Tryphena and Tryphosa: Labourers in the Lord’s vineyard

Paul in his final greetings written in his letter to the churches in Rome, he mentioned 29 names and 9 of these were women. In a male dominated culture, Paul still found a significant place to appreciate the women whose contributions have blessed the Roman believers. This tall list was not mentioned at random. Paul had something to say about the individuals mentioned on the list. He acknowledged their valuable contributions to the work of God and how these men and women have made sacrificial efforts to advance the kingdom of God. While some women were mentioned alone, others were mentioned together with their husbands or ministry partners. We shall consider two women in this post, Tryphena and Tryphosa.

Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord. (Romans 16:12a)

Tryphena and Tryphosa were possibly sisters. Bearing distinctive names meaning luxurious or delicate, these sisters might have emerged from the upper class where women were considered too fragile to embark on hard work, but yet women were adorned with luxurious wealth and excessive and costly apparel. Unlike their Jewish contemporaries, Tryphena and Tryphosa might have lived a “soft life” and were not used to the “servanthood” lifestyle that was associated with the believers. However, when these sisters came to faith, their lives turned around. They became the opposite of their names. Instead of living luxurious or delicate lifestyles, this is what Paul wrote about them: “Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord” (Romans 16:12a). Tryphena and Tryphosa worked hard in the Lord. They were kingdom workers and possibly abandoned their known lifestyle to be associated with men and women of low esteem.

The unity in the body of Christ in Rome exemplifies Paul’s message that “there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.” (Colossians 3:11). The church in Rome presented a congregation of men and women with diverse backgrounds but united in faith. Irrespective of the social and cultural stereotypes, when Tryphosa and Tryphena became believers, they lived for Christ, abandoning all those luxurious lifestyles they held so dear. Neither were they condemned by the church for ever seeing themselves higher than the others. After all, the church was aware of the message that “therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). The church in Rome didn’t create specific services for the rich, Jews and Romans. All the members worshipped together.

Tryphosa and Tryphena are found in many churches around the world. People who were used to one kind of lifestyle for most of their lives and have come to believe in Jesus. These people need discipleship training to be grounded in the faith. Some of them need love from the wider church community and not rejection. Even though we might find it difficult to associate with such people, we should be intentional about engaging everyone and making everyone feel at home. If Tryphosa and Tryphena are well nurtured and grounded, they become agents of change and transformation.

The sisters in the church of Ptolemais

Apostle Paul’s missionary journey took him to different places and one of these was Ptolemais. This city was Paul’s next stop after leaving Tyre. The third missionary journey of Paul is significant as his final destination in Jerusalem brought back familiar enemies who caused trouble for the Apostle. Ptolemais was a Harbour city on the Canaanite coast in the region of Palestine. The population would have been a blend of Jews, Canaanites, Greeks, Romans among many nationalities. The location of Ptolemais is currently the present-day city known as Acre in Israel. The church in Ptolemais was established before Paul’s third missionary journey. As as the time Paul passed through the city, the church was a thriving church with committed members. As Paul visited almost all the churches he had planted, he stopped at Ptolemais to give them his regards and to encourage them.

We continued our voyage from Tyre and landed at Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and sisters and stayed with them for a day. (Acts 21:7)

When Paul and his team left Tyre, they arrived in Ptolemais where they greeted the brothers and sisters and stayed with them for a day (Acts 21:7). The sisters in the church of Ptolemais, just like the sisters in Tyre did not miss the apostolic visit. This journey was Paul’s last visit to the church before moving to Rome. The church in Ptolemais hosted the apostle for just a day but this time was spent with the brothers and sisters in the church. The meeting would have been an opportunity for impacting the church for greater works. The church would have been encouraged, prayed for and received apostolic teaching from Paul. The brothers and sisters in the church were blessed by the presence of Paul. After the departure of Paul, the impact of this apostolic visit would have been experienced by the whole church.

