RHODA: who would have believed her?
She’d seen him with her own eyes! Beauty is in the beholder’s eye. A couple of months ago, I pruned the rosebushes in my garden, and the thorny stalks didn’t attract a second glance. Now pink buds and white velvety flowers flourish, brimming with vitality and beauty. As those tiny buds burst into full bloom, they overpower the stems, delighting us by their perfection. Rhoda was a young servant girl whose name means ‘rose.’ She guarded the entrance to the Jerusalem home of Mary, John Mark’s mother, where first century Christians gathered for fellowship and worship. King Herod had martyred James to curry favor among the Jews. Their approval incited him to arrest more Christians, such as Peter, Herod’s next prized trophy. Imagine if you were a first century believer in Jesus, or if our twenty-first century go...