FEAST OF MARY MAGDALENE
Great Faith and Great Love
(Song of Songs 3:1-4a (or) 2 Cor 5:14-17; Ps 63; Jn 20:1-18)
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There is an interesting convergence around this liturgical feast: recently, Sr. Teresita Kambeitz OSU offered a virtual retreat from Saskatoon hosted by our Star of the North Retreat Centre in St. Albert entitled Encountering Mary Magdalene; Richard Rohr’s column at the same time was on Mary Magdalene, and today is the feast day of St. Mary Magdalene.
This convergence and the readings today invite us to deepen our appreciation of the role Mary Magdalene plays in the history of our salvation – one that has been under-appreciated for centuries, I fear.
Cynthia Bourgeault, on staff at Richard Rohr’s Center for Action and Contemplation, writes, “All four gospels witness to Mary Magdalene as the premiere witness to the resurrection—alone or in a group, but in all cases identified by name. Given the shifting sands of oral history, the unanimity of this testimony is astounding. It suggests that among the earliest Christians the stature of Mary Magdalene is of the highest order of magnitude. All four gospels insist that when all the other disciples are fleeing, Mary Magdalene stands firm. She does not run; she does not betray or lie about her commitment; she witnesses. According to Matthew 27:61 ‘And Mary Magdalene and the other Mary remained standing there in front of the tomb.’”
Cynthia continues, “Hers is clearly a demonstration of either the deepest human love or the highest spiritual understanding of what Jesus was teaching, perhaps both. But why, one wonders, do the Holy Week liturgies tell and re-tell the story of Peter’s threefold denial of Jesus, while the steady, unwavering witness of Magdalene is not even noticed?”
Along that same line of thought, early Christian writers regarded Mary Magdalene, watching and waiting in the garden, as representing the Church, watching and waiting for Christ, the bridegroom. Sr. Teresita stresses the heroism of Mary Magdalene, far from her home in Magdala, Galilee, walking to the tomb before dawn in what could be a dangerous city of Jerusalem – something unheard of ordinarily. It had to be great faith and great love propelling her onwards.
Within her presentations, Sr. Teresita mentioned Bart Ehrman sees Mary Magdalene as the co-founder of Christianity, that without her declaration of Jesus’ empty tomb, the male disciples may not have been inspired to proclaim this new religion. There is also a painting of Mary Magdalene educating Barnabas, in Rome. Some see her as a prophet on the same level as John the Baptist – both announcing Christ – human and risen. In the Eastern church, she is ranked with St Peter as a church builder. She has been called the Apostle to the Apostles. The early fathers of the church called her a new Eve, teaching that all women are forgiven of Eve’s sin. So, with Jesus, the new Adam, she is the new Eve.
St Paul, in the optional first reading from 2 Corinthians, captures this transformation eloquently and passionately: “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!
That was the experience of Mary Magdalene who was delivered of seven demons by Jesus. It is no accident that St. John begins this passage about her with the words “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb.” What was truly dawning was the awesome new creation that Jesus was bringing about by his passion, death, resurrection and the sending of the Spirit on the early church.
Mary Magdalene had become a new creation through her encounter with Jesus. She was transformed into a woman of the resurrection. It is rather astounding that a very troubled, sinful woman, whose life was a mess, would be chosen to be the first witness to the resurrection and “the apostle to the apostles.” Astounding, yes, but also fitting, for she, like King David and like the woman who had washed the feet of Jesus with her tears and wiped them with her hair, had been forgiven much, and were now able to show much love. I think the main reason Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene is that she, of all the disciples, had most profoundly experienced who he was as the Messiah, the one sent to forgive and heal. She knew him the best and was the closest to him.
Jesus also uses Mary Magdalene to teach his disciples the importance of grieving the loss of the Jesus of history who was now risen to a new eternal life as the Christ of faith. When Mary went to give him a hug, Jesus tells her not to “cling to him.” She wanted him back as she knew him, but he had much more to offer her which she could not receive if she was clinging to the Jesus she knew. Basically, he was teaching her to mourn and grieve that loss, have faith, let him ascend to the Father, and she would receive his Spirit to more than make up for that loss – which happened at Pentecost. It is the same for us – we need to mourn and grieve our losses, give our loved ones back to God, and we can receive their spirit to be with us in a new way – we will feel their presence and not miss them as much anymore.
The Eucharist is what Jesus gave us as a vigil, as we wait for him to come again. May our celebration strengthen our faith in him as Risen Lord, and deepen our love and longing for him, so that with Mary Magdalene, we can also proclaim that greatest of all proclamations of faith in the world, “We have seen the Lord!”
