"Mary Magdalene - courageous witness to the risen Lord"
Texts: John 20:1-18, Isaiah 43:8-13
Sermon preached by Rev. Jeanette Mathews
18 May 2003

In this mission month for the Baptist churches of Australia it seemed appropriate in my series on women in the bible to look at the first New Testament missionary bearing the news of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Mary Magdalene is a prominent person in the gospel accounts, particularly in the stories told of the cross and the empty tomb. To know anything about her we have to rely on the gospels, because she isn't mentioned anywhere else in the New Testament. Indeed, she is ignored where she might have been mentioned. If we look at Paul's famous resurrection passage in the letter to the Corinthians he says Jesus appeared "first to Peter, then to the Twelve, then to 500 brothers at one time, then to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all to me."

And even in the gospels there is some doubt surrounding the witness of Mary Magdalene and the other women to the significant event of the resurrection of Jesus:

In the earliest Gospel of Mark we read that Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome went to anoint the body of Jesus, but found the burial place empty except for a young man who gave them the amazing news of Jesus' resurrection, and the task to go and tell his disciples the news. But then we read: "So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid." (Mk 16:6-8)

Luke more clearly identifies the messenger as an angel in his version of the empty tomb story, but the message was still given to women - "Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them." But Luke records that to the apostles the words of the women "seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them." (Lk 24:10-11)

The note of doubt in these stories could have been due to the lack of credibility given to the witness of women in those times - which incidentally makes it all the more profound that the gospels recorded the stories about the women.

It also could reflect the very real danger there would have been for anyone who identified with the crucified Jesus. If we thought about the actions of these women against the background of Roman policy we would have a new respect for them. Even weeping in public over the death of an executed person could result in the mourner also being executed, and women and children were not exempt from this. No funerals were allowed - which was intended to be a punishment for the friends and family of the criminal. Soldiers guarded the dead bodies, or left them on the crosses to be eaten by wild animals. When the gospels tell us the women stood "afar off" at the crucifixion scene, we realise they were trying to stay unrecognised but putting their lives in danger nonetheless. Going to the grave would also be a punishable offence - the authorities were wary of executed enemies of the empire being made into heroes and their graves becoming a place of pilgrimage. (The same thing happened in South Africa when there was an active resistance struggle against apartheid policy. Funerals were sometimes "banned" by the government, particularly when teenagers or children had been murdered). So if the women were risking their lives, we have an explanation for the great fear they felt even when they believed he had been raised - those of us who were at the Easter Sunday@seven gathering will remember we were puzzling over the fear of the women at the end of Mark's gospel.

We've thought of a couple of reasons why the witness of women to the resurrection was in doubt, a third reason could be simply due to a patriarchal bias in the history of the church. It's only in recent years as women are again finding their place in the church that we are going back and re-reading the early documents - sometimes even reading between the lines to find the women. And we are discovering that women were active and influential in the church that came into being as a result of Jesus' life, teachings, death and resurrection.

It seems that Mary Magdalene was an important figure in the New Testament church. I wonder what you would say if I asked what you know about her? You might have been influenced by the character in Jesus Christ Superstar, who sings the haunting song "I don't know how to love him" or the many portraits of her in renaissance art when she was a popular subject - usually young and beautiful and penitent. Sometimes she is naked and covered only by her long hair - suggesting perhaps the hair suits of penitents in the middle ages. You might even know her as the patron saint of perfume, and she is almost always depicted with a jar of ointment to remind us that she was intending to anoint the body of Jesus in the tomb. Many, including Andrew Lloyd Webber, assume she was a prostitute and particularly in the western church she became the embodiment of the great sinner reformed by Christ. In contrast the eastern church traditions depicted her as a person with special revelation from Jesus, who would be elevated by angels while praying and miraculously fed while meditating in the desert. A commentary on the extra-biblical materials about this woman says "the Mary Magdalene described in the Gospels has undergone an amazing change in the course of centuries."

In reality there is very little information about her in the bible. She is mentioned in Luke 8 where we hear she was "exorcised of seven demons" (Lk 8:2-3). Demon possession was an explanation for both physical and mental illnesses, suggesting that she may have been epileptic or suffering from an illness such as depression. There is no suggestion in the biblical accounts that she was a prostitute or great sinner. Perhaps because there is so little information about her she has become merged with other unnamed women in the Gospels - the woman who anointed Jesus in Luke and even the Samaritan woman at the well. The one long narrative that is about her and that we read this morning from John's gospel gives her character some shape and has influenced later ways of thinking about her. She has been described as "impetuous and loving", and some have seen echoes of the woman in the Song of Solomon who seeks after her lover.

It seems she was one of the women of means who supported Jesus' ministry - she was quite possibly a widow although she is never defined in relation to a man. Though she is thought of as young and beautiful, which for some explains her close relationship to Jesus, she could just as easily be an older woman who was a motherly or surrogate aunt figure. She is often in the company of Mary the mother of Jesus when mentioned in the gospels.

