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Mary Magdalene: Bedeviled
From the sermon series: No Stained Glass Saints
Text: Luke 8: 2; John 20: 16
Richard A. Rhem
Christ Community Church
Spring Lake, Michigan
November 9, 1986
Transcription of the spoken sermon
The lilting melody and the words of the song of Mary Magdalene in the rock
opera, Jesus Christ, Superstar, are, for me, one of the most moving songs that
have come along in a long time.
I don't know how to love him,
What to do, how to move him.
I've, been changed, yes, really changed.
In these past few days when I’ve seen myself
I seem like someone else.
(Mary Magdalene, in Jesus Christ Superstar, A Rock Opera)
The song expresses the struggle within the heart of Mary Magdalene, whose life
had been transformed by Jesus Christ, trying to come to terms with that
experience and with the One Who was the catalyst for that human
transformation.
Don’t you think it’s rather funny
I should be in this position?
She is no lover’s fool, the one who has always been so cool, ... running every
show.
And yet, in the presence of Jesus, Mary is a woman transformed, transfixed,
really not knowing how to love him.
He scares me so… I want him so…I love him so.
I find that Mary Magdalene has been the subject of a great deal of the great art of
the world – painting, literature, drama. She has played an important role in the
tradition of the Church. She is the example of a person whose life was changed by
Jesus Christ. I know that she has been sculpted in statuary, she has been painted
© Grand Valley State University
�Mary Magdalene: Bedeviled
Richard A. Rhem
Page 2
on canvas, and I can't help but believe she has been placed in stained glass, as
well. Mary Magdalene is a woman about whom we know very little prior to her
encounter with Jesus Christ. Luke's brief statement tells us that Mary was one of
a company of women who accompanied the band of disciples and Jesus, who
ministered to them out of their resources. He identifies Mary as one from whom
seven demons had gone out. I don't know if he meant seven, or if he meant
simply seven as that number of completion, but that isn't really important. The
important thing is that he points to a woman who ministered to Jesus Christ
during the days of his ministry. If we had read the complete Gospel record, we
would find her to have been with Mary, his mother, lingering at the Cross when
the disciples had forsaken him. We would find her in the company of other
women early in the morning, coming to the tomb on the day of Resurrection. We
find her, as we read a moment ago, as that one to whom Jesus gave that special
and personal revelation of himself. It would seem, perhaps, that Mary Magdalene
represented that human person in Jesus' life with whom he must have had the
deepest, most intimate relationship. Her life had been changed and with total
devotion she followed him, she worshiped him. He was the source of her
continuing new existence. And it's a remarkable story full of good hope for all of
us, because I don't imagine there is anyone here this morning that could qualify
as a better cripple than Mary Magdalene. There is no one who has entered this
sanctuary this morning who would have to take a back seat in the presence of
Mary Magdalene before she met Jesus.
We don't know much about her, but the imagination of the Church has been full
and rich. Throughout the Church tradition she has often been lumped with the
other Marys. There are, indeed, seven Marys mentioned in the New Testament.
Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, for one. And then, just prior to this
account in Luke 8 mentioning Mary Magdalene, there is the story of a woman of
the street, the streetwalker, the harlot, who comes into the Pharisees’ party where
Jesus is, breaks down, weeps over his feet, wipes them with the hairs of her head.
In the tradition of the Church, Mary Magdalene has often been identified with
this woman, although without any real biblical warrant. She has been identified,
also, both in Jesus Christ Superstar, and another, earlier 20th century drama,
Mary Magdalene, by a man named Maeterlinck, as the woman in John 8, the
woman taken in the act of adultery who was dragged before Jesus with the
question, "What shall we do with her? What does the Law require?" Jesus said, as
he stooped and wrote in the sand, "Those of you who are without sin, cast the
first stone, fulfilling the Law," and with all of them slinking away, he finally
confronted the woman, saying to her, "Does no man accuse you?" She said, "No
man, Lord." He said, "Neither do I. Go your way and sin no more."
