Mary the Tower

I grew up hearing about Mary of Magdala — Mary Magdalene. And this story is in Bethany. But Magdala is not a place.

I used to struggle with the element of destruction in creativity. 

That is, until I heard about Mary the Tower. 

I need to credit Diana Butler Bass with this epiphany, and highly encourage you to read what she wrote a month ago — it’s what began to allow everything to click into place. 

The story goes that Elizabeth Schrader, a musical artist with a rich history in the church and the Eucharist, went to the garden of a local church in New York City. As she sat there praying, seeking refuge from the city, she heard a voice — 

“Follow Mary Magdalene.” 

There was a sense of familiarity in this story to me as I read — a realization that Mary Magdalene appears when we least expect it. She did for me, and when she does, you cannot get away. So Schrader enrolls in seminary, and begins to study and pull the red thread. She hones in on the Gospel of John. Specifically, the story of Mary and Martha. 

You know the one. 

In a world of Marthas, be a Mary.

But what if I told you that in her study, she found Papyrus 66, which had been recently digitized? And what if I then said that in looking at the text, Schrader realizes there were edits. 

Edits that added a woman.