SOUL SEARCH

Who Knows?

On the Da Vinci Code

Fr. Johnny C. Go, S.J., School Director

Mary the Queen Parish

21 May 2006

      
Posted Wednesday, 24-May-2006 8:31 AM

This evening I will show you three paintings.

Here’s a famous one. 

     Of course we all know this painting by now.  It’s the famous “Last Supper” by Leonardo Da Vinci.  Who would’ve thought that a pious little painting like this would become so controversial in our time?  Thanks to the Da Vinci Code—both the novel and now, the film—suddenly this painting is wracked with controversy.  The controversy centers around one of the twelve figures sitting around Jesus during this Last Supper.  Who is this so-called “Beloved Disciple” of Jesus?

     Is it John the Evangelist, as traditionally held?  Or is it Mary Magdalene?  The face, we must admit, looks quite feminine, and it could belong to either an unbearded man, as John, in fact, has always been portrayed, or to a woman.   It’s really quite hard to tell.  According to the so-called “Da Vinci Code,” it is Mary Magdalene.  According to Church Tradition, it is, of course, the disciple John.  Did Leonardo Da Vinci intend the face to be John the Evangelist’s or Mary Magdalene’s?  Who knows?  Was it John the Evangelist or Mary Magdalene who was present at the Last Supper—or both?  Who knows for sure?

     Here’s another painting.  It’s called “The Repentance of Mary Magdalene” by the famous painter  El Greco.  Here’s another dilemma created by the Da Vinci Code:  Was Mary Magdalene a reformed prostitute or actually Jesus’ wife, as claimed by the novel and film?  It’s a question that’s been on some people’s mind for centuries because to be honest, again, “Who knows?” 

     As we know by now, the novel and film claim that Mary Magdalene was married to Jesus.  According to the Da Vinci Code, the Church labeled Mary Magdalene a prostitute and adulteress to discredit her and to hide this scandalous secret. 

     Actually, today, most biblical scholars concede that the Magdalene was probably NOT the same person as the prostitute or the adulteress.  But contrary to the claims of the novel and film, as far back as the early years of the Church, the Church Fathers like Hippolytus, Gregory the Great, and Leo the Great have heaped praises on Mary Magdalene: She has been called the “apostle of apostles,” “the representative of the Church,” and “the new Eve announcing not death but life.”  Those descriptions don’t sound like put-downs to me, and it certainly doesn’t sound like there’s been a conspiracy to discredit Mary Magdalene to hide some explosive secret.

     A third painting: The Holy Grail by Dante Gabriel Rossetti.  Dilemma No. 3:  Is the Holy Grail the cup used by the Lord at the Last Supper, or is it actually Mary Magdalene herself, as claimed by Dan Brown in his novel?  Again, the only correct answer is:  “Who knows?” 

     The novel and film say that according to the so-called “Secret of the Holy Grail,” the Magdalene herself is the Holy Grail because she bore the children of Jesus.  Corollary to this is that Jesus was no more than a human prophet, contrary to the claims of the Church and the New Testament.  Now, according to the Church—and here the Church is adamant:  Jesus was totally human, but also totally divine—a belief that dates back not only to the Council of Nicaea, as claimed by the novel, but to the earliest books of the New Testament—the Letters of St. Paul.

     Questions, questions…  Was there really a conspiracy on the part of the Church to discredit Mary Magdalene?  A conspiracy intended to hide one secret—which brings us to the second question:  Was Jesus really married to Mary Magdalene, and did she bear his children?

     The answer to both questions is--again:  “Who knows?”  As I said last week, religious questions, unlike scientific questions, cannot be answered with complete certainty.  Religious truths deal with mystery, so they cannot be completely proven. 

     The film and the book have raised questions about our faith.  But that is good because then we have to make a decision about what we believe in.  We are being compelled to make a choice.  So, now that we have read the novel and some of us have seen the film, we have to make our choice.

     How will we choose?  Which Christ will we choose?  Which claim about Him will we choose to believe in?  The familiar, non-dramatic, and perhaps even boring claim that “Nope, there hasn’t been any conspiracy at all, and “Sorry, Jesus wasn’t married to Mary Magdalene”?  She was one of several woman disciples of Jesus, certainly one of the most faithful ones.  Or will we prefer to believe in the more dramatic and juicier claim that the Roman Catholic Church has been propagating a grand conspiracy, and thank God it’s now finally exposed by—of all things—a bestselling work of fiction and now by a Hollywood box office hit?

     We have to choose.  In fact, our Lord wants us to choose.  In the Gospel reading today, our Lord tells us that He no longer calls us slaves, but friends.  He isn’t just being sweet and thoughtful.  He means every word of it.  And here’s one consequence of that friendship:  You see, slaves don’t make choices, but friends do.  It isn’t easy being free and having to make choices because we have to be responsible for ourselves in choosing carefully and wisely.

     What will be our choice?   Remember what I said some weeks ago?  “Careful the Christ you choose. “ It can make a world of difference in your life—and your afterlife. 

     On the one hand, the “Gospel of Judas” portrays an all-too-divine Christ—one who is divine but not human—a Christ with almost a contempt for the human body and this world of ours,.  On the extreme opposite end of the continuum, the “Da Vinci Code” offers an all-too-human Christ who was nowhere near divine.  He was human but not divine: Just another prophet who taught well and got married and had children. 

     The Christ the Church has preached all these centuries is a Christ Who is both human and divine:  He is God in every way, but a God Who chose to join us in our humanity so that He is also human in every way.  Out of love for us, this Christ freely embraced everything human.  During His earthly life, He chose to have his divinity hidden from the world, perhaps even from himself, so that he could be totally human and truly be Emmanuel: “God with us.”

     Now, we have to choose the Christ we want to believe in. Which Christ are you going to believe in?  It‘s actually a question that’s been asked by our Lord before:  “Who do you say that I am?”  How you answer that question will make a world of difference in your life.

For comments and questions, email jcgosj@xs.edu.ph.

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