Sarah Bernhardt as Mary Magdalene (1887), painting by Alfred Stevens. Oil on canvas, 111.8 cm × 77.3 cm (44 in × 30.4 in). Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent I will get this one thing out of the way: Mary Magdalen did not look like a beautiful blond, 19th century, American actress named Sarah Bernhardt. However, the portrait by Stevens captures her vulnerability, love, humanity, and inner beauty. Now, we can move on. This is Mary's feast day and it merits a dive into some of the history, biblical thought, and resources around her life so that you can do your own study and write your own commentary. In any life, there are lessons. I encourage you to find the lessons of her life. As darkness faded into dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came, bereft, to the tomb, sensing that she would never again call any man, "Teacher," or "Master." Those days had passed with all of their possibilities, hopes, and assurances that life made sense because her teacher had