MYTH: St. Mary Magdalene was a reformed prostitute or adulteress.
Do a "Google" search for "Mary Magdalene," and you'll get a cyber-collage of women in various states of un-dress, sometimes kneeling in repentence but just as often assuming an inviting pose or langorous recline. For centuries, St. Mary Magdalene has been revered as the ultimate repentent sinner, but the New Testament tells a very different story.
Outside of the passion narratives, there is only one mention in the gospels that describes Mary's personal history:
"Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod's household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means." Luke 8:1-3 (NIV )
Mary, then, was first among those listed as financing Jesus' ministry. She was neither destitute (and hence, reduced to prostitution to make her living) nor a social outcast. She is spoken of here with respect as one who personally encountered the healing ministry of Jesus, having had "seven demons" cast out from her.
Now, scholars tell us that "demon possession" in New Testament texts is probably best understood as what today we know as mental illnesses. And, in the Bible, the number seven symbolizes "completion" or "perfection." So the author of Luke is here telling us that Mary was filled completely with an unhealthy condition of some kind that was not understood well.
Yet, Jesus made Mary completely whole, and she became a model of faithful discipleship. In the gospels, she not only makes Jesus' ministry possible by supporting Jesus and the Twelve, but as the gospels unfold Mary is shown to be one of Jesus' most faithful followers, remaining at his side in the difficult times when most of the Twelve remained distant. She is also, in Christian tradition, called "Apostle to the Apostles," partly because, in the Gospel of John, she is the first to preach to the Twelve the central message of our faith: the Resurrection of Jesus.
This does not lessen the impact of inspiring gospel stories of sinful woman brought to faith. But because the sinful women of the gospels have been, incorrectly, identified with Mary of Magdala, the gospel story of Mary's own story--her healing, her dedication to Christ and his ministry--is eclipsed, and her identity as disciple and apostle is obscured.
