I went to Catholic school for the first ten years of my schooling experience. While I was there, we had daily religion class, went to church every Tuesday morning, prayed before lunch, and were imbued with the tenets of Catholicism. However, I can honestly say that we maybe talked about Mary of Magdala two or three times. She was not an important part of the history of Catholicism, pertinent to Jesus’s leadership, or his relationship with his disciples. Essentially, she was wiped from the face of Christianity, barring a few fleeting mentions here and there.
Up until reading about her gospel, I had never heard of her even having a gospel, much less being a disciple. I found it fascinating that the gospel was found after so many years, almost completely intact. It makes me wonder how many other parts of history have been lost or destroyed without people knowing what their significance is. One can only hypothesize what may have happened to the missing pages. They could have simply been lost somewhere along the way or removed because of the content they had.
Another aspect of the gospel that was intriguing was the other disciples’ treatment of Mary. They didn’t believe that Jesus could have a preference for Mary Magdalene or that she could comprehend the depth and complexity of his teachings. Instead of listening to her interpretation of the teachings, they berate Mary Magdalene and accuse her of lying about receiving special teachings in order to gain respect and stature among the other disciples. This paints a far different picture than the one that is outlined in the gospels of the other (male) disciples. From their accounts, there is never any complaining or strife, as they happily go out to spread Jesus’s teachings to the world. Mary’s gospel offers a more complex and unbiased look into the lives of those following Jesus’s guidance and lessons. There is a theme that has been constant throughout history of women being looked down upon as less than and being ignored by men or the dominant members of society. This is increasingly present in Mary’s gospel and shows that, even though she truly understands Jesus’s schoolings, the men around her immediately dismissed her as a fraud. Mary of Magdala serves as an example of the legitimacy of women’s leadership.