… and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; - Luke 8:2

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 27, 2014): Luke 8

Some people are known simply by where they are from. I have had a few friends from Newfoundland. And if Newfoundlanders are not known to you, let me tell you about them. Newfoundland is an island province in Canada. They are a great, generous and loving people, and their island is a rugged place, but also a very beautiful place. Newfoundland throughout much of its history has also been an isolated island. The result is that Newfoundlanders have developed their own customs and, in many ways, their own language. They speak English, but often English with a twist. From my experience, a Newfoundlander speaks very good and understandable English, unless they get excited. If that happens, good luck. With both of my buddies this was often the time for me to plead with them to slow down so that I would have a chance of understanding what it was that they were saying. Negatively, because of all of this people of Newfoundland often find themselves as the subject for some unkind – and undeserved – jokes, the result of which is a caricature of what the people are really like.

Luke introduces us to a new character. Her name is Mary and Luke says that she had seven demons cast out of her. We are also told that she was called Magdalene which we have assumed meant that she was either from or identified with the coastal city of Magdala. And this is where things begin to get complicated for Mary. The problem is that we just don’t know enough about her.

The common image of Mary was that she was a reformed prostitute. But the Bible image comes from a few pieces of evidence. First, right before this introduction of Mary is a story of a young woman who we are told was sinful and Simon the Pharisee seemed to be surprised that Jesus would let a woman guilty of this sin touch him. It is likely that the sin was prostitution. We are not told or this woman’s name, but John tells a very similar story and identifies the woman as Mary of Bethany.

It is at this point that Luke mentions this Mary from Magdala. Magdala was a coastal town and it was, therefore, a place that sailors would frequent. Throughout history this has also meant it was a place that would have been frequented by prostitutes. It was a caricature of the people of Magdala, but it was a caricature that could have been used by people who wanted to advertise their profession covertly. And so we now have a reason for Mary’s name.

And on top of this, we are told very clearly that Mary had seven demons cast out of her. We have no idea what effect the demons had on Mary, but it is an educated guess that they manifested in Mary’s behavior in some way. Her behavior would have been the reason for the diagnoses of demonic possession. So with all of this in hand, the concept of Mary Magdalene, Prostitute, is born. But the bottom line is that we just don’t know. The only thing that we can say for sure is that Mary of Magdala had seven demons inside of her, and after having them cast out she became a pivotal character in the story of Jesus.  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Mark 4