Patrick Comerford
Thursday next, 22 July 2021, is the Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene. The readings in the Revised Common Lectionary as adapted for use in the Church of Ireland are:
The Readings: Song of Solomon 3: 1-4; Psalm 42: 1-10; II Corinthians 5: 14-17; John 20: 1-2, 11-18.
There is a link to these readings HERE.
Introducing Saint Mary Magdalene
A recent biblical drama film, Mary Magdalene was released in 2018. The script is by Helen Edmundson and Philippa Goslett, the film was directed by Garth Davis, and it stars Rooney Mara as Mary Magdalene, Joaquin Phoenix as Jesus Christ, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Saint Peter and Tahar Rahim as Judas.
The film had its world premiere at the National Gallery, London, on 26 February 2018, was screened at the Audi Dublin International Film Festival on 28 February 2018, and was released in Britain on 16 March 2018.
In a review in the Guardian, Peter Bradshaw said the movie ‘sets itself a bold task: to rescue Mary Magdalene from an age-old tradition of patriarchal condescension and misinterpretation. And yet it winds up embracing a solemn, softly-spoken and slow-moving Christian piety of its own.’
Of course, Mary Magdalene was an intimate witness to some of the most important events in the life of Christ, including his Crucifixion, burial and Resurrection. But she has been wrongly recast in popular tradition as a ‘fallen woman’ and ‘prostitute.’
Saint Mary Magdalene is mentioned by name 12 times in the canonical gospels – more often than most of the apostles. Her epithet Magdalene most likely means that she came from the town of Magdala, a fishing town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee.
In the Middle Ages, Mary Magdalene was conflated in western tradition with Mary of Bethany and the unnamed ‘sinful woman’ who anoints Jesus’s feet (see Luke 7: 36-50), resulting in a widespread but inaccurate belief that she was a repentant prostitute or promiscuous woman.
According to Greek tradition, Mary Magdalene evangelised the island of Zakynthos in 34 AD on her way to Rome with Saint Mary of Cleopas. The village of Maries on the island is said to be named after these two women.
A relic of her left hand is said to be preserved in the monastery of Simonopetra on Mount Athos, where she is revered as a co-founder of the monastery in a place that is otherwise an all-male enclave.
An early sermon by Hippolytus of Rome (ca 170-235) refers to Mary Magdalene as a ‘second Eve’ who, through her obedience, compensates for the disobedience of the first Eve. He also explicitly identifies Mary Magdalene and the other women as ‘apostles.’
Saint Gregory of Nyssa (ca 330-395) identifies Mary Magdalene as ‘the first witness to the resurrection.’
Elaborate mediaeval legends in western Europe tell exaggerated tales of her wealth and beauty, as well as her alleged journey to southern France.
In the Middle Ages, she was seen as an erudite, educated and wise woman, giving her name, for example to Magdalene College, Cambridge, and to Magdalen College, Oxford.
Magdalene College, Cambridge, where Archbishop Rowan Williams was the Master until recently, was founded in 1482 as a Cambridge hostel for Benedictine student-monks. It was refounded by Lord Audley in 1542 and dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene. That choice of name may have been tinged with a touch of vanity, for the pronunciation of its name as ‘Maudleyn’ contains within it the name of Audley.
Magdalen College, Oxford, was founded earlier in 1458 and would later become the college of Oscar Wilde, John Betjeman, CS Lewis and Seamus Heaney.
But sometime in the Middle Ages, Mary Magdalene was conflated in western tradition with the unnamed ‘sinful woman’ who anoints Christ’s feet earlier in Saint Luke’s Gospel (see Luke 7: 36-50). This gives rise to the widespread but inaccurate belief that she was a repentant prostitute or a promiscuous woman.
The traditional western, sensual portrayal or caricature of Mary Magdalene probably reached its low point in the musical Jesus Christ Superstarwith Mary’s song ‘I Don’t Know How to Love Him,’ with its startling lines:
He’s a man, he’s just a man,
and I’ve had so many men before,
in very many ways …
Recently [10 June 2016], Pope Francis recognised Saint Mary Magdalene and her role as the first to witness the resurrection and as a ‘true and authentic evangeliser’ when he raised her commemoration today from a memorial to a feast in the church’s liturgical calendar.
The Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship formalised the decision in a decree called Apostolorum Apostola (‘Apostle of the Apostles’).
Archbishop Arthur Roche said Saint Mary Magdalene’s feast day is a call for all Christians to ‘reflect more deeply on the dignity of women, the new evangelisation and the greatness of the mystery of divine mercy.’
