July 22,2001
St.Mary Magdalene
Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church
Pastor Ole Amund Gillebo

Gospel John 20:1-2, 11-18 "For All the Faithful Women who served in days of old, to you shall thanks be given; to all, their story told".

The St. Mary Magdalene Day reminds us about a faithful woman who served her Lord. Today we also have listened to the fascinating story of Ruth. In Old Testament there is a particular book designed to her.

The story of Ruth is about how a famine strikes Israel 3000 years ago and how the family of Elimelech and Naomi escaped to Moab on the East Bank of Jordan.  As immigrants they faced a different culture and religion.There, in violation of Mosaic law, their two sons married Moabite women. After some years the father and the two sons died. When Naomi heard the good news that the Lord was again blessing Israel, she decided to return. One daughter-in-law, Ruth, refused to be left behind.  Ruth made a firm commitment: "your people will be my people, and your God my God".  As the two women returns to the area of Bethlehem, they are poor and have no means of support. So Ruth goes into the fields during the harvest season to glean. Mosaic law requires that the poor be permitted to follow the harvesters and gather grain that falls to the ground when the sheaves are gathered up (Deut.24:19-21) Boaz, a relative of Elimelech, the father-in -law of Ruth, noticed the young
woman in the field. Knowing about her faithfulness to Naomi, her mother-in-law, he told Ruth to return to his fields and promised her protection. Privately Boaz told his workers to leave some stalks in the field for here to find.  Naomi urged Ruth to work in Boaz' field and to ask for his love and marriage and in this way Boaz had the opportunity to perform the duty of her husband's
family. Boaz was willing to take this responsibility. This agreement was proved by the city elders, Boaz took Ruth as his wife and their first son was Obed, he became the grandfather of David, and Ruth became the great grandmother of the great King of Israel. The story of Ruth is a story of a quiet faith and a godly living in a time of apostasy and decline and how Gods blessing was with her.  God is leading the individual and he is the Lord of the history. Even today Ruth is a model to us. The Book of Ruth has 4 chapters, it takes only a few minutes to read this charming and inspiring story.

The Gospel of today conveys about Mary Magdalene arriving at the tomb early morning the first day of the week. She happened to be the first one to witness
about the resurrection of Christ.  Mary is quite a woman.
Maria was called by the name of her native city, Magdala, on the West Bank of the Sea of Galilee, a few miles north of Tiberias, a gentile city as well.  This little town was wealthy because of fishing and agriculture and good
handcraft business and well known as well because of its notorious moral corruption.  Mary Magdalene was healed by Jesus for seven demons,(Mark16:9, Luke 8:2)  This
meant that she was a healed invalid, not a rescued social derelict. From the four Gospels there is no evidence that she was a back street girl. There is
no ground to identify her with the anonymous sinful woman at the house of Simon the Pharisee. (Luke 7:37)
That she was a woman of means we learn from her ability to support Jesus and his disciples. (Luke 8:2)
Mary was a prominent woman and a spiritual leader among the followers of Jesus. This is seen in the fact that her name is mentioned more often than most, and usually first.  A dozen references show her as a healed one and she was following Jesus from  Galilee and she was ministering to Him (Matt 27:55-56) She was one of few beholding the crucifixion (Mark 15:40), in the Gospel of John it is said she was "standing near the Cross of Jesus. "(John.19: 25) Mary also was the first one coming to the tomb with spices, (Mark 16:1, John 20: 1) and she was the first one to see the risen Lord (Mark 16: 9) and she was the first one to report the resurrection.(Luke 24:10, John 20:18) The Gospels are very careful about all the details. Mary is often in focus as the first one.

Mary is a model to us in two ways:
1) It is said that Mary provided for Jesus and the disciples out of her resources. She spent time and money. Our call is to do the same. We are called to increase and improve. Our call is to go ahead in our service to our Lord and to provide for his Church. This is
the way of God's blessing in our life.
2) Mary told to other people what Jesus had done for her, and after the Resurrection her focus was about the living Lord. Our call is to be witnesses of the same. We are called to tell each other and to proclaim to the whole world: There is a living God. Jesus Christ has an everlasting kingdom. We are baptized to him and confirmed in his church. We shall forever live with Him in his resurrection, the kingdom to come.  This is the faith and the hope of the Church.

We are not devoted to Mary Magdalene, but to her Lord.
"As joyfully she saw him in resurrection light, may we by faith behold him, the day who ends all night."

Amen.