Acts 2:36-41 / John 20:11-18
We might have heard before a recording of our own voice and for whatever reason we squirm upon hearing our own recorded voice.
But have we ever did a voice recording of ourselves just saying our own name.
It might sound kind of weird and strange to do that, but it may feel rather uncomfortable to hear our own voice calling out our own name.
Could it be that there is something about ourselves that we don't like, besides the funny tone of our voice?
Or could it be that we are confronting ourselves as our voice calls out to none other than ourselves.
And how would we respond when God calls out to us?
In the gospel, Mary was outside near the tomb, weeping. She was in her own world of grief and wrapped in sorrow.
She could not come to terms with the death of Jesus, with the disappearance of His body and also with herself for not being able to do anything about it.
But when the risen Jesus called out to her by calling her name, she was awakened.
She now had a purpose and mission in life. In the beginning of the gospel passage, she was just Mary. At the end of the passage she was Mary of Magdala who went to the disciples and told them her experience of the risen Lord.
The risen Lord also calls us by our names to awaken us to our purpose and mission in life.
It's a name that we will be proud of because with that name the risen Lord will tell us who we are and what we should be doing.