Bearing the Good News

How long did it take Mary to run to the disciples? Did she walk? What was going through her mind the whole time? I wonder if the shock of her encounter with Jesus left her so dazed she was barely aware of her movements as she made her way back. I know I have had those moments - where I was so caught up in my own mind that I suddenly arrived, barely remembering the journey there. 

For this brief time as she ran or walked or stumbled to the rest of the apostles, Mary Magdalene was the sole bearer of the good news of Jesus’ Resurrection. She held the gospel, the knowledge that Jesus had conquered death and that her Lord had risen. She was the Church. She was carrying the beginning of things she couldn’t even imagine. Did Mary realize the gravity and fullness of what she carried? Millenia later, we still carry the good news that began with her. How often do we see ourselves as carrying the beginnings of things we cannot even imagine? Do we believe that we can begin a ripple as she did, speaking of what we see and know of the risen Jesus? Do we believe that our voices can carry courage and new life? Perhaps Mary did not understand the depths of what she would speak aloud, but she still spoke truth. Do we believe that even in our doubt we can speak truth, wisdom and the hope of new life? Do we take seriously that we also are meant to bear good news to the world?

I grieve at how we take this sacred moment that Mary had, the gift she was given, trusted with the gift and responsibility of the good news of Christ’s resurrection and give her the legacy of sinfulness and prostitution. How often do we choose to reduce others to their sins instead of seeing them as bearers of God? Women especially are reduced to less than their gifts, not offered the benefit of the doubt, and their wisdom and courage seen as reason for doubt instead of trust and belief. It is easy for any of us to see someone who seems different and unfamiliar and find that reason enough not to value their story. Mary was not unfamiliar to the apostles and she remains in our sacred texts the first recipient of the good news. And yet she is relegated to a weekday feast, when only some choose to pay attention. Her encounter with Jesus isn’t even included on Easter, when it stops just short of their powerful meeting. 

In celebrating Mary Magdalene today, it is my prayer that those who are most forgotten and who are not valued as they should be in the church remember that they also bear the good news of Jesus Christ and also carry the seeds of things that can grow into goodness we cannot begin to imagine.