All the Marys
Here’s my sermon from the Wild Goose Festival, based on Luke 10: 38-42 and John 11. Sorry it is a little late! Our drive home last night took much longer than expected.
Since the sermon draws from Elizabeth Schrader’s work on the Marys, I sent it to her that she might listen. She responded by saying it was “powerful” and well-represents her work (noting the stylistic differences between an academic paper and a sermon!). And she also wanted listeners to know that, at this point, the Nestle-Aland committee of the Greek New Testament is aware of this work and will take it into account as they work on updated critical editions of the New Testament. In her words, “they are unlikely to remove Martha completely unless further discoveries come to light, but the apparatus (the footnotes) in John 11 may well change as a result of this discovery.”
So, that’s where the academic discussion currently stands. And who knows where it will go as researchers follow these questions? The New Testament continues to open up with amazing new insights as scholars like Libbie press into ancient texts in new ways — and making it possible for us to understand scripture closer to original sources.
Enjoy the sermon. It is Good News indeed.
I invite you to imagine with me — What would Christianity been like if we’d known about Mary the Tower the entire time? What does it mean for us going forward?
The Feast Day of Mary Magdalene is July 22.
All the Marys
I absolutely loved this sermon and have had some conversations with others about it. I know there was a print pdf copy shared in another of your posts but I can’t locate it. Can it be re-shared or found in an archives?
Imagine! But we have always had the biblical text portraying Mary's reception of the Good News of Jesus the Christ's Resurrection. Patriarchy still ruled all these thousands of years in the Church. Unfortunately, though, women's activism in the Church and in society might have suffered from the Mary/Martha story since "Mary" chose the better path. What better way to silence a woman than the way Jesus did to Martha, rather shaming, I thought. And I have always rather resented Jesus saying that to Martha. But your disclosure of this discovery has made a difference in my life and strengths my resolve to support women in all sorts of struggles, even more so than I have done in the past. And certainly, most importantly maybe, I have drawn even closer to Jesus, for Jesus acknowledges us as full human beings and towers of strength!