New Life
Soon afterwards he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him,as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources. ~ Luke 8:1-3
What do you know about Mary Magdalene? That she followed Jesus? That she had been a prostitute?
That she was the apostle to the apostles?
We aren't actually told much about her before the end of Jesus' life and the circumstances surrounding his death and resurrection. We aren't told she is a prostitute.
But we are told she was healed.
And in her gratitude, Mary would be perhaps Jesus' most faithful follower. She stayed with him to the end. She went to his tomb to anoint his body.
And she was the one he first announced his resurrection to.
From there, she was the one who let the disciples know. Hence why she is the "apostle to the apostles."
Her story is a good reminder that Jesus takes the very infirmities we have - the healed or even the still vulnerable aspects of us that are not completely healed - and puts them to use. We heal and then are set out to use our gifts. Our healings, just like our blessings, are not for us alone.
A former drug addict becomes an addiction counselor.
An girl with a childhood leukemia becomes a cancer researcher or doctor.
A parent wracked by grief over the death of a child reaches out to parents suffering from the same loss.
A widower of a murdered woman becomes a Big Brother to help at risk teens.
A rape victim runs self-defense classes.
An amputee dances and golfs and skis and inspires others to do the same.
Mary was offered a new life and she took it and ran with it.
And shared it.
A new life. A life of seeing and believing and serving in a way that wasn't open to her before.
A way of serving that no one who knew her in her old life would ever have expected.
It was not the privileged and the fortunate who took in the Jews in France. It was the marginal and damaged, which should remind us that there are real limits to what evil and misfortune can accomplish. If you take away the gift of reading, you create the gift of listening. If you bomb a city, you leave behind death and destruction. But you create a community of remote misses. If you take away a mother or a father, you cause suffering and despair. But one time in ten, out of that despair rises as indomitable force. You see the giant and the shepherd in the Valley of Elah and your eye is drawn to the man with sword and shield and the glittering armor. But so much of what is beautiful and valuable in the world comes from the shepherd, who has more strength and purpose than we ever imagine. ~ Malcolm Gladwell, David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the art of Battling Giants
What do you know about Mary Magdalene? That she followed Jesus? That she had been a prostitute?
That she was the apostle to the apostles?
We aren't actually told much about her before the end of Jesus' life and the circumstances surrounding his death and resurrection. We aren't told she is a prostitute.
But we are told she was healed.
And in her gratitude, Mary would be perhaps Jesus' most faithful follower. She stayed with him to the end. She went to his tomb to anoint his body.
And she was the one he first announced his resurrection to.
From there, she was the one who let the disciples know. Hence why she is the "apostle to the apostles."
Her story is a good reminder that Jesus takes the very infirmities we have - the healed or even the still vulnerable aspects of us that are not completely healed - and puts them to use. We heal and then are set out to use our gifts. Our healings, just like our blessings, are not for us alone.
A former drug addict becomes an addiction counselor.
An girl with a childhood leukemia becomes a cancer researcher or doctor.
A parent wracked by grief over the death of a child reaches out to parents suffering from the same loss.
A widower of a murdered woman becomes a Big Brother to help at risk teens.
A rape victim runs self-defense classes.
An amputee dances and golfs and skis and inspires others to do the same.
Mary was offered a new life and she took it and ran with it.
And shared it.
A new life. A life of seeing and believing and serving in a way that wasn't open to her before.
A way of serving that no one who knew her in her old life would ever have expected.
God of healing, you know my infirmities. Give me strength to endure and heal my wounded soul so that I can serve you and live! Amen
Thoughts for engagement:
- Read the story of David and Goliath. How was David's story surprising here?
- Read Chapter 20 of John. Who is Mary to us in this story.
- What are the ways God is calling you to be healed and to share your healing with others?