Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish

FR MICHAEL BOAKYE YEBOAH

CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESE OF KUMASI, GHANA

THE MAGDALA WOMAN 

            Great emphasis is placed on Jesus when we tell the resurrection story. It is great because never have we heard of such an event in the history of man. As I reflected on today’s Gospel passage, I closely studied the immediate effects of the resurrection of Jesus. The effects may be countless but one of them has caught my attention and I would like to discuss with you.

            The whole event of the paschal mystery is meant to effect change in a believer’s life and on that day it surely did. Against all odds the gospel writers tell us of a certain woman who visited the tomb of Jesus at dawn on the first day of week. She may have heard of the arrangement of heavy security men stationed around the tomb but that did not deter her. While the men were behind locked doors because of the fear of the Jews, she decided to visit the tomb of the man who had brought changes to her life. A story is told of this woman’s near-death incident if Jesus had not intervened and so she may had thought that she owed Jesus a lot and the little she could do was to visit the tomb with some spices. Some historians are of the opinion that her strong attachment to Jesus was with other hidden reasons.

            This woman is biblical known as Mary Magdalene or Mary of Magdala. It is believed that her attachment to Jesus is connected to her town of birth.

            Magdala was an ancient Jewish city on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, 3 miles north of Tiberias. In the Babylonian Talmud it is known as Magdala Nunayya, and which some historical geographers think may refer to Tarichaea, literally the place of processing fish. As much as historians know the place as a fishing harbor, legend also has it that it was a town of righteous people. Those who lived there were so graced with “holiness” of life to the extent that deviants felt unwelcome. And so, when Mary started prostituting, the town folks made her feel that she was not welcome. Unwilling to change, she traveled to Jerusalem to continue her deviant ways.

            While in Jerusalem, one day the law caught up with her and she was about to be stoned to death but was saved by Jesus. She was converted and decided to follow Jesus. Mary’s conversion was more of a restoration of identity. She came from a town of righteous people but sin made her lose that identity. Jesus’ intervention did not only save her from death but restored her to the identity ascribed to people from Magdala. Like the Samaritan woman Jesus met at Jacob’s well, Mary could also visit her town again with head held high. She will not need to walk in the dark again because she had been restored into the light. One can therefore understand why Mary was attached to Jesus so much.

            Jesus probably seeing the commitment Mary gave to her new life in him decided to reward her with the solemn opportunity to be the first person to announce the resurrection. Mary’s story can be your story and mine. There are about four (4) important steps in today’s reflection.

            The first step is man’s original innocence and righteousness. Like Mary who was born in the midst of righteous people; we too were created in the very image and likeness of God. Purity of life is our originality and source of life but we will lose it if we give in to sinful ways. With the second step we can see that we can maintain our originality if we avoid sin but since our first parents (Adam and Eve) made us to inherit original sin; then there is the need for redemption. And so, with the third stage, as Jesus brought redemption to Mary and gave her a second chance, so also, he is giving us a second chance. We should not refuse redemption because that is the only means through which we can return to our original identity as people created in the very image and likeness of God. If we embrace redemption, then there is only one end effect left – we should go forth and bear witness to the resurrected Jesus as Mary of Magdala did.

            Jesus is inviting you to himself, so please do not turn down the invitation. OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP PRAY FOR US.