The Woman Preacher

Mary Magdalen. What a woman. The gospels tell us she had seven devils cast out of her. It also tells us she followed Jesus faithfully, and stood there at the foot of the cross. She is the first one to see Jesus on the day of resurrection. And Jesus doesn't say, "Hi Mary, Got to run. Must tell the big boys I'm up."  He says, "You, go and tell my disciples I have risen." For this account, the church calls her the Apostles of the apostles. So, Peter and Paul, step aside, because you are superseded by the faith of one who once had seven devils. Step aside because a woman has been chosen to proclaim the good news to you. Step aside, because love conquers all, and Mary Magdalen had that love.

Tradition puts Mary Magdalen, the women who washed Jesus feet in the house of the pharisee, and Mary the sister of Martha as one and the same person. Present day scripture scholars dispute that fact. But it remains true that the Mary Magdalen mentioned in scripture stood at the foot of the cross, where no disciple would be seen but John. She was the first to go to the tomb, not even giving thought to the heavy stone, or the guard of soldiers. She was the one who stayed at the tomb, even after Peter and John had left. Mary Magdalen, the name so synonymous with sinner, should be the epitome of selfless love. While the disciples hid behind locked doors, she went out in public, in daylight, to find her lord. While others saw an empty tomb and left, she stayed and wept.

Mary Magdalen's love for Jesus is often mistaken in our day, a day that cannot see pure love for what it is, but must find something sexual about it. After all, how could a sinful woman be attracted by goodness, unless she was going to get something physical in return? But Mary Magdalen continues to be the patron of preachers, those who are sent to deliver the good news. And she certainly is a model for all women seeking to spread that good news.