Can you think of moments when you may need to be reminded that God is with you? Thank you! One challenge that film adaptations of Jesus' life need to overcome is the lack of significant female characters. Without getting too detailed, I found it helpful to get my youth thinking about what adaptations are and how they work. The Gospels never refer to Mary as Lilith. The creators of The Chosen have published interactive Bible Studies that are meant to explore some of the Scripture and biblical themes that inspired Season 1 and help viewers apply them to everyday life. This passage is one of the few appearances of Mary Magdalene in the Gospels. The Bible never mentions "the Red Quarter." Unfortunately, because Mary's change happens so quickly, her character goes from being pretty dynamic in episodes 1-2 to being a pretty flat in the remainder of the season. (for LOTR: Tom Bombadil. **Update: I explore the origin of the name "Lilith" in my recent post **. (Plots & Theme), Episode 2 Guide: Philip, Nathanael, & Matthew, Episode 3 Guide: Life Among the Disciples of Jesus, Episode 4 Guide: Simon the Zealot & the Man at the Bethesda Pool, Episode 5 Guide: Mary's Demons & the Destiny of John the Baptist, Episode 8 Guide: Judas, Matthew, & the Sermon on the Mount, Episode 1 Guide: Mary Magdalene, Lilith, and the Redeemer, Episode 2 Guide: Mary Magdalene, Nicodemus, and Shabbat, Episode 3 Guide: Depicting Jesus in Art, Film, and TV, Episode 4 Guide: When Jesus Met Simon (Peter), Episode 6 Guide: Jesus, Shmuel, & the Pharisees. Mary Magdalene is never called Lili or Lilith in the Bible. The trauma of her rape is hinted at again in Season 2, Episode 5, and is the trigger that causes Mary to backslide. By. Jesus heals her evil spirit(s) at the end of Episode 1. The creators of The Chosen probably chose this name because it is associated with demons in Jewish traditions. The Bible includes Mary Magdalene in a list of women who had evil spirits healed by Jesus. To recap: in, One other thing - the show could have allowed some of the disciples (like John) to go a bit further in being judgmental toward after her return. I have Bible studies/discussion guides for each episode of The Chosen Seasons 1-3, blogs exploring how The Chosen adapts key biblical figures, and articles exploring the controversial nature of adaptation. [SPOILERS] Is the Jon Snow spin-off really such a good idea? Episode 7 Guide: Did Nicodemus Follow Jesus? Due to COVID restrictions, my youth group watched The Chosen online using Zoom. This comes out powerfully in the first Episode like to show you why is mary magdalene called lilith in the chosen here. /r/Catholicism is a place to present new developments in the world of Catholicism, discuss theological teachings of the Catholic Church, provide an avenue for reasonable dialogue amongst people of all beliefs, and grow in our own spirituality. More importantly, allowing some of the disciples to judge Mary a bit more would have added more tension and could have fueled future arcs. But why does Mary Magdalene get all the attention and not Joanna or Susanna, who are also mentioned? Be that as it may, the Gospel of Luke tells us that there were women who went Jesus and names Mary Magdalene among them (Luke 8:1-3). One other thing - the show could have allowed some of the disciples (like John) to go a bit further in being judgmental toward after her return. This story was invented by The Chosen for the purposes of the plot. How does that truth encourage you? Literally none of that is in Scripture or sacred tradition and that bothers me! Because The Chosen seeks to be kid-friendly, it may use the term "Red Quarter" in order to hint to older viewers that Mary is either a prostitute or a sexually immoral woman without explicitly mentioning prostitution or sex. This allows the show to be more family friendly, but it also weakens the narrative that the show is telling about Jesus' compassion and pity. And to be fair, there isnt a whole lot of backstory for any of the disciples in the Bible, so its not a surprise the writers filled in the blanks with some artistic license. When Nicodemus encounters her, we discover that the evil spirit that is possessing her is named Lilith. Many Christians still memorize this passage to remind them of how God is always with us, even in the most difficult trials. There you go! In my opinion it works. You can also purchase the DVDs of season 1 on Amazon if you're worried about trying to stream & do Zoom at the same time. The Chosen does the "misunderstood reject rather than sinner" quite a bit in Season 1, but I think it's a sensible direction for Mary's character. The Hebrew word "lilit" only shows up in Isaiah 34:14, where most modern translations render it as something along the lines of "night bird." But she was not possessed by one as the movie mentioned but by many. Later Jewish tradition described a demonic figure known as Lilith in a variety of ways. You can find episode one, The Bible includes Mary Magdalene in a list of women who had evil spirits healed by Jesus. This is Tom My 3 month old son is battling an extremely rare and [Free Friday] after an early miscarriage 3 weeks ago, I Our new campus chapel is so close to being ready! Your contributions mean so much. When they are engaged in sin, it's often a result of their difficult circumstances or their status as outsiders, and so what they primarily need is love and acceptance, not forgiveness and repentance. I found that my youth struggled to sort out the different characters, so you might want to do a quick slide show of the key characters using the character images I've included throughout this post. I also suggest setting expectations for the first episode. Jesus is said to have cast seven evil spirits out of her (, As I noted above, in the Bible there is no indication that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. Jesus clearly expected his disciples to sin frequently and made it clear that he was committed to pursuing them and offering forgiveness (Matthew 18:10-35). Interestingly, The King of Kings (1927) also uses Mary Magdalene to introduce us to Jesus for the first time. The Hebrew word "lilit" only shows up in Isaiah 34:14, where most modern translations render it as something along the lines of "night bird." Thats as far off-script as they go for the rest of the season, everything else is pretty true to a harmonized Gospel narrative. Lilith here could just mean demon possessed. Its not perfect, but its a pretty great start. When he encounters her again in Season 1 Episode 2, he is surprised to discover that she has been completely healed and is free of the evil spirits. (he is God). Episode 8 Guide: The Woman at the Well, Eden, & Zohara, Christmas with The