Saturday of 15th Week in course 2023 St. Mary Magdalene
The first miracle of the Hebrew exodus was that Pharaoh let the people go. That had taken multiple plagues and great signs and wonders worked by God against the Egyptians. But when the last plague struck Pharaoh and his people, he all but drove them out of the territory. We’ll see in the next few days that he did change his mind, leading to the second great miracle of the exodus, the escape through the sea and the drowning of Pharaoh’s charioteers, but for now the Scriptures just meditate on that first miracle. There is also a memorable tie-in to the annual celebration of the Pesach, the unleavened bread that is celebrated at the Seder meal by each Hebrew family, even up to our own day. And that also ties into our celebration of the Blessed Eucharist, the Last Supper, with unleavened bread. God’s mighty works are never forgotten.
The psalmist takes up the theme. For him, the Exodus was an act in a long-running religious war between the true God, Israel’s God, and the false gods of Egypt and Babylon and Assyria and the indigenous people of Palestine. All the victories celebrated by Israel were God’s work, and that because of His steadfast love, His hesed, celebrated in every Temple or synagogue service.
That, of course, bring us to our celebration today, which every few years puts us in touch with the “Apostle to the apostles,” Mary Magdalene. When all the apostles but the Beloved disciple fled Jesus at His arrest, and Peter even denied Him three times, who went with Mother Mary along the Via Dolorosa to Calvary? Mary Magdalene. Who was first to the tomb at the conclusion of the Great Sabbath, bearing oils and herbs to anoint the body of Jesus? Mary Magdalene. Who was the first that John writes to encounter Jesus, and even try to grab Him? Mary Magdalene. Then who rushed at Jesus’s command to announce the Good News to His disciples? Yes again it was Mary.
There is much here to meditate on, and much to imitate. In a world that is desperately hungry for the presence of Truth, Beauty and Goodness, Mary stands as an icon of faithfulness and evangelization. She realized that if she did not have Jesus, it did not matter what else she had. Jesus had rid her of seven demons; she owed everything to His divine power. Whatever demons we have been rid of, we owe that to Jesus, and so must be faithful to Him for all our lives.
