Today is the Feast Day of Mary Magdalene. We
do not know how or when this Mary first met Jesus. Her story, prior to that
Beginning, is hidden from us in darkness. We do not need to know. We are told
that Jesus delivered her from oppression by seven demons. That, like the cosmos
itself that had become overwhelmed (we know not how or when or why) by
life-threatening forces hostile to God’s goodness, her God-ordained goodness
had been overpowered, her own God-ordained life threatened. That, just as God,
intervening decisively, had declared, ‘Let there be light!’ so Jesus declared,
let there be light! Let there be life. Let there be renewed hope, restored
faith, let there be love. And it was so, and it was very good. Mary’s personal
story reflects a cosmic pattern.
Who better, then, to be chosen as the first
witness to the resurrection? To Jesus, overwhelmed by demonic powers of
darkness, by death itself, called forth from the tomb to life that cannot be
suppressed, by Love that undoes all overpowering and overcomes all
overwhelming? Jesus, reflecting, participating in, the same pattern that Mary’s
life knew. If anyone would come to recognise him, it was her.
Though it comes in different ways, in stories
that may be hidden from our sight, only those who have known this pattern can
bear true witness to the resurrection.
(If we are honest with ourselves, we have all
known this pattern.)
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