My encounter with Jesus
What could the heroes of the New Testament tell...
Each of us has our own path to God, our own past, our own inner world. We are not alike, but among all the differences there is one thing that unites us - the day when we met God. Those who cannot remain silent want to talk about this unforgettable meeting.
Hello, my name is Andrey. My first encounter with Jesus? Oh, I will never forget this, and I can talk about it for days.
At that time, a very gifted preacher was working in our area. There were always not enough seats at the services he conducted. His sermons differed from the dull sermons of famous theologians. Judge for yourself, every day there were divine services, and no one said that it was boring, but everyone asked him to continue preaching further. Each divine service was necessarily accompanied by baptism. And so every day. That was the time! My friend and I rejoiced at these meetings and tried to help the teacher in organizing the services.
One day the teacher drew the attention of all those present to the Stranger, calling him “the Lamb of God.” After these words, I wanted to get to know the Stranger better, and together with a friend after the service, we asked to visit Him. After the first words, the tension subsided. This was Jesus of Nazareth, about whom our teacher John spoke a lot in his sermons. We did not notice how that day flew by, but what He said and how He spoke, the atmosphere in the house - everything testified that Heaven Itself had descended to the sinful Earth. He truly was the Messiah of God, and we simply could not remain silent about this. Although it was dangerous to speak loudly about the Messiah, we tried to do everything possible so that those who seek and thirst would find Him. But this was only the beginning of discoveries. Every new day with Jesus was a day of amazing and unique experiences for me.
Don't believe me? Try it yourself. Good luck with this!
Hello. And my name is... However, this is not so important, and no one has ever asked me about my name. Today I am simply your sister in faith, but before I did not belong to the “elect” and was a woman with a bad reputation. A first failed marriage, then a second failed attempt to find happiness only made my life more difficult. I dreamed of happiness, but they condemned me. My relatives turned away from me, and the neighbors, giggling, pointed their fingers at me and whispered about something. You don’t understand what it means to be rejected, to feel like a stranger among your own.
That day I specifically went for water when the sun was high and it was very hot. I just didn’t want to see those smug faces and listen to ridicule in my direction. I could bear the scorching sun more easily than meeting neighbors or even relatives.
But that day a surprise awaited me. A man of about thirty, of good appearance, sitting at the well, asked me for water. Today I am ashamed of my reaction to his request, but then my response was a means of protection. I was angry at the whole world. But He became the only one who did not consider it shameful to talk to me. After a short conversation with Him, I was disarmed. As it turned out, He knew my past, but I didn’t want to hide, run away from Him, or even be insolent.
I will never forget that meeting. Do you know what happened then?
You will not believe. I was driven by the desire to hug everyone and tell and show them the One who changed my life. If you only saw how I, as if on wings, rushed back. I approached each window and door, pointing towards the well, and called to follow me.
Later, when Jesus left, they came and apologized to me. Yes, I was good too. Do you want to know how our city has changed since those days? It's better to experience it yourself.
Can you tell me your story?
You say that before you met Jesus you didn’t want to see anyone, and I was born blind. But I heard it well. But what I heard did not always bring me joy. From what they said about my family, it became clear to me that there was a curse on it. My parents were suspected of grave sins, and my helplessness was a constant reminder of damnation. I heard everyone telling my father: “Repent.” In response, dad sighed heavily: “If only I knew what to repent of.”
In order not to be a burden to the family, I asked to be taken out onto a busy street, where I begged and thereby earned my bread. Anything could be heard. Some believed that if I didn’t see, then they could talk about me and my family in front of me. However, I could distinguish people by their voices.
On that busy street I had already heard different rumors about Jesus. One day I again heard a conversation of people talking about me. Someone asked: “Teacher, who sinned, he or his parents?” I wonder if they even understood what they were talking about? How could I have sinned before I was born? Do you also think this is possible? You don't have to answer. However, what I heard from Master's lips was a sweet melody to me. I was ready to listen to this again and again. This meant that there was no curse on our family! Then there was silence. A few moments later, I felt someone’s hands touch my eyes, and a voice addressed to me: “Go, wash yourself.” Someone took me by the arm and led me to the pond. And then... Well, then for the first time I saw what water looked like, I saw myself in the water. It’s impossible to convey, but it’s as if I was born again. I began to re-understand the world around me. As an adult, I saw my mother for the first time. How beautiful she is! I am immensely grateful to the God of my fathers for sending His Son to me and giving me new life.
What experiences have you had with Jesus? Thank the Almighty for everything and tell others about it. God bless you!
Leonid Grab
Newspaper “Hidden Treasure” No. 5 (181) May 2012
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Biography
Mary Magdalene is a follower of Jesus Christ, mentioned both in Catholicism and in Orthodoxy and Protestantism. Shelters for fallen women are named after her, the image of a repentant sinner is identified with her, and prayers addressed to the icon of Magdalene bestow humility, courage, help in persecution and admonition of non-believers. Mary is traditionally considered the patroness of social workers, preachers and teachers. Mary Magdalene was also a favorite subject of Renaissance artists.
Love theories
The personal life of Mary Magdalene is shrouded in a halo of mystery, so it is not surprising that various love theories about the Equal-to-the-Apostles saint appear among historians. For example, some believe that Mary Magdalene was the wife of John the Theologian, while others are confident that the myrrh-bearer was the wife of Jesus Christ, because this woman plays a significant role in almost the most important episode of the New Testament.
