Sermon Snippets - Getting a reputation

When you've been labeled a certain way, it gets hard to shed that reputation. Sometimes those are earned. But I've recently been thinking about how many times in my life I believed something about someone based on no evidence at all and/or because all my peers did.

This has all been provoked by my current sermon series on misunderstood women of Scripture. All of these characters have been unfairly maligned to one extent or another, but this past week when we looked at Mary Magdalene was a doozy.

She's been cast as a everything from a reformed prostitute to Jesus' secret wife. None of these theories are rooted in Scripture though. Luke 8 mentions her as a close follower of Jesus who had been delivered from demonic possession. But there's nothing about sexual immorality or anything of that kind in any of the Gospel accounts which never hold back on people's sin. 

In reality, she demonstrates a high-level of devotion both as a student and a supporter of Jesus. Her life was a dramatic witness to Jesus' divine power and she was undoubtedly a key source for the Gospel writers as they compiled their accounts of Jesus' life. 

She's an example of how God can transform us, just not in the scandalous way we've been led to believe. And she's also an example of how we can faithfully follow Jesus as disciples.

Renaissance artists helped perpetuate these myths about Mary Magdalene, portraying her in a penitent-but-sensual light.

FWIW, this all started (probably), with a sermon Pope Gregory gave in AD 591. He confused and conflated a couple different stories of a couple different women (Luke 7, 8, John 12) and made them all about Mary M. 

Sermon Snippets - The Woman at the Well

See if you can spot the lie:

• Bats aren't actually blind. Some can see better than humans.
• Napoleon was above-average in height for his day.
• We don't have five senses, we have closer to twenty.
• The woman Jesus interacts with at a well in Samaria was a promiscuous relationship-addict who went from one man to another looking for the right guy.

If I haven't made it obvious, it is the last bullet point. Don't believe me about the first three facts? I refer you to this resource. Don't believe me about the last one regarding the story from John 4? Let me refer you to this article (and/or the Sandra Glahn-edited book "Vindicating the Vixens" which features that same article as one of it's chapters).

The article makes a compelling case that when we study the marriage practices of the Biblical world, we'll see this woman in a very different light. 

During her famous discussion with Jesus, he reveals that he supernaturally knows she has been married five times and is living with a man who isn't her sixth husband. It doesn't indicate she was divorced that many times - which would be unheard of when we compare it to other ANE (Ancient Near East) records we have. And even if she had five divorces on her marital resume, in their world, it was rare for a woman to divorce her husband. Women had next to no legal rights and would have to find a male advocate to initiate these proceedings. Men on the other hand could find lots of excuses to divorce their wives. Though they would suffer dowry loss for any reason other than adultery. A dowry was the material wealth a woman brought into the marriage. It was the only lifeline a woman had to protect her if her husband decided to abuse the system. 

So that brings us to this woman in John 4. which is more plausible? That she was the town tramp who hopped from bed to bed looking for love in all the wrong places? Or that she had husbands who died and/or husbands who had divorced her? That her current living situation was one of illicitly co-habiting or one where culturally they were seen as married? Or maybe it was a situation of bigamy, where she was like Hagar, essentially a second (class) wife. Her townspeople receive her testimony without reservation when she tells them of her interactions with Jesus. The eager reception and the lack of skepticism or hesitancy help convince me that she wasn't wearing some 'scarlet letter' in their minds.

John 4 is a lot less scandalous when we understand the historical context. Her theological curiosity and insight rise to the surface upon deeper reflection too. Maybe she wasn't thirsty for love but rather thirsty for healing and the truth. 

What is also unmistakable is the fact that Jesus satisfies her longings. She didn't even fully understand what she was searching for, but Jesus provided it in abundance. He reached across social barriers and sidestepped needlessly distracting controversies. And he did it all to bring salvation to that woman and her town. 

The beautiful thing is, that previous paragraph also applies to you and me. He quenches our thirst and he compels us to disregard the barriers and reach out to those around us with the offer of living water found only in Christ.

Music Mondays - Best Movie Ending Songs (#5-#1)

5. Napoleon Dynamite, "The Promise", When in Rome

A sweet, quirky, funny movie stumbles into a pitch perfect song to end the story. "The Promise"is a quintessential 80's song and Napoleon Dynamite takes place in a world seemingly stuck in the 80's. Both the story and song have a lot of heart though. 

4. Stand by Me, "Stand By Me", Ben E. King

This is a quintessential "coming of age" movie and the ending hits you right in the gut. Clearly they had no other choice to play this song at the end. But they certainly earned it.

3. Lone Survivor, "Heroes", Peter Gabriel

Another ending that hits you right in the feels. Lone Survivor is a harrowing account of a Special Forces operation in Afghanistan. When Gabriel's version accompanies pictures and videos of the soldiers portrayed in the movie, the gravity of the movie becomes all the more real. 

2. Fight Club, "Where is My Mind?", The Pixies

Fight Club is a crazy movie with an all-time twist ending. So how do you go out with a bang? Go with The Pixies' haunting and lyrically-nonsensical "Where is My Mind?" A match made in metaphor heaven.

1. The Breakfast Club, "Don't You (Forget About Me)", Simple Minds

Is there a more iconic closing frame than Judd Nelson in The Breakfast Club? John Hughes had a knack for blending the right songs with his great stories. This is the best movie-ending song ever. There's a reason a music-centered movie like Pitch Perfect makes a whole thing of it.