Today is the Feast Day for Mary Magdalene, one of the women who followed Jesus in his ministry, and was present at his crucifixion. Mary was also the first to go to the tomb on Easter morning, and so the first to encounter the resurrected Jesus. Because Mary was told to go and tell the other disciples that the tomb was empty and Jesus was raised, early Christian traditions called her "the apostle to the apostles”.
Early Christian traditions also depicted Mary as a prostitute, a claim many feminist scholars (and others) have strongly disputed for lack of scriptural evidence. Much conjecture and conflation of various Biblical women seems to have gone into this traditional depiction of Mary as a prostitute,. Though if she were a sex worker, I don't think this would have diminished her worth and value as a human being and disciple in Jesus' mind.
Several years ago, I traveled to Israel and visited Mary's hometown, the ancient village of on the Sea of Galilee. Archaeologists had just uncovered the buried ruins of the village synagogue. Several ancient coins had been found in the area, and the mud and dirt of 2,000 years was being carefully washed away so that the images on the coins could be seen. It was for me a parable for Mary. 2,000 years of history has obscured her real identity, but beneath it all -- and no matter her profession -- there was without doubt an extraordinary woman whose value and personhood were clearly seen and made known by Jesus.
Mary Magdalene was said to have been possessed by demons, but Jesus healed her. Jesus saw something deeper and more human than whatever her demons may have been. He washed away the dirt, and revealed in Mary the hidden image of God.
We thank God something so beautiful and good could be restored, not only in Mary but in so many of us also.
Ryon Price is Senior Pastor of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas.
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