We’re looking at Mary Magdalene this Easter-tide. An
interesting woman often misinterpreted through the centuries, as noted last
time. She’s been portrayed as a ‘fallen woman’ more often than as the faithful
follower of Jesus. Mary was a brave woman, going to the Tomb in the early
morning to anoint the dead body. To her is given the gift of being called by
name. “Mary” says Jesus. In that one word she realizes that it is her Lord not
the gardener talking to her. She responds “Rabboni” and falls at his feet. Her
encounters with angels and then the Risen Lord made the other disciples doubt
her sanity. Because of her witness she has been named apostle to the apostles,
though.
Perhaps
last time as you searched for images for the visio divina you came across icons
of Mary holding an egg. In fact there was one in the collage in the blog post.
Usually it’s a red egg, but not always. This icon, from last week shows her
with a white egg. So what is it about the egg, and why is Mary represented as
holding one?
Eggs at Easter recall new life and Christ rising from the
tomb. Whether dyed by children and hidden by the Easter bunny or elaborately
made into Ukrainian decorated eggs, the egg has a long record of being part of
the remembrance of Christ’s resurrection. There are records that eggs were dyed
red as early as the 2nd or 3rd century in the area that
is now Turkey, which is where early Christianity took strong root. The
tradition of having red Easter eggs is esp. strong in Eastern Orthodox churches.
In areas like the Ukraine, the ancient tradition of making intricately
decorated eggs (pysanky) in the spring became modified by the influx of
Christianity. The eggs now represent and are part of the Paschal (Easter) feast
in homes both in the Ukraine and around the world.
There
are a couple of legends about Mary Magdalene that explain why she is often
portrayed in icons as holding a red egg. The first simply says that she
thoughtfully took hard boiled eggs to the tomb so that she and the other women
would have something to eat. When the tomb was discovered to be empty, the eggs
turned red. Another tradition says that the eggs were at the foot of the cross
and actually dyed by the blood of Christ.
The
most interesting story involves Mary’s evangelism in Rome. After the
Resurrection, legend says that Mary went to Rome and ultimately gained an
audience with Emperor Tiberius. (This points to her being a respectable and
wealthy woman rather than the prostitute of lore.) After complaining of
Pilate’s treatment of Jesus and handling of the case, she presented Tiberius
with an egg exclaiming “Christ is
Risen!” The Emperor laughed, stating that Christ rising from the dead was as
likely as the egg in her hand turning red. And that’s what the egg did-it changed
color right there. Mary then continued to evangelize the Emperor’s court.
Jesus
calls you by name just like Mary. How do you respond?
If
someone made an icon of you, what object might be used to portray your ministry
or evangelism efforts?
Next weekend is Mother's Day. As far as we know (Da Vinci
Code and other legends aside) Mary Magdalene was not a physical mother.
However, in her care of our Lord and of the disciples, she took on the role of
mother and matriarch.
Who
is a 'mother' to you even if they are not physically your mother?
How
was your own mother an inspiration, like Mary of Magdala, in her dedication to
you and the family and perhaps the church?
