Turning from death to life: a biblical reflection on Mary Magdalene - John 20:1-18 - "Turn to God - Rejoice in Hope": Unfolding the Eighth Assembly Theme

Ecumenical Review, The, April, 1998 by Dorothy A. Lee

Imagery of "turning" is integral to the story of Mary Magdalene in John 20:1-18. In this, the first of the Johannine resurrection narratives, the verb "turn" literally occurs twice (Greek strephein), as Mary turns to face the one she seeks, without at first recognizing him (20:14,16). On a theological level, Magdalene's physical motion represents the turning from grief and sorrow to joy and hope in the discovery of Easter faith. This article is written for the eighth assembly of the World Council of Churches. Through exegetical study and also imaginative meditation, we seek a Johannine perspective on the assembly theme: "Turn to God -- Rejoice in Hope".

The notion of turning is central to the narrative and theological structure of John's gospel. This gospel's main concern is the revelation of God's saving glory and the human response of faith, signifying the turning from darkness to light, from death to life. Throughout the narrative, glory is revealed in the person and ministry of Jesus, a glory that has its material origins in the incarnation (John 1:14). Glory is the theme of the wedding at Cana (2:1-11) and of the subsequent signs, symbols and teaching of Jesus' public ministry (John 2-12). This glory reaches its climax on the cross, where Jesus glorifies God by revealing the full extent of God's love for the world and by bringing about life through death; he is himself "glorified" by God through the cross, which, as a ladder of ascent to the realm of glory, represents his exaltation (13:31-32; 17:1-5). The characters of the fourth gospel respond to this divine radiance by either turning towards, or turning against, the light. Mary Magdalene's story reflects the major themes of the gospel and exemplifies, in particular, that painful though life-giving "turning" towards the Author of life.

The narrative of John 20 is structured around the giving of the Spirit by the risen Christ on the evening of Easter day (20:12-23). As the passion narrative begins in a garden (18:1-1), so the setting for the first resurrection appearance is likewise a garden (19:41), with its overtones of Paradise renewed (cf. Gen. 2:8-3:24).(1) On each side of this central scene, we see representatives of the believing community struggling to reach Easter faith -- in particular, Mary Magdalene (20:1-18) and Thomas (20:24-29), both of whom are drawn into the orbit of the Spirit to become key witnesses to the resurrection.(2) The other disciples also are drawn towards Easter faith, including the Beloved Disciple and Peter, whose brief though puzzling narrative (20:3-10) is not elucidated until John 21. The narrative ends with what many have seen as the original ending of the fourth gospel (20:30-31), which summarizes the evangelical purpose of the gospel.(3) Mary Magdalene first appears in John's gospel at the foot of the cross, where, with the other holy women and the Beloved Disciple, she witnesses the death of Jesus (19:25).(4) Thus in John 20 she is already established as a woman of faith. Despite the reference to "we" in verse 2, Mary is alone in her visit to the tomb.(5) The arrival of Peter and the Beloved Disciple (20:3-10) does nothing to solve Magdalene's problem of where to find Jesus' body. We know already that the Beloved Disciple has a unique relationship to Jesus (cf. 13:23-26; 19:26-27, 35) and that he believes more than Peter, but what that "more" is we do not yet know.(6) From v. 11 onwards, Mary moves from one sign to another, until finally she recognizes Jesus' identity (20:16) and is commissioned to proclaim the resurrection (20:18).

Turning towards suffering and death

Magdalene's story of coming to Easter faith involves the notion of "turning" on a number of levels. In the first place, Mary turns towards suffering and death. Although at this stage of the narrative she misunderstands and searches for a corpse instead of a living being, she begins her search in the right place: at the tomb where the body of Jesus has been sumptuously laid by Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathaea (19:38-42). After the departure of Peter and the Beloved Disciple, we find her weeping outside the tomb (20:11); unlike them, she does not go home but rather continues her search. It is this willingness to remain in the place of sorrow and to articulate the pain of the believing-yet-doubting community that finally leads her to the joy and hope of Easter (16:21-22; 19:34). Not unlike the Samaritan woman (4:7-42), Mary Magdalene persists in her search, without letting go, without disowning the pain.

There is an important spirituality embedded in this Johannine narrative. The first step in turning towards God is knowing the reality of ourselves. Christianity is not an escape from the "real world"; on the contrary, it is a definite turning to the world (cf. John 3:16-17; 17:15).(7) The journey of faith is a Lenten journey -- the movement is from suffering and death to hope and joy. Without turning to face the one, we cannot encounter the other; in Calvin's words, "without knowledge of self there is no knowledge of God".(8) Yet self-knowing is also divine gift as well as human struggle: "without knowledge of God there is no knowledge of self".(9) In John's gospel, it is the Revealer who reveals both divine and human knowledge to the one who is "thirsty" for life (4:13-14; 7:37-39).(10) Such knowledge is spiritual, but it encompasses every aspect of our lives: spiritual and material, soul and body, sexual, psychological, personal, political. And because it is ultimately a divine gift, this knowing springs from love, not judgmentalism or harsh moralism. It leads to a self-acceptance that (paradoxically) makes possible both self- and social transformation.