For St Mary Magdalene's Feast Day

UPDATE: Check this sermon a different friend posted on Facebook about Mary Magdalene's Feast Day.

A friend posted this on Facebook, and I think it's appropriate for this day and age:

An Icon For Our Century - Mary Magdalene
By Joan Chittister, OSB

It is Mary Magdalene, the evangelist John details, to whom Jesus first appears after the resurrection. It is Mary Magdalene who is instructed to proclaim the Easter message to the others. It is Mary Magdalene whom Jesus commissions to “tell Peter and the others that I have gone before them into Galilee.”

And, then, the scripture says pathetically, “But Peter and John and the others did not believe her and they went to the tomb to see for themselves.” It is two thousand years later and little or nothing has changed. The voice of women proclaiming the presence of Christ goes largely unconfirmed. The call of women to minister goes largely unnoted. The commission of women to the church goes largely disdained.

Mary Magdalene is, no doubt about it, an important icon for the twenty-first century.

She calls women to listen to the call of the Christ over the call of the church.

She calls men to listen for the call of the Christ in the messages of women.

She calls women to courage and men to humility.

She calls all of us to faith and fortitude, to unity and universalism, to a Christianity that rises above sexism, a religion that transcends the idolatry of maleness, and a commitment to the things of God that surmounts every obstacle and surpasses every system.

Mary Magdalene is a shining light of hope, a disciple of Christ, a model of the wholeness of life, in a world whose name is despair and in a church whose vision is yet, still, even now, partial.

News Flash: I'm a "Navigator"

We interrupt this hiatus to announce:

Today I was labeled as a "Navigator," as opposed to a "Problem Solver." 

from wikipedia:

A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation. The navigator's primary responsibility is to be aware of ship or aircraft position at all times. Responsibilities include planning the journey, advising the Captain or aircraft Commander of estimated timing to destinations while en route, and ensuring hazards are avoided.

I have always considered myself a problem solver, but when I heard the "Navigator" described, it fit perfectly.  I can adapt my decision-making process to the events going on around me - speed up for the rapids, drift along the calm, deep water, and avoid crashing on the rocks or running aground on  sand bars.  When someone tries to hurry or bully me, I sometimes fear I will capsize, and sometimes go into panic mode.  But usually, I stay the course, and everything goes OK. 

This new label has been validating for me.  It reminds me of my affinity for Mountain Goats (to use another metaphor for navigating hazards), and a recent link that Lakshmi sent me about the North Star.

Now back to our regularly scheduled hiatus.