Easter                                              John 20:1-18                                                  3/27/05

When my son was small he always knew if I was angry with him, because he’d hear me call, “Robert Andrew!”  On the other hand, if one of us sees a long absent parishioner come through the door of the church, we might call, “RAAAAAAAAY!”  On the third hand, when I’m very upset about something and call my friend who has the gentlest, most caring way of speaking, I will hear myself called, “Elsa”.  

I think that last is most like what Mary Magdelene heard on that first Easter morning.  She was buried in deepest grief at the loss of her teacher and friend, Jesus.  Not only had he been tortured and executed before her eyes, but now in addition it appeared that someone had stolen his body.  How much more pain could she bear.  

She was alone there in her grief.  Peter and the other disciple whom she had summoned when she found the stone had been rolled away had gone back home.  They were so beside themselves that they don’t give a thought to leaving Mary there alone to mourn.  

And Mary must have been in a state of shock to not question the presence of two angels speaking to her from the tomb or to not express fear at suddenly finding herself in a deserted cemetery with a strange man so very early in the morning, even if she did think he was the gardener.  Whatever her emotional state, all Mary could think about was the loss of her Lord.  The pain must surely have blinded her and effected her hearing and reasoning that she didn’t suspect who she was conversing with.  

And then, Jesus calls her name, “Mary”.  I don’t think we can possibly imagine all she must have felt when she heard that.  She surely would have been overwhelmed.  Believing...*knowing*... that Jesus was gone and would never speak to her again, and then hearing him speak her name...what utter joy.  

Jesus tells her though not to hold on to him.  Rather he has a mission for her.  This first among his disciples to see and hear the good news is to witness to the others.  She is to prepare them for his coming when he will give them the promised Holy Spirit that will keep him present not only with, but within them always.  

Our lesson for today ends with Mary returning to town and announcing to the disciples that she has seen the Lord.  We have to use our imaginations on what happened during those hours between dawn when Mary returned to Jerusalem and the evening of that day when Jesus appears to the disciples.  

Since they were cowering behind locked doors we might well guess that the disciples didn’t believe Mary.  They certainly hadn’t been very impressed with what they found at the tomb since they just returned to their homes.  We are told that the other disciple (presumably John) believed, but in the same sentence we are also told that they still didn’t understand that Jesus must rise from the dead.  Therefore, Mary’s proclamation may just have added to their confusion.   Perhaps, they discounted what she said as being the fantasy of an overwrought woman or perhaps it was just too wonderful to take in that quickly.   

Whatever the reaction or subsequent evolution of feeling, the disciples would not fully comprehend or appreciate the “Good News” until they saw Jesus for themselves.  They needed a real life encounter with the risen Christ before it could really effect them.  They would need to hear that gentle voice calling them personally.  

Today, we gather to celebrate Easter once again.  We come from near and far.  Some are here every Sunday, others are here a bit less frequently and still others for one reason or another can only be present this one day of the year.  We come for many reasons.  Some come to hear the Word and receive the Sacrament, some to be with family and maybe even some mainly to enjoy the breakfast being prepared below.  We may have different understandings of what the Scriptures say or no understanding at all.  

But, one thing I can tell you with absolute surety, Jesus is calling your name.  He has been calling it from eternity and he will continue to call it into eternity.  As a baptized believer you are given the special status that having a name implies.  

It is no small thing that Jesus called Mary Magdelene by name.  As we read the gospels generally and John particularly we find that few people and even fewer women were given names.  In fact, in John, Jesus referred to his mother as “Woman”.  So, the use of her name gave Mary Magdelene a very special status.  To be known by name was to be known intimately and cared for personally.  This is a privilege we share with Mary.  

 In Isaiah we read, “...fear not, for I have redeemed you.  I have called you by name; you are mine.”  

And earlier in John we read, “My sheep hear my voice and I know them.”  Jesus knows intimately every single person who is a member of his flock.  He knows our struggles, our failures and our triumphs.  He knows our pain and our joy.  He knows our sinful thoughts and our most heavenly aspirations.  He knows our weaknesses and strengths.  And he loves us with the same passion that caused him to give his life for our salvation.  Knowing our name means, Jesus wants us to be totally his.  

And Jesus continues to call us, call us by name.  He wants to have a personal relationship with each one of us just as he did with Mary Magdelene and with the other disciples.  He will call us when we wander, to bring us back onto the right path.  He will call us as we turn to him with the surprised joy of a friend returning after a long absence.  He will call us in grief and trouble to let us know that he is with us and loves us.  And one day, he will say our names when we leave this world and join him in heaven.  Jesus calls our names every day wherever we are, and he waits for us to hear and respond.   

One of my colleagues wrote in a sermon prep internet note that the disciples behaved pretty typically for people in grief.  They were blind and deaf.  They were confused and in shock.  They were profoundly sad.  They couldn’t see the signs of new life all around them.  So, they just went home.  

Some people haven’t encountered Jesus as Mary did.  They haven’t heard him call their names, they haven’t experienced an intimate relationship with Jesus and they don’t experience that special Easter joy that Mary Magdelene had that first Easter. Perhaps they  feel too sophisticated to listen to stories or have heard it so often they think it time worn.  Perhaps in their rush-filled lives have hurried past the tomb and Jesus voice has been drowned out in the cachaphony of noise in their lives. Perhaps they are still grieving and haven’t heard the Good News.   

But as we sing our Easter alleluia’s this day, we hear our Lord call our names and with people all around the world we say “He is risen.  He is risen indeed.”