Mary, an Unnoticed Mother in the Early Church
Recently, when I read the book of Acts again looking for names of the church, I noticed in the narrative following the first naming of the church the story about Peter's miraculous rescue from prison and certain death. As soon as he [Peter] realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many had gathered and were praying (Acts 12:12). As I read, I realized that this story is about an unnoticed woman who deserves to be noticed and imitated today.
Some Very Noticeable Things About This Mary
1. In relative obscurity she is distinguished from the more well-known Mary, the mother of Jesus (Acts 1:14).
2. Mary is content to be known as the mother of John Mark, her son who turned out to be a very significant person in the early church (Acts 12:25)
3. Mary, a woman of considerable means, owns a house large enough for members of the Jerusalem church to gathered in for fellowship and worship. She may have been criticized when she opted not to sell her house to help the needy in Jerusalem (Acts 4:34-37). She chose instead to identify with the women disciples who followed Jesus and supported his ministry with their resources (Luke 8:1-3).
4. Mary is an incredibly brave woman. She dedicated her house as a meeting place for the church probably dating back to when Saul was going “house to house ravaging the church, dragging off both men and women (Acts 8:3).
5. Mary is the “mother” of many women of means who dedicated their houses to the use of the church: Lydia (Acts 16:15, 40), Priscilla and Aquila (Acts 18:1-3; Romans 16:3-5), and several other women and men in that Romans list.
6. Mary is a woman who prayed with the church in her home (Acts 12:12) as had the more famous Mary the mother of Jesus who prayed with other women and the apostles at the beginning of the church (Acts 1:14).
Interesting history, but what is its relevance to Mother’s Day? Let us think about and explore that question as we study the roles of women in today’s church.
—Tom Yoakum