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We know very little about Mary Magdalene. Like many of the biblical women, she remains something of a mystery. Yet down the ages, various images, pictures, myths or legends have grown up around her. As Susan Haskins points out at the start of her book entitled Mary Magdalen, "for nearly two thousand years, the … conception of Mary Magdalen has been that of a prostitute who, hearing the words of Jesus Christ, repented of her sinful past and henceforth devoted her life and love to him. She appears in countless devotional images, scarlet-cloaked and with loose hair, kneeling below the cross, or seated at Christ's feet in the house of Mary and Martha of Bethany, or .. sprawled at his feet .. jar by her side, in the house of the Pharisee."
There has often been a tendency to conflate several Gospel stories about different women into one composite woman - Mary Magdalene - the reformed prostitute, or repentant sinner. The Mary Magdalene who is imaged in paintings, sculpture, and literature as voluptuous, sensuous, and bewitchingly beautiful. The Mary Magdalene of The Da Vinci Code, who becomes the wife of Jesus and even bears His child.
However this myth is an ugly, deceptive lie, which has absolutely no scriptural foundation. And it has deflected attention away from the heart of the biblical witness to her, which speaks of Mary's authority and faithfulness in following Jesus. In the four Gospels, the few references we find there to her agree on four salient points: first, Mary Magdalene was a follower of Jesus; second, she was present at His crucifixion; third, she came to find the empty tomb; and fourth, she was sent to share the good news of the resurrection to the other disciples.
In this evening's second Bible reading, Mark draws our attention to these points, as he records Mary's place among those first followers of Jesus. Mary Magdalene is first referred to by name in chapter 15, towards the end of Mark's account of Christ's crucifixion on Golgotha, the Place of the Skull. Mark describes the scene: Christ, crucified between two robbers, forsaken by His disciples, has just died on the cross. Yet He was not alone. "Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs" (Mark 15: 40,41). Mark goes on to tell us how, when Joseph of Arimathea had taken Jesus' body, wrapped it in linen and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock, "Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid" (Mark 15: 47).
But that was not the end of the story - either for Jesus Himself, or for His company of followers, including Mary Magdalene. Mark continues : "When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body" (Mark 16: 1). Arriving at the tomb "very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise" (Mark 16:2), the women discovered that the stone placed in the tomb's entrance had been rolled away. Moreover, "as they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed" (Mark 16: 5). The young man then spoke to them: "Don't be alarmed … You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as He told you" (Mark 16: 6,7).
While we know very little about her, what we do know about Mary Magdalene is striking. And her story - the story of someone who, in the early church, came to be known as the 'Apostle to the Apostles' - can continue to teach us more of what it means to follow Jesus, in our own day and age.
In particular, Mary's story can remind us of two aspects of our Christian calling: First, that we called to belong to, and to play our full part within, the company of Christ. To be a member of the Body of Christ is to share in its life and work. Like Mary Magdalene, this involves presence - being there for Jesus with others. It also involves provision - giving generously of our means to help resource Christ's mission.
Second, just as you and I are called to belong to the company of Christ, so we are also called to bear witness to the Gospel of Christ. Like Mary Magdalene, we have a Gospel to proclaim, good news for all throughout the earth. It is a message we must not keep within these four walls, or within the privacy of our own homes and lives. For there is a world outside waiting to hear it, a world that so often suffers without hope. Yet God-given hope has already dawned. That "new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Peter 1: 3). Mary Magdalene knew that for herself, and she showed it by her life. May you and I also bear witness to the Gospel of Christ. And so may our lives - in word and deed - speak to others of the abiding grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the love of God, and of the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
John Barr
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