Word to the Wise
Thursday, July 22, 2010 - St. Mary Magdalen
[Jeremiah 2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13 and John 20:1-2, 11-18]Jesus said to her, "Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, 'I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" Mary Magdalen went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord," and then reported what he told her.
If one visits the new cathedral of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles (a very modern building, to say the least), no matter what one's tastes in church architecture might be, the tapestries along the wall of the nave on both sides are impressive and beautiful. All the figures on them face toward the altar and represent various saints and holy men and women in Christian history and in the present (such as Mother Teresa of Calcutta and some anonymous Christians of all ages). I've been to the place twice. On one of those occasions, I sought out St. Dominic and found him near the front on the left hand side. Standing next to him is a young woman whose identity was not immediately obvious to me and I checked a booklet and discovered it is St. Mary Magdalen!!! This was both appropriate and amazing to me. It is appropriate because she is one of the great patronesses of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans)! I was amazed, however, that the artist might know this and incorporate it into the tapestry. I asked the Rector, who was giving a tour on one of the occasions and he said he was unaware of the connection and that the connection was not discussed in deciding how the saints and holy ones would be grouped on the tapestries! Mary Magdalen seems to find her way to important people! We Dominicans revere her because she is, at least in the Gospel of John, the first preacher of the good news. An apostle is one who is "sent" and Mary was sent to the apostles to tell him of Jesus' resurrection. As is characteristic of the Gospel of John, her "commissioning" occurs in a dramatic fashion as she slowly recognizes who it is that she is seeing at the scene of the tomb. (At first she thinks he is the gardener!) When she hears her name, she still doesn't realize that the Jesus she is seeing is not the Jesus whom she knew. He is now risen and she cannot "hold on" to the past but must go and announce the present and future reality! She has "seen the Lord!" The significance of Mary Magdalen is now a subject of considerable discussion, given the restrictions placed on women (or any lay person) preaching at the Eucharist. Whatever the outcome of that discussion, we Dominicans revere her and we encourage all women of faith to proclaim the Good News just as she did, especially to those apostles who were (and sometimes still are) slow to believe what Jesus has done! AMEN
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