Finding the Man who Loves Me

  

Here on my journey to find the Man Who Loves Me it is necessary to put on your women centered glasses. They look a bit like sun glasses but are designed to focus on women present content in the scriptures and church history. This is a search for women who loved Jesus and His Love for them in return. In order to do that we have to be like the woman in the parable who went is search of the lost coin and when she found it rejoiced with her friends. We are going to clean house and look for precious treasure. We will start at the Highest point of the Christian calendar which is also the day I started this Quest. Easter Sunday . The Resurrection

History is marked AD/BC by the importance of this event to mankind or as we have on women centered glasses womankind. It is the appropriate to find my first witness to the resurrection and the Love of Jesus in another woman that loved Him Mary Magdalene . Now Mary has been given a "working girl" reputation by the Church historically but there is no where in the scriptures that tell us that Mary Magdalene worked the streets. It does say that Mary was delivered of seven demons by Jesus. Perhaps Mary had some serious complex mental health care needs  before Jesus healed her  and it would help to explain her deep gratitude to Jesus or maybe considering the worship of idols in that time Mary had seven demons and the Bible calls it as it is. Either way once Mary was free she made a definitive choice to follow Christ. Now we know that Mary was not alone at the tomb and there were other women with her there waiting to anoint the Body of Christ. So we don't have to go on Mary's word alone. Whole groups of women followed Jesus and the disciples and helped care for their needs. The Bible doesn't say that the disciples provided for the women. It says the women provided for the disciples ( reference) Think about that for a minute...These women had the means to gather up expensive ointments for burial and go together to prepare his body. The women are named, they are present and they are affiliated with known others in the early followers. These are witnesses with credibility. Angels appeared to them . Angels tend to appear to people in the Bible as a sign that God means something important is about to happen or is happening. Does God think women are important. Apparently. Were they treated as second class citizens by Jesus or the Angelic beings sent by God. No. Were they told that women could not speak into the life of men. In John 20:15-18 we view the encounter between the Risen Christ and Mary Magdalene . 14 - At this she turned around and saw Jesus standing there but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 15 Woman, he said "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for Thinking it was the gardener she said Sir if you have carried him away , tell me where you have put him , and I will get him". Jesus said to her "Mary". She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic Rabboni ( which means Teacher) . 17 Jesus said, Do not hold to me for I have not yet returned to the Father . ( adjust your glasses , get ready for it.) Go instead to my brothers and tell them I am ( catch the I Am reference here ) returning to my Father and your Father to my God and Your God. 18  Mary Magdelene went to the disciples with the news I have seen the Lord ! and she told them that he had said these things to her. 

Here is Mary at the time who in this culture due to the fact that she was a woman not be considered a reliable witness being given the job of the most important news in all of History that the Long awaited Messiah, The I AM of Jewish history. This news is given to a woman. There is something else going on here. The Bible is big on symbols. In this story there are two angels appearing to Mary . We have one man and one woman. Angels.. If she thinks there is a Gardener then there must be a Garden to take care of. Well we have earlier Mary the Mother of Jesus and Joseph and angels but earlier then that we have Adam and Eve in the Garden. Women and man supposedly for all time were cursed for their sin and kicked out of the Garden which was protected by cherubim with a fiery sword. Now here we have The Garden Tomb, we have angels in conversation with this woman, we  have Jesus ,( who is called the second Adam)   and she is told to go and share the Good News of his resurrection that the awaited I AM has risen. Relationship is restored. It would seem the curse of humankind and woman kind is lifted.

Did Mary speak into the life of the male disciples. Did she impart Good News. Now if we follow this story along we find another important event women were at in the church.  Pentecost.  Acts 1:14 They all joined together constantly in prayer ,along with the women, and Mary the Mother of Jesus and his brothers. Women were in prayer with the disciples and present in the first outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts.  

So we have Mary being told to Go, we have women in the early church being empowered by the Holy Spirit to speak of the wonders of God . We have symbols of women's release from the curse of the garden through both Mary the Mother of Jesus and Mary Magdalene in her freedom. It seems women have been empowered to share the news of the Gospel. When and why does it change? There might be some answers but are they the right ones . Do the answers have to do with the Man who Loves Me . He seems to have treated women as equals in a time when women weren't treated as equals. In His time this was radical . It seems it still is. What happened in the church that in 2015 we are still arguing about the "place"of women. Why are verses that seem to free women overlooked and verses that subject women focused on intently. Why with at least fifty percent of the church female are we so unrepresented in sharing the very good news Jesus sent Mary out to share. She was told to tell her brothers the disciples. Why. Why if this message was so important was it not given to the male disciples first. Why not wait for Peter and John to show up and tell them first. Why Mary...because she loved Him. This seemed to matter. Mary was there early with the other women because they loved Him. They wanted to do something special for Him. They were not politically motivated. They were not arguing over who would be first in the Kingdom like the disciples had been. They were simply there because of Love and grief. It was no small risk for women to be out while it was still dark close to the area where there were Roman guards. Bad things could happen but they took the risk . But it was the women who saw Him first. ( Matthew 28:8 ) It was the women who were told to Go and tell. Holy women following Jesus. Praying , waiting , serving. caring. Women restored and transformed from their former lives into an intimate relationship with Christ. There is a lesson here for me as I gather information from the witnesses on the Man who they loved and the Man who Loves me. The love relationship is tangible. He showed up because He knew they loved Him and they would be there waiting . 

When my life is spiritually dry is it because I have forgotten to wait in the dark for the light of morning. Am I waiting to do something special for Him . Even if it seems He is gone . Do I still prepare to spend a little loving time with Him. Could it be He will surprise me? What little act of anointing and waiting for the beloved can I do today?

  " Our God Loves Us, this is our comfort." Elizabeth Seton.