On my bed at night I sought him
whom my heart loves–
I sought him but I did not find him.
I will rise then and go about the city;
in the streets and crossings I will seek
Him whom my heart loves.
G oogle instantly defines street walker as "a sex worker who seeks customers in the street." Sex worker is the new, sanitized euphemism for prostitute.
Song of Songs, from which our first reading is taken, describes the ardent street walker's search for God as she rises from her bed to go about the city, seeking the object of her love. There is something outlandish, daring, and risque about the search for God. It's not what normal people do.
Friar Stephen McMichael, in his book, Mary Magdalene: In Medieval Franciscan Spirituality Beloved Disciple and Apostle of the Apostles, recalls the medieval fascination with "the other woman" in Jesus' life. She was not remembered as an adulteress or prostitute but as a heroic penitent and faithful disciple of Jesus, second only to Mary the Mother of God.
Today's critics, predictably, prefer to charge the Church with remembering her as a great sinner. She is the prostitute in Jesus Christ, Superstar, who sings, "I don't know how to love him" while he sleeps in her bed. Because they do not believe in grace or redemption but have no doubt about sin, they cannot see our delight in honoring Saint Mary Magdalene, beloved disciple and Apostle to the Apostles.
Medieval artists, inspired by the enthusiasm and simplicity of Saint Francis of Assisi, accepted his teachings about penance. He had personally named his disciples as "Penitents from Assisi." They were as fascinated with Saint Mary Magdalene as the twentieth century Church was delighted with Saint Therese de Lisieux.
Where Therese had little to atone for, Mary Magdalene was a woman with a past. But the friars and their contemporaries had no great interest in salacious details; it was far more rewarding to remember her journey from penance, to enlightenment, to holiness. She was the woman rescued by Jesus in John 8, forgiven in Luke 7, edified at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11), and commissioned as an apostle in John 20. According to ancient legends, she had finished her life as a missionary, miracle worker, and solitary hermit in Marseilles, France.
She was you and me, a sinner turned to the Lord, redeemed in love, and sent to announce the Good News to the World. Addressing the confusion, Pope Francis updated the Church's reverence for her in giving her a feast day apart from the holy family of Bethany, Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, which is July 29.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.