Mary Magdalene and Johannine Anthropology: A Feminist-Trauma Hermeneutics Reading Amid the “War on Drugs”

There is a dearth of research on New Testament and Johannine anthropology and its ethical demands. This paper advances the discussion by arguing that Mary Magdalene (John 20:1–18) demonstrates the limits and horizons of Johannine anthropology from the perspective of a woman’s response to the trauma of the Roman crucifixion of Jesus, his missing, tortured, and crucified body, and her encounter with the Risen Lord. This feminist-trauma hermeneutical characterization of Mary Magdalene, through exploring Johannine anthropology, critically engages Judith Herman’s discussion of the process from trauma to recovery. Read in the context of thousands of extrajudicial killings (EJK) in the so-called “War on Drugs” (2016–2022), Mary Magdalene embodies the anthropological limits of needing to secure the dead body of Jesus, remembering him, and mourning (20:1–15). The anthropological horizon is seen in Jesus sending her, with his resurrection and ascension message, to the rest as a reconnection with ordinary life (20:16–18). The insights gathered from the feminist-trauma hermeneutics study contribute to a Johannine anthropology that informs and inspires the surviving families of the EJK victims, as well as the theologians and pastoral workers who journey with them towards justice and healing with Mary Magdalene as a companion.