Biblical Spirituality Course-Cebitepal: A rereading of Mary Magdalene through the eyes of women, female leadership in the Church

July in Cebitepal offers a Virtual course which invites us to delve into a portion of the history of the Christian faith that is as challenging as it is current: Mary Magdalene, privileged witness of the resurrection of Jesus. We talk to Celam DNA with the teacher in charge, sister Grace Dibo. Let’s see.

Ask: What is it like to read the Bible from a “female perspective,” which is the proposal of the Course that begins at the beginning of July?

Answer: Rather than from a female perspective, I prefer to talk about read the Bible “with women’s eyes”.

It is true that saying “feminine” designates the group of women, but it is also a term that carries the burden of meanings that limit what it means to be a woman. We know that the traits and roles traditionally assigned to our gender often lead to a position of subordination with respect to men in the family, school, and church.

On the other hand, the expression “with women’s eyes” represents the collective vision that arises from the awakening that women have been making in all parts of the world, including believing women of all faiths.

Reading the Bible from a women’s perspective invites us to look back at the sacred texts to discover the role of our ancestors and value the traces they left in their attempts to break with the limiting beliefs of their time. They inspire us to take up the task today and do our task with courage and hope.

read the bible with women’s eyes It is living faith in Jesus by committing ourselves to embody his gospel of full life not only for women, but for all people and creatures, especially the most vulnerable.

Q:What myths do we need to debunk about Mary Magdalene and what do we need to know to truly know her?

A: The gospels leave a clear testimony of the lpriority place of Mary Magdalene in the experience of the resurrection of Jesus and its transmission to the group at her request. However, carefully reading the texts and the reception of his figure in the early stages of Christianity, we observe that there is distortion, a decrease in his importance, and even attempts to erase his memory. However, all these efforts failed to eliminate its prominence. However, it is necessary to rectify distorted images, correct errors and confusions in biblical readings, and vindicate their honor and place in the history of Christianity.

In this sense, The first myth to debunk, which unfortunately is still very current, is her image as a prostitute. There is nothing in the canonical gospels nor in the apocrypha that indicates that she experienced that situation.

Due to confusion, some of it malicious, she was associated with the sinful woman who cried for her sins at the feet of Jesus. The only time we see Mary Magdalene crying is in the gospel of John in the context of the visit to the tomb. A cry that is explained by the context of mourning at the death of Jesus. It is an interesting topic to study carefully.

When we read carefully the texts where Mary Magdalene appears, we find the life of a woman who believed in Jesus, in his preaching and radically aligned herself with his project. It will be, perhaps, because of this identification of her with Jesus and his message, that she was the first recipient of the revelation of the Risen Lord and the task of announcing this unprecedented novelty to the other apostles.

Therefore, what we must know yes or yes, is that the Church has recognized her status as Apostle of the Apostles.

You may be interested in: Secretary General of Celam, present at the beginning of the Plenary Assembly of the Colombian Episcopate

Female leadership in the early days

Q: Were women leaders at the beginning of Christianity? What was the life of Christian men and women like in those early times? Do we evolve or not?

A: Yes, of course women were community leaders at the beginning of Christianity. Despite attempts to silence their voices, diminish and marginalize their role, different groups of women assumed the radical change that Jesus proposed and became faithful followers until the most critical moment of their lives without abandoning him.

In Paul’s letters, testimonies of the first generation of Christians, we find assemblies founded by the apostle where women who adhered to the faith in Jesus played a very important role in the transmission and formation of the communities. Paul recognizes their gifts and charisms by giving them names such as: “missionary” as Prisca who also presided over the community that met in his house. Others were “diakonos” as Phoebe in the city of Cenchreae, which was also “protector” of the apostles in conflict situations. There were “collaborators” like Tryphose and Tryphene who strove in the work of the gospel. Some women played the role of “apostle” as Junia. We also know that there were prophetesses and teachers. This diversity of roles shows us the richness in the way of assuming, side by side with men, the service of the gospel in a collaborative way.

