From John 20:11-18, we follow Mary Magdalene to the tomb where Jesus' crucified body had been placed early on the first day of the week. It is the worst first day you can imagine. She arrives before first light to mourn the loss of her beloved teacher and Messiah. She finds the rock covering the tomb rolled back, Jesus' body gone, and in her grief she turns to a perfectly logical explanation. She believed the body had been stolen. She goes back to tell the disciples Peter and John, who confirm the condition of the tomb.
When Mary returns to the tomb, the disciples are gone. She is alone with her grief, or so she believes. She looks into the presumed to be empty tomb. She finds two men there where Jesus' body should have been. She is asked why she cries and who she seeks. Leaving the tomb, she finds another man coming toward her, a man she presumes to be the gardener ... until he says her name. Only then does she recognize the risen Jesus, and rejoice!
Take a moment to read the verse in which Jesus says Mary's name. Now, imagine Jesus saying your name under those circumstances instead. Do you hear your name given in a scolding, authoritarian tone, something gentle and kind ... or somewhere in between. How you hear your name will tell you much about the relationship you have with Jesus. It's worth considering.
When Mary heard Jesus' voice, it changed her life. She knew what Jesus had told them all was true. He had been victorious over death. To the early church, Mary became the apostola apostolorum,
the apostle to the apostles, a very significant person.
As the centuries have rolled by, many have heard their names called by Jesus and responded with joy and new purpose. The world has changed for the better. With Jesus' curing of the sick, those called to care created hospices alongside cathedrals for the care of the ill, the first hospitals. Those who heard their names called with a penchant for education, remembered Jesus' call to love God with all your mind. They established monasteries, academic guilds, and universities. Public education first began to deny Satan access to children's minds, children Jesus loved. The wonderful list of positive changes goes on, rolling down through the centuries like justice rolling down like water.
Do you hear Jesus calling your voice today? How will you respond? Will you rejoice? Will you be changed and work to help change the world for the better?
Rejoice! Jesus lives!