There is no biblical basis for identifying Mary Magdalene with the woman in Luke
7 who burst into the dinner party, nor is there any basis for identifying Mary
Magdalene with the woman in John 8 taken in adultery. However, it is a
possibility. We don't know. Whatever was the trouble with Mary Magdalene, as a
matter of fact, she was a wounded, crippled human being. She was a person that
© Grand Valley State University
�Mary Magdalene: Bedeviled
Richard A. Rhem
Page 3
was in bondage. She was a person who was not free, not healthy, not whole. She
was a person who lacked a sense of identity and self-esteem and spiritual health
and wholeness. She was a person who was crippled, injured, wounded. She was a
person who was dominated by some power outside of herself, which was not the
Power of God, but the Power of Darkness. This one, who has been a great,
magnificent woman in the mind of the Church down through the centuries, was,
indeed, a broken, crippled human being. Then she met Jesus. And that's the
hopeful message this morning – that there is no human condition that cannot be
transformed by Jesus Christ. The simple message this morning is that there is no
wounding of the human spirit, no crippling of the human person that cannot be
reversed by the mighty power of God that appeared in Jesus Christ.
I have read books this week because I knew I would be facing Mary this morning,
as I faced you, and I knew the Bible says that out of her had gone seven demons,
and I'm not one who easily believes in demons. I'm not one who easily believes in
angels. I'm not one that easily believes in anything I can't get my hands around.
And it's tough to be a preacher of the Gospel when you are also a person who is
generally on a head-trip, intellectually oriented, and totally conditioned by the
modern scientific method. I say, it's tough to be a preacher of the Gospel when
your head keeps getting in the way. And so, I knew I had to start early, but I
didn't start early, I simply went late. Reading, reading, reading. Hoping that now,
finally, after all of these years of ministry, all these years of preaching the Gospel,
all of these years of dealing with Gospels that have the Son of God and human
cripples and the demonic and evil in them – that I might get some insight as to
how darkness can come to indwell the human spirit and wound and cripple the
human person, and how Jesus Christ can transform, setting the person free.
Well, I could have just concentrated on the magnificence of the Magdalene in her
devotion to Jesus, once she had been healed, and let it go at that. But I couldn't
really do that, either, and so I have struggled and I have wrestled and, believe it
or not, even prayed. Here is a story of a human being, a human being crippled. I
know human beings crippled. I know human beings in this congregation this
morning who are crippled, who are wounded, who are scarred, who are in the
power of something from which they cannot break free.
We come to church - what for? Religious obligation? That doesn't work here for
very many anymore. We come here - for what? To hear some interesting word,
some scintillating lecture, some good music? Not all bad. But, is that all? Who are
you this morning who has entered the sanctuary and come into the presence of
God and presented yourself? Is there not one here this morning who is wounded
and crippled and broken, struggling with darkness, knowing the anguish of the
desperation within for which there seems to be no liberating word? Let me tell
you that Mary Magdalene must have been that kind of a person. She is portrayed
movingly in some of the drama written about her. She has sparked the
imagination of playwrights; she has caused the creativity of artists to flow.
© Grand Valley State University
�Mary Magdalene: Bedeviled
Richard A. Rhem
Page 4
Because there she is, bound with seven demons, in the grip of darkness, meeting
Jesus, life turned upside down! Changed.
I've been changed. Yes, really changed.
I don't know how to love him.
He scares me so. I want him so. I love, him so.
I've been changed. Yes, really changed.
Have you come to church this morning to be changed? Have you come to church
this morning conscious of bindings, bondage, unfreedom, darkness and
desperation? I announce to you the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which says that he has
the power to deliver you from whatever shackle binds your spirit. And he can
transform you, wherever you are and whatever your condition, into a person that
is whole and healthy, full of worship and praise, love and devotion. Jesus can
make you new. I believe that.
