We walk in the company of the women who have gone before, mothers of the faith both named and unnamed, testifying with ferocity and faith to the Spirit of wisdom and healing.
They are the judges, the prophets, the martyrs, the warriors, poets, lovers, and saints who are near to us in the shadow of awareness, in the crevices of memory, in the landscape of our dreams.
We walk in the company of Deborah,who judged the Israelites with authority and strength.
We walk in the company of Esther, who used her position as queen to ensure the welfare of her people.
We walk in the company of the woman with the flow of blood, who audaciously sought her healing and release.
We walk in the company of Mary Magdalene, who wept at the empty tomb until the risen Christ appeared.
We walk in the company of Phoebe, who led an early church in the empire of Rome.
We walk in the company of Perpetua of Carthage, whose witness in the third century led to her martyrdom.
We walk in the company of Christina the Astonishing, who resisted death with persistence and wonder.
We walk in the company of Walatta Petros, who helped mobilize a large following of nonviolent resisters to preserve her church in Ethiopia.
We walk in the company of Arrsamquq–Matushka Olga–whose loving service and care for people in distress extended far beyond her own village in Alaska.
We walk in the company of Perpetua and Felicity, young mothers who cared for one another even as they were being martyred together.
We walk in the company of Macrina, who taught her brothers to be great saints and teachers.
We walk in the company of Photeini, the Samaritan Woman, who loved her community so much that she ran to take the news of Christ to them, even though they did not accept it from her, and loved the world so much that she carried the good news with her around the known world.
We walk in the company of Demiana, who founded a great monastery whose forty nuns joined her in defying an emperor.
We walk in the company of the Canaanite woman, the only person to argue with Christ and win.
We walk in the company of the Myrrhbearing Women, who went in mourning to the tomb to care for the body of Christ and discovered that he lives.
We walk in the company of you whose names have been lost and silenced, who cradled the wisdom of the ages. We walk in the company of you mothers of the faith, who teach us to resist evil with boldness, to lead with wisdom, and to heal.
Amen.
In whose company do you walk?