Gospel in Art: They provided out of their means

A German brass alms bowl, Nuremberg, 16th century, with depiction of the Annunciation © Sotheby's, Old Master Sculpture and Works of Art, 7 December 2010, lot 30

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 18 September 2026
Luke 8:1-3

At that time:

Jesus went on through cities and villages,

proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God.

And the Twelve were with him,

and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities:

Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,

and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's household manager,

and Susanna, and many others,

who provided for them out of their means.

Reflection on the Alms Dish

Today's short Gospel makes two striking points. Luke tells us that Jesus was accompanied on his journeys not only by the Twelve, but also by a group of women. Some appear to have been women of means, because they supported Jesus and his disciples from their own resources. We can easily miss how unusual this would have seemed at the time. Women were largely expected to remain within the domestic sphere, and for them to travel publicly with a male religious teacher challenged many of the social conventions of the day. Jesus was gathering around himself a new kind of community, one in which the divisions of society mattered less than the shared call to follow him. Saint Paul would later express this beautifully: "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ."

That remains a challenge for us today. The community around Jesus was a place where people with very different backgrounds and gifts could belong, contribute and serve. Our churches should strive to be the same. We should do all we can to make our parish communities reflect the openness of the community Jesus gathered around himself: a place where everyone is welcomed, included, valued and given the opportunity to serve the parish and to serve Jesus.

The second point Jesus makes is that the mission of the Church has always depended upon people giving something of what they have. For some that means financial support; for others it is time, practical help, expertise, creativity or simply the willingness to take a new parish initiative. The Church is still growing: across the world, new communities are still being formed, churches built, priests and religious trained, and countless works of evangelisation and charity sustained. According to the Annuario Pontificio 2026, the number of baptised Catholics worldwide rose from approximately 1.406 billion in 2023 to 1.422 billion in 2024. That is an increase of about 16 million Catholics, or 1.14% in a single year. So we are still a growing Church! It is very easy to forget this in the West, as around us numbers are largely declining. All of this growth requires resources. Today's Gospel reminds us that supporting the mission is not something added on to discipleship. From the very beginning, it has been an integral part of following Christ.

Our work of art today is a 16th century brass alms dish. It was produced in Nuremberg which was one of Europe's great centres of metalworking, and its skilled Beckenschläger, or "basin beaters", produced these large brass vessels in considerable numbers, decorating them in repoussé with flowers, inscriptions and religious scenes such as the Annunciation. Interestingly, many were not originally made for churches at all: they could be used domestically for serving food or, together with a ewer, for washing hands at the table. As fashions changed, however, many found their way into churches, where their broad, shallow form made them ideal for collecting the offerings of the faithful. Hence the name by which we now know them: alms dishes. The collection plate passed around every Sunday during Mass continues this ancient tradition, with each offering helping to sustain the mission of the Church.

LINKS

Christian Art: www.christian.art
Today's image: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/luke-8-1-3-2026/