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minds of the apostles refused to change. Even after the death and resurrection of Christ, they could not believe it. The apostles still could not see with the eyes of soul, the eyes of faith. All four Gospels end with the Risen Christ appearing first to the women, then to Peter, then to the other apostles. If the literal-minded want to be truly literal here, the Risen Christ clearly gives priority to Mary Magdalene and the other women in the “new priesthood.” The vision Jesus reveals is one in which priority is given equally to women and men. A vision of “church” and “priesthood” that is yet to be resurrected.

    The Jesus Movement after Jesus is the real birth of Christianity. That’s when a religious community began to form around theprofound personal impact of the Resurrection and Pentecost experiences, both powerfully life-changing (and probably head-spinning) experiences. In the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, everyone felt the divine power of Christ alive within them, so extraordinarily so that they began to speak in tongues, in languages everyone could understand: “each of us hears them speaking in our own native tongue about the marvels God has accomplished” (Acts 2:11). Those gathered were empowered divinely to heal, prophesy, forgive sin, bind and cast out demons, to do everything Jesus did. And all were drawn together daily in community for the breaking of bread. The table community remained Christ’s “church” in the beginning, and all those gathered around the table remained his one, holy, apostolic “priesthood.”
    The only Christian “churches” that we know existed in the first few centuries were “house churches.” Once again, the ancient religious tradition of gathering in the home for worship is by no means new to Christianity. This is not something the Jesus Movement or biblical theologians made up. The sacred ritual of a communion meal in the home of God’s people is as old as religion is, and perfect in form for the early Christian community. The earliest days of Christianity were, as you’d imagine, taken up entirely with spreading the news that Jesus is God. Traveling missionaries, sent out in pairs, depended completely on the hospitality and support provided by Christian house churches, private homes designated in cities and towns as sacred places of Christian worship, safe and hospitable houses along the way where disciples were welcome to join the table community and stay as long as necessary.
    Well into the third century, all Christian communities most likely organized themselves into house churches. Not only did the homes of Christians serve as hospitality stations and prayercommunities for traveling missionaries, but some served as a kind of starter church in a new city or town. Houses were set up temporarily to provide space, support, and leadership for newly forming Christian communities. Paul’s “fellow workers” (Rom. 16:3), Prisca and Aquila, founded and supported a “church in their house” (1 Cor. 16:19) wherever they moved. Gathering together in one another’s houses for worship remained just as sacred to the early Christians as it did to Christ. The table community remained the church of Christianity in the beginning, and those gathered around the table remained Christianity’s priesthood.
    Given that house churches remained a powerful unifying element for the early Christians, we can be certain that the involvement and participation of women remained equally powerful. By both religious and civil law, the home is woman’s domain, and in all male-dominated worlds home is the only place woman belongs. By law we know that women must have played a decisive role in founding and sustaining house churches, and in building Christian communities. And without a doubt, women played just as central a role in preparing for the Eucharistic meal, buying and cooking the food, preparing the table, welcoming the guests, serving and presiding over the meal, and