Let me first describe for those not fortunate enough to have seen a magnolia tree. It is a staple in southern gardens, having huge white, pink, or yellow fragrant blossoms in early spring. The tree can be massive and can withstand gale force winds. The bloom is said to represent nobility and purity. A “steel magnolia” is a term given to a woman who exemplifies both traditionally feminine traits and uncommon fortitude, often a southern woman who is strong and independent, yet feminine. She is unflinching in character and is often the backbone of the family. A steel magnolia possesses indefatigable strength, determination and resolve. As one writer put it, the image of a steel magnolia “melds beauty with perseverance, softness with backbone, delicacy with durability, sweetness with stamina.” (Sounds awfully like that Proverbs 31 woman!) A steel magnolia is very powerful but she uses that power judiciously.
One biblical steel magnolia was Joanna who was one of Jesus’ main followers. She was the wife of Chuza, Herod’s financial steward. She was obviously a woman of means. She accompanied Jesus during his ministry for at least two years and financially backed much if not most of the disciples’ cost of living.
I am certainly not the first to credit Mary Magdalene with being a steel magnolia. While not from the South, she was a source of strength throughout Jesus’ ministry. She is mentioned fourteen times in the gospels; in eight of these accounts she is named with other women, but she always is first in the list. It is noteworthy as well that she was the first to see Jesus after his resurrection. What an honor!
It is also noteworthy that she and the other women stood steadfast at the crucifixion (as the men fled) until the very bitter end. She followed Jesus on his last journey to Jerusalem, was there at the trial where he, who was without sin, was pronounced guilty. She must have witnessed Jesus being spat upon and violently beaten, and yet she was still there. She would have seen his dreadful walk to Calvary and the torture of being nailed to the cross. How did she bear this? She would have heard Jesus’ agonizing cries and been heart-broken as the spear thrust into his side pronounced him dead. Was Jesus comforted by their presence, by their closeness which displayed their love and loyalty? Her presence throughout this vicious ordeal spoke volumes about her. The anguish of watching Jesus die and the hideous passions of those who mocked him and wanted him dead did not cause her to abandon her watch. She never ran away. She remained steadfast there until the very bitter end. I think her fierce love for Jesus and her courage (and that of the other women) is utterly remarkable, almost unimaginable. She was the last to leave the cross, staying close to Jesus’ body. She allowed nothing to disrupt her witness, her loyalty to Jesus. She watched as Joseph of Arimathea sealed his body in the tomb and surely went away with one of the greatest griefs known to humankind.
But then, her world was shaken by our all-powerful God and she was allowed to be the first one to witness history’s most important event ever. Not only is Mary the most unlikely of candidates for this honor, but her story reveals Jesus’ going against what is expected, working via surprise (as is God’s method as well). The fact that Jesus and his Father used one of the most unlikely is in itself a wonderful testament to the fact that if we allow ourselves to be used, God will do totally amazing things (Luke 7:43).
When Mary realizes it is Jesus who is speaking to her, she addresses him as Rabboni, which means teacher, and obviously in this case, her beloved teacher. (It is interesting that before she recognized who it was who was speaking to her, she addressed the man as “sir,” — kurie, “lord,” a title flexible enough to be applied to God and a gardener!) Mary was then the first commissioned to tell the twelve, and no doubt she told and re-told her teacher and lord’s victory over death for the rest of her life. What a witness she had as the most pre-eminent witness to resurrection! She would have spoken with passion about the resurrection of Jesus. What she experienced — seeing him with her own eyes go from death to resurrected life — would be the preview and model for his followers.
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