August 20, 2006

The Rev. Marlene W. Pomeroy
"A Reputation Redeemed"
Luke 8:2
Mark 16:9-11
Mark 14:3-9
 
Reputations are formed distinctly at times. In history, we remember people a certain way and it is often an image carved into stone. When new information surfaces about a person, it is awfully hard to replace the old image with a new one. If we remember someone as a leader, a moral champion, a visionary, and then we learn that they had immoral sides of their personality, we often reject this new, negative information. Likewise, who wants to know that Attila the Hun had a softer side or was kind to his children?? He was a barbarian and we want to remember him that way! Reputations are formed about people based on their actions, their words and what others say about them. Sometimes, reputations are not accurate.  They don't tell the entire story or they are spread by people who had other motives.
 
And this is not just true about humans? take dogs for instance. They too have their reputations. There is a dog in my neighborhood, called Magic. He is an older German Shepherd. I don't like Magic because he has a dislike for my dog, Casey. Casey is a young Golden Retriever and whenever Magic comes to the dog park, he heads for Casey and picks a fight. I have talked with other owners who have had the same experience and we have concluded that Magic is a bully who picks fights. Well, wouldn't you know, I was at the park one day, talking about Magic's reputation after he had attacked my dog for the second time, and another dog owner said, "I love Magic."

"You love Magic?" I asked.

"Oh yes, said the man, he and my dog get along really well. They play together and they are great playmates."

"You mean to tell me that there are actually dogs that he doesn't attack," I said with great sarcasm.

"Oh yeah. Maybe your dog is just aggressive."
 
My dog, aggressive?! My sweet tempered, lovable retriever the aggressor?!?!?! Well, there you have it. My "carved in stone" view of Magic totally challenged by another person.
 
There is a person today whose reputation I would like us to reconsider. July 22nd is the Feast Day in the Catholic Church for Mary Magdalene. She is a woman whose reputation over the years has been set by forces outside of her. Recently the book and movie, The Da Vinci Code have suggested that she was the lover of Jesus and the mother of his child. Previously the Renaissance painters had portrayed her as buxom and bountiful, her red hair streaming down her back; or they had portrayed her as the haggard ascetic woman who had been cured of 7 demons by Jesus.
 
If we go all the way back to the New Testament, it is mighty difficult to understand why she would be associated with all this sensuality and immoral passion. We now know that her reputation was sealed in the year 591 by Pope Gregory the first, who preached a sermon about her that year. In his homily he characterized Mary Magdalene as the penitent prostitute who was a model of redemption for humanity. He said that the 7 devils which had been exorcized from her were the 7 vices of: pride, lust, envy, anger, covetousness, gluttony and sloth. Gregory was in need of a biblical role model of repentance and he looked at the story in the gospels of the sinful woman who anointed Jesus with her perfume and wiped his feet with her hair in John's version, and announced that this woman was none other than Mary Magdalene.  It was perfect in that it gave the world two extreme forms of women:  we have Mary, the mother of Jesus, saintly, willing, virtuous; and now we have the unruly, sexual, passionate woman in need of Jesus'healing redemption? Mary Magdalene.
 
So they got a few details wrong, you say? What's the big deal? Well, when you read the Gospel accounts of Mary Magdalene you get a much different picture of her and you began to say, why did this faithful follower of Jesus get such a sullied reputation over the years? And, isn't she due a redeemed image? (Example of a "saintly" person here at Claremont who gets a sullied reputation).
 
Let's hear briefly the references in the New Testament. There are only 13 references in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John's Gospel. She is not mentioned by Paul or anyone else outside the Gospels.  There is a 14th reference in the later ending of Mark's Gospel. In those 14 references, most of them are in the context of the crucifixion and resurrection. Mary Magdalene is at the crucifixion with Jesus' mother and a few other women - an indication of her status as a faithful follower and member of the inner circle. She stays and watches faithfully while her Master and Teacher is put to death. She is the first to see Jesus risen from the dead and in Johns' Gospel she is alone for that important revelation. As she weeps Jesus reveals himself to her in person, telling her not to touch him since he has not yet ascended fully to God.  This is a mystical text, portraying their close relationship and the insider position that she has in his ministry. Why is she so close to him? Well, we hear in Luke 8:2, the only reference not affiliated with the crucifixion/resurrection, that she was healed by him early on. We are told that he cured her of evil spirits and I expect that she was so moved by the liberation of her demons that it made her a devoted follower on the spot. It also states that she and a few other women "provided for Jesus and his followers out of their own resources." We never hear that Mary Magdalene was married or worked in a particular field so we don't know where her money comes from. What we do know is that she was an early convert and disciple of Jesus who was there till the end. And then she disappeared, only to reappear years later as a redeemed prostitute.
 