Acts 21:7 is important for church growth. We see that the church in the New Testament days was a collaboration of the men and the women. Of course each had their defining roles and responsibilities to perform. It wasn’t a man’s church, neither was it a woman’s church. It was the church of God and the involvement and the contributions of the brothers and the sisters were relevant for church growth.

As we navigate through life, it is quite easy to be distracted by many things and make the church our second choice. As believers, we should be intentional to make the church our go-to home. We should desire to be involved with activities of the church. Church meetings are relevant for koinonia (Christian fellowship). It is the fellowship that joins us together, makes us each other’s keeper, instills in us the urge to intercede for one another and help us to grow in Christ. In the church, we are brothers and sisters with the same Father (children of God) and the house of God is our family home. We are not neighbours, we are a big family.

Rachel and Leah: Two sisters, one husband

Till date, memories of my wedding night remain intact. It was just a special moment with a special person and I believe most people have special memories of their wedding night. Imagine the months of preparation, the tiredness of the day and finally,  getting to relax together with your spouse. It is a serene experience. Even without electricity and light, the voice of your partner cannot be missed in the dark. However, someone got scammed on his wedding night and he received a different bride from what he worked for. Unfortunately, this man, obviously very drunk, didn’t even know that he had been deceived. His appetite to make love to his wife and the quest to enjoy his seven years of hard work, was so great that he failed to examine the package he received in the dark. The result was a very loud shout in the morning: “what are you doing here?” He might have shouted at his newly consummated bride. The very shy new wife, so shy to even raise her head, might have said in a low voice, “Please keep your voice down. We had a great night as a couple. If you have any issue, discuss it with my father. It was all his idea.”

But when evening came, he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and Jacob made love to her. When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn’t I? Why have you deceived me?” (Genesis 29:23‭, ‬25)

This was the story of two sisters who became two wives in a week because of their father’s quest to deceive his own sister’s son. Jacob after seven years of working for Laban, requested to be given his bride. “So Laban brought together all the people of the place and gave a feast. But when evening came, he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and Jacob made love to her” (Genesis 29:22‭-‬23). Jacob was deceived and he didn’t know. “When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn’t I? Why have you deceived me?” (Genesis 29:25). The very cunning Laban replied, “It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. Finish this daughter’s bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work.” (Genesis 29:26‭-‬27). Two wives in a week? These are two biological sisters who are different in their own ways. Jacob loved Rachel but Leah was not loved. What’s a family drama series? Was Jacob ready for the result of these inconvenient marriages? Anyway, let’s see what happens. So Jacob “finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. Jacob made love to Rachel also, and his love for Rachel was greater than his love for Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years.” (Genesis 29:28‭, ‬30).

The rivalry in Rachel and Leah’s home was caused by their own father in a bid to deceive Jacob. The two sisters had to contend for attention from the same man. Rachel was already the “Miss World” of Jacob. Her beauty fascinated Jacob and she was loved and adored. Leah on the other hand was the “wife who was not supposed to be” and she did not have a lovely figure to attract Jacob. In fact, Leah had “weak eyes” according to the Bible. In between this drama was Jacob, the man who deceived his brother and had been deceived by his uncle. Each of the daughters of Laban were given a female servant to serve. Therefore the camp of Rachel had Bilhah as the supporting staff and Leah had Zilpah. Indeed Laban’s plan worked very well but what he missed was that he set up his own children to hate one another.

Any home built on lies and deception is bound to go through a circle of issues. Marriage is work but being married to two sisters is extra hard work. The emotional and physical stress of each would have been poured on Jacob. As Jesus said in Luke 14:28, it is very important to count the cost before decisions are made. When we fail to count the cost  we are consumed by the demands of the project. If care is not taken, one part of the project receives more attention than the other. Jacob was in a dilemma. He thought he had seen it all, until children started coming into the marriage. Join me as we continue this tomorrow.