Episode 89: Mary Magdalene (Heroes For All, Part 5)

As they continue looking at the stories of women in the Bible who are examples of faith, courage, and compassion, pastors Erica, Sarah, and Steve turn to the New Testament to the figure of Mary Magdalene.  Mary is presented as one of several women who both supported Jesus' ministry while he was announcing the Reign of God, and also a disciple of Jesus along with those other women.  And then when Jesus is buried and the women are going to the tomb to anoint his body but find the tomb empty, Mary is the one named in all the gospels as the first person called to announce the resurrection.  She was, in that sense, the preacher of the first Easter message, and also the first one "sent" with this good news to the others who will eventually be "sent" out to the world, too.  In an important sense, then, Mary is the Apostle (which just means "sent one") to the Apostles.  She has the courage both to face down the reality of death to go and anoint the body of Jesus while the other disciples are all too afraid to leave the locked room they are hiding in, and she has the willingness to share the message even knowing that it will likely be dismissed as "idle talk" just because she is a woman.  In that way, too, Mary is an example for us of our calling to be willing to share the suffering and sorrows of the world, even when the culture around us wants to ignore death, and our calling to bring the news of the Resurrection to the world.  Join us for an exploration of this important character from the New Testament!