The Life of Mary Magdalene 抹大拉的马利亚

文/克里斯琴·乔治 译/任东升 析/马月兰

By Christian George

WithoutMary Magdalene1 《圣经》中共有七位以“马利亚”命名的女性，相关知识可通过《圣经》文本或百度查得。, how far would the ministry of Jesus have spread? All four of the Gospels describe her as a character of no small importance.She accompanied Jesus in his travels and supported him financially.Mary stood at the foot of the cross during Christ’s crucifixion, was the first to see the stone rolled away from the tomb and, according to Mark, encountered the risen Jesus before anyone else.

若没有抹大拉的马利亚，耶稣的事迹和教导能传播多远？四福音书都不惜笔墨将她刻画成一个非同小可的人物。耶稣周游传教，她一路陪同，并给予资助；基督被钉十字架之时，她就站在十字架下；耶稣的墓石被移开后，她第一个看到；据《马可福音》记载，她遇见复活的耶稣,也在他人之先。

[2]Despite her importance in the Gospels, 1,400 years of literature, art,and religious teachings have handed down a less-than-biblical portrayal of Mary’s character.Was she, as many have insisted throughout the centuries,a prostitute? Did Mary entice Jesus into having his child, as suggested by Dan Brown in the novelThe Da Vinci Code?What does the historical record reveal about this shadowy heroine who is mentioned 12 times in the Gospels, more than any woman other than the mother of Jesus?

[2]福音书中的马利亚举足轻重，然而，长达1400年的文学著作、艺术作品乃至教义书籍对她的记述都少于《圣经》。那么，马利亚果真曾为妓女，一如多少世纪以来许多人坚信的那样？她曾引诱耶稣并为其诞下后代，又如丹·布朗小说《达·芬奇密码》之暗示？对这位福音书里提及12次，仅少于耶稣母亲的影子般女英雄，历史文献又是怎样披露的呢？

[3]According to Luke, Mary first appears on the scene after Jesus liberates her from the possession ofdemons2 demons一词（见《路加福音》第8章2—3节），在中文译本中有以下翻译：“恶鬼”（如1919年“和合本”）、“恶魔”（如1968年“思高本”）、“恶灵”（如2003年“恢复本”）。and physical ailments.Luke then mentions Mary and two other women as supporting Jesus financially.In first-century Judaism, wealthy women often made contributions toward the provisions of popularrabbis3 rabbi，音译“拉比”，原义为教师，即口传律法的教师，是犹太人中的一个特别阶层。.However, Mary went beyond this practice by joining Jesus’entourage and accompanying him—when all the disciples had fled—during the final moments of his execution.

[3]据《路加福音》记述，马利亚初次露面是在耶稣赶出其身上污灵、治愈其身体疾病之后。路加随后写道，马利亚和另外两位妇人为耶稣提供了资助。在1世纪的犹太教内，家境殷实的妇人给有名望的拉比捐款捐物，并不少见。然而，马利亚不只于此，她不仅加入耶稣的传教队伍——甚至在耶稣受难的最后时刻所有门徒都逃离之时——她依然坚守在其身边。

[4]Mary of Magdala was first conflated with the penitent prostitute Mary of Bethany (Luke 7: 36—38) by Pope Gregory in the sixth century.According to one theory, this was not merely naïve papal exegesis but character assassination on account of Mary having acquired a great deal of influence among early Christians, with prominence rivaling that of Peter, the Roman Church’s first and foremost vicar of Christ.

[4]最早把“抹大拉的马利亚”同怀有忏悔之心的妓女“伯大尼的马利亚”（《路加福音》第7章36—38节）混为一人的是公元6世纪时的教皇格列高利。有一种说法，如此教皇级的解经并非出于“无知”，而是对马利亚这一女性人物的故意抹杀。因为，在早期基督教信徒中，身为一介女子的马利亚，声誉太高，其地位之重要竟与罗马教会基督首席神父彼得相比肩！

[5]While we will never know the reason Mary Magdalene was labeled a prostitute, we do know that in many instances scripture is far more flattering to Mary than it is to Peter.In the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter fell asleep; Mary watched and wept.Peter fled from Jesus and denied him; Mary stayed with Jesus and proclaimed him.Peter abandoned the empty tomb; Mary remained.The comparisons point to the likely reality that Mary played a significant, if not central, role in the early development of the Christian church.She was, after all, the“apostle to the apostles,”as Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas—two of the leading theologian of the Latin tradition—identified her on account of her sharing the news of the risen Christ with the other apostles.

[5]为何抹大拉的马利亚被贴上妓女的标签，我们无从知晓，但我们清楚看到，《圣经》对她的褒奖超过了彼得：在客西马尼园，彼得已睡着，马利亚却在观看、哭泣；彼得逃离并否认耶稣，马利亚却同耶稣在一起并坚认耶稣。对比发现，马利亚很可能在基督教会早期发展史上扮演着一个即便不是中心、也是极为重要的角色。毕竟，正如希波的奥古斯丁和托马斯·阿奎那所说的，她乃是“众使徒的使徒”。这两位著名拉丁神学家之所以如此称许马利亚，是因为她把基督复活之好消息传送给了其他使徒。

[6]Although history has been slow in granting her preeminent status, recent scholarship is rehabilitating her beleaguered reputation.Mary is getting a 21th century makeover that gives new meaning to the ancient words of a poem that Peter the Venerable penned in her honor:

Life is yours forever, Mary,

for your light is come once more

and the strength of death is broken;

now your songs of joy outpour.

Ended now the night of sorrow

Love has brought the blessed morrow.

[6]承认马利亚的非凡地位，历史总是滞后一步。然而，最近的学术研究正在为她正名。“马利亚”成为在21世纪一个得以美化的名字，这也为彼得神父（1048—1156）为其写的赞美诗注入了新意：

生命永归你，马利亚！

因你的光照再次来临！

死亡的力量终被打碎！

你的欢歌喷涌而出！

悲伤之夜现今已过，

爱携来蒙福的明日。