Don't "dis" the Magdalene

On Good Friday afternoon, before the three hour service at St Mary's and the traditional Good Friday service in the evening at my parish of Christ Church, I got into a "Facebook" tussle with a "friend" of one of my online "friends".  And, in the words of John Lennon, " I should have known better..."

Icon of Mary Magdalene

This guy...that is how I have decided to refer to him...made a flippant remark about how Jesus dined with "women of ill repute" (he did not exactly put it that way) at the Last Supper, and by way of twisted analogy, it was perfectly acceptable for his online "pal" to take his daughter to Outback Steakhouse on Good Friday for lunch. 


Now, both of these visual images left me somewhat "gob smacked", as the Brits often say, but I was more distressed about his implication about who was present at the Last Supper and the kind of career choices they had made.

In response to this post I inquired if he was referring to Mary Magdalene, to which he responded in the positive.  That set me off.

And I let myself be drawn into a counterproductive Facebook back-and- forth in which I was accused of having no sense of humor.  I usually do have a wickedly good sense of humor, but not when I encounter faulty theology. I pointed out that the most recent Biblical research contends that this is not the case, and suggested he also take at look at a non-canonical text called "The Gospel of Mary".  I indicated that the Eastern Church has always referred to Mary as "The Disciple to the Disciples", and hold her in high regard. 

I know that Dan Brown in his novel and resulting movie "The DaVinci Code" implied a more familial relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene, but I consider that just a good read, and not necessarily good theology. ( Yes, one can enjoy fiction for what it is...fiction)

Just to set the record straight, Mary Magdalene is mentioned about a dozen times in the four Gospels: she is named as one of the women who financially supported Jesus's mission, she was present at the Crucifixion, and she is a witness to the risen Christ. Her name implies that she is from Magdala, a town on the Sea of Galilee that was known for the production of salted fish...an important part of the diet of the residents of Israel.  She is often confused with Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus, or the woman about to be stoned for adultery or, finally,  the repentant sinner who washed Jesus' feet with expensive ointment and her tears.  The Roman Catholic Church declared in 1969 that the Magdalene is NOT the repentant sinner...a giant step forward in re-establishing her as an important figure in the story of Jesus and his earthly work.

So, did all this  new information persuade this guy that he needed to take a refresher course in "Christianity 101"?...I suspect not, but at least I got to share a small piece of Church History with several folks on Facebook who might not know who the Magdalene really was.