Mary Magdalene

Just wanted to point out that Anne Bancroft passed away recently. It's a sad day for us all really. With such groundbreaking performances as Mrs. Robinson and Anne Sullivan, she made a strong mark on American cinematography. However, the role that changed my life had to be her depiction of Mary Magdalene in Jesus of Nazareth.

As a Catholic school girl (don't get any ideas, I really was a Catholic school girl, and honestly very innocent, until reality set in, but that's another story) ... anyway, as a Catholic school girl, I was forced to watch Jesus of Nazareth at least 100 times in grade school and high school. Every chance we got, we watched that frickin' movie. I'm sorry, did someone say brainwashing cult? Don't get me wrong, it's a great movie - far superior to the overly scary Mel Gibson version, by the way - but perhaps slight overkill in my early upbringing.

The character in the movie that always struck me was Mary Magdalene, played by Anne Bancroft. (Note: I had no idea who Anne Bancroft was at the time, and it’s really not relevant, but provided a good segue for this post.)

Mary Magdalene had a bad rap, you know, being a prostitute and all that. But she was cool. She knew how to hang with the apostles. And she was one of the few major female characters in the Bible. Too bad she was a whore. Looking back, I wonder who my role model was supposed to be… the immaculate Mary, mother of God, born without original sin? ‘Cause that’s totally attainable. Ha. Or maybe Mary Magdalene, the sinful, yet forgiven, prostitute. Hmmmm…

So I’ve always leant towards the prostitute, not because I consider myself to be one, but maybe because she wasn’t perfect, and I knew I was far from the Catholic perception of “perfect.” Plus you know she was hooking up with the big JC. Come on, people. He was half man and half god, right? And I think we can all figure out which half was which, if ya know what I’m sayin’.

And also, the best song in Jesus Christ, Superstar is “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” sung by none other than my favorite, the original Eminem. You go Mary Magdalene. That song rocks out.

So I was convinced that Mary Magdalene was to be my role model. A sinner, yes, but she was transformed. She saw love and compassion in the eyes of Christ and turned her life around. She, amazingly, didn’t need to sell herself anymore because she joined a cult that provided food and shelter I guess. (Sorry, I’m going to hell, I know.) She was a devote follower. Despite her wretched sins, she was forgiven. Ok, I could deal with that. Until…

I read recently that Mary Magdalene was not a prostitute. WHAT?!?!? I know. Apparently, there are a lot of scholars out there who say that nothing in the New Testament says she was a whore. This is what we know:

Luke writes that Jesus casts seven demons from her, after which she joins his disciples and provides for them. Then, she witnesses the crucifixion from the foot of the cross, after the male disciples fled. She witnessed Christ’s burial. And she was the first witness to the resurrection and was sent by Jesus to tell his other disciples of his return, therefore called the “Apostle of the Apostles.”

Those are facts. Well, as much as the Bible is able to provide facts anyway. So how did she get this awful reputation? Answer: at the end of the 6th century, Pope Gregory the Great gave a sermon in which he characterized Mary Magdalene as a prostitute. Possibly incited by rumor already out there, but still. Way to knock us down, Pope Man.

Many are using the facts about Mary Magdalene as reasons to ordain women in the Catholic Church. If she was the first person that Jesus appeared to after the resurrection, then she, and women everywhere, must be worthy. I’m not going to get into that argument, but I have to say, the story of Mary Magdalene is now more inspiring. She was not a “fallen woman” or a “harlot” as Pope Gregory the Great would have us think. She was a strong leader. And little Catholic girls everywhere should know that... I mean, if we're going to brainwash them, might as well try to use the truth.

http://www.danbrown.com/media/morenews/time.html