Worship

By AMY MOORE

Transparency reduces our risk

Ancient texts reveal Mary as ‘the Tower’

School is back in session, this year with a new policy for transparent backpacks. The transparency requirement, established with community input, prevents items from being hidden that could risk putting students and staff in harm’s way.

Transparency is critical to honesty, accountability and establishing trust. Transparent backpacks will not solve all the safety concerns in school, but I got to wondering how being transparent might impact community?

I’ve just learned about something that has been hidden for more than 2,000 years. Inasmuch as what has been hidden comes from the Christian New Testament, its message is relevant to faithful living regardless of your tradition.

New Testament scholar Elizabeth Schrader discovered something that had been hidden in the Gospel of John’s most ancient historical writing. Known as Papyrus66, circa 200 CE, the writing is housed in a library in Cologny-Geneva, Switzerland.

Access to this original papyrus required travel, academic credentials, time and money. Only recently has digitization made these ancient manuscripts more widely accessible — opening a new world of transparency!

With the ability to examine P66 by computer and magnify the text, Schrader discovered alterations scratched into the letters.

The original text did not have the name Martha. Throughout John 11 and 12, where the name Martha appears, an ancient editor had changed what was originally “Mary”.

In addition, pronouns are altered and “sister” is made plural. These intentional edits resulted in making a story that was initially about Mary, the sister of Lazarus, into a story about two sisters, Mary and Martha.

These edits hid the fact that Mary made the Messianic Proclamation in John 12, not Martha — who then disappears from the gospel story. Mary is present at the cross and witnesses the resurrection.

Schrader’s discovery exposes that John 11 and 12 is a story about Lazarus’ sister, Mary Magdalene, who is from Bethany.

“Magdala”, a non-existent city in the first century, is not where Mary was from. Rather the Aramaic word “Magdala” is a title given to Mary meaning “Tower”.

Schrader’s work was published in the Harvard Theological Review and confirmed by the translation committee of the Greek New Testament.

Whether or not you believe in Jesus as the Messiah, this is a story about a woman of faith that was kept hidden behind the name Martha by someone in the fourth century who edited the oldest text of John’s gospel.

What were they trying to hide to affect the centuries to follow? What harm has been created by a lack of transparency?

Christian history scholar Diana Butler Bass wonders what Christianity would look like today if these 2,000 years were informed by “Mary, you are the Tower, and by this Tower we shall stand” and not only “Peter, you are the Rock and upon this Rock I will build my church”?What would our faith lives look like if “Mary the Tower” was the story? How might our homes, families, neighborhoods be different if we really knew one another’s story?

How can transparency reduce our risk of harm?

AMY W. MOORE, a pastor in the Presbyterian Church, serves the Grace Presbytery Social Justice Task Force and is a regular contributor to the Advocate’s Worship Column. To support the Worship Column, email sales@ advocatemag.com.

WORSHIP

BAPTIST

CLIFF TEMPLE BAPTIST CHURCH / 125 Sunset Ave. / 214.942.8601 Serving Oak Cliff since 1898 / CliffTemple.org / English and Spanish 9 am Contemporary Worship / 10 am Sunday School / 11 am Traditional

GRACE TEMPLE BAPTIST Come to a Place of Grace! Sunday Worship: English Service 9:30am / Spanish Service 11:00am 831 W. Tenth St. / 214.948.7587 / gracetempledallas.org

CATHOLIC

ST. CECILIA CATHOLIC PARISH / StCeciliaDallas.org / 1809 W Davis St. Saturday - Bilingual Mass 5PM; Sunday – English Masses 7:30AM & 11AM; Spanish Masses 9AM & 1PM

DISCIPLES OF CHRIST

EAST DALLAS CHRISTIAN CHURCH / 629 N. Peak Street / 214.824.8185 Sunday School 9:30 am / Worship 8:30 am - Chapel 10:50 am - Sanctuary / Acting Senior minister Rev. Allison Drake / edcc.org

EPISCOPAL

CHRIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH / ChristChurchDallas.org Sunday School: 11:15am /Mass: 9am & 10am English, 12:30pm Español Wednesday Mass: 6pm English, 8pm Español / 534 W. Tenth Street

METHODIST

TYLER STREET CHURCH / Join us @tylerstreet.church / 927 W.10th St. / 214-946-8106 / Study of God’s Word Contemporary / Anderson Hall Sat 5 pm / Traditional & Worship Sunday 10 am Tylerstreet.com

KESSLER PARK UMC / 1215 Turner Ave./ 214.942.0098 I kpumc.org 10:30am Sunday School/11:00 Worship /All are welcome regardless or race, creed, culture, gender or sexual identity.

NON-DENOMINATIONAL

KESSLER COMMUNITY CHURCH / 2100 Leander Dr. at Hampton Rd. “Your Hometown Church Near the Heart of the City.” 10:30 am Contemporary Service / kesslercommunitychurch.com

TRINITY CHURCH OAK CLIFF / Love God. Love Others. Make Disciples. Sundays 10:00 am / Worship & children’s Sunday School 1139 Turner Ave. / trinitychurchoakcliff.org

PRESBYTERIAN

PARK CITIES PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH/ 4124 Oak Lawn Ave Sunday Worship 9:00 & 11:00 A.M. To all this church opens wide her doors - pcpc.org

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