Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt #21

From her earliest days, Mary Magdalene has known fear and loss at a level so deep she has no hope of surfacing. Bound to the demons within her and incapable of freeing herself, Mary walks in shadow–until one day she encounters a healer, a rabbi who is radically different from the religious leaders and family members who could do nothing to help her. One touch from Jesus and Mary is never the same.

Now Mary’s one mission in life is to serve the one who freed her. She is determined never to leave his side, fearing that if she loses him, she’ll return to her former bondage. Even when the unthinkable happens and her savior is arrested and sentenced to execution, she cannot abandon him as so many others did. Let her be buried in his tomb, for she cannot live without him.

On the brink of despair, Mary is about to discover that while the life of faith is never perfect, perfect love casts out fear–and Jesus makes all things new.

The Women Who Followed Jesus

As I wrote Mary Magdalene’s story, I pondered what it might have been like to physically follow Jesus. I’ve been to Israel and seen the various hills and valleys. Traveling on foot would not have been easy, no matter how used to it they might have been. Camping in open fields or hoping for hospitality among the people of the towns they visited would have been their constant experience, not to mention finding food or taking it with you. After all, Jesus didn’t multiply loaves and fish for every meal. Did it fall to the women to supply the food for all of those followers?

When we visited Israel, I did my best to be as close to our guide as possible. I wanted to catch every word he said because he was teaching me things about the land that I had never heard before. If I cared so much to hear from a human guide with his own opinions and biases, how much more did the women who followed Jesus long to hear Jesus’ perfect words?

We know the women were listening to what He said because they were the only ones who stayed with Him all the way to the cross and then to the tomb. The men feared and fled because they did not understand. No offense to them, but they had their mind still set on earthly things and an earthly kingdom. The women (at least some of them) were paying attention to Jesus when He said that He had to die. They probably didn’t fully grasp why He said such things, but they stayed with Him anyway. And Mary Magdalene was rewarded for her devotion when He revealed Himself to her after He had risen from the dead. Jesus not only allowed women in His company, He elevated them in the eyes of all.

Here’s the Stop #21 Basics:

If you’re interested, you can order Dawn of Grace on Amazon, Baker Book House, Barnes & Noble, ChristianBook or at your local bookstore! 

Clue to Write Down: hammock!

Link to Stop #22, the Next Stop on the Loop: Janelle Leonard

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