Can we stop?

I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully 

has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

         One of the narratives we have about a scriptural character, but it is not based on scripture, is of Mary Magdalene. This narrative annoys me to no end, for with it, we try to use scripture to subjugate women. Women are already marginalized within the Gospel narratives and scripture, even though they were prominent figures in Jesus’ ministry and the formation of the early church. But it is the nonsense with Mary Magdalene that annoys me the most.

           First off, she should be referred to as Mary of Magdala. Magdala was a city on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Thus, she was a Magdalene. She is mentioned a total of twelve times in the Gospels, more often than any one of the apostles.  Her first encounter with Jesus was her being exorcized of seven unclean spirits. She was one of Jesus’ patrons financing his ministry. Not only was she present during the crucifixion, unlike ten of the twelve apostles, all four Gospels have Mary as one of the women who discovered the resurrection. In the Gospel of John, Mary is the first person to whom the risen Jesus talks.

           She was not, I repeat NOT, a prostitute. It is often assumed that Mary of Magdala was the woman who was a “sinner” who anointed Jesus’ feet in Luke 7. The identity of the woman is never revealed, and the word “sinner” could have simply meant that she was lax in her observance of the Torah. It was Pope Gregory I, around AD 591, who identified her as the woman at Jesus' feet and also identified her sins as sexual in nature. It does not matter that his proclamation could not have been biblically supported; the damage was done!

           For me, there is no debate as to whether the organized church is patriarchal. What other reason could there be for the head of an organized church to do such a thing? This was a person who was dear to our Lord! The sinister aspect of our collective view of women is beyond repulsive. The entire “Madonna versus Whore” dichotomy reduces women to the activity of their wombs. Mary’s virtue lies within her virginity, not the sacrifice of her life for Jesus. For what other sin could a woman need to repent from but prostitution or promiscuity?

           It was not until Pope Francis that the Catholic Church came clean about Mary of Magdala. In 1969, they simply stopped referring to her as a prostitute. Pope Francis set the record straight with the statement that Mary was “the apostle of the new and greatest hope.”

        Yet, her reputation as being a prostitute hangs like an ugly shadow. This woman that Jesus loved deeply. It is not enough to correct this error; we have to stop. We have to stop viewing women’s sexuality from the perspective of its usefulness to men. The two Marys, of Nazareth and of Magdala have their value defined by the usefulness of their wombs. Mary of Nazareth’s purity is seen as coming from her virginity, not from her love of God and her willingness to serve. Mary of Magdala’s spiritual condition is not understood in the condition of her soul injured by the world, just like the rest of us. Rather her sinfulness comes from imagined promiscuity. Either view strips away their humanity.

Can we not simply look at our sister in Christ as being a fellow disciple? Do we really have to judge her according to her value to men's sexually? For that is exactly what we are doing. I think it is time to stop.

Anyways, that is my opinion.

      

 

 Pope Francis's on Mary of Magdala

https://www.archivioradiovaticana.va/storico/2017/05/17/pope_francis_reflects_on_mary_magdalene_at_general_audience/en-1312802