The Road to Easter: He Has Risen, He Has Risen Indeed
(NIV) John 20:13 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.”
Anyone who has lost a loved one knows the grief that accompanies such loss. For Mary, the loss was a weight she could no longer carry alone. Jesus had delivered her from demonic possession and her gratitude had no limits.
She remained at the foot of the cross along with Mary, the mother of Jesus, Salome, and John the Beloved. Wracked with sorrow, but not only because of Jesus’ death and the uncertainty of what would happen to His followers. Now, someone seemingly moved His body to an undisclosed location.
She looks at Jesus, but there is no recognition. But then it happens. Jesus calls her by name! Oh, how precious to hear the voice of the One who delivered her and redeemed her. She must have believed the sound of that voice was lost forever.
Two of the Old Testament scriptures that speak to God knowing our names are:
Isaiah 43:1 But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.
John 10:14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
Today, we celebrate the Resurrection with song, with Scripture and with a message designed to point us not only to the Cross, but to the open tomb. May this Easter resurrect in us the need to listen to the Shepherd’s call and follow.
In the name of the father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
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