Even Jesus Can’t Save Mary From the Patriarchy
Mary 10:7-9
“Peter responded and spoke concerning these same things. He questioned them about the Savior, ‘Did he really speak with a woman without our knowing about it? Are we to turn around and all listen to her? Did he choose her over us?’
Levi said to Peter, “Peter, you are always ready to give a way to your perpetual inclination to anger. And even now you are doing exactly that by questioning the women as though you’re her adversary. But if the Savior made her worthy, who are you, then to reject her?”
This is the end of the Gospel of Mary. Perhaps it’s unorthodox to start there but it’s pretty unorthodox to explore her gospel in church, so let’s all take a deep breath and dive in together.
Mary’s gospel is a found gospel. Buried away for generations, a perfect metaphor for our search to understand her. And dispute every obstacle, we still have these little fragments to explore. Thanks be to God, that a German antiquities expert happened to be in the right market at the right time to bring these little fragments to our modern faith. Its perfectly incomplete, pages and chapters are missing, even when a second copy is found, those same spaces are long gone or perhaps waiting still. Coptic was translated, the first manuscript is ready and then, a pipe bursts, flooding the publishing house. Starting again was placed on hold by world wars, not just one but two and some how eventually this manuscript makes into the world.
So here we are at the end of the Gospel, when Peter is having a bit of a sexist tantrum.
Easter is over, Jesus shows up in a spirited resurrection encounter just like he does in Matthew’s field trip to Galilee, Luke’s road to Emmaus or departure in Bethany and John’s beach barbecue. He dies, he shows up, he teaches and then he leaves, telling to do what he did.
That’s what happens in the Gospel of Mary. Jesus tells them to do what he did and they, reasonably so, become distressed.
Enter Mary Magdalene. She calms them like a mother hen, drawing them under her wing; she gives them a breath of courage in their despair. Mary reminded them that even as the journey is hard, Jesus taught them, they are prepared and they are not alone. Then Peter, that’s right, Peter asks Mary to teach them. So she does and then when she is all done. Peter’s brother, Andrew isn’t so sure. These teachings seem strange to him. Then Peter piles on.
Peter responded and spoke concerning these same things. He questioned them about the Savior, ‘Did he really speak with a woman without our knowing about it? Are we to turn around and all listen to her? Did he choose her over us?’
This Gospel isn’t in our cannon. It was hidden away rather than destroyed, maybe it strange but one thing that resonates is Peter can be a bit of a hot-head. It’s in every Gospel.
Peter is always making mistakes in all of the Gospels and is sometimes a bit full of himself in latter letters.
He is a part of the is part of the crew that works as a bouncer, until Jesus has a little course correction and says, “Let the Little children come to me.”
He is part of the disciples that ask who is the greatest among them and Jesus probably rolling his eyes, tells them to become like children (Luke 9, Mark 9, Matthew 18).
Peter gets exited to walk on water, jumps right in, flounders and Jesus has to save him from drowning (Matthew 14:29-31).
He witnesses the transfiguration and wants to build a monument, which is not the point it turns out (Matthew 17:4, Mark 9:5).
He is most famous for denying Jesus three times, even after assuring Jesus that he wouldn’t at the last supper. Peter not only denies Jesus, he abandons him during the violence of Crucifixion.
And what I think had to really be a kicker to Jesus; Peter is the guy who draws a sword to respond in violence when officials come to take Jesus away. I can just feel Jesus’ anguish as he tells Peter to put his sword away (John 18: 10-11). Those who live by the sword die by the sword.
Peter has the original come to Jesus meeting on a beach when Jesus ask, “Simon do you love me?" three times over (John 21).
Jesus literally calls Peter, Satan the adversary, “Get behind me Satan.” (Mark 8: 31-33 Matthew 16:23)
While the Roman church and the Gospel of Luke may like to clean Peter up’ making him the central hero of the disciples. I think it’s Peter’s big failures in front of God and everyone that actually make him interesting. He makes big mistakes and big leaps, this is really how we grow. But centralizing Christianity around Rome and building projects in Peter’s name don’t s it that way and a more perfect Peter, starts to emerge. Mary and her Gospel and anyone that found meaning in it become a complication that the hierarchy does not need.
Mary’s gospel and the others, are written before there is even a Christianity. There are many diverse communities and no singular, central voice. There are not creeds and councils, no popes and no bishops, yet. And certainly no love from the Roman Empire, yet. This gospel and others remind us that early Christianity should really be understood as early Christianity- ies. There are some early Christianity- ies that write, “women should be silent in church” and there are others run by women, like Lydia (who by the way does such a good job that Paul does not have to send her letters constantly.) There are some early Christianity- ies that write, 'slaves obey your masters’ or ‘wives submit to your husbands’ and there are some early Christianity- ies that are lead by enslaved women. We know this because they had so much courage and conviction faced the brutality of Rome.
Jesus may try but even he can’t save us from sexism. Peter and Andrew, and the guys that follow simply can’t get out of the culture's boxes. The ancient Mediterranean world viewed MALENESS as the highest form of being and they were willing to work at it. Like Samantha from Sex in the City, Roman’s loved the male form with defined, hard muscle and good looks were a blessing from the divine. Folks assigned male at birth didn’t alway get to be called a man, often this language only applied to free-born males or freeborn, married men.
Philosophy and medicine considered women to be under cooked men, meaning they didn’t heat up enough to become male. They assumed all the parts were the same, just lady parts were hidden, like if they had gotten warmer their genitals would have popped out like a Thanksgiving Turkey Thermometer. The feminine was turned inward and so the culture argued they belonged in private spaces, not the public spaces of work, entertainment and politics. Early followers of Jesus, might have argued for a different understanding of gender but that’s perhaps harder than converting folks to Christianity.
In the Gospels of Thomas and Philip, also non-canonical, the male disciples reject Mary’s presence and leadership. Jesus responds by saying something like, he will make her male. It’s strange to read this as a modern person, it feels negative towards the feminine, even if Jesus is seeking to elevate Mary’s voice.
One trait associated with Masculinity in the Roman world is courage. It’s not really about bodies or gender. It’s about understanding Mary has the same courage. When Jesus says he will make her male, I suspect its the same as when Paul says there is no male or female, no slave or free, no Jew or Greek. It is a statement of deep value and worth, courage and wisdom that is held in all people. Jesus embodies this practice of welcoming voices and bodies that were deemed unworthy over and over and over.
When the disciples object to the anointing by Mary, Jesus rebukes them. Mary speaks and the disciples object but this time Jesus isn’t in the room. Peter doubts Mary’s leadership, Mary urges him to remember how he knows her heart.
Then Levi, does what Jesus might have, he speaks up.
“Levi said to Peter, ‘Peter, you are always ready to give way to your perpetual inclination to anger. And even now you are doing exactly that by questioning the women as though you’re her adversary. But if the Savior made her worthy, who are you, then to reject her? Surely the Savior’s knowledge of her is trustworthy.”
Levi speaks up. Mary’s gospel ends with the community resolved to practice life the way Jesus did.
That’s maybe the gift and challenge of the Gospel of Mary. We have to look for ourselves in it, how are we like Peter, harboring some smallness and hurt that might wound another? How can we dive in like Peter and grow? How are we like Mary, bringing calm and clarity even if people don’t want to hear your voice? How are we like Levi, bringing our privilege to speak the truth in love and stand in solidarity, a guardian of the worth of all people? Mary’s gospel asks some hard questions, may we have the courage to answer them with our lives.