Tears for Lenses

Seeing through tears to see the truth

05/08/2019

Mark 16:9-15 When Jesus had risen, early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. She went and told his companions who were mourning and weeping. When they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. After this he appeared in another form to two of them walking along on their way to the country. They returned and told the others; but they did not believe them either. But later, as the Eleven were at table, he appeared to them and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they had not believed those who saw him after he had been raised. He said to them, "Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature."

One of Pope Francis’ favorite saints is St. Mary Magdalene. In 2016, he raised July 22 from a mere memorial to a formal feast day, which means Christians should venerate her memory with more than just a passing glance. In a homily reflecting on the Magdalene’s role in salvation history, the pope pondered on the tears Mary Magdalene cried at the empty tomb, saying, “Sometimes, in our lives, tears are the lenses we need to see Jesus.” But I believe the pope also wants to fit us with lenses to see Mary Magdalene more clearly. Hence, he raised her memorial to a feast day. With those new lenses we can sift and sort through the facts, the fiction, and the faith surrounding this saintly woman.

First of all, as Sgt. Friday used to say on the television show, “Dragnet,” “Just the facts, ma’am, just the facts.” Mary was from a town located on the southwest coast of the Sea of Galilee named “Magdala.” In Luke 8:2, Jesus casts seven demons out of her and she becomes his faithful follower. Furthermore, Mary forms part of the company of Christ (both men and women) supporting his ministry out of their means. On a personal note, I am deeply indebted to the Mary Magdalene’s in my own life who support my pastoral ministry out of their means, especially bringing me meals. And a final fact, Mary Magdalene is the first to see the Risen Christ and spread the Good News of the resurrection. Hence she is traditionally called “apostola apostolorum” (the Apostle to the Apostles). In the gospel of Mary we see how slow the apostles are to believe Mary, and as a result Jesus comes to rebuke their lack of faith. The apostles lack the Magdalene’s tears which are the lenses to see Jesus. Those are the facts.

Now, the reason the facts get fuzzy is due to the fiction floating around about Mary Magdalene. Two popular depictions are really to blame. First, Mel Gibson’s movie called “The Passion of the Christ” equated Mary Magdalene with the woman caught in adultery in John 8. But there is no scriptural support for that connection whatsoever, and serious scripture scholars scoff at that insinuation. Second, Dan Brown’s novel, The Da Vinci Code suggested that Jesus and Mary Magdalene may secretly have been married and even had children together. Again that is just wild and unwarranted speculation. Unfortunately, we get a lot of our information from popular books and movies – and I am as guilty as the next guy – and we confuse fact with fiction. May I suggest we don Pope Francis’ “lenses of tears” so that we can see clearly who Mary Magdalene was and who she was not.

And finally, a fleeting word about faith as it relates to Mary Magdalene. Most of us learn our faith from our mothers and grandmothers at home, or from nuns and religious sisters in schools. Even now when I go to home to see my parents, my mother is the one who insists we pray the rosary. My father and I reluctantly respond: “O-kay…” because we’d rather just go straight to dinner. And I am supposedly the priest and preacher of the family, but I need my mother to be an “apostola apostolorum” to me. Some people think the Catholic Church is run by a bunch of men. But such people have not walked into a parish office lately where the lion’s share of faith formation is conducted by very competent and very convicted females. Our female church staff are the “apostola apostolorum” in Catholic parishes today, and we are all blessed because of them. In other words, when it comes to faith, teaching, preaching and putting faith into action, many women are modern-day Mary Magdalene’s.

Archbishop Arthur Roche, who wrote the decree formally elevating July 22 as a feast, said: “It is right that the liturgical celebration of this woman has the same level of feast given to the celebration of the apostles in the general Roman calendar; and highlights the special mission of this woman who is an example and model for every woman in the church.” That is, we need Mary Magdalene in the twenty-first century as much as they needed her in the first century.

Every time you hear the name of Mary Magdalene, try to sort through the facts, the fiction and the faith. Maybe it will only be when our eyes fill with tears of love, like hers did so often, that we will have the lenses to see the truth.

Praised be Jesus Christ!