Homily: Mary Magdalene Rising:
Her Legacy is our Legacy
By Bridget Mary Meehan
Let us rejoice today as we celebrate the powerful legacy of Mary Magdalene, our companion on the journey to the full equality of women.
We remember:
Mary’s legacy as Prominent Leader among Jesus’ followers
In Luke 8:1-3 Mary Magdalene heads a list of women who funded Jesus’ mission and who accompanied him around Galilee to his death in Jerusalem.
Even though, Pope Gregory the Great portrayed Mary Magdalene as a sinner in 591, and this false label lasted for centuries, the New Testament never identifies her as a fallen woman.
According to the canonical Gospels, Mary’s legacy was one of accompaniment- being present -taking initiative- participating in- partnership in Jesus ministry.
In the Gospel of Mary, a sacred text discovered in the 19th century, which scholars believe was written around the same time as the Gospel of John, women were teaching and leading in faith communities. Until the discovery of the Gospel of Mary there was no known gospel ascribed to a woman.
We remember:
Mary’s Legacy as Apostle to the Apostles.:
In John’s Gospel, the Risen Christ chose Mary as the apostle to the apostles- to “go and tell” the good news to the other disciples. (John 20:11-18)
St. Thomas Aquinas , Doctor of the Church, called Mary Magdalene a prophet and said that she had the office of an apostle because she was the first one to see the Risen Christ.
In Eastern Christianity, Mary Magdalene has always been identified “as equal to the apostles. “
In 2016, Pope Francis affirmed St. Mary Magdalene as a "true and authentic evangelizer," and declared July 22 a feast day on the church's liturgical calendar.
We remember:
Mary’s Legacy as Teacher of Apostles and Theologian in Residence.
In the Gospel of Mary, Mary shares a vision in which Jesus praises her for her faithfulness and insightful understanding of his teaching. Mary Magdalene offers a legacy of spiritual leadership in which women reshape religious thought and experience with wisdom and creativity.
Scholar Dr. Jane Schaberg writes: “Mary Magdalene can be considered a -or the- founder of Christianity, if one wants to use such a term; that she was a ‘creator of the Christian belief in the resurrection,’ and has a better claim than Paul to the title ‘the first great interpreter of Jesus.’” (Jane Schaberg, The Resurrection of Mary Magdalene, 303)
Mary’s teaching affirms the heart of Christ’s teaching is to clothe ourselves with the perfect human. We are human, divine and spiritual equals.
This gospel conveys the idea that direct access to God by anyone is possible through the Spirit. Her theology emphasizes the meaning of the Risen Christ and his role as teacher rather than judge and ruler. No hierarchical order of power, rule -making or enforcing is found in this Gospel.
So today, we carry her legacy as we teach and preach the Gospel of Jesus’ love and compassion. Our purpose is to experience the infinite love within us in our humanity and divinity that make us whole and transforms our lives. There is no spiritual power outside of us than the voice of the Spirit within us. We are all spiritual equals.
In this Gospel, we see the tension that arises from Peter’s words that still echo in patriarchal power and domination over women in the Church today:
Peter said "how is it possible that the Teacher talked in this manner with a woman about secrets of which we ourselves are ignorant? Must we change our customs and listen to this woman? Did he really chose her and prefer her to us?"
In her book The Resurrection of Mary Magdalene, Dr. Schaberg argues that Mary Magdalene is a successor to Jesus and a challenge to the primacy of Peter. She maintains that it was Peter’s jealousy that blocked Mary’s ascendancy and that a Magdalene Christianity would have been more inclusive and egalitarian and less hierarchical than the 2000 year history of patriarchal domination.
I agree.
We rejoice that Mary Magdalene’s legacy appears in books, films social media across the world. There are thousands of celebrations this week -like Magdalene Rising- occurring this week. Her energy is rising up in the hearts of people everywhere!
We experience her energy when:
- we affirm women’s moral agency and primacy of conscience.
-we ordain women deacons, priests and bishops to serve God’s people in inclusive communities in the Catholic Church!
-we live Jesus’ teachings as spiritual equals- fully human and divine- God’s holy people.
So today, let’s celebrate Mary Magdalene’s legacy in our mutual trust and partnership in Jesus’ mission of promoting God’s inclusive, extravagant love.
May Mary Magdalene’s energy rise up in us and inspire us to create a renewed model of Church, promote justice, the flourishing of humanity, and the healing of Earth!
