Mary Magdalene, the disciple and witness for good news.

Good morning, happy Tuesday and blessings.

There are very few Gospel scenes more touching than the one we read in John 20: 11-18. Mary Magdalene–from whom Jesus had cast multiple demons–owed everything to Jesus. Mary Magdalene was a woman who was healed by Jesus, and she never took this for granted. She followed him and listened carefully to his teachings. She couldn’t go back to her old way of life—not after she had been set free.

When she and others went to the tomb to anoint His body before the three critical days were finished, they found an empty tomb. Through her tears she saw angels asking her “why are you crying?” What kind of idiot question is that? “The so-and-so’s who murdered Him now have stolen His body and I don’t know where He is.” Mary Magdalene was in shock still from the death of Jesus. She goes to Jesus tomb, that belonged to Joseph of Arithramea.  Why? She goes to mourn. Have you ever gone to a gravestone to mourn? Soon after a loved one died? I have. It’s a wrenching experience.

The resurrection narratives of four gospels record very precisely how things were moving from one stage to the other. All of them want to give credit to Mary Magdalene as the first evangelist of the salvific liberation project of God. The coronavirus puts us in a better position to feel what Mary Magdalene was feeling on the day of resurrection. But Jesus honored Mary with the first mission, to go and proclaim His Resurrection and eternal life to His apostles. Therefore in church history they started calling Mary Magdalene the “apostle to the apostles,” because of this witness. She went to those men and women who were cowering in the upper room, convinced that they would be next, rounded up and condemned and either stoned or crucified, and told them the truth, in simple words. “I have seen the Lord.”

There are some lessons we can learn from Mary Magdalene's faithful life. First, gratitude Should drive us. Mary Magdalene was a woman who was healed by Jesus, and she never took this for granted. She followed him and listened carefully to his teachings. She couldn’t go back to her old way of life—not after she had been set free. Second, your past doesn’t matter when you’re in Christ. We don’t know much about Mary Magdalene’s life before demons were cast out of her. But from how other characters in the bible are treated when they had demons, we can guess that she wasn’t the most popular woman in her town. She was probably rejected, isolated, and hopeless. She may even have experienced deep shame from being possessed.  Third, don’t let deflated hopes keep you down. Mary Magdalene was a witness to the crucifixion. She saw Jesus’s final words from the cross. I’m sure that she must have walked away from that tragic day with her spirit deflated. She did not allow these negative and painful experiences to draw her away from Jesus.

Fourth, remember Jesus always calls you by your name. When Mary Magdalene heard her own name spoken by the risen Lord, her doubts melted into peace. She heard an audible voice but even today we can hear Him speaking our names. And fifth, go forth and tell the Good News. Jesus, in a male chauvinistic society, gave women the opportunity to be the first witnesses of his resurrection. He trusted them to pass this marvelous good news on. And they did. Mary Magdalene was one of the first people to share gospel truth with a broken world. Her testimony urges you to do the same. People all around you are lonely and feeling hopeless.

Blessings

Fr. Luis+