Nexus - 0503 - New Times Magazine-pages

Page Content (OCR)

Judah was the fragrant ointment spikenard, an expensive root oil | memorial of her? No; they did not. They completely ignored from the Himalayas, and we learn that this anointing ritual was Jesus' own directive and denounced Mary as a whore. performed always while the husband/king sat at the table. In the To the esoteric Church and the Knights Templars, however, New Testament, the anointing of Jesus by Mary Magdalene was Mary Magdalene was always regarded as a saint. She is still indeed performed while he sat at the table, and with the bridal revered as such by many today, but the interesting part about this anointment of spikenard. Afterwards, Mary wiped his feet with sainthood, when we think about Grail lore, is that Mary is listed as her hair, and on the first occasion of the two-part marriage she the patron saint of winegrowers, the guardian of the vine—the wept. All of these things signify the marital anointing of a dynas- guardian of the Holy Grail, the guardian of the sacred bloodline. tic heir. Other anointings of Messiahs, whether on coronation or admis- r here is much in the Gospels that we don't presume to be sion to the senior priesthood, were always conducted by men, by there because we are never encouraged to look beyond the the High Zadok or the High Priest. The oil used was olive oil, superficial level. We've been aided greatly in this regard in mixed with cinnamon and other spices; never, ever spikenard. recent years by the Dead Sea Scrolls and by the extraordinary Spikenard was the express prerogative of a Messianic bride research of Australian theologian Dr Barbara Thiering. who had to be a Mary, a sister of a sacred order. Jesus' mother The Dead Sea Scrolls have opened up a whole new awareness was a Mary; so, too, would his wife have been a Mary, by title at of jargon; we have a whole new enlightenment here. They set least if not by baptismal name. Some con- down the community offices of the Messiah ventual orders still maintain the tradition by of Israel. They tell us about the council of adding the title "Mary" to the baptismal twelve delegate apostles who were perma- names of their nuns: Sister Mary Theresa, nently appointed to preside over specific Sister Mary Louise. aspects of government and ritual. This leads Messianic marriages were always con- Today, for example, to a greater awareness of the apostles them- ducted in two stages. The first stage, the selves. We now know not only what their anointing in Luke, was the legal commit- we call our theatre names were—we always knew that—but we ment to wedlock. The second stage, the investors "angels" and can understand who they were, who their anointing in Matthew, Mark and John, was our top entertainers families were, what their duties and positions the cementing of the contract. And in Jesus were. and Mary's case, the second anointing at | " We now understand from studying the Bethany was of express significance. Here stars 3 but what would Gospels that there is an allegory within them: the Grail story begins, because, as explained a reader from some the use of words that we don't understand in books of Jewish law at the time and distant culture in today. We now know that baptismal y Flavius Josephus in The Antiquities priests were called "fishers"; we know of the Jews, the second part of this two thousand years’ that those who aided them by hauling time make of marriage ceremony was never con- the baptismal candidates into the boats ducted until the wife was three months in large nets were called "fishermen"; w The angel went to talk mW to the stars"? regnant. and we know that the baptismal candi- Dynastic heirs such as Jesus were lates themselves were called "fishes". expressly required to perpetuate their The apostles James and John were both ines. Marriage was essential, but the ordained "fishers". The brothers Peter law had to protect them against mar- and Andrew were lay "fishermen", and riage to women who proved barren or Jesus promised them priesthood within ept miscarrying, and this protection the new ministry, saying "I will make was provided by the three-month- you to become fishers of men". pregnancy rule. Miscarriages would We now know there was a particular not often happen after that term, and jargon of the Gospel era, a jargon that once they got through that period it was considered safe enough to would have been readily understood by anybody reading the complete the marriage contract. When anointing her husband at Gospels in the first century and beyond. These jargonistic words this stage, the Messianic bride, in accordance with custom, was have been lost to later interpretation. Today, for example, we call said to be anointing him for burial. This is confirmed in the our theatre investors "angels" and our top entertainers "stars", but Gospels. The bride would from that day carry a vial of spikenard what would a reader from some distant culture in two thousand around her neck, for the rest of her husband's life; she would use it years’ time make of "The angel went to talk to the stars"? The again on his entombment. Gospels are full of these jargonistic words. "The poor", "the lep- It was for this very purpose that Mary Magdalene would have ers", "the multitude", "the blind"—none of these was what we gone to the tomb, as she did on the Sabbath after the Crucifixion. presume it to mean today. Definitions such as "clouds", "sheep", Subsequent to the second Bethany anointing, the Gospels relate "fishes", "loaves" and a variety of others were all related, just like that Jesus said: "Wheresoever this Gospel shall be preached "stars", to people. throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be When the Gospels were written in the first century they were spoken of for a memorial of her." issued into a Roman-controlled environment. Their content had In his famous rendering of the event, the Renaissance artist Fra to be disguised against Roman scrutiny. The information was Angelico actually depicted Jesus placing a crown on the head of _ often political; it was coded, veiled. Where important sections Mary Magdalene. But despite the fact that Fra Angelico was a appeared they were often heralded by the words, "This is for those learned 15th-century Dominican friar, did the Christian Church with ears to hear"—for those who understand the code. It was no authorities honour Mary Magdalene and speak of this act as a different to the coded information passed between members of memorial of her? No; they did not. They completely ignored Jesus' own directive and denounced Mary as a whore. To the esoteric Church and the Knights Templars, however, Mary Magdalene was always regarded as a saint. She is still revered as such by many today, but the interesting part about this sainthood, when we think about Grail lore, is that Mary is listed as the patron saint of winegrowers, the guardian of the vine—the guardian of the Holy Grail, the guardian of the sacred bloodline. Today, for example, _we call our theatre two thousand years" time make of 24 - NEXUS APRIL - MAY 1998 distant culture in