Fr Mark Schultz

Dear Friend,

Happy Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene!

I’ll not comment too too much on the Magdalene’s legend, except to affirm that some parts of her legend (that she was an adulterer or a sex worker) are not found in scripture—for many centuries, her story has been confused with the story of Mary of Bethany and the story of the unnamed penitent who washed Our Lord’s feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. What we know of her from scripture is that seven devils were cast out of her, that she was a committed disciple of Jesus, present at the crucifixion and burial, and was an important member of the Jesus community and the early church (while not named, the reference to “the women” as being in the group of those who met in the upper room in Acts 1 and experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost in Acts 2 would certainly include her!). And, perhaps most importantly, we know Mary Magdalene was the first eyewitness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the first human being (apart from Jesus himself!) to proclaim the Good News of the Resurrection to anybody. For this reason, she’s called “The Apostle to the Apostles.” It is because of her evangelization of the other disciples that we ourselves can confess the Good News!

We don’t read in our office readings today of John’s account of Mary’s encounter with the Risen Jesus (which I urge you to revisit!). Instead, we get Mark’s account of the resurrection, minus its conclusion in verse 8: “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.” This conclusion, I think, introduced some problems to later evangelists: is the text saying that Mary and the women actually didn’t follow the angel’s directive to tell Peter and the others what's happened? I think, to settle any doubts, that’s why we have both the shorter ending to Mark (which affirms that Mary did indeed speak to Peter) and the longer ending (which also notes Mary’s evangelization of the community). And it’s likely that we don’t get verse 8 in our lection this morning in order to avoid all this entirely. But I think we can well include it in our devotions today without calling into question Mary’s privileged and principal role as the first evangelist…because some of the wordplay here is completely wonderful and leads to some wonderful considerations!

Look at those words “they went out” and “they fled” that are later mirrored by “terror and amazement” and “afraid.” Now, I think “terror and amazement” here are poor contextual translations of words that might be more fruitfully rendered, “trembling and ecstasy.” And that last word, translated “afraid,” classically meant “to flee on account of profound fear,” while in scripture it’s most often used to describe being afraid, though, importantly, it can also mean “reverence.” “Nothing to anyone” would be better translated “nothing to none," or perhaps even, "nothing to nothing."

First, just marvel at all those words used to describe some sense of “getting out of there,” including ecstasy, a word that describes what it means to discover yourself outside of yourself! They’re outside of the tomb, they’re outside of themselves! There’s clearly a breathless urgency in the verse that belies any attempt to insinuate that Mary and the others neglected to deliver the Good News. And the underlying notes of fear I think would be better understood as awestruck wonder accompanied by reverence, a sense of the staggeringly astonishing amazingness of what’s happened that arrives out of…well…a trembling silence, the “nothing to none” which in turn begins a movement of love that in fact speaks Everything Good to Everyone Who Will Hear.

Mary and the other witnesses flee into prayer, hasten into stillness, run to speak the unspeakable good news, the silence and stillness of the peace that passes all understanding flooding them, empowering them, urging them on.

The women at the tomb have, in an instant, discovered themselves in a new world. What they thought the world was like, with its death and mourning, has given way to a new understanding of Reality with which they tremble and are ecstatic. They leave a tomb to enter a new life, more startling, more richly grand, more majestic than any they could have ever possibly imagined. And Mary Magdalene is the first, from an awestruck silence at the revelation of God’s boundless love, to breathlessly announce the arrival of a stunning grace that will transform everyone and everything.

Moments of such extraordinary mystical depth can be rare. But my Dear Beloved Friend, this depth is at the heart of our faith and available to us in scripture, in sacrament, in prayer, in community. What’s needed, and what Mary teaches us to seek today, is the grace to turn away from death and flee into sacred silence, to allow grace to draw us, trembling, out of ourselves and into a living and alive apprehension of the amazing glory of God’s love. This is part of Mary's gift to us, Mary's legacy for us. I hope we can receive it today!

Blessed Mary Magdalene, Apostle to the Apostles, pray for us!

Under the Mercy,
Fr Mark+