I don't understand it. I often wrestle with it. Jesus taught us to pray, saying, "...
deliver us from the Evil One." I don't know anything about the Devil, Satan. I
even get queasy when people talk about the Devil. Most of the time, when people
say the Devil did this or that, I get to thinking, "Ah, don't blame it on the Devil.
We are responsible and we are to be mature and we have a certain freedom to
make our own decisions. Don't blame it on the snake." It's not easy for me to
picture a universe in which there are, in reality, spiritual powers that impact our
lives. But I believe it. In spite of myself, I believe it. And I believe the story of
Mary Magdalene is in scripture as a sign of hope for every human being that
would be set free.
I read a document to which I referred some months ago, Healing The Family
Tree, in dazed amazement as it tells about the reversing of incurable, irreversible
human situations simply by believing prayer in Jesus' name for deliverance and
for healing.
Mary Magdalene marches before us this morning as a sign of hope. I confess
before you that too many of you have come to me and I, with you, have too
readily, too easily acquiesced to the givenness of the human situation. I have not
had faith. I confess to you - I do it not as a rhetorical ploy. I confess to you that it
is hard for me to believe! Do you hear me? So, I am preaching beyond my
experience and I am preaching beyond my faith. I am preaching what the Bible
says this morning, calling you to the possibility that your life could be set free if
you believe in Jesus and asked him to set you free from whatever shackle or chain
is weighing down the human spirit.
Don't believe as I believe. Trust the word of God, and Jesus can heal you and
change your life, whatever your human situation.
© Grand Valley State University
�Mary Magdalene: Bedeviled
Richard A. Rhem
Page 5
And so, this morning, as we close, I'll pray simply. To the extent that it is your
prayer, you pray it after me. To the extent that you are serious and it reflects
where you are, trust Jesus to do what you need him to do for you. He could
change your life here and now.
Let us pray.
Lord Jesus, Living Christ,
present here, present now, powerful here and powerful now,
as on the occasion when you met Mary Magdalene.
We, too, have demons aplenty
raging within our hearts and minds.
Assured of your love,
assured of the sacrifice you offered once for all,
assured that there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ,
assured that the decree against us has been nailed to the Cross,
assured that the guilt has been removed as far as the East is from the West,
assured that every power of darkness has been conquered
once for all on Easter morning,
assured that you want for us life and wholeness,
Lord Jesus, set us free.
Set us free from whatever is binding us.
Set us free from whatever has got us in its clutch.
Set us free from all the powers of darkness.
Lord Jesus, I believe.
Set me free. Set me free.
Amen.
© Grand Valley State University
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Richard A. Rhem Collection
Description
An account of the resource
Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Clergy--Michigan
Reformed Church in America
Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.)
Religion
Interfaith worship
Sermons
Sound Recordings
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Rhem, Richard A.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a>
Publisher
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Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives.
Contributor
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Kaufman Interfaith Institute
Rights
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<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>
Language
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English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Sound
Text
Identifier
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KII-01
Coverage
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1981-2014
Format
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audio/mp3
text/pdf
Sound
A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds.
Event
Pentecost XXV
Series
No Stained Glass Saints
Scripture Text
Luke 8:2, John 20:16
Location
The location of the interview
Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
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KII-01_RA-0-19861109
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1986-11-09
Title
A name given to the resource
Mary Magdalene: Bedeviled
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Richard A. Rhem
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Clergy--Michigan
Reformed Church in America
Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.)
Sermons
Relation
A related resource
Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Sound
Text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
audio/mp3
application/pdf
Description
An account of the resource
A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on November 9, 1986 entitled "Mary Magdalene: Bedeviled", as part of the series "No Stained Glass Saints", on the occasion of Pentecost XXV, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Luke 8:2, John 20:16.
Followers of Jesus
Freedom
Hope
Mary Magdalene
Transforming Love