I am not the world’s biggest fan of theme Sundays as I think they tend to glorify people more than God, but for some reason I was struck by the theme listed on my calendar for today: Celebrate the Gifts of Women. Now I know of many churches where they take this as an opportunity to lift up the women in leadership – recognized or behind the scenes – without whom a church cannot run. Some churches use it for feminist preaching or as an opportunity for the women’s groups in the church to lead worship. But for me, if we’re going to celebrate the gifts of women, we ought to be celebrating the gifts of women in the Bible; those whom God called long ago to be part of His great plan. Now that seemed a worthwhile effort to me. But how to choose? And then I remembered the Hat Check Girls; four women who probably never even wore a hat, much less checked one. Four women whose contributions, though noted in Scripture, are not often highlighted in preaching. First a little background on calling them the Hat Check Girls.
Eunice, Priscilla, Lydia and Dorcas, the women of Acts, are immortalized in stained glass at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Mt. Lebanon, PA - the church I was a member of before I went to seminary. The windows are in the narthex – the hallway-like room between the outside doors and the doors to the sanctuary. It amazes me to realize that someone was forward thinking enough in 1936 when the windows for that church were being planned, not long after women got the vote in this country, to honor the women of Acts. With all the great women in the Bible, these four get a place of honor. So it may seem irreverent and even disrespectful of me to refer to them as the Hat Check Girls, but that is how I remember them – and is the main reason I became interested enough in their stories to read up on them years ago.
The name The Hat Check Girls comes from my friend and one of my mentors, Tom Flynn, who has an offbeat but charming sense of humor. See, these particular windows ended up being the area in which Southminster places coat racks in the winter, and Tom found humor in the fact that after being forward thinking enough to immortalize these women in stained glass in such a prominent way, they were later relegated to being those overlooked windows behind the coat racks. And thus, Tom dubbed them the Hat Check Girls. At least I think it’s hat check – he might have called them to coat check girls, but you get the point. Tom used that phrase one time to describe the location of something I was looking for and I had to ask him what in the world he meant. He explained and showed me to the windows. It was the first time in my more than five years there that I noticed those windows. They are easy to walk past in a building filled with lovely stained glass. Much as the stories of these women are easy to skip over in a book filled with amazing stories. I am grateful that my friend and mentor nicknamed these women so memorably and got me interested in reading their stories. Had he not, I, too, might have failed to notice their unusual and important stories and to learn more about them.
So we have the hat check girls – Lydia, Priscilla, Dorcas, and Eunice. And I decided that grouping was a good enough way to determine which women to preach on today, a day noted to celebrate the gifts of women. So I give you the stories of the hat check girls and little idea of why they matter.
I begin with Eunice, primarily because in Acts she is not even named and I was intrigued that she got a window. In Acts, she is simply referred to as a Jewess and a believer, the mother of Timothy. She is only named in 2 Timothy where his grandmother, Lois is also mentioned by name. So what’s the big deal about Eunice? She doesn’t get a lot of attention, after all. She’s just someone’s mom. But she was faithful and of sufficient influence that Paul credits her in the opening verses of 2 Timothy with being the source of Timothy’s faith, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.” Timothy was such a strong believer that Paul chose him to be a part of his missionary journeys and to pastor churches Paul himself founded, despite Timothy being very young. Eunice raised a faithful youth who became a church leader at a young age, and that was enough. Eunice made a difference.
Priscilla is somewhat better known than Eunice, perhaps, but is certainly not the first name that pops into mind when thinking of women of the Bible. Yet Priscilla is far more important than many may realize. Priscilla and her husband Aquila invited Apollos into their home and “explained the way of God to him more adequately.” In other words, Priscilla had a strong hand in teaching Apollos about Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of John’s prophecies. Apollos, you may recall, went on to lead early churches and, despite some challenges created by people who wanted to follow individual church leaders, Paul lifts Apollos as a leader of the church. But when he first met Priscilla, all Apollos knew of the Gospel was the baptism of John – meaning he had yet to be touched by the Holy Spirit and to become not a God-fearing Jew, but a Christian.
