Celebrating Mary Magdelene

As a Protestant, I haven’t often marked the feast days of saints.

But today is Mary Magdalene’s feast day,

and I believe she deserves to be celebrated

more than she usually is.

So today seems as good a day as any to remind us of her story:

She was the apostle to the apostles.

The first preacher of the resurrection.

The one who stayed when others fled.

The one who spoke when others fell silent.

The anointer of the Anointed One.

A disciple.

A witness.

A beloved companion of Jesus.

She was not a “fallen woman” or confused.

She should be so much more than a footnote.

We owe her more than history has given to her.

And so today, let us pause to honor her,

to remember her place in the story,

and to find our own place in her story.

May her fierce faith and tender devotion

remind us what it means to follow Jesus

all the way to the tomb and beyond….