As the Church grapples with the role of women, Mary Magdalene refuses to be silenced

As the Church wrestles with the role of women in its ranks, a new film on Mary Magdalene by Garth Davis is hitting the screens around the world.

Mar 23, 2018

By Anil Netto
As the Church wrestles with the role of women in its ranks, a new film on Mary Magdalene by Garth Davis is hitting the screens around the world.

The movie comes at a time when conferences and assemblies have been held inside and outside the Vatican to discuss the role of women, in what some say could be a turning point for the Church.

Former Irish president Mary McAleese has challenged the Church, which she described as “clerical and elitist” to give more important roles in the Church to women, instead of just “patronising the platitudes of the pope”.

“We, the unheard voices, are trying to speak in a system that does not give us conduits for speaking,” she said.

In the midst of this roiling debate, an unlikely voice has surfaced.

“I will not be silent,” the character Mary Magdalene played by Rooeny Mara, proclaims defiantly in the new film. “I will be heard.”

The film takes a fresh look at Mary Magdalene, who has been a controversial and confusing character down the ages, mainly because there are so many Marys mentioned in the Gospels.

Apart from her, there is of course, Mary, the mother of Jesus; Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus from Bethany; Mary, the mother of James; and (Mary) Salome.

Indeed, Mary was the most popular name among Jewish women of the time in Palestine — one in five women had that name.

Part of the problem is that for many centuries, several characters have been conflated into a ‘composite Mary Magdalene’ — namely, Mary Magdalene, Mary of Bethany, and the anonymous woman sinner who anointed Jesus’ feet.

What’s more, Mary Magdalene was said to be possessed by seven demons – which were later somehow assumed to represent the seven capital sins.

Because of this “composite characterisation” and the assumptions that followed, Mary Magdalene has been unfairly cast as the archetypical fallen sinner, now repentant and remorseful – seemingly the polar opposite in Christian tradition to balance the immaculately conceived blessed Mary, the mother of Jesus, on the other side of the spectrum.

But in the Gospels, there is nothing to clearly indicate that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute or led a particularly sinful life.

She was probably one among a close-knit group of women who accompanied Jesus in his ministry – itself raising eyebrows in a society, where women were regarded as inferior and whose place was most certainly in the fields and at home.

But we do know Jesus was constantly challenging the domination systems of his time – the imperial-temple collaboration (he toppled the moneychangers’ tables), the notions of purity (he dined with sinners), the class divide (he reached out to the poor and the marginalised), the attitudes towards foreigners (he extolled the Good Samaritan), and the patriarchal domination system (he accepted women among his followers and empowered them).

In this respect, the Gospels tell us that Mary Magdalene was one of the few witnesses to Jesus’ crucifixion and burial and the first witness to the Resurrection.

Indeed, Mary Magdalene is mentioned a dozen times in the Gospels, more than any other apostle. In some early apocryphal writings and Gnostic texts, it is even suggested she was a special disciple who had a deep understanding of Jesus’ teachings. Her reward was to be the first witness to the Resurrection. the central tenet of the Christian faith. That itself amply justifies her title Apostle to the Apostles, and gives her pride of place among his followers.

Scholars have suggested there was resentment towards Mary Magdalene and the female deaconesses among the male followers of Jesus. Patriarchal attitudes did not disappear, and after a few centuries, the role of these amazing women, who felt empowered by their faith in Jesus, largely disappeared from view, shrouded in the cobwebs of history.

Now Mary Magdalene is getting a cinematic ‘reboot’, allowing a wider audience a fresh insight into what she could have been like – a strong-minded independent woman, with deep spiritual insights, in a stiflingly patriarchal society.

Perhaps it is not by chance that the Holy Spirit has timed the current debate about the role of women in the church to coincide with the release of the Mary Magdalene film.

In one scene from the movie, a male character, perhaps resentful of Mary Magdalene’s audacity in proclaiming the Gospel in a male-dominated world, admonishes her: “Never speak again in His name.”

“The world will only change as we change,” the Magdalene, gently but firmly responds.

And as the world changes and the patriarchal attitudes continue to be challenged, we the Church will to change and reevaluate the role of women – and consider how Jesus empowered Mary Magdalene to challenge the patriarchal domination system of his time.

The voice of Mary Magdalene will be heard.

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