In Case You Haven't Figured It Out Yet...
What I think is going on in my Luke passage is that this Pharisee invites Jesus over for a meal but then this group of uppity rich women, led by Mary Magdalene, barges into the party and performs this kind of Act Up moment where one of them lets down her hair, washes Jesus's feet, and then anoints them with nard. Everyone in the room would have gotten the significance of the nard (they all knew Song of Songs since boyhood). These women were all saying that they were the Brides (or lovers!) of Jesus.
Of course, the reason they did this was because there was a huge power struggle going on between Peter and Mary Magdalene (Gospel of Mary 9:3-9). This was a bit of theater that these women put on to show how much power they really had.
History did not treat them well, either calling them whores and prostitutes or forgetting them all together. But, truth is, there would have been no Christianity had it not been for the women of means that supported Jesus and his sorry lot as they wandered through the countryside. And, the Catholic Church, being descendant of Peter, wanted to forget that.
This is what my sermon is going to be about. What do you think?
Of course, the reason they did this was because there was a huge power struggle going on between Peter and Mary Magdalene (Gospel of Mary 9:3-9). This was a bit of theater that these women put on to show how much power they really had.
History did not treat them well, either calling them whores and prostitutes or forgetting them all together. But, truth is, there would have been no Christianity had it not been for the women of means that supported Jesus and his sorry lot as they wandered through the countryside. And, the Catholic Church, being descendant of Peter, wanted to forget that.
This is what my sermon is going to be about. What do you think?