Today, July 22

Today, in many Christians churches, it is the feast day of St. Mary Magdalene. Who was this woman? Many believe that she was a prostitute who repented and became a follower of Jesus. Many more are starting to believe that she wasn't even a prostitute at all, but an uncounted apostle and follower of Christ. And there are even some who believe that she was the wife of Jesus, his right-hand-man so to speak.

A brief scan of the wiki page reveals that no one can really agree on what or who this woman was, she may have been a hairdresser from Magdala, she may have been a whore who changed her ways. One thing is in agreement-she was the one who went to Jesus' tomb after he died and discovered that he was not there. And even more profound, she was the first person that he exposed himself to after he came back to life, before he ascended into heaven.

Pretty heavy stuff, huh? He must have thought the world of her to choose her as the first person to reveal himself to. She is the one who delivered the message that he had risen from the dead to the rest of the apostles. Can you imagine having to carry that message? People would think you were nuts!

I have always identified with her-misunderstood, woman of ill-repute, a past cloaked in mystery, closer to the source of goodness than most people realize, a person who repented and rose above her failings and went on to become a very important figure in spirituality. I love the fact that we cannot agree on who she was and what she did. This is part of her mystery.

According to scripture, she stood at Jesus' feet while he was nailed to the cross, along with his mother and his aunt. This tells me that at the very least she had some kind of relationship with his mother and family, to share in this moment of intense grief. Does it matter if they were just good friends or if they were sharing a bed together? I don't think it does, and like any other relationship on Earth besides my own, it's none of my business.

Whether you adhere to Christian beliefs or not, well...that's not the point. You've got to admit at the very least that Jesus had a pretty important role in the history of humankind. Whether you consider him the Messiah, a prophet, or just kind of a cool guy who wanted people to behave well towards each other, he was important in some respect.

And personally, the idea of Jesus having a woman like her behind him kind of fills me with personal hope. Maybe she was the unseen cog in the machine behind the man who caused so much controversy in his day, controversy that continues into the present. I love the fact that we are still debating whether or not she was a whore. Nothing excites people like a woman of ill-repute.

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Want to mention quickly another feast day that occurred almost exactly one month ago, one that might be equally important. We're talking about none other than St. John the Baptist. He just happens to be the dude that baptized Jesus himself.

Ok, so a wee bit of biblical history here. His mother was St. Elizabeth, a cousin of Mary's. She and her husband had tried in vain for a long time to have a child but no dice. Finally, in rather advanced age, Elizabeth was able to conceive. After Mary had the dream that she was with child with the son of God, she went to visit Elizabeth. While walking through the door and greeting Elizabeth, the fetus in Elizabeth's belly did more than the usual rib kick and this startled Elizabeth and filled her with some kind of magical glee that they were in the midst of a very special fetus indeed.

Obviously John was born in the summer and Jesus the following winter. They were cousins but didn't really know each other...yet.

John was performing baptisms in the river. Jesus came to him one day to be baptized and John proclaimed that he was certainly not worthy to baptize the son of god! Jesus convinced him that that was a bunch of bull, and so it was done.

John went on to become beheaded by King Herod for saying some nasty about his wife, which may have been true anyway. This was probably not a good move. John was believed to be a prophet in many religions, and the fore-runner of Jesus in most of Christianity. Beheading this man certainly held no good karma at all.

One of the reasons I bring it up is because one of my best friend, Scott, his middle name is John and his birth date is the day before John the Baptist's feast. I have pointed this out to him, and he doesn't really feel that his mother intended this at all. Yet it is as it is. I like to think that it's the part of the order of the universe that he should have such a special and simple middle name.

John-what a simple same. It's a same that exists in almost every culture. Yahya in Arabic, Johann, Jan, Jean, Giovanni, in various parts of Europe. Yet so much lies behind it. It's one of the most common names-hell, I have over 6 close relatives that have some for of this name.

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Again, it doesn't matter if you are Christian or something else. These are important people in history. I happen to have my own beliefs regarding all of this, and they do sort of fall into the profile of Christianity, but also someone with a deep respect for the history of humankind.