Recently there has been a translation of the Gospel of Mary that has helped to round out the information we have about her. This Gospel, not approved by the early church or included in the early canon, was written probably between the 2nd and 3rd centuries. It came to light in 1896 in Egypt and was in the care of the Berlin museum till the 20th century. Written in the Coptic language, it was translated for the first time to French in 1955. Now you can read it in English. It is not very long - only 19 pages long and pages 1-6 and 11-14 are missing from the manuscript, so there are only 9 total pages that we have. It is different than the other earlier gospels and yet there are phrases that sound very familiar to us.  Phrases like,  "Those who have ears, let them hear," (p.7), or "Peace be with you - may my Peace arise and be fulfilled within you!  Be vigilant, and allow no one to mislead you by saying: ?Here it is!' or ?There it is!' For it is within you that the Son of Man dwells. Go to him, for those who seek him, find him.  Walk forth, and announce the gospel of the Kingdom." (p. 8)
 
Pretty straightforward, you say. But then, later in the Gospel of Mary, it gets very dicey as we hear some very interesting portrayals of the disciples' response to Mary and her witness. After some teachings that have been revealed to Mary by Jesus, the disciple Peter objects to her teaching. He says, "How is it possible that the Teacher talked in this manner with a woman about secrets of which we ourselves are ignorant? Must we change our customs, and listen to this woman? Did he really choose her, and prefer her to us?"
 
And then Levi speaks up and says to Peter, "Peter, you have always been hot-tempered, and now we see you repudiating a woman, just as our adversaries do.  Yet if the Teacher held her worthy, who are you to reject her? Surely the Teacher knew her very well, for he loved her more than us. Therefore let us atone, and become fully human, so that the Teacher can take root in us, and walk forth to spread the gospel?" (p. 18)
 
The scandal about Mary Magdalene is that she was a confidant of Jesus, a faithful witness and follower, who spent her life preaching and teaching about the Kingdom that Jesus revealed to her. She threatened those in power, probably partly because she was a woman, and probably partly because there was a power struggle after Jesus left the earth. But of all places to have a power struggle, the church is the saddest situation. Here, where we are all called to various forms of leadership service, there should be no room for petty jockeying for power. Here, we should be each striving to be embodiments of Jesus' love and compassion. The scandal should be that we have thrown a shroud of shame over one of his most faithful and trusted followers.
 
This story of Mary's reputation is an important lesson for us. It is important for us to judge for ourselves what someone else is like. We can observe their actions; listen to their words to determine what we think of them. And we can question when we hear a complaint about someone and consider the source. Is the reputation deserved or not?
 
I'm guessing that everyone and every organization has a reputation. There is some story circulating about you or your church, and I wonder what that is. Is it accurate? Is it fair?  A good reputation is a precious thing - one that is earned over the years by consistent and repeated behavior. I hope you have a wonderful reputation as church members, a reputation that is full of love, grace, compassion and patience. I hope this church has a reputation as a loving place for people to encounter the love of God.
 
The story of Mary Magdalene teaches us that sometimes reputations are not based in reality and are simply unjust. Her story also teaches us that reputations can be changed and adjusted to reflect a new reality if necessary. So, next time someone says that Mary Magdalene was a harlot who was lucky to be healed by Jesus, you might just suggest a little corrective, telling them that there is no evidence in scripture that her sins were sexual in nature, BUT there are many indications that she was a faithful follower, who stuck by him through his death and resurrection and she was the first one to tell the other disciples that she had seen the risen Lord!! You will have done your part in redeeming someone. It's never too late to create a new reputation that is accurate and true.  May you find that to be true in your life as well. Amen.