Expanding the Scope of “Love Your Neighbor as Yourself”
- davidwperk
- Sep 8
- 6 min read
Devotional Reflection, Monday, September 8, 2025
Proper 18, the week of the thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
The Rev. David W. Perkins, Th.D.
Key phrase for reflection from today’s Gospel reading:
40 There were also women looking on from a distance; among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41These used to follow him and provided for him when he was in Galilee; and there were many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem.
You will find the full text of today’s Gospel reading at the end of this reflection.
Daily Office Lectionary Readings (BCP, 982)
AM Psalm 41, 52; PM Psalm 44
1 Kings 13:1-10; Phil. 1:1-11; Mark 15:40-47
Today we celebrate the Feast of Søren Kierkegaard. (See below.)
David's Reflections
Of Jesus’ relationship to women, Carol Flinders writes, “The Gospels themselves . . . have made it indisputably clear that Jesus himself loved women and took them seriously as spiritual aspirants, and if there had been any lingering doubt as to their suitedness for full membership in the church, the accounts of the early Christian martyrs would certainly have dispelled it." *
Today’s Gospel present graphic evidence of Jesus’ unique relationship with women. His was a patriarchal society; women occupied a quite secondary social level. Almost no rabbis had women as disciples. But, Jesus had women who traveled with him and the Twelve and provided for them financially. (Luke 8:1-3 provides another witness to this.) When Jesus traveled to Jerusalem for this his final Passover celebration, a number of women journeyed with him.
Now, at the moment of his deepest agony, the Twelve (except for The Beloved Disciple, according to John 19) were conspicuous by their absence. The women proved faithful to Jesus by risking keeping company with him in his death. They become models for our discipleship, sharing Jesus’ final journey to death. In a real sense, they took up their crosses and followed Jesus, risking rejection themselves. They steeled themselves against the agony of watching someone they loved suffer so profoundly and shared the moment with him.
The church’s struggles with the role of women have revealed how deeply patriarchy can become embedded in a community’s culture. As a Baptist seminary teacher, I would here this question from male students, “Dr. Perkins, Is the ordination of women biblical?” My response: “Your ordination is not biblical. That practice is not in the New Testament.” Ordination, as we practice it, arises out of a post Biblical tradition; the formal distinction between ordained and non-ordained does not exist in the biblical documents. Perhaps the closest to it would be the roles of apostles and prophets.
That does not make it wrong to ordain; rather, it makes ordination a debate primarily about tradition. Scripture sheds light on that debate in passages like this one, like Old Testament and New Testament references to women prophets, and primarily in Jesus’ attitude and practice. And, even though The Episcopal Church began ordaining women a half-century ago, resistance to having women as clergy persists in some parishes; and, at the national level we cannot say that the taint of gender inequality has been fully overcome.
The most fundamental word of Jesus that relates to the place of women in the church is “love your neighbor as yourself.” With that core text and the examples I’ve alluded to from Scripture, the church is called to treat all within its boundaries with neighbor love. As Paul put it in Galatians 3, in the Christian community the social distinctions of race, economic status, and gender have no relevance. What a radical expansion of the scope of “Love your neighbor as yourself”!
Jesus not only taught that we love our neighbor as ourselves, he also practiced it. In today's Gospel, we see the impact of his neighbor love on the women who followed him. That remains a challenge for us. Dare we broaden our scope to include those who are gender neutral, nonbinary, queer? Dare we value all people equally with no regard for gender identity or sexual orientation? What biases might our anxiety and anger around this reveal? How does “love your neighbor as yourself” speak to this?
* Carol Lee Flinders, At the Root of This Longing: Reconciling a Spiritual Hunger and a Feminist Thirst (New York: HarperCollins, 1998), p. 130.
Collect of the Day, Proper 18, the thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Grant us, O Lord, to trust in you with all our hearts; for, as you always resist the proud who confide in their own strength, so you never forsake those who make their boast of your mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen (BCP, 233)
Today we celebrate the Feast of Søren Kierkegaard, teacher and philosopher (died 11 Nov 1855 CE).
Collect of the Feast of Søren Kierkegaard
Heavenly Father, whose beloved Son Jesus Christ felt sorrow and dread in the Garden of Gethsemane: Help us to remember that though we walk through the valley of the shadow, you are always with us, that with your philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, we may believe what we have not seen and trust where we cannot test, and so come at length to the eternal joy which you have prepared for those who love you; through the same Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
A Collect for the Renewal of Life
O God, the King eternal, whose light divides the day from the night and turns the shadow of death into the morning: Drive far from us all wrong desires, incline our hearts to keep your law, and guide our feet into the way of peace; that, having done your will with cheerfulness while it was day, we may, when night comes, rejoice to give you thanks; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 99)
For Those Who Mourn
Merciful God, whose Son Jesus wept at the death of Lazarus: look with compassion on all who are bound by sorrow and pain through the death of N. (or a loved one). Comfort them, grant them the conviction that all things work together for good to those who love you, and help them to find sure trust and confidence in your resurrection power; through Jesus Christ our deliverer. Amen. (Enriching Our Worship: 2, pp. 65-66)
In the Order of Worship for Evening
Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers, creator of the changes of day and night, giving rest to the weary, renewing the strength of those who are spent, bestowing upon us occasions of song in the evening. As you have protected us in the day that is past, so be with us in the coming night; keep us from every sin, every evil, and every fear; for you are our light and salvation, and the strength of
our life. To you be glory for endless ages. Amen. (BCP, 113)
A Collect for Mission
O God, you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth, and sent your blessed Son to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near: Grant that people everywhere may seek after you and find you; bring the nations into your fold; pour out your Spirit upon all flesh; and hasten the coming of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 100)
Daily Office Gospel, Mark 15:40-47
40 There were also women looking on from a distance; among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41These used to follow him and provided for him when he was in Galilee; and there were many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem.
42 When evening had come, and since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, 43Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44Then Pilate wondered if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead for some time. 45When he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the body to Joseph. 46Then Joseph* bought a linen cloth, and taking down the body,* wrapped it in the linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. 47Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where the body* was laid.
Daily Prayer Offices in The Book of Common Prayer
Morning Prayer, Rite 2, page 75, Book of Common Prayer
Noonday Prayer, p. 103, Book of Common Prayer
Order of Worship for Evening (Vespers), p. 109, Book of Common Prayer
Evening Prayer, Rite 2, page 115, Book of Common Prayer
Compline (Night Prayer), Page 127, Book of Common Prayer
Daily Devotionals, page 136, Book of Common Prayer
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