Ephrem The Syrian On The Sins Of Mary

In an earlier post, I discussed how Ephrem the Syrian confused Jesus' mother, Mary, with Mary Magdalene and referred in the process to how the mother of Jesus had doubted his resurrection. I want to quote some relevant portions of Ephrem's Commentary On The Diatessaron:

[Interpreting Luke 2:35] Indeed, you [Mary] too will doubt, because she thought that he was the gardener [John 20:15]....

[Interpreting John 2:4] My hour has not yet come. "For it is not as you [Mary] think." He wanted to put an end to her [way] of thinking, since she was convinced that he would perform a miracle....When he reprimanded her because she was in doubt about him, she said to the servants, Whatever my son tells you, do. [John 2:5]

Alternatively, it is said that [Mary] feared greatly that, on his arrival, those in charge of the feast would be required to offer wine. "They are spurning you, since it is because of you they are a source of ridicule. What you have done is an insult to the people, because they perceive that you have come just when their wine ran short."

She said to him, My son, there is no wine here. He said to her, What is that to me and to you, Woman? What was wrong with what she said? She was in great doubt concerning his word, because there was no wine there....

Mary hastened to be a servant of his will therefore instead of the apostles, but since it was not her place either to give orders or to anticipate his word, he reproved her for having been hasty.

For if he [Jesus] had forbidden her [Mary] to touch him [John 20:17] because she had doubted his resurrection, take note that Thomas, who had been in doubt about him, nevertheless touched him.

(Carmel McCarthy, trans., Saint Ephrem's Commentary On Tatian's Diatessaron [New York: Oxford University Press, 2000], 2:17, 5:2-4a, 5:5, 21:27; pp. 68, 95-96, 330)

Just as Ephrem compares Mary to Thomas in the last passage, he compares her to others who had doubted in the first passage, if you read the surrounding context, which I haven't quoted (pp. 67-68). He apparently sees the sword of Luke 2:35 as involving sinful doubt. And that doesn't involve confusing Jesus' mother with Mary Magdalene. By Ephrem's reasoning, Luke 2:35 would be about sin on Mary's part even if the two Marys weren't confused. And his interpretation of John 2, which involves Jesus' rebuking Mary for sinful doubt, likewise doesn't depend on confusing one Mary with another. Besides, as my earlier post linked at the beginning of this one notes, attributing a sin of Mary Magdalene to Jesus' mother tells us something about Ephrem's view of Jesus' mother, even if a confusion of individuals is involved.