The Collect
Almighty God, whose blessed Son restored Mary Magdalene to health of body and of mind, and called her to be a witness of his resurrection: Mercifully grant that by your grace we may be healed from all our infirmities and know you in the power of his unending life; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
The Psalm
42:1-7
Judith 9:1,11-14 + II Corinthians 5:14-18 + John 20:11-18
Mary Magdalen went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and she told them that he had said these things to her.
~John 20:18
Mary Magdalene has experienced something of a popular revival in recent years. In part, this has been very good, in that it has exposed as speculative and unfounded the image of Mary as repentant prostitute (a centuries old, often prurient, image based on conflating several different scriptural passages). But the popular image that has replaced it often simply veers into more extreme speculation, based more in imaginative best-selling novels than in the record of the Gospels.
What we learn of Mary from the Gospels is that she was healed by Jesus, who delivered her from "seven demons," and that she became both his follower and patron, along with others "who supported him out of their private means" (Luke 8:1-3). All four Gospels attest that she was among the women who, unlike the twelve, did not abandon Jesus even as he hung upon the cross, and that she went to the tomb early that Sunday morning to prepare the Lord's body.
In the passage from John's Gospel appointed for her feast, we see Mary's great love for Jesus, as she weeps at his tomb, crying out to the angels and then to the man she supposes to be the gardener, begging to know where his body has been taken. When Jesus speaks her name, we share in her joy as she recognizes her beloved Teacher and Risen Lord. And it is from this passage that Mary's title of "Apostle to the Apostles" is derived: she is the first to whom the risen Jesus appears, and to her is entrusted the glorious Easter tidings. Mary Magdalene, who loved Jesus so well, with sacrifice and courageous loyalty, is the first in all the world to declare the greatest news of all: He is risen!
~John 20:18
Mary Magdalene has experienced something of a popular revival in recent years. In part, this has been very good, in that it has exposed as speculative and unfounded the image of Mary as repentant prostitute (a centuries old, often prurient, image based on conflating several different scriptural passages). But the popular image that has replaced it often simply veers into more extreme speculation, based more in imaginative best-selling novels than in the record of the Gospels.
What we learn of Mary from the Gospels is that she was healed by Jesus, who delivered her from "seven demons," and that she became both his follower and patron, along with others "who supported him out of their private means" (Luke 8:1-3). All four Gospels attest that she was among the women who, unlike the twelve, did not abandon Jesus even as he hung upon the cross, and that she went to the tomb early that Sunday morning to prepare the Lord's body.
In the passage from John's Gospel appointed for her feast, we see Mary's great love for Jesus, as she weeps at his tomb, crying out to the angels and then to the man she supposes to be the gardener, begging to know where his body has been taken. When Jesus speaks her name, we share in her joy as she recognizes her beloved Teacher and Risen Lord. And it is from this passage that Mary's title of "Apostle to the Apostles" is derived: she is the first to whom the risen Jesus appears, and to her is entrusted the glorious Easter tidings. Mary Magdalene, who loved Jesus so well, with sacrifice and courageous loyalty, is the first in all the world to declare the greatest news of all: He is risen!
Closing Prayer
Almighty God, inspire in us great love for Jesus, that, like Mary, we may be devoted to him above all things, and compelled by the love of Christ to be joyful witnesses to the power of the Resurrection. Amen.
Almighty God, inspire in us great love for Jesus, that, like Mary, we may be devoted to him above all things, and compelled by the love of Christ to be joyful witnesses to the power of the Resurrection. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment