Readings:
1 Corinthians 6:1-11
Luke 6:12-19
Reflection:
While we will hear the names of the twelve proclaimed in today’s Gospel, I am cognisant of the unnamed also called by Jesus. According to Luke, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Suzanna, and many other women supported them and travelled with him and the twelve (Luke 8:1-3). Read in isolation, as this text will be next Friday, the presence of these women appears incidental at best. Our canon and lectionary, selectively silence, marginalise and ignore many of whom Jesus actively sought out and included.
Mary Magdalene, Apostle to the Apostles, is oft imagined as a mere adjunct of this inner sanctum of men, yet her canonical presence at Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection in all 4 Gospels belies this assumption. While Peter’s profession of faith has become the cornerstone of the church, Martha’s identical proclamation is overshadowed by the raising of Lazarus. Jesus prophesies that the actions of the woman who anoints him will be proclaimed alongside the Good News in memory of her, yet how often is this text included in our Sunday liturgy?
Finally, I write this reflection on the 3rd of September, the Feast of St Phoebe, named as a deacon by St Paul, yet disavowed this title by the Church. Her commemoration is a Feast silenced by the Church since 1969, when the Feast of St Gregory the Great was moved from 12th March. First a deacon, then a Pope, it was Gregory who in 592, famously and without any biblical evidence, named Mary Magdalene a prostitute.
So, as we listen to the named Apostles today, let us hold in our hearts the many who also feel called or empowered yet are silenced or ignored. Rather than the misnomer of Gregory, let us recall the words of our own Chris Monaghan CP, who wrote of Mary Magdalene: her “wisdom and understanding serve as both encouragement and a challenge to the Church in our own day as we continue to struggle with the call for the spiritual leadership of women to be recognised, honoured and encouraged” (The Lost Gospels, p. 28).
Angela Marquis works for the Passionists at St Joseph’s in Tasmania, and with WATAC (Women and the Australian Church), and is a founding member of the Australian Women Preach organising team.