Acts 13:26-33a
26 “My brothers, you descendants of Abraham’s family, and others who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent. 27 Because the residents of Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognize him or understand the words of the prophets that are read every sabbath, they fulfilled those words by condemning him. 28 Even though they found no cause for a sentence of death, they asked Pilate to have him killed. 29 When they had carried out everything that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him from the dead; 31 and for many days he appeared to those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, and they are now his witnesses to the people. 32 And we bring you the good news that what God promised to our ancestors 33a he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising Jesus.”
… and for many days he appeared to those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, and they are now his witnesses to the people.
Today, the Church commemorates St. Mary Magdalene, the first Apostle. What does that mean, you might ask? An apostle is an eye-witness to the resurrected Jesus. Mary Magdalene was the first of Jesus’ disciples to see him after the resurrection. She is, therefore, the apostle who carried the news of the Resurrection to the other disciples. Jesus visited all of them in time, making them all apostles, but Mary was the first.
This story, which is clearly stated in John’s Gospel, was downplayed by the organized Church for so long that it simply lost its relevance. For centuries, Mary Magdalene was portrayed as a prostitute, or a fallen woman of some sort. In works of art, she almost always had bright red hair and was scantily clad, often with her breasts exposed. Why?
I think that it was simply too difficult for the patriarchal structure of the Church to believe that a female disciple could live and work on equal footing with Jesus’ male disciples. And yet, she did. There is nothing in the Bible that validates all the lascivious and derogatory portrayals of her. And yet, they persist. Why?
When the Church is able to answer that “why”, our unity in Christ will become clear.
Prayer: Lord Jesus: Thank you for seeing everyone as God sees them. May we one day learn to do the same. AMEN