Feast of St. Mary of Magdala
Jesus’ commission to her is her commission to us.
July 23, 2023
Helen Weber-McReynolds, RWCP
Judith 8: 2-17; Ps. 41-42; Proverbs 1:20-23, 33; John 20:11-18
Mary of Magdala is mentioned in the New Testament more times than any other woman, except Mary, the mother of Jesus. So we have significant information about her. Yet she remains mysterious to us as well. We can gather that she understood what it was like to be in pain, and to be healed. Luke 8:1-3 tell us that she had been relieved of seven afflictions of some kind. We don’t know what those afflictions were. But we can see that Jesus’ healing obviously had a profound effect on Mary Magdalene’s life.
The word Magdalene means watchtower or fortress. We don’t know if this referred to Mary’s hometown of Magdala, on the western shore of Lake Gennesaret, or if this was a reference to her stature within the early Christian community, or both. We do observe that she was not referred to ‘the wife of _____,’ or ‘the daughter of ______,’ as were most women in the early Christian era. She was evidently recognized as being more independent than most women.
We know that Mary Magdalene was one of the women who travelled with Jesus and contributed financially and by other work to Jesus’ mission of teaching and healing. She was never a prostitute. This image was mistakenly projected onto her by Pope Gregory I in a sermon in the sixth century, conflating Mary Magdalene to be the woman with the alabaster jar, described in all four gospels. We do know that Mary Magdalene was there, according to the gospels, along with other women, when Jesus was crucified and after his burial. One theologian argues that Mary Magdalene’s request to the gardener that she be able to “take Jesus’ body” after his death and presumed removal from the tomb suggests that she and Jesus were married. Other early Christian texts, outside the Bible, note that Jesus loved her more than any of the other disciples and taught her things he did not teach the others. The Gospel of Phillip notes that Jesus kissed Mary Magdalene on the mouth. Whatever their relationship, these later texts describe Mary Magdalene’s status as an apostle, in the years after Jesus’ death, as rivalling even that of Peter. She was Jesus’ witness, disciple, financial supporter, companion, and friend.
This is all review for most of you, I know. The value of Mary Magdalene’s role in the history of the Christian movement, for me, is that she is identified singularly as the one whom Jesus commissioned to spread the good news of his resurrection. Evidently, she recognized that Jesus’ execution could not be the end of God’s plan for his work of establishing the Reign of God on earth. She understood that all those parables Jesus told, about planting seed that would grow and bear fruit, about yeast that would cause bread to rise, about lantern fuel that would be kept burning all night, and all the rest, were Jesus’ instructions to her and the other apostles to continue the teaching, continue the healing, continue the care and the support, especially to those on the margins of the community. She understood that her job was to deliver the message, that Jesus’ love lived on, that the divine compassion he had transmitted so miraculously was alive and was meant to be passed on, by her and all the other disciples, by their words and by their lives. The specific words she spoke have been largely lost to us, thru suppression or by the accidents of history, but we can gather that her witness was strong.
To me, Mary Magdalene’s message is that Jesus’ work must go on, that he was the Christ who lives forever as the personification of God’s unending love for us and for all. Jesus’ commission to her is her commission to us. And that is enough for us to go on. That we don’t have many other specific words of hers to read does not diminish her impact as a role model. Her life is her gospel. She was there with Jesus, she did not leave when he was persecuted, and she kept his message alive after he was gone. That witness tells us exactly what we need to do. I believe her gospel continues to be written with our lives. Our collaboration in these homilies, the compassionate works we each do every day, the stands we take for justice, the care we give to the sick and the poor—these are the good news of Mary Magdalene. These are the message inspired by the Holy Spirit, who is one and lives forever, with God, and with Mary Magdalene’s good, loving friend, Jesus the Christ.
Jesus’ commission to her is her commission to us.
July 23, 2023
Helen Weber-McReynolds, RWCP
Judith 8: 2-17; Ps. 41-42; Proverbs 1:20-23, 33; John 20:11-18
Mary of Magdala is mentioned in the New Testament more times than any other woman, except Mary, the mother of Jesus. So we have significant information about her. Yet she remains mysterious to us as well. We can gather that she understood what it was like to be in pain, and to be healed. Luke 8:1-3 tell us that she had been relieved of seven afflictions of some kind. We don’t know what those afflictions were. But we can see that Jesus’ healing obviously had a profound effect on Mary Magdalene’s life.
The word Magdalene means watchtower or fortress. We don’t know if this referred to Mary’s hometown of Magdala, on the western shore of Lake Gennesaret, or if this was a reference to her stature within the early Christian community, or both. We do observe that she was not referred to ‘the wife of _____,’ or ‘the daughter of ______,’ as were most women in the early Christian era. She was evidently recognized as being more independent than most women.
We know that Mary Magdalene was one of the women who travelled with Jesus and contributed financially and by other work to Jesus’ mission of teaching and healing. She was never a prostitute. This image was mistakenly projected onto her by Pope Gregory I in a sermon in the sixth century, conflating Mary Magdalene to be the woman with the alabaster jar, described in all four gospels. We do know that Mary Magdalene was there, according to the gospels, along with other women, when Jesus was crucified and after his burial. One theologian argues that Mary Magdalene’s request to the gardener that she be able to “take Jesus’ body” after his death and presumed removal from the tomb suggests that she and Jesus were married. Other early Christian texts, outside the Bible, note that Jesus loved her more than any of the other disciples and taught her things he did not teach the others. The Gospel of Phillip notes that Jesus kissed Mary Magdalene on the mouth. Whatever their relationship, these later texts describe Mary Magdalene’s status as an apostle, in the years after Jesus’ death, as rivalling even that of Peter. She was Jesus’ witness, disciple, financial supporter, companion, and friend.
This is all review for most of you, I know. The value of Mary Magdalene’s role in the history of the Christian movement, for me, is that she is identified singularly as the one whom Jesus commissioned to spread the good news of his resurrection. Evidently, she recognized that Jesus’ execution could not be the end of God’s plan for his work of establishing the Reign of God on earth. She understood that all those parables Jesus told, about planting seed that would grow and bear fruit, about yeast that would cause bread to rise, about lantern fuel that would be kept burning all night, and all the rest, were Jesus’ instructions to her and the other apostles to continue the teaching, continue the healing, continue the care and the support, especially to those on the margins of the community. She understood that her job was to deliver the message, that Jesus’ love lived on, that the divine compassion he had transmitted so miraculously was alive and was meant to be passed on, by her and all the other disciples, by their words and by their lives. The specific words she spoke have been largely lost to us, thru suppression or by the accidents of history, but we can gather that her witness was strong.
To me, Mary Magdalene’s message is that Jesus’ work must go on, that he was the Christ who lives forever as the personification of God’s unending love for us and for all. Jesus’ commission to her is her commission to us. And that is enough for us to go on. That we don’t have many other specific words of hers to read does not diminish her impact as a role model. Her life is her gospel. She was there with Jesus, she did not leave when he was persecuted, and she kept his message alive after he was gone. That witness tells us exactly what we need to do. I believe her gospel continues to be written with our lives. Our collaboration in these homilies, the compassionate works we each do every day, the stands we take for justice, the care we give to the sick and the poor—these are the good news of Mary Magdalene. These are the message inspired by the Holy Spirit, who is one and lives forever, with God, and with Mary Magdalene’s good, loving friend, Jesus the Christ.
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