Mary Magdelene Meets Pilate and Claudia

Peter suddenly stirred, almost ran over to Sarah. Phillip had arrived and was pointing to an old haggard, miserly dressed and crouched-over woman making her way up the sandy path that led to the steps of the castle where we were all assembled. They all whispered to each other and then ran to meet her and each carefully and enthusiastically grabbed and hugged and kissed her.

Peter returned to Pilatus and me. Pointing to the woman but twenty-five feet away, he whispered: “It is Mary of Magdalene, your Excellency and Claudia. I have not seen her for years. How she knew of this gathering and how she knew where to find us mystifies my mind and the minds of Sara and Philip.

“ Come, Lady Claudia and my Pilatus. Come and greet the woman who washed the feet of the Master and touched his spike-driven feet at the foot of the cross while Philip and I were in hiding. She was present throughout the trial and throughout the conviction and throughout the crucifixion. She is an old and demented woman now. Her name is Mary of Magdalene. She never left the Lord’s side during this entire horrible episode and lamented by the cross for the three hours that Jesus lingered before his death. Strangely she was the first one to see him after his resurrection.” We learned later that this Mary of Magdalene, an accused prostitute, was saved from a stoning to death by the forgiving power of the Master.

Her wrinkled face, drooping eyelids and rounded, almost deformed shoulders could not completely disguise a certain subtle charm, a charm dulled but not eliminated by time, poverty and malnutrition. She was, indeed, thin, unhealthily thin and bedecked in clothes worn only by beggars.

She spoke with a thick, Middle Eastern accent, an accent made worse by her uncouth grammar. Indeed it seemed a struggle both physically and intellectually for her to form many words or the essence of an intelligible sentence. As we approached she bowed down further, bent her knee and almost touched the ground. My instant instinct, I knew not from whence it came, was to grab her outstretched elbow and hand and raise her up so that, for an instant, our eyes met and I saw a moment of grace and wisdom in her eyes.

“ Mary of Magdalene” announced Peter, “this is his Excellency, the Prefect in the past of Judea, his name Pontius Pilate, and his beloved wife, the Lady Claudia.”

The woman of Magdalene looked at Peter for a brief moment, scanned back at my eyes and faced Peter once again: “Yes Peter, I know the man and I have seen the lady.”

Pilatus and I abruptly eyed each other, our eyebrows wrinkled, a look of skepticism and a strange inquisitiveness enveloped us. It was daunting to say the least, almost ghostly.

“ How can you possibly know us, Mary?” I beat Pilatus to the very same question on his lips.

The graceful smile left her face. She eyed Pilatus first. "You, Excellency, I stood very close to your seating throne as you asked many things of my Master and soon condemned him to the death.

“ And you, gracious Claudia, wife of this man, oh yes how I remember you so well.”

“ How, Mary of Magdalene? Please tell me how. I had no part in the trial which admittedly my husband carried out on this Jesus whom you call your Master.”

Mary stood almost straight, raised her withered left arm and severely crooked finger, and pointed at me. I shall never forget that gesture.

Her gaze fixed on my eyes, a burning gaze.

“ Claudia, fair Roman and loyal wife of this ruler of Palestine; hear this humble servant of the Master. It was two hours after the rising of the sun and one hour into the great trial of my Master by your husband Pontius Pilate. I am an uneducated woman and hardly understood the words of the trial of my Master. I knew only of the divine person of the Master, savior of this world. I knew in my heart the great trial my Master was undergoing but I also knew a far greater trial was going on in the heart and mind and soul of Pontius Pilate.”

Mary paused, a scary pause because I felt she was reading Pilatus’ mind and knew a pause was warranted. Again my eyes turned subtly towards Pilatus and his towards me. I saw agony carved in his face and eyes.

“ Suddenly, my Lady Claudia, behind Pilatus and at some distance towards the great wall that housed the inner chambers of the Prefect, a great noise was heard. Ten Roman guards poured forth from a gate within that wall. Two of them sounded loud trumpets. Pilatus turned to his left and gazed over his shoulder, unaware of what was happening. Six maidens next exited, sprayed oils from lamps and spued garlands o’er the outer court and then you, my fair Claudia, made your appearance on the great portico where sat Pilatus and where stood the Master.”

I still had no sense of what this meant and assumed that Mary of Magdalene was sending forth some great dream she had or some fantasy in her mind.

“ Then what happened, Mary? What did you do?” I was pressing her, convinced that the whole thing was an invention of this mad woman’s mind.

“ I cannot say what happened, my Claudia. I only know it was you. You came up to Pilatus and asked that he leave his chair for a moment and step over to the side of the portico, outside hearing distance of the Master and everyone there in attendance. He sat frozen in anger and curiosity but lent his ear to you. There was a short pause; you whispered something to him.

“ I shall never forget the look in his face as he pushed you aside. It was a look of surrender, surrender to the impossibility of knowing the truth and handing down any justice. I saw in your Pilatus a resignation that none of the trials he ever held nor this one nor any in the future had any way to know the justice of his decisions. The morals and faith of the Empire of Rome were empty containers and he, like other Roman judges, was equally empty in his ability to judge. The Master saw it too. I choose to believe in my soul that he cast a look at me, and a slight smile, but I am too humble of heart to trust that belief.”

Suddenly, like a jolt of lightning, my memory was struck by a thought that brought back the scene to me. I was shocked for a moment. Then I recalled. I came out on the porch where Pilatus was carrying on his trial of Jesus. I grabbed his attention and spoke to him.

Looking up, now, fifteen years later, I shrieked for a moment, looked at Peter, Pilatus, Sarah and the Prefect and said, almost like a dream state speaking:

“My husband, come here a moment I wish to speak to you. Have nothing to do with this innocent man. I have suffered many things in a dream because of him.”

“ Yes,” cried out Pilatus, “yes my love, I do remember that warning from you. I remember being dumbfounded that you would come out and say such things. You never ever interfered with one of my trials. I remember feeling it was an augury and I should listen very carefully to you.”

Mary of Magdalene asked to be excused. She found it very awkward to talk to educated Romans. I could not let her go. I took her hand in mine and embraced it gently but firmly. I whispered to her: “Stay, Mary; my husband is sick of soul and needs you more than any one. Tell him of your Master. Help him for he, too, is on trial.”

Mary took three steps, three awkward and unsure stumbling steps toward my Pilatus. My husband was awe-struck, frozen, hardly able to speak or move.

“ Do you know what I did to your Master, Mary? I know you do not understand Roman law and probably did not see all that happened that day or who was responsible. May I tell you what I did, Mary?”

Mary extended her trembling, aged hand. Pilatus took it into his. Mary spoke thus:

“ There is a grave crime in our law, my Pilatus. It is punishable by death, death from stoning. It is the crime of prostitution. I was, from the age of twelve until forty, a prostitute in Galilee. I have learned it is no crime in Rome but it violates the law of our God in Palestine and sinners must be stoned to death. They came to destroy me and the Master spared my life. He demanded that they show mercy to me and then he commanded that I respect the justice of the law.”

“ He said to them: ‘He who has no sins cast the first stone.’ Those hypocrites; all of them, walked away.

“ He said to me: ‘Mary, pick up thy clothes; walk and sin no more.’”

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