The Gospel of Mary, Part 3
I mentioned in the first part of this blog series (is that what it is? I guess so.) that I'm not a theologian or a historian or a scholar or anything like that. I like to think I dabble in all of those things, but I realize that I do so as an amateur who has a hobby, not as a professional who is building a career.
Does that make sense?
"But, you're a doctor ... at least that's what you said on the cover of your book!"
Yeah, yeah, I know. I got my doctorate in Christian Leadership, though. It's not a PhD degree (Doctor of Philosophy), but a DMin degree (Doctor of Ministry) and so whereas some people are "doctors of theology" (PhD) or something like that, I'm more of a "doctor of the church" (DMin), which (I admit) is super odd because I haven't been to church in about 4 years, but instead do church with all of you every single day via our podcast, blog, Facebook Group, Marco Polo, etc, etc, etc.
And since I am a "Doctor of the Church" it's my professional (and correct) opinion that those things do, indeed, count as "church".
Disagree? Oh well. I'm the doctor.
Anyways.
I remind you of this again because some of the information I've been sharing about the Gospel of Mary may be a little bit off. I wasn't trained in the Gospel of Mary or the Gnostic texts in any way, shape, or form. Everything I know about them I learned on my own because their names weren't even muttered in seminary other than the side comments that they are "heretical" and "wrong" and "full of lies" so "don't read them".
3 years or so after leaving seminary, though, I began to ...
Read these texts.
Talk to people who ARE actual scholars and historians and are trained in translating these texts.
Read books about the texts.
And then use spaces like this to flesh out my thoughts, try to make them somewhat understandable, and share with y'all the things that I'm learning.
So, the Gospel of Mary.
In part 1 I told you a bit about the background of the book. If you want more of that, read Karen King's book "The Gospel of Mary of Magdala".
In part 2 I told you the basic storyline of the book. If you want more of that, read Karen's book and also check out "Mary Magdalene Revealed" by Meggan Watterson.
And now in part 3 (and maybe part 4? 5? 6? - we'll see how long we go) I want to share with you some takeaways from the book.
Takeaways?
Yes, takeaways.
Just as you can preach a sermon or take away thoughts from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and apply them to everyday life, I think the same can (and should!) be done with texts like the Gospel of Mary, the Gospel of Judas, the Gospel of Thomas, etc, etc, etc.
The first thing I find interesting is how absolutely TICKED OFF Peter was at Mary for sharing with them the things that Jesus had shared with her in secret and I find this interesting because BEFORE Mary started to share these things, Peter ASKED HER to share with them whatever Jesus had shared with her.
In other words ...
Peter KNEW she had info they didn't have.
Peter KNEW Jesus had spoken important things to her.
Peter KNEW Mary had some stuff to share.
BUT.
When she shared it, it rattled Peter and made him lash out.
In Mary 6:1 it says, "Peter said to Mary, 'Sister, we know that the Savior loved you more than all other women. Tell us the words of the Savior that you remember, the things which you know that we don't because we haven't heard them."
I mean, I'm not dumb, right?
Peter seems to fully know that Mary knows things they don't and he directly asks her to spill the beans, to bring them up to speed, to share with them whatever she knows that they don't.
... And so, she does.
Mary tells them about a vision she had of Jesus (meaning he appeared to her Post-Resurrection) where he explained to her how the soul would one day rise to its final resting place after it wins the battle against powers that seek to keep it attached to the material world and ignorant or forgetful or unaware of its true, divine nature.
Then Peter flips. He flies off the handle saying all sorts of horrible things that (the text says) bring Mary to tears and then after a short scolding by Levi who comes to Mary's defense, the group disbands and (as we see in the other Gospels) goes out to share "the gospel" or "the Good News".
In her book, Karen King brings out an interesting thought that I can't stop thinking about. She says that when the story ends with these angry disciples hitting the streets with the Good News, "the reader is left to both wonder and worry what kind of Gospel such proud and ignorant disciples will preach."
Interesting.
Remember last time we said that the only one in the group that really seemed to grasp Jesus' message of peace was Mary, right? The story of Mary's Gospel opens with the disciples scared out of their minds, void of Christ's peace because they're worried that the same thing that happened to Jesus would happen to them.
They're afraid.
They're cowering.
They're hiding.
... They're acting in ways that clearly show their inability to grasp the heart of Jesus' message.
Mary, though - she's calm and confident, so calm and so confident that SHE ends up comforting the disciples in the same way that Jesus once did.
In other words, Mary seems to "get it", but the disciples?
They are ignorant.
They are confused.
They seem lost.
They are afraid.
They are judgmental (of Mary).
AND.
Now they are angry - really, REALLY angry.
And the story ends with these ignorant, confused, lost, afraid, judgmental and angry men sharing the "Good News" with the whole wide world.
All of this makes me wonder what kind of Good News, what kind of Gospel Message so many ignorant, confused, lost, afraid, judgmental and angry men are preaching to the world today, in 2022.
The other day I heard that Pastor Greg Locke held a book burning in the parking lot of his church where they burned Harry Potter books, Twilight books, and more. And then a few days later Skillet's John Cooper "declared war" on deconstructing Christians as he shouted his hatred for people like you and me from his stage all the while the crowed screamed in adoration for more hate and more Jesus songs.
Angry people.
Afraid people.
Judgmental people.
... All sharing their message "in the name of Jesus", the one that they don't seem to understand all that well as their messages aren't grounded in faith and hope and perseverance and love as much as they're grounded in FEAR.
Fear of the other.
Fear of those who are different.
Fear of that which they don't understand.
Fear of a message they didn't directly receive from Jesus.
Much like Peter in regards to Mary and her message, they are so triggered by a message that seems too far-fetched for them to believe (brought by a group of people that they feel superior to) that they're ready to hit the streets with their version of the Good News and shame anyone who thinks differently than they do and burn their books in the parking lots of their churches all the while their faithful converts cheer them on.
What.
On earth.
Is happening?
As Karen King said in her book - I "both wonder and worry what kind of Gospel such proud and ignorant disciples will preach."
Much to ponder here.
Glenn || PATREON / BUY ME A COFFEE / MY BOOK
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Are you as fascinated by this as I am? Here are a few books I'm reading that have been a springboard for a whole lot of ideas.