St. John’s Episcopal Church
Wednesday Service – Feast of Priscilla & Aquila

Acts 18:1–3, 18–28
Psalm 18:35
Romans 16:3–5
1 Corinthians 16:19
2 Timothy 4:19

You may never have heard of them,
but Priscilla and Aquila
are one of the greatest power couples in the New Testament.

And I do not mean power like money or status.
I mean power like influence, integrity,
and a quiet kind of strength
that helped build the early Church from the ground up.

Turns out the two of them were tentmakers—
literally.
That is how they met the Apostle Paul.
All three of them shared the same trade,
so when Paul arrived in Corinth
without a penny to his name,
he moved in with Priscilla and Aquila,
and the three of them worked side by side
to stitch fabric and build shelter
and talk about Jesus
while they worked with their hands.

But here is the real kicker—
Priscilla and Aquila were not just helpful hosts.
They were missionaries in their own right.
Everywhere they went—Corinth, Ephesus, Rome—
they were laying the foundation for what would become the Church.
They opened their home for worship.
They taught new believers.
They helped guide and correct even the most eloquent preachers.

Case in point:
Apollos.
He shows up in Ephesus preaching his heart out,
full of zeal and passion,
but missing some key parts of the gospel.
And Priscilla and Aquila,
instead of shutting him down or showing him up,
take him aside
and explain “the Way of God more accurately.”
Not with arrogance.
Not with shame.
Just truth, gently spoken.
Grace, freely given.

And did you catch how Luke describes it?
He names Priscilla first,
which almost never happens in the ancient world.
That is Luke’s way of letting you know
she was a theological force to be reckoned with.
She knew her stuff.

So why do not we talk about them more?
Why are their names not etched in stained glass
or recited in the creeds?
Maybe because they did not draw attention to themselves.
They did not write letters.
They did not perform miracles.
They just did what needed to be done.

They let their home become a sanctuary.
They let their table become a classroom.
They let their lives become vessels of grace.

And that is what makes them worth remembering.
That is what makes them great.

The psalm today says,
“You have given me your shield of victory;
your right hand also sustains me;
your loving care makes me great.”

That is the kind of greatness Priscilla and Aquila had.
Not flashy.
Not loud.
But faithful.
Fruitful.
Sure-footed on the heights.

And the good news is:
we can have that kind of greatness, too.
If we open our doors,
speak the truth in love,
and follow the way of Jesus
wherever he leads.

Because as faithful and inspiring as Priscilla and Aquila are,
Jesus is the even greater Priscilla and Aquila.

They opened their home—
he opens heaven.
They welcomed Paul—
he welcomes every weary soul.
They taught the gospel gently to one man—
he embodies the gospel for the whole world.
They laid the foundation of the Church—
he is the cornerstone.

Their loving care made others great.
But his loving care
makes the dead live.
Makes the sinner clean.
Makes the lost found.

So give thanks for Priscilla and Aquila—
but place your hope in Jesus.
Because everything they were in part,
he is in full.
And everything they gave,
he gives forever.

Amen.