Ask the Pastor: This Is the Day; Mary Magdalene; Friend Needs Healing
by the Rev. Walter Snyder
Religion Columnist

Q: I'm trying to find the source of the phrase, "This is the day the Lord has made." Are you
able to help?

A: The source is Psalm 118:24, which the New International Version of the Bible  renders as, "This is
the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Actually, since Hebrew nouns and
pronouns all have gender, and since this "it" is masculine, as are both "Lord" and "day," the verse
could be translated, "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in Him," meaning,
of course, the Lord.

Q: I am not a Christian, but some of my Christian friends tell me I am like Mary Magdalene. Yet
I hear also that she was a prostitute. I am not like this, so would you please tell me more what
Christians believe about Mary Magdalene?

A: The Bible doesn't say that Mary from Magdala (a town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee)
was a prostitute, although it does refer to seven demons being driven from her. She was one who
truly knew what it meant to be forgiven and healed by Jesus. Since Jesus at was recorded as having
forgiven an adulterous woman and at other times also helped others considered to be of loose
morals, it may be that people made assumptions that Mary was the woman taken in adultery.

It's possible that she was that woman, but the Bible doesn't say so. And since Luke paid attention to
such details and says nothing about it (Luke 8:2), I tend to doubt the story. Mary was also the first
person to witness Jesus' bodily resurrection from the dead (all four Gospels, especially Mark 16 and
John 20) so this alone gives her special standing among Christians.

I hope that you study more about Christianity and Jesus and learn to love him as Mary did---in
response to his love for you.

Q: I have a friend who is a faithful believer in Christ. She has health problems and the doctors
say that they have done all that they can. I am wondering, is there a more spiritual cure for her
ailment?

A: I don't know if or when there will be a cure. God doesn't always "fix" things, sometimes he leaves
them as part of the cross a Christian bears. The world suffers in vain, but Christians are allowed to
participate in Christ's suffering, feeling pain from this world in honor of the Savior who felt pain on
their behalf. How we carry our troubles then both praises God and gives testimony to others of how
God gives us the strength to endure and to overcome the problems of this life.

That doesn't mean, however, that we give up hope. Christians also pray for healing for themselves
and for others, remembering that in such things we tell God, "Thy will be done." Perhaps God will
intervene directly. Perhaps it will be through medicine. Yet no matter your friend's physical
condition, God will continue to love her, to forgive her, and to support and strengthen her in her
trials. He has also given her at least one loving friend to share her burdens, to pray with her, and to
love her. I thank God that you are such a blessing to her.

To Ask the Pastor, please write Ask the Pastor, PO Box 12, Emma, MO, 65327 or send email to
askthepastor@aol.com. I look forward to hearing from you.

Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book
"What Do Lutherans Believe."

Ask the Pastor is copyright (c) 2001 by Walter P. Snyder. It may be reproduced  in totality,
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