Today’s Gospel is very tender. Mary Magdalene stands outside the tomb weeping. Even though the tomb is empty, she still does not understand. She thinks someone has taken the body of Jesus. She is looking right at the risen Lord, and still she does not recognize Him.
That can happen to us too.
Sometimes the Lord is closer than we think, but sorrow clouds our vision. Pain, disappointment, fear, or grief can make it hard to see what God is doing. We may be standing in the presence of grace and still think we are alone.
But everything changes in one moment. Jesus says just one word: “Mary.”
He calls her by name.
That is the moment Easter becomes personal. The resurrection is not only a great event that happened long ago. It is also the voice of the risen Christ calling each of us personally, lovingly, and directly. He is not alive in some distant, abstract way. He is alive and He knows our name, our wounds, our fears, and our story.
Mary recognizes Him not first by sight, but by being known and called.
That is a beautiful lesson for us. Faith is not only about searching for God. It is also about discovering that God has already been searching for us. The risen Jesus comes to Mary in her tears, not after she has composed herself, but right in the middle of her grief.
And then He sends her: “Go to my brothers.”
Easter is never something we keep to ourselves. Once Mary has encountered the risen Lord, she becomes a witness. She goes to announce the good news.
So perhaps today the Gospel gives us two simple invitations: first, to listen again for the voice of Jesus calling us by name; second, not to keep Easter only for ourselves.
Christ is risen. He knows your name. And He still sends His disciples to bring hope to others.
Amen.