Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she replied, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him and I will get him.”

Jesus said to her, “Mary.” – John 20:15-16

She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni” (which means Teacher).

There is a lot of power to knowing, and using, a name. Back in John 11, Jesus called Lazarus by name and invited him out of the tomb. Here, just a short while later, it is Jesus who has left the tomb. Then he calls Mary by name, inviting her into a new understanding of what it means to be completely alive.

That’s the thing about Jesus, he is always more alive than we could possibly imagine. He wants us to be that way too, it’s the reason he calls us.

We look around and we see only what we assume we are going to to see, based on our limited scope of vision, and that typically doesn’t include God standing right in front of us. But then Jesus speaks our name, and he invites us out of the tomb of our scaled down expectations. If we respond to that voice then – suddenly – we are Easter People, freed from all that holds us back from the promise of abundant life.

“Lazarus!” “Mary!” “Derek!” “__________ (insert name, here)!” Jesus calls our name, and he calls each one of us into the light. This is what Easter is all about!

All we have to do is to turn to him and say, “Teacher!” “Master!” “Savior!” “Friend!”

Happy Glorious Easter Sunday Morning! – DEREK