Recently, the great Easter cry of the church rang out: Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed. Alleluia!
This ancient easter greeting is shared by many Christians including those within the Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican and Protestant traditions. In the western Catholic church, we hear it on Easter Sunday morning and on each of the following seven days of the Easter Octave.
The opening words echo the greeting of the angel to Mary Magdalene (Miriam of Magdala) when she, with Mary, the mother of James, went to the sepulchre early on the Sunday morning to anoint the body of Jesus (Matthew 28.6). Its liturgical origin is unclear, but one ancient non-canonical tradition recounts that one easter, Miriam of Magdala brought an egg to the Emperor Tiberius and greeted him with these words which then became adopted, throughout the church, as the Great Pascal Greeting.
What we do know is that Mary Magdalene made a major contribution to the ministry of Jesus and to the life and leadership of the early church. The gospels tell us that she was cured of seven demons (probably a mental health condition) by Jesus and became one of his most faithful followers, helping to provide for him in his travels. She was present at the crucifixion and the Risen Jesus chose to appear first to her and to commission her as the first witness to his resurrection. Known as the Apostle to the Apostles, her name is always placed first among the women followers of Jesus, depicting her leadership of the courageous band of women who led the fledgling group when the male followers of Jesus went into hiding, following his crucifixion.
How then, did this courageous woman of faith become labelled, in church teaching, art and literature, as a prostitute? There is no suggestion whatsoever in the gospels that she was other than an upright, moral woman of faith whom Jesus loved and trusted. There are, however, other accounts in early non-canonical writings which depict Peter and some other male disciples jealously questioning her leadership and asking,” Why did he (Jesus) love her more than us?” Despite evidence to the contrary in the gospels, in the year 591, Pope Gregory I pronounced Mary Magdalene a “sinful woman”, the mislabel by which she is still best know today. It was not until 1969 that the church officially admitted that it had mistakenly identified her as a reformed sex worker and returned her to her honoured place as a leader in the early church.
In February this year, in a catechetical session for the Jubilee Year of Hope, Pope Francis referred to John’s account of the resurrection and noted how Mary Magdalene did not recognise Jesus at first, thinking him to be the gardener. The writer of John’s gospel emphasises that on two occasions, Mary had to “turn around” (change perspective) before recognising that it was Jesus.
Pope Francis alerted us that “Jesus can be mistaken for one of the people we encounter every day” and recognising him often requires us to change perspectives more than once. Pope Francis went on to say that “Jesus appears often in ordinary people who easily remain behind us”. He asked each one of us, “Do I know how to turn around to see things differently?” It is a question well worth pondering, I think.
Margery Jackman
Trustee Director, MMC.