by Fr. Thomas Kuffel.
Two sisters, close to Jesus, invite Him into their home. Martha and Mary, dedicated disciples of Jesus, are also to become controversial. Martha complains because she is worried about many things, busy taking care of home and hospitality. Mary, content at the feet of Jesus, shows that she is a disciple intent upon hearing Him preach. In contrast to her sister, she is not worried. She is at rest. The two sisters have a brother also, Lazarus. He, too, plays a notorious role in the family: he dies only to have Jesus raise him from the dead.
Mary is the most controversial figure. St. Gregory the Great says she is the same woman from whom Jesus cast out seven demons. (Though other commentators are not so sure.) In any event, Luke presents Mary as a distraught woman whose sins are many, falls at the feet of Jesus, and smashes an alabaster jar filled with nard. St. Gregory, in his homily on Magdalene, declares: "She turned her crimes into so many virtues, that all that in her had despised God in sin was put to the service of God in penance."
Mary anoints Jesus not once but twice, as St. John describes it:
There they made him a supper; Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at table with him. Mary took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment." (John 12:2-3).
Who is this woman who causes such controversy?
In his letter concerning the feminine genius, The Dignity of Women, St. John Paul II refers to Tradition and tells us: "The Gospel of John (cf. also Mark 16: 9) emphasizes the special role of Mary Magdalene. . . . Hence she came to be called 'the apostle of the Apostles.' Mary Magdalene was the first eyewitness of the Risen Christ. (Mulieris dignitatis 16)
Not only is Mary Magdalene the first witness of the resurrection, but Christ also redeemed her from a life of sin.
Many have regarded Mary as merely a prostitute, but in reality, seven demons possessed her. Which demons possessed her we cannot say with certainty, but like other exorcisms that Jesus performed, their dramatic expulsion was memorable.
'Legions' possessed the man at Gennesaret; Jesus cast them out and sent them into a herd of pigs, which drowned. At the exorcism in the Synagogue, demons declared they know who Jesus is, the Holy One of God. They possessed a boy who convulsed and foamed at the mouth, and Jesus rebuked them. A demon possessed the Syrophoenician Woman's daughter. With a word, Jesus dismissed him. These powerful stories reveal a different, greater dimension to Mary Magdalene than being merely a prostitute.
Magdalene knew evil face to face. Like most who suffer from demonic influence, she feared for her life. Her sins controlled her life as the demons took greater control over her. Desperate for help, she turned to Jesus. Falling at his feet pleading for freedom, Jesus declared, "Your sins are forgiven." (Luke 7:48) From that moment on, Magdelene became a disciple.
Such accounts cannot be trivialized, reduced to sins of the flesh. St. Gregory says that the seven demons are the universal and deadly sins of pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony, and lust. Seven is also the number of the covenant by which the demons made the pact with her that destroyed her life.
In an instant, with a simple confession, Jesus freed her from that covenant, removed all her sins, and invited her to follow Him. A dramatic change took place. She becomes an apostle to the Apostles, filled with His Spirit, for she knows the struggle of sin and the power of Jesus
Because of her experience with evil, Magdalene focuses solely on Jesus. When He comes to visit, she wants nothing else than to partake of His presence. She, a sinner, became a saint and now wants to abide with her Savior, relishing his every word. Can this happen to us, too?
Martha, a woman with many concerns, was busy. Not that busyness is bad, but priorities need to b...
