Gospel of Mary 5
Last week in the Gospel of Mary Jesus ended his teaching for the disciples and sent them into the world to share good news. Today we learn the rest of the story…the disciples panic. If talking about the reign of God as a better way to live resulted in Jesus’ execution, they don’t really want to go public with the same message. Mary plays a role we’re not used to in response -leader of the disciples. She is calm and rational. She rises to the occasion with words of comfort. She reminds them that Jesus promised to be with them always. Indeed, he has just made a lengthy appearance to them in his resurrected form and reminded them of the most important points of his teaching. In effect, he’d handed them a script for what he asked them to do.
Mary reminds them of the difference Jesus made in their lives. He taught them what it means to be “true human beings,” aware of their spiritual nature and their connection to God. He united them as a community, teaching them to value each other and to support each other by living and working together. Mary plays the role Jesus played among them, calming them and calling out their best efforts.
We don’t know why the Gospel of Mary fell into dis-use over the centuries, but this may be a clue. Mary, a woman, comes off looking much better than the rest of the disciples in this story. They fall apart in fear. She holds it together by relying on what she’s learned from Jesus. When they name all the reasons why they can’t carry on, she calls on their courage and reminds them why they can do what Jesus has asked of them. This is the first hint of several that the church may have re-written the role Mary played in the early church because of misogyny or jealousy. We’ll never know for sure. But for now, we can enjoy reading about Mary standing out as a leader among those who became the great leaders of the early church.
This passage tells us that Mary calmed the group by “turning their minds toward the good.” She reminds them of the great vision of hope Jesus had taught them. She reminds them that Jesus believed in the good each one of them carried within them. She reminds them that they know many true and important things because they have become his followers. Those reminders settle their fears. Instead of thinking about everything that could go wrong, they begin talking about all the things they’ve learned that are right. That shift in focus makes the difference. They settle down. They focus on the task they’ve been given.
This is a good reminder for us that the teachings of Jesus make a difference. Over the years I’ve become convinced that the Christian faith isn’t so much focused on what we believe about Jesus – although it’s important that he came from God, was an amazing teacher, was killed but lives still, is always with us. Even more important is that we believe Jesus. That we pay attention to what he taught in those short years of his ministry, teachings that have eternal value. We need to pay attention to his wisdom and his truth.
The disciples recovered their focus by remembering the truths Jesus had reminded them of. I picture them talking over one another in their enthusiasm to speak out loud their favorite teachings. Filling the room with good news, and in the process giving themselves an important reminder of values worth living for. History tells us that they did eventually overcome their fear and spend their lives telling others what they had learned from the master teacher. They had good news that life could be better, and they shared that good news bravely. Some even facing execution like Jesus did, but not letting even that possibility dampen their enthusiasm for a better way of living.
This story makes me think that those of us who are followers of Jesus today should be able to share good news as well. Not just good news about who Jesus is, but the good news about how he calls us to live, teachings that make life better. Which prompted me this week to think about my own convictions. How do Jesus’ teachings make life better for me, for us? Here’s a start…
Jesus tells us that God loves everyone and shows us what that means by loving everyone himself. Jesus didn’t agree with everyone. He was sometimes frustrated by people. But he still loved them. It’s good news that we are loved and have worth in the eyes of God. There are plenty of examples of ways people are treated without love or respect. Immigration enforcement, blaming the poor for their struggles, political disagreements on all sides… Christians bring to that conversation the good news that God is love and loves. Everyone is to be treated with dignity and respect.
Jesus tells us that we are all able to do good. Often, we focus on what we get wrong, but Jesus believed in what we could do right. Naming the good in people helps them believe in themselves and, with support, live up to that positive vision. One important role of Christian community is to call forth the best in one another by seeing possibility. Maybe most importantly seeing possibility that others can’t see in themselves.
Jesus tells us to care for one another, especially for those in need – those who are poor, ill, struggling. What caring for one another means may look quite different in the twenty-first century than it did in the first century, but it’s still a baseline responsibility for those who follow Jesus. Jesus never said, “You don’t deserve better.” And neither should those who follow him. The first thing early Christians did was make sure everyone ate. That’s a great starting point for community today.
There are many other teachings that matter. I wonder which ones come to mind for you. (tell the truth, be generous, love your neighbor, trust God, …)
We live in a time when not everyone follows Jesus’ teachings, but that has always been true. The message the disciples were sent to deliver wasn’t that everyone was required to do what Jesus said, but that each person’s life would be better if they followed Jesus’ good advice. Each life CAN be better, and following the teachings and working together to share them widely is the beginning. Each day, we can begin again.