John Beverley Butcher - Sacred Partnership: Jesus and Mary Magdalene

Dedicated to Marie

My Beloved Daughter

a p o c r y p h i l e p r e s s

BERKELEY, CA

Apocryphile Press

1700 Shattuck Ave.

#81 Berkeley, CA 94709

www.apocryphile.org

2011 by John Beverley Butcher

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN 978-1-937002-04-6

eISBN: 978-1-937002-76-3 (Kindle)

eISBN: 978-1-937002-77-0 (ePub)

Ebook version 2

Cover Icon: Chalices of Mystery by iconographer Lewis Williams, copyright 2009. The Icon is available in a variety of formats from www.trinitystores.com

T ABLE OF C ONTENTS

WHAT MIGHT THE STORY OF JESUS OF NAZARETH and Mary Magdalene look like, John Beverley Butcher asks, if Jesus and Mary are given the places in the gospel story that they occupy in such recently discovered texts as the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary, and the Gospel of Philip? Butchers answer to this question is provided in the present book, Sacred Partnership, a narrative volume that most resembles a modern-day gospel. Written in the present tense, the volume narrates a powerful story of ancient wisdom, holy mystery, and sacred partnership, with disarmingly contemporary overtones. In the story Jesus announces, The kingdom of the Father and Mother is within you, and somewhat later Mary echoes this announcement by observing, The Seed of True Humanity is within you. Liturgies for Sacred Rituals based upon the wisdom of Jesus and Mary are given at the conclusion of the volume.

John Butcher is well prepared to formulate this dramatic retelling of the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth and Mary Magdalene. He is an ordained priest in the Episcopal Diocese of California and the author of The Tao of Jesus (Harper, 1994), Telling the Untold Stories (Trinity Press International, 2001), and An Uncommon Lectionary (Polebridge, 2002). For some time he has been a member of the Jesus Seminar, and he brings to expression many of the insights voiced by scholars within that group. In the books he has written and the workshops he has led, Butcher explores multifaith religious possibilities linked to the arts and liturgy. It is precisely this set of commitments that empowers and inspires the vision of good news in Sacred Partnership.

Marvin Meyer

Griset Professor of Religious Studies, Chapman University

Editor, The Nag Hammadi Scriptures, HarperOne, 2007

I HAVE BEEN FASCINATED WITH JESUS ALL MY LIFE and with Mary Magdalene for almost as long. There is something about them that draws me like a magnet. I need to study all the information about them that I can get my hands on.

Our database on Jesus of Nazareth and Mary Magdalene has been substantially and dramatically expanded by the discovery of the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Peter, the Gospel of Mary, the Gospel of Philip and many other significant sacred texts.

Most notable was the discovery of the Nag Hammadi Scriptures in 1945, the same year that the atomic bomb was first used on other human beings: one discovery leads to destruction and death, the other provides us with wisdom for rebuilding life.

Since that time there has been intense research by many competent scholars leading to a creative explosion of new books on Jesus and on Mary Magdalene. The implications are enormous and challenge us to rethink our understanding of these two people, their relationship, and their wisdom teachings.

The conventional New Testament has scant information on Mary Magdalene which diminishes her and keeps her mainly in the background. With the new data available to us, we can see clearly that she is the closest woman companion to Jesus. She works closely with him in their shared ministry of teaching and serving as catalysts for healing both before and after his crucifixion.

What might the Gospel story look like and how might it read if Mary Magdalene were to be returned to her rightful place? My task is twofold: to put her back into the story where she belongs and to restore the neglected wisdom teachings from her and from Jesus.

According to the research of the Jesus Seminar scholars and many others, the first written records are the sayings Gospels: Gospel of Thomas and the Q Gospel. Their first editions were produced about the year 50 C.E., just two decades after the crucifixion of Jesus. Mark comes later about 70 C.E., Matthew about 80 C.E., Luke and John about 90 C.E.

Thomas and Q provide us with wisdom teachings usually standing on their own without providing any specific context. In studying the sayings Gospels and arranging the teachings, I began to understand from the inside how the other Gospel writers of Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John were creating scenes to embody the teachings in a coherent fashion. I am following their example by creating contexts to hold the newly discovered vibrant teachings alongside the familiar ones.

I am excited about our expanded database and have been searching all the information I can find that is available in English translation. I want to know more about the Gospel writers own spiritual experiences behind their wisdom teachings.

Those who hear Jesus and Mary are often astonished at their teachings since they speak on their own authority and not as the scribes. I am convinced that their authority originates with their experience of Sacred Mystery within, between, around, and beyond themselves. In other words, first comes the experience, then comes the teaching.

What were their experiences? And who were the people who were most influential in their lives? These are among the questions that energize me in researching the documents and doing my writing.

In the pages that follow, I offer you my best effort in restoring Mary Magdalene to her rightful place alongside Jesus in the Gospel tradition. I am seeking to rediscover and reclaim them both as historical and archetypal characters.

I am also committed to verifying and supporting their companionship which is best summarized, He knew her completely and loved her devotedly.

In addition, I am wondering what would happen if both Jesus and Mary were to be integrated more fully into rituals of baptism and eucharist? In the concluding section of this book I provide new rituals and invite you to consider using them in your own communities of faith as I have since 1994.

Please note that this book is heavily foot-noted. If you are reading and find yourself asking, Where did John Butcher get that idea? simply consult the footnotes for the chapter and verse of a sacred text or writings from reliable scholarly sources.

You will find that normally the words and actions of Jesus are rooted in actual citations from sacred scripture. Words and actions ascribed to Mary Magdalene are from original sources plus what I trust are credible expansions.

I now recognize that Mary Magdalene, along with women whom I have perceived as carrying her energies, has been the object of my own intense projections for many years. Gradually my view of Mary Magdalene has shifted. I am seeing her more clearly as a person in her own right. With this shift I am able to see other women more clearly as well.

This book is not a novel. What you have in your hands is my understanding of Jesus and Mary in their Sacred Partnership. How might their life and teachings enable us to enter more fully into our own partnerships and express our true humanity?