Word to the Wise
Friday, July 22, 2016 - July 22 - St. Mary Magdalene
[Cant 3:1-4b or 2 Cor 5:14-17 and John 20:1-2, 11-18]Mary Magdalen went and announced to the disciples, "I am have seen the Lord," and then reported what he told her. [John]
FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2016 ST. MARY MAGDALENE
Mary Magdalen has finally received a well-deserved promotion. The Congregation of Divine Worship (no doubt prodded by Pope Francis) has very recently upgraded her feast day from "memorial" to "feast." This puts her on the same par with the apostles liturgically. All I can say is, "It's about time, even if it took 2000 years." The Eastern church has referred to her as the "apostle to the apostles" for centuries. We Dominicans revere her as the first preacher.
The scene in the Garden of Gethsemane which constitutes our gospel scripture of the day is a wonderful blend of drama and theology - to be expected in the Gospel of John. Unfortunately, a chunk of the chapter is omitted because Mary went twice to the apostles and the intervening verses tell about Peter and John running to the tomb. After Peter and John leave, having seen only the empty tomb, Mary remains weeping and Jesus appears to her. Once she recognizes him in her own dramatic way, she receives her preaching orders. "Go to my brothers and tell them, 'I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" And that is what she did.
One can only hope that we will have more and more women receiving those "preaching orders" and proclaiming the gospel from the pulpit as they have been doing away from the pulpit for centuries. We can get the message just as the apostles got it: from an apostle to the apostles! AMEn