Lazarus Saturday

That which was lost is now found! So here it is, only a few days late :-)

Mary Magdalene has been of much interest over recent years. Speculation is on-going as to whether she was the disciple that Jesus loved, possibly even his wife, or at least lover, and the mother of his child; the jury is still out as to whether she was the woman who was delivered from possession by seven demons; but it has been established that there was no evidence that she was a prostitute. She was probably not the 'repentant sinner' of Luke's gospel; she may or may not have been the sister of Lazarus and Martha who lived in Bethany; but she probably did come from Magdala (also known as Migdal, the Hebrew word for 'tower'), a village on the shores of the Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee). 

One thing we do know, from the gospel accounts, is that on the equivalent of this day, the day before Jesus entered Jerusalem on what we call 'Palm Sunday', Mary went to where Jesus was at supper with some of his friends and disciples - possibly the house of Simon the leper, but more likely that of Lazarus, Martha and Mary; both Simon and Lazarus lived in Bethany, not far from Jerusalem, to the east of the city. Mary Magdala brings with her a shockingly expensive jar of perfumed oil - spikenard, which, interestingly, is used in Catholic Church iconography to represent Joseph, the father of Jesus (see footnote, below).

 Mary opened the jar and anointed Jesus' feet with the precious oil. When she was upbraided for this, Jesus defended her, on the grounds of her love, and that she was preparing his body for burial, and he foretold that 'wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.' And it is.

Six days later, Mary Magdalene was with Jesus' mother Mary, and Salome (the wife of Zebedee and mother of James and John), at the foot of the cross on which Jesus died - a place reserved for the closest members of the family, putting themselves into danger by being there, associating themselves with a convicted and executed criminal. And it was Mary Magdalene who was the first to go to the tomb where Jesus' body was laid, finding it empty, seeing the Lord risen again to life.

Once upon a time, around 600 to 200 BCE, in Babylon, another woman was celebrated who had anointed her lover/husband/king, Eshmun, before his death, mourned for him, sought out his body, and brought him back to life. She was Estar, also known as Ishtar, or Astarte. Before that, around the first millenium BCE, the same story was told, but the goddess/heroine was Isis, Egyptian Mother Goddess of the Earth, and the god-king was Osiris. And an even longer time ago, as early as 7000 BCE, the Sumerians worshipped the Goddess, the Great Mother, Queen of Heaven and Earth, Inanna. And Inanna, yes, you've guessed it, anointed her bridge-groom, Tammuz (also known as Dumuzi) as a sign of his kingship, mourned and sought him after his death, and brought him back to life.

Eshmun, Osiris, and Tammuz had something else in common too: they were all known and worshipped as Shepherd-Kings. Doesn't that make you think of someone else, only two thousand years ago?!

Footnote: Spikenard

Spikenard is also known as nard, nardin, and muskroot. It is an aromatic, amber coloured essential oil, derived from a flowering plant of the Valerian family, Nardostachys jatamansi, which originates in the Himalayas of Nepal, China, and India. The oil is made by crushing and distilling the rhizomes of the plant, and, historically, was kept in alabaster containers in order to preserve it.

Nard was used as a sedative within the Ayurvedic herbal tradition of India, known as a luxury perfume in ancient Egypt, and part of the Ketoret, the consecrated incense, of Judaism, offered on the incense altar of the Jerusalem Temple. Nard was also mentioned by Homer in his 'Iliad' for the anointing of the dead, and it was also used as a flavouring in ancient Roman food, occuring in the recipes of Apicius. It was as a seasoning that nard was mainly used in Medieval Europe, especially as part of the spice blend used to flavour Hypocras (sweet spiced wine) and, from the 17th century, as an ingredient in Stingo, a strong beer.

Joseph is the patron of the Catholic Church, and, especially in its Hispanic iconography, he is represented by spikenard. Pope Francis has therefore included the spikenard in his coat of arms, next to a star which represents Mary, the Mother of Jesus. (Above them is the symbol for Jesus, the sun, with the cross, nails, and the Christogram IHS.)

This is all complicated by the fact that the term 'nard' is used of other flowering plants, such as lavandula stoechas (French/Spanish lavender) not just spikenard! And in some representations, Joseph appears holding a stem of a white lily, rather than the spikenard. The lily is said to represent purity: the 'purity' of his wife Mary, and of their marriage. But the 17th century Spanish artist Murillo represents him both looking young and loving, and holding a stem of spikenard, in his great painting The Heavenly and Earthly Trinities.

What I find fascinating (and perhaps that is just a sign of an under-used mind?!) is that spikenard thus occurs (Scripturally at least) at both the beginning of Jesus' life (as it represents Joseph) and at the end (used to anoint him by Mary Magdalene). Yes, of course it could be a coincidence... but that doesn't sit right with me.

Whatever, I shall be planting spikenard in our new herb bed this spring!