June 24 - He Knows Our Name

June 24 – He Knows Our Name

Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

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.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

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.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

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.’ ”

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. (John 20:11-18)

When I was a child, if Mom was really angry with me or wanted my immediate attention, she used my entire name.  “Diane Elizabeth Greenwood …” and I knew that things were serious.  On the other side of that coin were the days she wasn’t sure who it was she needed to yell for and we would have to wait as she progressed through the litany of all our names, as well as any animal living in the house.  “Diane, Carol, Jamie, Charcoal, OD!”  Then she would stop and center on which of us might be in trouble and call us out by name.

The moment that Jesus said her name, Mary recognized Him for who He was – the resurrected Lord.

Jesus tells us in John 10:3, “He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”

He knows our name and when He calls us by that name, we can’t help but respond.