Also, for Paul to have mentioned Priscilla by name, putting her name ahead of her husband’s, indicated great respect for this woman. It is very likely an indication that it was Priscilla who was the faith leader in the family. This supposition is further supported by the fact that almost every time Paul mentions Priscilla and Aquila, her name is first. Priscilla is also mentioned by name in other of Paul’s letters, further showing she was an important early church leader. But perhaps the most noteworthy item of interest about Priscilla is that she travelled with Paul to Syria, as is mentioned earlier in chapter 18 of Acts. Priscilla is the first female missionary mentioned by name in the Scriptures.
Dorcas is known by two names: Dorcas, which is the Greek form, and Tabitha, which is the Aramaic. We don’t really see much about Dorcas in Scripture. The story shared earlier is the only mention of her, and she plays a relatively minor role in it. But what little there is speaks volumes of her character. Dorcas had died and now the people of the town were mourning her loss. Not surprising to mourn the loss of a loved one. But they did not just mourn, they sent for Peter to come “at once.” There was a sense of urgency in their request and an implied belief that Peter would be able to do something about this tragedy. The fact that they sent for Peter also says much about how greatly valued this woman was.
When Peter arrives, he is met by a room full of crying widows who show him the clothing Dorcas made for them. This may seem like no big deal, but in those days clothing was a valuable commodity. You recall that the clothing of Jesus was divided by casting lots upon His death. Clothing wasn’t picked up on sale at the local Walmart. It was laboriously handmade. And it was not inexpensive. And there was no Social Security or pension plan for widows; they were completely dependent on their children and on charity. Dorcas, who was obviously a skilled seamstress if she made clothing for so many who valued it so highly, could likely have made a good living sewing for money. But she was devoted to “doing good and helping the poor.” She gave what she made to those most in need, those least able to pay her. And she did so out of devotion to helping the poor and doing good. She lived out the call to clothe the naked and, in so doing, served the Lord in a tangible way. She did not seek fame or fortune, but served the poor and lowly. She is an example for us all and, at least in my mind, an early example of men and women who give up everything for others, much like Mother Theresa of more recent history. The fact that Peter raised her from the dead is a testimony to her faithfulness and importance in the early days of Christianity. She lived out evangelism, showing her faith by her works.
Lydia is, perhaps, the best known of the Hat Check Girls. If I were to ask, there would probably be some among you who could tell me she was a seller of purple cloth and hosted a church in her home in the early days of house churches. Some might even be able to tell me that purple was a significant color reserved for royalty and that those who sold purple of any kind would have been people of some prestige in the community and of some means financially. And all of that is true. But there is much more to Lydia’s background than is obvious at first glance. She was a foreigner who, though a follower of God, would not have likely been a Jewish convert as there is never a mention of her having a husband. Since no husband is mentioned and since there are references to “her household,” it seems Lyida was either a divorcee or a widow. That would have made her ineligible to become Jewish. Even so, she was a seeker and follower of God. And when she heard the message of Paul and Silas, she became the first named convert to Christianity in Europe.
As if that weren’t enough, Lydia opened her home to these Christian missionaries who would have been at the very least suspect among both Romans and Jews. In so doing, she very likely risked her reputation and perhaps her business. But she took seriously the concept of being brothers and sisters in Christ and made Paul and Silas, Luke and whomever else was part of their mission group welcome as part of her household. Her home became the headquarters of Christianity in that part of the world and, when Paul and Silas were released from prison, it was to Lydia’s home that they went, demonstrating further that Lydia was a Christian leader in her own right early on in the beginning of Christianity.
So those are the Hat Check Girls. Women of faith whose lives and belief made a difference in history, but whose stories now seem so ordinary that they are easily missed. A mother who raised her son to be a man of faith. A woman who shared the Gospel and became a missionary. A servant of the poor devoted to putting the Gospel into action. A businesswoman who became a convert and a church leader. Regular people doing pretty regular things (well, except the whole rising from the dead thing that Dorcas did, but that was through Peter calling on the power of the Holy Spirit, not her own doing). And they made a historical difference. Enough of a difference to be remembered in Scripture.
What you do in your life as a Christian may not seem all that remarkable to you. You may not expect to be remembered for it. But the actions of each of us, each believer, have the power to change history, the power to make a difference that will last. Hat Check Girls indeed! And Amen.