Since church representatives tried to get rid of unofficial books, there is practically no news about who Jesus’ beloved was, and there is an assumption that the lines about the family life of the Messiah in the New Testament were cut out on purpose.
Meeting of Mary Magdalene and Jesus Christ
But most scholars are inclined to favor Magdalene. In the Gospel, there is an indicative episode when the disciples of the Son of God were jealous of Jesus for Magdalene because of a kiss on the lips.
Also, in those days, an unmarried woman did not have the right to accompany wanderers on the road, unlike the wife of one of them. Among other things, scientists refer to the fact that after the resurrection Christ appeared to Mary, and not to his disciples. And besides, men who did not have a wife were considered a strange phenomenon, so an unmarried Jesus would hardly have been able to become a prophet and teacher.
Christianity
According to biblical legends, the holy virgin became a follower of Jesus Christ after being healed from evil spirits and repenting of sins, so many admirers of Christian traditions have the idea that Mary Magdalene was a great harlot and sinner.
This identification of Mary with the nameless woman of the Gospels who washed the Savior’s feet can be found in the Catholic tradition, but the fornication of a follower of Christ is not mentioned either in the Menaion or in its akathist. Thus, in Catholicism, Magdalene takes the form of a former harlot, and the Italian painter Titian managed to convey the woman’s emotions in his painting “The Penitent Mary Magdalene.”
According to Catholicism, Mary Magdalene was a representative of the oldest profession, and when she met the Son of God, she abandoned her craft and became his follower.
It is worth noting that Orthodox scriptures speak only about Magdalene’s demonic possession, denying her riotous past. But Mary's life was not sweet, because the virgin was not married and had no children. In those days, such women were looked upon with suspicion, and in order to protect herself from the advances of men, Maria had to pretend to be possessed.
Holy Myrrh-Bearer Mary Magdalene
In the Orthodox tradition, Mary Magdalene appears as the Holy Myrrh-Bearer Equal to the Apostles (in Protestantism - exclusively as the Holy Myrrh-Bearer). She made an undeniable contribution to the work of preaching. Mary spread the news of Jesus in Italy and one day visited the pagan leader Tiberius.
The woman handed him a chicken egg as a gift, for lack of anything else, and said “Christ is Risen!” Tiberius stated that resurrection was as impossible as the fact that a donated egg would turn scarlet. However, the egg turned blood red. This is how the Easter tradition was born.
Mary Magdalene
It is believed that Christ’s companion worked a lot in Rome, as evidenced by the book of the New Testament, which contains the collections of the letters of the Holy Apostle Paul.
As for Catholicism, it is said that Mary Magdalene spent the second part of her life in the desert, where she led an ascetic lifestyle and repented of her sins every day. The clothes of the holy virgin had decayed, so the woman’s nakedness was covered with long hair, and Mary herself was carried into heaven by angels in order to heal her exhausted old body. But it is worth saying that this plot is borrowed from the description of the life of the Christian saint Mary of Egypt, considered the patroness of confessing women.
Death
In Orthodoxy, Mary Magdalene died quietly and calmly, a woman died in Ephesus, and her relics were transferred to the Constantinople monastery of St. Lazarus.
According to another branch of the Christian movement, while Mary was a hermit in the desert, she was given communion by a priest who accidentally wandered into those parts, who was at first embarrassed by the naked appearance of the woman. According to Catholicism, the remains of the Equal-to-the-Apostles saint are kept in the church of Saint-Maximin-la-Saint-Baume, in Provence.
Death of Mary Magdalene
In memory of Mary Magdalene, many colorful paintings were written and documentaries were made. It is noteworthy that on the canvases the disciple of Christ is depicted in individual scenes extremely rarely, whereas she can often be seen in the image of the myrrh-bearer, with a vessel of incense.
Childhood and youth
The biography of Magdalene is full of mysteries and secrets, because the only source pointing to the reality of the life of the legendary follower of Jesus Christ is the Gospel text. Therefore, to this day, biographers and scientists cannot confirm or deny whether Mary Magdalene is a historical figure.
Portrait of Mary Magdalene
There is practically no information about the childhood and youth of this heroine. The name of the supporter of the Messiah is mentioned only in some sources - in the Gospel of Luke, where, in the narration of the existence of the Son of God, miraculous healing from demons is mentioned, as well as in the other three manuscripts - John, Matthew and Mark - the woman’s name can be found only in a few episodes.
Equal to the Apostles Mary Magdalene was born in the Israeli city of Magdala, located on the shores of Lake Gennesaret, in the northern part of the Holy Land.
One can only guess in what family Mary grew up and was brought up, and who her parents were, because the holy scriptures are silent about this. Although Western European legends say that her parents were called Sir and Eucharia, other sources indicate that Magdalene was an orphan and worked in the market.
It is worth paying attention to the name of the disciple of Jesus Christ. Mary comes from the Hebrew language, and Christian tradition translates this name as “lady.” According to traditional biblical beliefs, this was the name of the mother of Jesus Christ, after whom other revered Christian figures were named. And the nickname Magdalene has geographical roots and means “a native of the city of Migdal-El.”
Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane
The toponym literally stands for “tower”, and there are reasons for this. The fact is that in the Middle Ages these buildings were a feudal symbol of knighthood, and, therefore, this noble connotation was transferred to the personal qualities of Magdalene, who was endowed with an aristocratic character.
But there is another assumption regarding the nickname of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Virgin: in the multi-volume religious codex the Talmud there is the expression “magadella,” which translated from Hebrew means “hair curler.”
