22 July 2020
Text: John 20:1-2, 10-18 (Prov
31:10-31, Acts 13:26-31)
In the name of +
Jesus. Amen.
Few
people have been as misunderstood as St. Mary Magdalene.
She
is revered by feminists as one of their own.
She is believed by feminist theologians to have been an ordained woman,
one of the apostles, whose ministry was covered up by the sexists and
misogynists who wrote the Bible. These
feminist theologians also believe that calling God “Father” is part of a patriarchal
conspiracy. One so-called church in San Francisco
even worships a goddess and prays a prayer called the “Our Mother.” Poor Mary Magdalene.
She
is also revered by skeptics of Christianity, including the wacky Dan Brown, who
has achieved a cult following for his silly Da Vinci Code books. In his version of Clown World, Mary was Jesus’s
secret wife, and their children became the founding dynasties of the crowned
heads of Europe. Poor Mary Magdalene.
She
has gotten a raw deal from the Church as well, beginning with Pope Gregory the Great,
who erroneously confused her with another biblical character who was a
prostitute. And so for centuries, St. Mary
has been portrayed in Christian art an in sermons as a harlot. Poor Mary
Magdalene.
But
the real Mary is anything but a character to be pitied. She is a true saint, a person for us Christians
to emulate, a heroine of the Church.
She
was brought to our Lord when she was tormented by seven demons. Jesus cast them out and freed her from her
bondage. From that day forward, she
followed Jesus and studied under Him. She
became a disciple. Contrary to the wacky
theories of feminism and feminist theologians, our Lord Jesus Christ indeed allowed
women to be disciples, to study with Him. He did not, however, ordain them into the
office of preaching and administering sacraments. The holy work of holy women was often a
ministry of hospitality, of nurture, and of “providing for [the church] out of
their means.” This loving work of
service to those who proclaim the good news and raise the dead by their
preaching is seen as beneath the dignity of modern women. They say that women should be pastors and
bishops and generals and CEOs – not making sandwiches and wiping runny noses of
children.
The
real Mary was honored to serve where the Lord placed her, to hear the Word and
carry out a holy vocation of diakonia, that is, service. And as His servant, the Lord placed her in the
greatest position of honor, for she was among the very first to learn about the
resurrection of Jesus, and she was charged to tell Peter and the others about
it. She is sometimes called “the apostle
to the Apostles.” And given that in
those days the testimony of women was useless in a court of law, God used Mary
to shatter that myth and to prove that the writers of the Gospels were being
honest in reporting even something that would be an embarrassment at the time.
And
far from being our Lord’s wife and the mother of worldly kings and queens, St. Mary
Magdalene is an example for the Church. For
the Church is our Lord’s Bride. We are
the Bride of Christ, we who serve Him, obey Him, and submit to Him, even as He,
our Bridegroom, lays down His life for us, sparing nothing for the sake of His beloved
Bride.
Instead
of insisting on being “equal” to the apostles, instead of agitating to be
ordained, instead of beating the drum to be considered important in the eyes of
the world, St. Mary kept her eyes on our Lord. She was present at the cross. She was present when they “took Him down from
the tree and laid Him in a tomb.” She
was present at the tomb with the intent of anointing His body on the first day
of the week.
It
was Mary who wept at the absence of the Lord’s body. It was with Mary that the angels conversed. It was to Mary that the risen Lord first
spoke, saying her name. It was Mary who
received the first instructions following our Lord’s resurrection: “Go to My
brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God
and your God.’”
Far
from being a prostitute, St. Mary was faithful. Whether she married or not, we do not know. But we do know that she served and was blessed
with a love of service.
Instead
of being our Lord’s wife as her slanderers assert, St. Mary typifies feminine
excellence as a member of the Bride of Christ. St. Mary is an inspiration to women who are
disciples of our Blessed Lord, but also to men, who are likewise members of the
Bride of Christ.
The
Church is called to be the Proverbs 31 woman, “an excellent wife” who is “more
precious than jewels.” She is trusted by
her Husband, and He gains on account of her. The excellent wife does her Husband “good, and
not harm.”
And
far from the stereotype that Christianity reduces women to chattel – like Jesus,
the Church elevates womanhood, as Proverbs 31 speaks of the ideal woman as a
home-based entrepreneur and manager. She
“provides food for her household” and “considers a field and buys it.” She is a planter of vineyards who works to
earn a profit.
She
is also kind to the poor and needy, she can make her own things, and her
husband is honored for her sake. “Strength
and dignity are her clothing.” She
expresses her opinion with humor, wisdom, and the “teaching of kindness.” She is always at work, never eating “the
bread of idleness.”
And
as the author of this tribute to both the excellent wife and the Bride of Christ,
King Lemuel concludes: “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who
fears the Lord is to be praised.”
The
feminist theologians are wrong. The
skeptics are wrong. And even many
preachers of the Church are wrong. St. Mary
Magdalene became a heroine to women and to all Christians by faithful service
in her vocation, as a woman and as a Christian. We all do well to learn from her, to emulate
her virtues, and to revel in the service that the Lord asks of us in our own
callings and vocations – remembering that our Lord has also delivered us from
bondage to the demons, and has also freed us to be slaves of Christ.
All praise for Mary Magdalene,
Whose wholeness was
restored
By You, her faithful Master,
Her Savior and her Lord.
On Easter morning early
A word from You sufficed;
For she was first to see You,
Her Lord, the risen Christ.
Amen.
In the name of the Father
and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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