What else can we say about her? When grouped with other women her name always appears first except once in John's account of the crucifixion where he names the relatives of Jesus standing near the cross along with Mary Magdalene (19:25). We find her name in all four gospels and all of them agree that she was present at both the crucifixion and the empty tomb. Her prominence in the resurrection stories suggest she was a leader who held a position of spiritual authority in the early church. It's even possible that her name, Magdalene, didn't define where she came from but was a translation of a Hebrew word meaning "great", so that she was Mary the Great to distinguish her from the many other Marys in the New Testament as well as define her position of authority. In the passage from John that we have read this morning Jesus appeared to her alone and commissioned her to tell the other disciples of his resurrection. By the 3^rd century she was referred to as an apostle, and St Augustine called her "apostle to the apostles" in recognition that she was the one who brought the news of the resurrection to the disciples. The 12^th century illustration on the cover of today's bulletin shows her doing just that.

The gospel of John depicts her as one of the ideal disciples of the gospel. When Jesus speaks her name and she recognises his voice she is an example of the statement he made earlier in the gospel, "I am the good shepherd.my sheep know my voice". Unlike Thomas she does not need to touch Jesus to believe he is real, and she unquestioningly does what he tells her.

One of the most certain things we can say about her was that she was a courageous woman. Remembering the danger of mourning for an enemy of the Roman state, we can agree with the comment that "at the darkest and most uncertain moments, when others had withdrawn, even Jesus' mother according to the Synoptic gospels, Mary Magdalene faithfully remained in Jesus presence. This was a strong woman." (Women in Scripture, p. 122)

Since Mary is asked by the angels in the tomb and the risen Jesus "Why are you weeping?" we should also ask if her tears fit with the picture of a strong and courageous woman who would be the first witness to the resurrection.

I believe that her weeping embodied the fear and mourning of the whole community of the faithful. She may have been in despair but she was there, the men were still in hiding. Her tears captured the terrible possibility that all hope had been destroyed with Jesus' death. If God had abandoned Jesus, then his promise of a kingdom ruled by justice and peace would also have to be abandoned. The hope of the downtrodden, the poor, the diseased, the demon possessed - all who had been given a new life by Jesus - this hope had also died on the cross. Mary's tears were not mere sentimentalism. They were a profound expression of the possibility of abandonment. Yet because she was there she witnessed the wonder of hope reborn. And she was given the task to "Go and tell" - that there is a power stronger than death, that God is on the side of life, that new life is possible.

And so as the witness to the hope of Jesus' resurrection, Mary Magdalene functions for us as an example to follow. The witness did not stop with her - her name disappears from the New Testament but we know that she passed on the good news, and those who heard it also passed it on, and before long the church was born. The message has been passed to us also, and we are still witnesses of this good news. The words of the risen Jesus to his first followers are words spoken to us today. "Go and tell" (Mk 16:7) "You are witnesses of these things." (Lk 24:48)

And note his choice of words - at the command of Jesus we are witnesses (Luke 24:36ff) He didn't say "you will be witnesses" so that we could excuse ourselves on the basis of not knowing enough or not being experienced enough or not being good enough. He didn't say "you should be witnesses" so that we are motivated out of guilt, recognising the familiar distance between what we are and what we ought to be. No. The followers of Jesus are his witnesses - the way we are is the way he will be shown to the world around us, with all our shortcomings, our good intentions, our personalities, our statements, our attitudes.

Remember the Isaiah passage we read earlier in the service? Where Isaiah's imagination has God on trial in a courtroom, and witnesses are called to attest to the character of God - even deaf and blind Israel who had been God's people but had so often refused to hear the voice of God or see the action of God in their history, even they were told - "you are my witnesses."

We've been trained in the church to think of ourselves being on trial with Jesus as judge. But these passages that remind us we are witnesses puts Jesus in the seat of the defendant. We need to remember that the judgment of the court concerning the God who is revealed in Jesus will be determined by our witness.

Will Jesus be dismissed as irrelevant?

Will Jesus be judged uncaring and indifferent?

Will Jesus be pleaded unfit for trial because of the lack of agreement amongst his witnesses?

Will Jesus be considered guilty of making no difference at all despite his claims?

The Easter message wasn't finished for the year as we sang alleluia on Easter morning and ate our last Easter egg. Easter day was only the beginning of the story, we now need to witness to our risen Lord. Go and tell. Go and make disciples. You are my witnesses. These words weren't addressed to preachers, evangelists, and professionals. They were addressed to scared disciples, fishermen and tradesmen. They were even addressed to women. All we are asked to do is to witness to what we have heard and what we have seen. Do you know Jesus is alive?

Have you sensed his presence amongst a community of faith?

Have you known an underlying peace in the midst of hard times?

Are you aware of something sustaining you as you move through the ordinary days of your life?

Is the presence of Christ alive when you join with others in an effort to bring a change to the city we live in? At Stuart Flats? At Commonwealth Park next weekend?

In this mission month it is good for us to remember that being witnesses doesn't only involve living in a different culture and learning another language. It is about realising that the world is looking at us to see who Jesus is. We only have to hear the message, and like Mary Magdalene, obey the voice of Christ. Go and tell. You are my witnesses. Amen.

Ideas for this sermon came with the help of the following resources:

Dorothée Sölle, "Woman, why are you weeping?" in Great Women of the Bible in Art and Literature (1994:278)
Joe H Kirchberger, "Mary of Magdala" in Great Women of the Bible in Art and Literature (1994:280)
Carolyn Osiek, "Mary 3" in Women in Scripture (2000:120-122)
Patrick J. Willson, "The Second Act of Easter" in Pulpit Digest (MA 1997:75)

Last updated: 22 May l2003