Mary Magdalene’s Priesthood

Holy Week readings in the Catholic Lectionary leave out the story of Mary Magdalene at the empty tomb. Here at WOC, we embrace Mary’s role as the Apostle to the Apostles, the First Evangelist, the first to interact with the Resurrected Christ, the one without whom we’d have no news of the resurrection. 

Before the first signs of a new day, Mary rose from a restless sleep and walked to the place where she had sat with the other women the day before to watch the soldiers place her beloved Teacher into a tomb.  She approached boldly, thinking only of the task before her. Mary began to second guess herself, could it be that she was so grief stricken the previous day that she mixed up where the tomb was? No, it had to be here, she had sat with Joanna and Mary and so many others to watch as they carried his pierced body to the burial place. Then why was it open? Why was the stone rolled away? Wasn’t it torment enough that he was crucified like the lowest of criminals, but now someone has gone in to rob the tomb? Mary began to run, her heart racing as she doubled back to get the others. She dragged two of Jesus’ closest disciples with her to see the empty tomb. 

When they arrived, they saw burial clothes, but no body. The men left, not understanding what they saw. Mary couldn’t leave yet. She sat weeping. An Angel appeared and asked her “Woman, why are you weeping?” “They have taken my Lord and I don’t know where they have laid him,” she responded. Her tears were of confusion, fear, and grief, it seemed like there was no end to this nightmare.  She turned around and saw a man who asked her “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Mary, assuming this man had something to do with the disappearance of Jesus’ body asked if he had carried it away. She needed to know where he was. The man called her name; “Mary!” At the sound of her name from his voice, Mary’s tears of confusion, fear, and grief turned to tears of joy as she leapt up and said “Rabbouni!”  

Jesus, knowing that he couldn’t yet stay, told her not to hold on to her grief, but to spread the message that he had risen. Mary ran from the tomb to share the news. “I have seen the Lord!”

The name Mary Magdalene evokes many images, many of them conflicting with the Mary Magdalene of the canonical gospels. When most Christians retell gospel stories, details from all four canonical accounts are conflated (like the example above). Magdalene has been conflated with other women in the Bible, with legends, and with terrible misunderstandings and opinions for centuries. Her name has become synonymous with prostitution, disobedience, sin, and repentance. However, biblical scholars have recovered Magdalene from these dark places to bring her discipleship, her witness, and her leadership to light.

One of my own goals in my various ministries is to continue to speak of Magdalene’s importance. Not just only because her role was vital to the creation of Christianity or because of her close relationship with Jesus, but because she is a model preacher. In a Renewed Church, Magdalene would be rightly venerated for her role as priest. Her hospitality and service is depicted clearly in Matthew’s gospel narrative, reminding us not only that women were present during Jesus’ ministry, but that they served alongside him at table and elsewhere. Magdalene is at the tomb on Easter morning because she wanted to anoint Jesus, to make his body ready for the burial he deserved as a practicing Jewish man – to perform this annointing and this blessing mirrors many of our sacraments today. Matthew’s story of the Resurrection appearance also reminds us that when the men nearby were shocked and taken with fear, Mary showed patience – she listened and followed the directions of the angel and of Jesus. She and the other women present were able to hold her own reactions (can you imagine what her reactions would be?!) and did what needed to be done. 

In John’s telling of this story, Mary of Magdala is alone when she encounters the Resurrected Christ. She only realizes that it is Jesus she is speaking to when he says her name. Jesus, after he fulfilled all of the prophecies, after he suffered, after he was executed by the state, and resurrected from the dead, first calls a woman into the ministry of witnessing his life, death, and resurrection. 

Mary becomes the first witness to Christian story, and she is a logical choice for the role – having traveled with Jesus and followed his teaching, served at his side, stood and wept and grieved at the foot of the cross, and desired to perform anointings and blessings on his days old dead body, she is called – by name to share in this role as servant and preacher. 

My hermeneutic of suspicion tells me that leaving Mary Magdalene’s witness out of the lectionary was not an accident. The erasure and exclusion of women’s narratives and experiences in the Catholic liturgy, in the canon, and in the clergy is not a new topic – and that makes it more disturbing. This is something that feminist scholars  have been calling attention to for a long while, especially through the work that WOC does. This past Saturday, Regina Bannan wrote about the empty tomb and our call as Easter People. I want to piggyback on her call to hope and resurrection. We know the tomb is empty because there are greater things to come.