surrendering her reputation, she decided that was a risk she was willing to take; she smiles at Jesus and accepts the invitation.
Beyond the bubble
If we’ve experienced
the love of God, we can spend time with those different to us without a sense
of insecurity. Joanna was obviously impacted by Jesus; perhaps even healed by him (see Lk 8:2). Yet how many of us, and here I challenge myself too, continue
to stay within our safe ‘bubble’ of people like us? If we want to reach out to the hurting then giving money and
praying is a good start, but let's also do our best to pop the bubble, and spend time getting to know them.
What else about Joanna inspires you?
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