Easter church service with Mary Magdalene
Background: I am a choir section leader at a Presbyterian church (PCUSA - a.k.a. the progressive wing). The church has 2 pastors, both female, one is LGBTQ. And this was my first Easter after connecting with Mary Magdalene last year. I had been thinking about her since singing the Maundy Thursday church service ( Thursday before Easter). Story: During both the children's lesson and the sermon, the pastors spoke about Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene first. As the gospel text was read, I felt Mary Magdalene's presence strongly. And I felt very emotional as the text described her finding the tomb empty and Jesus saying her name. As the pastor began her sermon, I could still feel Mary Magdalene. She had a few rebuttals - 1. that the whole "seven demons" thing is wildly misunderstood (she said "as you already know."). 2. That when the resurrected Jesus said her name, her response was not "Rabouni" (meaning My Teacher/My Master/My Lord) as told in a couple gospels, but something much more personal closer to "My Love". 3. At one point the pastor said "since she wasn't expecting resurrection..." and Mary Magdalene rolled her eyes and laughed. 4. In the end, the overall sentiment was that she would tell the whole story quite differently, but her name is still spoken every year in churches all over the world. And it does bring people to her to learn more about her and how to better their own lives which makes her quite happy.