pilgrimage - day #29

my thoughts on Mary Magdalene...

Growing up I always thought there were two Mary's in the Bible: the good Mary and the bad Mary.  The good Mary was the Mother of Jesus, or as the Lutheran's said, "the Mother of God."  The bad Mary was Mary Magdalene, the prostitute.

Upon reading Biblical passages on Mary Magdalene or Mary of Magdala, there is nothing that states she was a prostitute.   The Bible not only makes mention of her name, but of her place of origin (Magdala).  Obviously it was important to distinguish this Mary.  In fact, she was a very devoted follower of Jesus.  Mary was one of the women who viewed the empty tomb, and said, "Raboni," upon recognizing the resurrected Jesus.  Many also regard her as the Apostle of the Apostles, due to the fact she was at there to see the empty tomb and the first to announce the resurrection. 


So why then was I taught Mary Magdalene was a prostitute?

According to my research in Wikipedia, it states:

"Pope Gregory the Great made a speech in 591 A.D. where he seemed to combine the actions of three women mentioned in the New Testament and also identified an unnamed woman as Mary Magdalene. He stated that she was a prostitute. This erroneous view was not corrected until 1969 when the Vatican issued a quiet retraction."

Pope Gregory made a connection between the adulteress that was brought before Jesus and Mary Magdalene.  I also wasn't surprised to view the various artwork that depicted Mary as a long red-haired woman, while other women had their dark hair tucked beneath headdresses. 

So thanks to Pope Gregory, various artists, and a disregard to the "quiet retraction," I was taught a very skewed version of Mary Magdalene.  

I'm sure you can imagine my surprise when I read the Bible and found discrepancies to my Christian education.  The first "annoyance" was the short tale of Noah's Ark.  I was certain the tale would be longer, as Noah was such a huge character in my Sunday School studies.  I then was a bit perturbed with the story about Joseph and his "coat of any colors."  The translation that we all love (i.e. the colorful coat) is actually a mistranslation of the Hebrew phrase "kethoneth pac" which in fact means "long-sleeved tunic."  So it was an embroidered long-sleeved tunic, which would have been much different than the short-sleeved plain tunics of Joseph's brothers.  Annoyances, like these, continued through the Old Testament of the Bible.

So, you can see that when I got to the New Testament and read about the differing Jesus stories in the Gospels, I was a bit miffed.  And to read about Mary Magdalene, that she wasn't a prostitute, was such a happy surprise.  In fact, we contemplated naming Eva - Magdalene.  Her middle name, Margarite, is an homage to three people: our friend, Mary Margaret; my Great Grandma Marguerite Elizabeth; and Mary Magdalene. 

I also read (and own) The Gospel According to Mary Magdalene.  I really love that a woman wrote a special book, a Gospel no less, and find it sad that the Bible omitted Gnostic works like theses.

It is suggested by Elaine Pagels, the author of "The Gospel of Thomas" (which I read) and "The Gnostic Paul", that Mary Magdalene was the unidentified beloved disciple of Christ mentioned in the Gospel of John.  Personally I don't subscribe to her view point.  In John 19: 26 - 27, the Bible states, "When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, 'Dear woman, here is your son,' and to the disciple, 'Here is your mother.'  And again in John 20:2, the Bible says, "So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one that Jesus loved..." Therefore, unless Mary Magdalene is a boy and has two bodies, I think Pagels is making references that aren't there.


So no, I don't think there is a BAD Mary.  Just a very popular name that is attributed to more than one woman in the Bible.  However, I love learning about "holes" in the Bible, as well as the truth behind the myths.


Today's Scriptures
Psalms 30: 8-12 (The Message)
I called out to you, God; 
I laid my case before you:
"Can you sell me for a profit when I'm dead?
auction me off at a cemetery yard sale?
When I'm 'dust to dust' my songs
and stories of you won't sell.
So listen! and be kind!
Help me out of this!"


You did it: you changed wild lament
into whirling dance; 
You ripped off my black mourning band 
and decked me with wildflowers.
I'm about to burst with song; 
I can't keep quiet about you. 
God, my God, 
I can't thank you enough.