Some Madeleines!

The first thing that you need to know may be obvious to some but not to all. The name MAD-e-Lena is derived from the name “Madeleine” which, in turn, is derived from the name “Magdalene” as in Mary Magdalene, i.e. Mary of Magdala.

Paul claims the place as a “late-born” or perhaps even an “abortion” of an apostle, depending on your interpretation of the text. Mary Magdalene is the apostle who is seldom acknowledged (at least in Western, and particularly Protestant) Christianity. She is the elder sister to the prodigal Paul, if you will.

Often confused with the woman who anointed Jesus’s feet (Luke 7), Mary is identified as a penitent prostitute, but that woman is never named. Mary, rather, is depicted as being healed from seven demons and as a follower of Jesus just like the twelve (Luke 8). Most importantly, she is the first witness to the resurrection (John 20).

In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, she is identified as isapostolos “equal to the apostles”. In the West, theologians like Abelard talked of her as apostolarum apostola “apostle to the apostles”. The apostle that should never have been, which many Christians never realise ever was, is in fact a model for effective discipleship.

The second thing that you need to know is that Mary Magdalene’s day is my birthday, 22 July.

Other than the fact of this date co-incidence, why would I identify with Mary? There are times when I aspire to Mary’s witness and have been times when I have felt as maligned as Mary has been.

Chip on my shoulder? Maybe. Trying to work through some of the realities of what it means to be a creative, feminist Christian thinker? Definitely.

And that’s where the third thing you need to know comes in: the reason for the unusual spelling of Madelena.

As many people discover, when you try to get an internet designation related to your name or preferred concept, somebody else has already inevitably claimed it. So, you begin to play with alternative ways of producing a similar result.

One of my ongoing concerns has been with the MAD-ness of the experienced world: MAD-ness as in Multiplicity (the multiplication of significations from the one sign), Ambiguity (the disparate significations received from the one sign) and Diversity (the variety of signs and symbols around, together with the variety of interpreters). That is essentially what my doctoral thesis is about—that and how to justify a feminist voice in the midst of the MAD-ness in a theological context.

e-lena” – well “E-Laner” what else can I say? It was a statement about the particular means of communication that a blog offered a would-be Magdalene.

I only aspire to Magdalene’s faithfulness both in following and in proclaiming the risen Christ, but I am a beneficiary of the healing power of the grace of God; and maybe, just maybe, I have some good news to proclaim from time to time in my own MAD way.