‘Each contribution is equally valued.’ Photo: Mary Magdalene (c1524), by Andrea Solari
There’s something about Mary: David Curtis reads a Gospel
‘The emphasis is on the direct experience of the divine.’
Visiting Shaftesbury Meeting in February, I was struck by the following reading from Advices & queries 5: ‘Remember the importance of… all writings which reveal the ways of God. As you learn from others, can you in turn give freely from what you have gained? While respecting the experiences and opinions of others, do not be afraid to say what you have found.’
Early last year, I stumbled upon the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, and became fascinated by this early second-century version of Christianity. It seems to hold much in common with both Quaker faith and practice, and the Buddhist path I had been following. Quakerly themes of non-violence, silent worship, speaking truth to power, and women’s equality mingle with Buddhist ideas of impermanence and interdependence, and of suffering as the result of attachment. The emphasis is on the direct experience of the divine within each of us, and a rejection of restrictive rules and authority. The Gospel of Mary enabled me to find common ground and make peace between my years as a Buddhist and my earlier Christian upbringing. This reconnection with Christian imagery and language led me to apply for Quaker membership last year, after twenty-five years as an attender.
With generous help from Southampton Meeting, I have been studying this Gospel under the guidance of Ben Pink Dandelion from Woodbrooke. Ben introduced me to the ‘friendly Bible study method’ pioneered by US Quakers as a method of group study. The emphasis is on everyone investigating their own understandings or difficulties with a text. Friends then cultivate ways to share this, in such a way that no one person is the expert. Rather, each contribution is equally valued. This seemed the ideal vehicle through which to share my experience and enthusiasm for the Gospel of Mary without me getting in the way of anyone else’s meeting point with the text. In the language of Advices & queries, it is a way to ‘give freely from what I have gained, whilst respecting the experiences and opinions of others’.
I have now led a number of ‘Gospel of Mary Friendly Study Groups’. The combination of this rich text with the non-hierarchical study method has proved to be a real winner. There is no attempt to find a single ‘correct’ interpretation, but rather a gentle exploration of how the Gospel speaks to each one of us. In each session we contemplate a passage using several translations, reflectively write-up our responses, and then share them.
Feedback has been good: ‘It encouraged really looking at the text and relating it to one’s own experiences’; ‘I felt “held” safe and free’; ‘The method is excellent’. With Ben’s help, I have developed an online Woodbrooke course, which begins in October. Please see www.thegospelofmary.org.
