Goodness (18) - Mary Magdalene's Goodness (1)
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June 16, 2013 |
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 "And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume" (Luke 7:37-38).
Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
Mary Magdalene lived in the depth of misery where no light was shining without any pleasure and hope. Her family disfavored her, abused her, and treated her like she was not a part of them. She married a man whom she thought she could rely on but he was a gambler and a violent, foul-mouthed and evil man.
At the very bottom, in the pitch darkness of her life, she met Jesus who is love itself. She wet His feet with her tears, wiped them with her hair, and anointed them with perfume. From that time on she followed Him and served Him with all she had. Eventually she became the first one to see the resurrected Lord.
Then, how could Mary give out such strong fragrance of goodness even though she was born in the worst of circumstances and lived a miserable life?
1. Mary's goodness: despite her adverse home environment, she never blamed or held resentment toward her parents, brothers, and sisters
Mary was born in Magdala near the Sea of Galilee. The name 'Mary' was very common those days, so she was called Mary 'Magdalene' with her birth place added to her name so that people could distinguish her from other people named Mary. Magdala was a flourishing town which was the center of fishing industry, and in the entire town idol worshipping was rampant throughout the generations. The whole area was lost deep in idolatry, so darkness totally captured the town.
Just as recorded in Luke 8:2, "And also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out…" Mary Magdalene also suffered great pain caused by evil spirits. Here, the passage saying that seven demons had gone out from Mary Magdalene means her family including her parents had devoted themselves to worshipping idols and they separated themselves entirely from God. Thus, many kinds of curses came upon the family and nothing went well with them.
Mary was born in the worst surrounding spiritually and she was inflicted with a number of diseases due to her weakness. She couldn't eat well because she had stomach diseases, so her body parts did not function well and it caused her to become ill in appearance. Furthermore, she came down with skin diseases so her appearance was detested by others. She was weakening and even her period as a woman stopped and her body could no longer function as a woman.
Since she was weak and feeble, Mary did not appear before her neighbors and she just lived in seclusion at home. She even belittled and degraded herself as though she were not there in the town. Furthermore, she was treated inhospitably and disdained by her parents and siblings. So, when something bad happened to her household, she felt like it was all her fault. In this way, even her parents, brothers and sisters held her in contempt and disdain.
Not once did Mary hold any resentment toward them. She attributed all negative things to herself and thought only about how she could keep from giving her family difficulty and the way she could relieve their burdens caused by her. Finally she decided to leave them. But she had nowhere to go, so she just wandered from place to place, begging for something to eat and was reduced to being treated like a beggar.
2. Mary's goodness: while living in misery due to a man she met, she blamed herself
Mary Magdalene met a man and tried entrusting herself to his care. Far from helping her, however, he rather gave her hard time. He neither cared for her with love nor comforted her with heart-warming statements, but he just took advantage of Mary who was frail. He idled around and lapsed into gambling. When he lost all his money he intimidated her into earning or getting some money and often beat her while using foul language.
The man disdained and scorned her rather than feeling thankful to her since he lived off her earnings. He mistreated her saying, "Why do you have so many diseases?" When things around him did not go as he wanted, he got bad-tempered, burst out in anger, cursed Mary, beat her, and vented his anger on her. He was that evil, so he committed many kinds of crime. When his transgressions were revealed, he blamed everything on Mary.
In that way, Mary was perceived as a greedy and sinful woman who made her livelihood by manipulating the man with an evil scheme. Nevertheless, she imputed everything to herself and took the responsibility for his offenses. In the end, she was considered a great sinner although she did not commit any sin. As time went by, she suffered from greater and greater heartache and her health condition became more serious. Without sensing her good and beautiful nature, people criticized her with fingers pointed at her and deemed her a cursed woman.
But Mary still did not feel bitterness toward the man though she was oppressed, beaten, mocked, and disdained by him. In such a situation, she neither gave up nor shed tears in desperation, but she devoted herself to taking care of the man. She had compassion for him and made a meager living through needlework.
3. Mary was set free from all diseases, pain, and unhappiness by meeting Jesus
In such a tough situation, there was some good news that was delivered to Mary Magdalene. It was about Jesus. She heard that a great prophet-like One who had performed amazing works had come and He could do things impossible for men like allowing for the blind to see and the mute to speak. She came to know that there was a certain town He visited and some sick people there were healed by Him.
Because Mary was of goodness, she believed all such things she heard. In faith she longed to see Jesus. Now Jesus was going to come to Mary's town. Mary could not express how overwhelmingly joyful she was when she met Jesus. She had waited for Jesus with a great yearning. Don't you think she must have given a confession of faith before Jesus such that Jesus could not have just passed by her?
When Jesus touched Mary, all her diseases were cured immediately. She came to digest everything she ate very well, gained strength in her body, and all body functions became normal. Her period began again. But even with all this there was something to be even more grateful for; it was that her broken heart was healed.
To her who seemed like nothing, Jesus gave love to her that she had never received from anybody in the world. Mary was overjoyed due to Jesus who presented her the biggest gift that she had never received.
Mary Magdalene bent her whole heart around Jesus and thought, 'He is the only One who would never abandon me and who loves me. With all my life, I will serve Him who did not avoid me though I was so wretched, healed me with His hand of love stretched out to me, and renewed my soul.' She made up her mind, resolutely threw off everything, and spent every moment dedicating herself to only Jesus. Since she had recovered her health, she could do more work and through her private earnings she contributed to supporting Him and His disciples as written in Luke 8:2-3.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Mary Magdalene did not reproach her parents and brothers and sisters even in the worst family situation imaginable. Although she was regarded as a sinner and despised because of the man whom she had met, she blamed herself for everything. She dedicated herself to helping the man. In the end, she became a blessed woman with the grace and love of the Lord. I hope you will also cultivate a beautiful heart that is pleasing to God. I pray in the name of the Lord that by doing so God will exult over you with joy and His love and blessing will overflow in your life.
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