He Calls Her Name

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 2:36-41 ~~~ Psalm 33 ~~~ 

~~~ John 20:11-18 ~~~

Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?

Whom are you looking for?”

At first Mary is not aware that Jesus is outside the tomb.

She bends over to look inside where she 

finds two angels keeping watch.

They ask her why she is crying.

She was probably shocked by what she

 saw and even more shocked by their question.

We understand why she is crying

 because we can identify with her loss.

We too have wept at the loss of a loved one.

Usually no one asks us why we are crying 

unless they do not know what happened.

The two angels had no reason to weep.

They knew that Jesus was no longer among the dead.

The angels knew that Jesus was not bound by the burial cloths.

The angels had knowledge that Mary was soon to discover.

Earlier during the public ministry of Jesus the disciples

 tell him 'everyone is looking for you'.

Now Jesus wants to know who Mary is looking for...

You almost feel like saying,

 Duh, Jesus, she is looking for you.

She looks where she assumed his body

 would be...within the tomb.

When you are upset you are also not thinking clearly.

Mary does not recognize 

Jesus until he calls her by name.

She knows his voice.

He has spoken to her by name on many occasions.

His voice has not changed but his Risen body

 is completely changed.

Jesus said to her, “Mary!”

She turned and said to him in Hebrew, 

“Rabbouni,” 

which means Teacher.

Sometimes we look for Jesus where we think

 he is only to discover he is not there.

We then must believe that he is still near to us.

Jesus was not far from the tomb.

He was not yet gone.

The tomb was empty;

the glorious Jesus was much greater 

than the darkness.

Mary's tears were quickly replaced 

with wild smiles of happiness.

She must have been so excited 

that she raced to tell the others the good news.

When was the last time you were super

 excited about something?

Try to relive that experience today.

Transfer it to the joy of the Resurrection.

Some day we will experience 

our own resurrection with the Lord.

Oh what a grand day that will be for us

even though our loved ones will be weeping over our loss.

The Easter Joy is about the Goodness of the Lord.

He Blesses us in this joy for our faith.

Alleluia, Jesus is Alive!

~~~Peace~~~