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This Week's Sermon St. Mary Magdalene 22 July 2007 "A Woman Who Fears the Lord" John 20:1-2,10-18 LSB Series C Pastor Philip G. Meyer Soli Deo Gloria!

It may seem odd that we Lutherans are celebrating St. Mary Magdalene, but the celebration can be traced all the way back to Martin Luther himself. We have sermons that he preached on this festival. Luther even named his beloved daughter after Mary Magdalene. Yet, Luther was influenced by the thinking of the Church who had regarded Mary Magdalene as the sinful woman of Luke chapter seven. This opinion was relatively late, coming from one of the Popes Gregory [perhaps the 13th century], who identified the sinful woman of chapter seven with Mary Magdalene. That conclusion cannot be proved by the Scriptures, but unhappily, it has become the fodder for novels such as Dan Browne's The DaVinci Code, in which he makes Mary Magdalene into something the Scriptures never ascribe to her, such as being Jesus' wife and the author of the fourth Gospel.

It is necessary to strip away the layers of legend that have been built up about Mary Magdalene and listen to what the Scriptures say of her and why she is held in high regard by the Christian Church. First, the Gospels mention her in only 12 verses. She is known by her home town, Magdala. She is named in Luke 8 as the woman from whom Jesus cast out seven demons. Yet, in this listing, there are names of the other women who accompanied Jesus and the disciples. When Jesus cast out the demons from Mary, she became an ardent follower of Jesus, accompanying him as did some of the other "women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities," writes Luke. Among them were "Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's household manager, and Susanna." These women, writes Luke, "and many others" . . . "provided for them out of their means."

In a rather serendipitous way this morning we have had the baptism of Peri Kay Ingram, an infant girl. Perhaps you noticed that Luther's baptismal rite includes the exorcism, that is, the casting out of Satan. It is an important theological point. All of us were born sinful and under the wrath of God. We belonged to someone else, the prince of this world. We were in bondage to him by reason of our sinful birth. Every human being is born in that bondage to Satan, sin, and death, but Christ Jesus has redeemed us and liberated us from this bondage through the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. It is here that Peri has been liberated, set free from bondage to Satan and made a member of Christ himself. What happened to Mary Magdalene is a preview of what has happened to all those who have been baptized into Christ's death and resurrection. Peri has now become God's child. She has become a disciple of Jesus Christ and the Church has prayed that God the Holy Spirit will keep her safe in her baptismal covenant throughout her life. Such were the prayers made by us all.

It is good that saints such as Mary Magdalene are remembered today because Mary, Joanna, Susanna, Mary and Martha, sisters of Lazarus, Dorcas, Eunice, and Lois, and others who have supported the work of Christ with their gifts. Sometimes I wonder where the Church-and especially our own congregation!-would be without the prayers, encouragement, and faithful financial support of women like these. It is true that sometimes the most faithful and generous contributors to the work of Christ are women. No, not "sometimes," but most of the time! Without faithful women the Church would not have moved forward! Many of you women are the silent force that has enabled the Church to go forward with the Gospel. Out of your love for Christ you have contributed your time, your talents, and your material resources. Mary Magdalene certainly stands as a worthy example to you all.

Mary is known for this but she is better known for her involvement in our Lord's resurrection. Here is where we get the best picture of Mary Magdalene. Mary was an eyewitness to our Lord's resurrection. In fact, she is the first person to arrive at the empty tomb. She is the one who ran back to the Simon Peter to tell him that Jesus' body was missing from the tomb. Like them, she did not expect a resurrected Jesus, but after she returned to the tomb she finally went in and was confronted by the angels who asked her why she was crying. Unbeknownst to her, Jesus was standing behind her. The exchange between Jesus and Mary is absolutely remarkable. She does not recognize Jesus because her last image of Jesus was the Jesus on the cross, the battered and bleeding Jesus. This man standing before her looked nothing like that, and besides, she was crying and she could not see clearly because of her tears. But when Jesus calls her by name, "Mary," she realizes that it is Jesus.

Jesus told her to go and tell the Eleven that he was risen and would ascend to the Father in heaven. St. Bernhard of Clairvaux called her "the apostle to the apostles." Apostle is one who is sent, and Mary is sent to tell the news that Jesus had appeared to her. And that she did, exclaiming simply, "I have seen the Lord!" Mary did not rush off to the authorities to tell them because women did not have the right to testify in Jewish courts. Their testimony was deemed unreliable and was disallowed. Perhaps this is why the Eleven might have laughed off her report that Jesus was risen.

But see how God unfolds his plan! In paradise a woman was the cause of death for a man; coming from the empty tomb a woman proclaimed life to men. The sin of the human race began in a garden; in a garden its cause was removed. While Eve related the words of the serpent who brought death, Mary repeated the words of the Christ who brought life to the world. It was not just Mary who reported this, but the other women who were with her backed up her testimony. On their testimony the disciples themselves went out to the tomb and saw that it was empty. That evening Jesus appeared to the Ten and showed himself alive to them, but it was first to Mary Magdalene and the other women. They were the very first eyewitnesses to Jesus' resurrection.

Mary provides us with the essence of the Christian faith. A Christian is one who can say, "I have seen the Lord" with the eyes of faith. Christianity does not consist in knowing facts about Jesus; it means knowing Jesus. It means knowing and confessing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and the Savior of the world. It means trusting Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. It is not arguing about Jesus; it means trusting that Jesus is the Christ. That Mary exemplifies so well!

Reflecting our Old Testament reading from Proverbs 31, we can say with the writer that "A Woman Who Fears the Lord" is to be praised [Prov. 31.30]. Our world, the Church, and our families, need faithful women like Mary who know who Christ is and confess that by their words and actions. When one considers the pop icons of young women who are more notorious than virtuous, one realizes how important a Mary Magdalene is! I would urge you young women to take Mary as your example for her faithfulness and loving acts done for Christ and his Church. While you may not get the recognition that others get, you may know that God approves what you do in Christ's name. The writer of Proverbs encourages you:

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

". . . and let her works praise her in the gates."

Mary Magdalene was such a woman. She was a woman who truly feared the Lord!

Amen! May it be so among us!