When I was a kid, I knew a lot about what was going to happen by how people said my name. Mom would kick us out of the house earlier in the day—or we would leave before she could assign us chores—and as the streetlights were coming on, wherever we were in the neighborhood, I could hear her calling from the front steps, “Doug-las!” I knew dinner was ready and it was time to come inside and wash up. If she said, “Douglas!” like that, I had stepped out of line and she was telling me where the boundary line was. If she pulled out my middle name—“Douglas Lorbeer Gray!”—it meant that the apocalypse had arrived and if I wanted to be on the right side of the End Times, I had best pay attention. Usually repentance was a good beginning step. What I love about our Easter scripture is the power of names, and I think we can tell a lot by what names are used.
Of course, there’s Peter. His real name was Simon, which means “sinking sand,” but after he started following Jesus, Jesus started calling him, Peter, which means “the rock.” I think that’s hilarious, part of Jesus sense of humor. But Jesus always called him Peter, except for when he was showing a lack of faith, like at the Last Supper, when Jesus said, “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” Or after Jesus had risen from the dead, Jesus asked, “Simon…do you truly love me?”. But here in John, as this older guy is running to catch up to a much younger man, he is Peter, the rock on whom Jesus will build His church.
And then there’s “the other disciple.” Who is that guy? In the Gospel of John, this disciple appears a few times: here as “the other disciple,” but in other places as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” He’s the guy sitting next to Jesus at the Last Supper, the only guy-friend of Jesus standing at the foot of the Cross with Mary Magdalene and Jesus’ mom, Mary. When Jesus wants to make sure his mom is taken care of, this disciple is the one he asks. Church tradition has it that Jesus’ mom traveled with the disciple, John, from that moment on, so we suspect that John is this other disciple, too humble to name himself, recognizing that what matters is not his name, but how he’s connected to Jesus.
The thing that I love about Jesus in our Easter passage is that when He says, “Mary!” that’swhen she knows who He is. At first, she thinks Jesus is a gardener, but there’s something about how Jesus says her name, and she knows! Does Jesus say it with feeling, or the way he always said it, or does he say it with a laugh, like “I can’t believe you don’t know it’s me!” She’s been crying and maybe she’s worried and scared on top of being desperately sad. Can you imagine the trauma she’s been through that weekend? Seeing Jesus executed in front of her, then spending a day living in fear that she and the others would be next, but Jesus says, “Mary!” and it all fades in importance. It’s Jesus!
And Mary says, “Rabboni!” which means in Aramaic, “dear teacher.” Did you ever have a favorite teacher or mentor? Someone who was not just a teacher, but a friend? Besides my parents, the great mentor of my life was Karl Schimpf, and when he passed away a few years ago, I realized how much more there was for us to say and do together. I always wanted to travel with him to Palestine and hear him tell the stories of Jesus’ life as we walked in Jesus’ footsteps. And I can imagine a day, some day, when I get a chance to see Karl again and I will say, “Dear teacher!” as I give him the hug I have wanted to give him for years now. And in Mary’s voice, I hear that same joy as she recognizes Jesus, and instead of saying His name, she shares her joy by saying what He means to her.
If Jesus were to say your name in a way that would be unmistakable, how would it sound? How does Jesus say your name in love…maybe with a laugh? Take just a moment, and imagine what that would sound like. Let Jesus speak your name into your heart this morning, unmistakable in His love for you. There’s no question as you hear it, that Jesus has known you all your life. Whether you’re Mary, or Simon, or Peter, or just “the disciple whom Jesus loved”—Jesus knows the real you, and you are loved.
The question for us, as we leave this Easter sunrise, is what we say back to Jesus. Do we say Jesus’ name? Do we say, “Dear teacher!” Or maybe “Lord!” What we say in response to Jesus calling our name says a lot about where we are in this moment, but not necessarily where we will end up. Jesus will keep calling our names, and over time, perhaps we will grow to recognize the One Who is Jesus, the Messiah, the Lord, Who is risen today! He is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!