Jesus rewarded the feminine sensitivity of both Mary Magdalene and Mary of Bethany.

Wednesday, 7/22/15

Today we honor that Mary who was called Magdalene because she was from the town of Magdala on the coast of the Sea of Galilee. She was one of the women who followed Jesus and the apostles, providing for them, from their own means.

Both Mark and Luke tell us that Jesus had cast seven demons from her, whatever that means exactly.

We fall into the mistake of identifying her with Mary of Bethany who bought the expensive nard perfume to anoint Jesus for death.

Although Mary of Bethany and Mary Magdalene are different people, both of them, together with the Samaritan woman at the well, exhibit a feminine sensibility that Jesus welcomed and rewarded.

The Samaritan woman’s sensitivity brought her to be the first person to identify Jesus as the promised Messiah. Jesus rewarded her by saying, “I am he, the one speaking with you.”

Mary of Bethany was the only one sensitive enough to perceive the certainty of death saddening Jesus. It caused her to spend all she had preparing his body for death. Jesus rewarded her by saying her noble act would be remembered forever.

Mary Magdalene, along with Mary the Mother of Jesus and John, were the only ones who knew that the heart of Jesus needed friends to stand by him at his death. Jesus rewarded her by making her the first to witness his Resurrection from the dead.