According to the memories of the second Christian generation, transmitted in the gospels, some women met Jesus in Galilee, among them Mary Magdalene who is along with others willing to make radical changes in their rural way of life to follow him on the path. until arrival in Jerusalem. Others who did not travel with Him welcomed Him into their home, like Martha and Mary in Bethany. In the group of followers there were mothers, sisters, single women, widows, divorced women. All women’s realities were included in their movement. When some met Jesus, they were already central figures in their environment, such as the Syrophoenician woman remembered by the gospels of Mark and Matthew or the Samaritan woman mentioned in the gospel of John.

Currently, there is an abundant presence of women engaged in different services in the communities. Although we can see the evolution of the place of women in Christian churches, there is still a long way to go. In the spirit of synodality opened by Pope Francis, despite his efforts to position women in leadership roles, other profound structural changes are pending. Looking back at Mary Magdalene and the first disciples fills us with hope and inspiration to contribute to generating the changes we long for.

Magdalena, a builder of Christian cultural change

Q: The topic you address is really exciting. What would you like to impress upon your future students about the life and legacy of Mary Magdalene?

A: I believe that to value the life and legacy of Mary Magdalene we must see it in the context of the movement of change inaugurated by Jesus.

I like to imagine the Jesus movement as an authentic cultural renewal of total openness and inclusive love for all people, especially the poor, those considered insignificant, and sinners. In the life and experience of Jesus we can understand what the endearing mercy of God consists of, which is discovered and learned as we go through life. Jesus himself was someone who learned how to do this renewal of love and compassion in the company of women without needing to exclude them.

Such change could not have been achieved without the joint collaboration of all the people who were drawn and inspired to embody it. Therefore, neither yesterday nor today, it is possible to leave women aside. The challenges we face in the times we live in demand the participation of all those involved. For participation to be full, it is necessary to participate in the decision-making of each instance of the life of the church.

Looking at our Christian origins, we can think that what men heard and learned from Jesus’ preaching of the kingdom and his healing and liberating praxis, women also heard and learned. The innovation that evangelization represented in the beginning was not possible without shared leadership in the construction of new inclusive communities founded on faith and the gospel of Jesus, and animated by the Holy Spirit.

In a process of such characteristics, The figure of Mary Magdalene, the apostle of the apostles, was more than a simple follower. She was an authentic leader from the beginning in Galilee to Jerusalem where Jesus entrusted her with the mission of being the first announcer of his new form of presence in the world as the Risen One. Her life and legacy are very significant in motivating the commitment of women in the processes of synodality in our ecclesial communities.

Sister Grace Dibo

Let’s meet the teacher

“I am a religious from Argentina, I belong to the congregation of Dominican Sisters of the Most Holy Name of Jesus. I am passionate about the charisma of the study, contemplation and preaching of the Word, especially in these times of crisis that we live as humanity. I am convinced of the transformative force of reading and interpreting the Bible from a popular, liberating and feminist perspective done in faith groups and communities. I share with you my study and training journeys: PhD in Biblical Theology (UP Comillas, Spain), Lic. in Theology with a specialty in Sacred Scriptures (UCA, Argentina), teacher of Sacred Scriptures in the Sacred Sciences faculty, teacher and coordinator from the Bibliodrama School of the Miguel Raspanti Institute (Diocese of Morón, Argentina). Member of the Argentine Biblical Association (ABA), collaborates with the Latin American Biblical Interpretation Magazine (RIBLA), part of the TEOLOGANDA Studies, Research and Publications program. Research areas: extraordinary religious experiences in Christian origins, Bibliodrama, biblical hermeneutics from a feminist perspective.”

For more information: https://celam.haif.app/cursos/curso-cebitepal?TzuUaGyRQJ+lbGiayFoKow==

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