The Story
Imagine. You’ve followed Jesus for three years. Saw Him spit in the dust, put it on someone’s eyes, and that man saw the wild colors of the life around him for the first time. At times, the wind and the waves obeyed Him. Trees shrivel and die at the sound of only a few words from His voice.
Now, imagine you are Mary Magdaline. Drawn out from a lifetime of paid-for-abuse, He called you into a life of free, exhilarating, and boundless life. You know Jesus.
Even having been told over and over that He would die and rise, the hours after Jesus’ death are brutal and too much to bear. “What does it mean to rise anyway?” you think.
Then, you heard the name, sounded in the loveliest of tones, spoken as only the most intimate of friends could say:
“Mary”.
It’s like a colossal tectonic plate shift in your spiritual life. “Mary.” You can’t believe it! Jesus is alive! And He has called you by the name that, when spoken many times before, has called you from terrible darkness to great light. He is alive! He’s the only one who says it the way He does. It’s calming, secure, direct, and loving. “Mary.”
The Idea
You and I have been called by Jesus and He has used our names with that same tone that Mary knew. We should walk in that same confidence. The most omnipotent, omniscient, Almighty God knows us so well that he has counted each individual hair on our heads. He designed the chromosomal ordering of our DNA. He is both the Alpha and Omega (Beginning and the End) and our closest friend.
Being so big, God can scare us. And he should. But he is also intimately connected to us. Far more so than the closest brother, spouse, or friend. He knits us together before we even take our first breath. This intimacy can also be intimidating. But, don’t let it. Chase the fear away. Call out for the closeness. Pursuit it. God says that he is looking for us. The best way to be found is to look for him as well.
The Bible
John 20:1-2
The Empty Tomb
1 ****Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
The Prayer
“Lord Jesus, please give me a soft heart like that of Mary’s. Help me to recognize your voice. Give me ears to hear and eyes that see all that You have prepared for me to do well in Your Kingdom. Thank You for knowing and calling my name. I invite You today into my life to be both Savior and Lord. Help me to love people as You do. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”