He said that in giving Saint Mary Magdalene the honour of being the first person to see the empty tomb and the first to listen to the truth of the resurrection, Christ ‘has a special consideration and mercy for this woman, who manifests her love for him, looking for him in the garden with anguish and suffering.’
This means Saint Mary Magdalene has the same type of feast as any of the apostles and makes her a ‘model for every woman in the church.’
As we think about Saint Mary Magdalene, and the way she has been maligned and traduced in the past, we may wonder why. Why was she forgotten so long as the apostle of the apostles and the ‘model for every woman in the church’?
Why did we give her name to the ‘Magdalene Laundries’ in Ireland that demeaned and belittled innocent women, depriving them of love, education, dignity and basic human rights?
The feast of Saint Mary Magdalene may also offer an opportunity to address the way many women were treated in the past in Ireland the ‘Magdalene Laundries’ and the ‘Bethany’ homes.
Indeed, Saint Mary Magdalene, in the way she has been maligned over the centuries, represents so many women whose beauty, truth and witness have been denied by the Church for oh so long.
We must never do this again, not only to women, but to any group in the church, because of gender, sexuality, age, ethnicity, culture or the other excuses that lead to discrimination, oppression and exclusion. For every time we do this, we are in danger of denying the Resurrection and of denying the Risen Christ himself.
The Gospel Reading: John 20: 1-2, 11-18:
Early on the Sunday morning (‘the first day of the week’) after the Crucifixion, before dawn, Mary Magdalene, who has been a witness to Christ’s death and burial, comes to the tomb and finds that the stone has been rolled away.
Initially it seems she is on her own, for she alone is named. But later she describes her experiences using the word ‘we,’ which indicates she was with other women.
In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, these women are known as the Holy Myrrh-bearers (Μυροφόροι). The Myrrh-bearers are traditionally listed as: Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James and Joses, Mary, the wife of Cleopas, Martha of Bethany, sister of Lazarus, Mary of Bethany, sister of Lazarus, Joanna, the wife of Chuza the steward of Herod Antipas, and Salome, the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, and Susanna, although it is generally said that there are other Myrrh-bearers whose names are not known.
Mary and these women run to tell Saint Peter and the other disciple – presumably Saint John the Evangelist – that they suspect someone has removed Christ’s body. The ‘other disciple’ may have been younger and fitter, for he outruns Saint Peter. The tidy way the linen wrappings and the shroud have been folded or rolled up shows that the body has not been stolen. They believe, yet they do not understand; they return home without any explanations.
But Mary still thinks Christ’s body has been removed or stolen, and she returns to the grave. In her grief, she sees ‘two angels in white’ sitting where the body had been lying, one at the head, and one at the feet. They speak to her and then she turns around sees Christ, but only recognises him when he calls her by name.
Saint Peter and Saint John have returned without seeing the Risen Lord. It is left to Mary to tell the Disciples that she has seen the Lord. Mary Magdalene is the first witness of the Resurrection.
All four gospels are unanimous in telling us that the women are the earliest witnesses to the Risen Christ. In Saint John’s Gospel, the Risen Christ sends Mary Magdalene to tell the other disciples what she had seen. Mary becomes the apostle to the apostles.
The word apostle comes from the Greek ἀπόστολος (apóstólos), formed from the prefix ἀπό- (apó-, ‘from’) and the root στέλλω (stéllō, ‘I send,’ ‘I depart’). So, the Greek word ἀπόστολος (apóstolos) or apostle means one sent.
In addition, at the end of the reading (verse 18), Mary comes announcing what she has seen. The word used here (ἀγγέλλουσα, angéllousa) is from the word that gives us the Annunciation, the proclamation of the good news, the proclamation of the Gospel (Εὐαγγέλιον, Evangélion).
Mary, in her proclamation of the Gospel of the Resurrection, is not only the apostle to the apostles, but she is also the first of the evangelists.
In Saint John’s Gospel, when Mary first sees Christ, she does not recognise him. In this reading, the Greek is regularly phrased in the present tense: Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb (verse 1), she sees (verse 1), she runs, she comes, and she says (verse 2); John sees (verse 5), Simon Peter then comes, and he sees (verse 6); Mary sees the two angels (verse 12), they say to her and she says to them that she does not know (verse 13); she then sees Jesus (verse 14); Jesus says to her (verse 15, and again verses 16 and 17) – notice this is three times in all; and she then comes announcing what she has seen and heard.
