Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?”
Because she thought he was the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will take him.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni” (which means Teacher). (John 20:15, 16)
Mary was drowning in a cauldron of confusion. The God-man who had cast seven demons from her now lay crucified in a tomb. So, was Jesus no true king? Was her personal horror about to return?
God heard Mary’s aching heart. He stopped his business across billions of galaxies and snatched the flailing woman from her nightmare. To rescue Mary, he spoke her name through Jesus, the image of the invisible God. That one word contained an explosive message.
“You know this voice and its power. I AM bigger than death. I AM sovereign over your demons. I AM the champion of your heart. Trust me.” All of that was contained in the word “Mary.”
Mary had heard her name thousands of times, but this time, on the lips of Jesus, it pulled her up from the blackest depths to gasp for air. There could be no mistake, it was her name carried on the unique timbre that could only be Jesus of Nazareth—resurrected.
God has been grossly misrepresented by humans that drew their conceptions of him from imagination rather than from revelation. He is often portrayed as distant and capricious. That is as far from reality as you can get, because God celebrates each freckle for every one of his children. The individuality of his love is the defining brilliance of our relationship with him.
This moment, in this place, our Father observes my life and yours. He sees the anguish and hears the confusion. By way of relief, he wraps eternal blessing into a single word. The gift is passed to the Spirit of Jesus, who leans close to our ear, and delivers the package.
God speaks our name.
Prayer: Great I AM, I hear you speak my name.