Chosen: The Messengers, The Chosen Season 2 Controversy (Jesus, the Bible, & the Process of Inspiration), Should Nicodemus Kneel? Over time, the label stuck and now many adaptations depict her this way. Under the influence of this tradition, many people see Mary as being emblematic of Jesus' compassion for lost and broken souls, and this makes her a perfect candidate for the kinds of stories that The Chosen wants to tell. In The Chosen, when we first Mary Magdalene in Season 1 Episode 1, she has already been possessed by an evil spirit, Lilith, for some time. She becomes too perfect and seems to have no ongoing struggles in her faith like Peter or Andrew. I can appreciate what theyre trying to do with the show: Theyre taking their time to build your relationship with the characters and to delve into some of the backstory so that everyone becomes a three-dimensional person, not just a mumbling zombie foil for Jesus. I have not seen any anti Catholic scenes. Still, at the end of the day, the 12 disciples who get the most screen time in the Gospels are all males. The second passage is the Scripture that Mary has written down: This passage that Mary's father taught her is from the Book of Isaiah. Have my posts about Bible adaptation helped you learn more about the Bible and explore it with your ministry or family? For Mary's actual fall, it felt like the show was trying too hard to keep her character PG. They prompt us to consider how these two events, Mary's first encounter with Jesus and her first encounter with the risen Jesus, are connected in a deeper way. FYI: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. However, In the Bible, there is no indication that Mary Magdalene fell back into sin, backslid, or left Jesus. Lilith was close to committing suicide by walking off a cliff before a dove (Holy Spirit) caught her interest and she followed it back to town, where she had an emotional moment being healed by Jesus who quoted her trusted childhood Bible verse from Isaiah and exorcised her with a hug. [Update: In the comments below, an astute reader pointed me to a post by the official Twitter for The Chosen, which claims Mary is not being portrayed as a prostitute. This association with prostitution opens a variety of directions for adaptations to take in their portrayal of her, especially given the affection Jesus shows for her (John 20). There's a sense in which Mary's demons might be seen as a metaphor for the oppressive forces that brought her into her life in the sex trade but this is only barely suggested. Lilith was close to committing suicide by walking off a cliff before a dove (Holy Spirit) caught her interest and she followed it back to town, where she had an emotional moment being healed by Jesus who quoted her trusted childhood Bible verse from Isaiah and exorcised her with a hug. We need to remember the perspective is of east and west are different East is how it performs, what it does its function West they would describe what it is or made of. There is however a very clear disclaimer at the beginning of the series saying this isnt word-for-word and its no replacement for reading your Bible, etc. Did anyone notice what it was that made her recognize him? Why do you think The Chosen is trying to connect episode 1 to what will happen when Jesus is resurrected? Catholic Christianity offers the world the fullness of the Christian Faith. I would have introduced her PTSD much earlier in the season, giving her more space to try to struggle with it on her own before eventually falling back into her old life. As it was, we didn't really get a good sense of why Mary responded the way she did. Season 2 Reflection P1: What is The Chosen Season 2 about? Season 2 Reflection P1: What is The Chosen Season 2 about? Although there's nothing in the Gospels that suggests that these two figures should be linked together, Mary mistakenly became identified with the forgiven prostitute in the interpretative tradition of the Western Church. (he calls her by name at the end when he heals her). The first passage is regarding Mary Magdalene (Lilith): In case you didn't catch it, at the end of The Chosen episode 1 we discover that the character called Lilith for most of the episode is actually named Mary Magdalene. Have my posts about Bible adaptation helped you learn more about the Bible and explore it with your ministry or family? Since I criticized Season 1 of The Chosen for making Mary too perfect, it's only fair that I acknowledge how Season 2 seeks to rectify that issue. She was a witness of Jesus' crucifixion and burial (Mark 15:40-47) and also the first person to discover the empty tomb, witness the resurrected Jesus, and share the good news with the disciples (John 20:1-18). [SPOILERS] what is Jordan Peele's 'Nope' about? I think Mary went by Lilith when she came to Magdala, not scripturally speaking, but for the story line. According to the Gospel accounts, Jesus cleansed her of seven demons, and she financially aided him in Galilee. In The Chosen, Nicodemus meets Mary Magdalene in Season 1, Episode 1. Nicodemus was brought in to perform an exorcism on her but failed, making him question the fullness of the Law. And just like one day Mary will initially fail to recognize the risen Jesus, confusing him for a gardener, she initially fails to recognize Jesus when he first comes to her, confusing him for one of the men who's been hassling her. What do you think Mary's life was like before Jesus showed up? In the modern vernacular, a "red light district" is a term that refers to an area of the city known for prostitution, strip clubs, and other immoral establishments. What's disappointing is that it doesn't delve too far into the implications of this. I agree with the Twitter post that the show clearly depicts Mary as a victim of rape/sexual assault, but prostitutes often are victims of rape and sexual assault. Just before Luke introduces us to Mary Magdalene, he tells a story about a prostitute that Jesus forgives (, Since I criticized Season 1 of The Chosen for making Mary too perfect, it's only fair that I acknowledge how Season 2 seeks to rectify that issue. I'm not saying we needed to see anything explicit, but the show certainly could have implied a bit more than it did. The Chosen isn't trying to mess with the Bible. (he calls her by her name), How does this connect to what happened in episode 1? Jesus is said to have cast seven evil spirits out of her (Luke 8:1-3). In The Chosen, when we first meet Mary Magdalene, most of the characters refer to her as Lili. Describe a pencil. It's certainly not The Exorcist, but demonic stuff can really freak some people out. I admire your comment. I love this series. 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