The language is constantly punctuated with the word ‘and,’ giving it a rapid, fast-moving pace, rather like the pace in Saint Mark’s Gospel. This is a present, real, living experience for all involved, and not one single episode that be relegated to the past.
The Risen Christ does things he did not do before: he appears in locked rooms, there is something different about his appearance, his friends do not realise immediately who he is. This is the same Jesus, but something has changed.
Why does Jesus tell Mary (verse 17): ‘Do not hold onto me’ (Μή μου ἅπτου, Noli me tangere)?
How do we recognise new life in the Risen Christ?
How do we understand the invitation from the Risen Christ to feast with him?
When we accept the new life Christ offers, how does our vision change?
Where do we see the presence of the Risen Christ?
Do we see his presence in the people and places we like and that please us?
Can we see him in the people we do not like and in the situations we find challenging? – the hungry child, the fleeing refugee, the begging person on the street, the homeless addict sleeping on the street or in the doorway?
Is my heart changed by the Risen Christ?
Where do I see the broken and bruised Body of Christ needing restoration and Resurrection?
Do I know him in the word he speaks to me and in the breaking of the bread?
Is the presence of the Risen Christ a living experience for us this morning?
Can Easter be an every-morning, every-day, living experience for us?
John 20: 1-2, 11-18 (NRSVA):
1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’
11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; 12 and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. 13 They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’ 14 When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ 16 Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, ‘Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God”.’ 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’; and she told them that he had said these things to her.
Liturgical Resources:
Liturgical colour: White
Penitential Kyries:
Lord, you are gracious and compassionate.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
You are loving to all,
and your mercy is over all your creation.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Your faithful servants bless your name,
and speak of the glory of your kingdom.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
The Collect:
Almighty God,
whose Son restored Mary Magdalene
to health of mind and body
and called her to be a witness to his resurrection:
Forgive our sins and heal us by your grace,
that we may serve you in the power of his risen life;
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Penitential Kyries:
Lord, you are gracious and compassionate.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Introduction to the Peace:
We are fellow-citizens with the saints,
and of the household of God,
through Christ our Lord,
who came and preached to those who were far off
and those who were near. (Ephesians 2: 19, 17)
Preface:
In the saints
you have given us an example of godly living,
that, rejoicing in their fellowship,
we may run with perseverance the race that is set before us,
and with them receive the unfading crown of glory:
Post-Communion Prayer:
God of life and love,
whose risen Son called Mary Magdalene by name
and sent her to tell of his resurrection to his apostles:
In your mercy, help us,
who have been united with him in this Eucharist,
to proclaim the good news
that he is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Blessing:
God give you the grace
to share in the inheritance of Saint Mary Magdalene and of his saints in glory:
Suggested Hymns (Saint Mary Magdalene, 22 July):
Song of Solomon 3: 1-4:
592, O Love that wilt not let me go
Psalm 42: 1-10:
607, As pants the hart for cooling streams
606, As the deer pants for the water
15, If thou but suffer God to guide thee
95, Jesu, priceless treasure
425, Jesus, thou joy of loving hearts
434, My Jesus, pierced with love of me
II Corinthians 5: 14-18:
416, Great God, your love has called us here
268, Hail, thou once-despisèd Jesus
522, In Christ there is no east or west
226, It is a thing most wonderful
634, Love divine, all loves excelling
306, O Spirit of the living God
528, The Church’s one foundation
John 20: 1-2, 11-18:
74, First of the week and finest day
460, For all your saints in glory, for all your saints at rest (verses 1, 2l, 3)
273, Led like a lamb to the slaughter
74, Light’s glittering morning bedecks the sky
104, O for a thousand tongues to sing
288, Thine be the glory, risen, conquering Son
115, Thou art the Way: to thee alone
290, Walking in a garden at the close of day
Hymns that are also suitable include:
459, For all the saints who from their labours rest
461, For all thy saints, O Lord
576, I heard the voice of Jesus say
272, Jesus lives: thy terrors now
58, Morning has broken
237, O my Saviour, lifted
279, O sons and daughters, let us sing (vv. 1–3, 9)
471, Rejoice in God’s saints, today and all days
246, Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
The hymn suggestions are provided in Sing to the Word (2000), edited by Bishop Edward Darling. The hymn numbers refer to the Church of Ireland’s Church Hymnal (5th edition, Oxford: OUP, 2000)
Material from the Book of Common Prayer is copyright © 2004, Representative Body of the Church of Ireland.
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