Hearing Our Name

I met a friend for breakfast.
She had never been to the charming little restaurant before.
The restaurant looks like and old farmhouse.
It has a wrap around porch, which is lovely to sit on in the warmer weather.

We hugged hello in the parking lot.
We were so glad to have this time together.
She is a dear friend from high school.
There were years, as we each were raising children, that we lost touch.

We are both thrilled to be in each other’s lives again.
We have so many shared memories.
She works in the hospital where my daughter delivered her baby.
She came to the room that day with a present for my granddaughter.

She made adorable burping cloths.
Each one was hand sewn.
Each had a sweet design that was so appropriate for a little girl.
I thought about my friend every time I used one in those early months.

As we were sitting and waiting for our breakfast, a couple came in that I recognized.
My friend said, Go say hello.
I did not want to leave my friend alone at the table.
I decided to call the woman by name.

In a restaurant filled with people, I called her name.
I did not yell it.
I did not say it obnoxiously.
I simply said it a bit louder than if she was sitting next to me.

What is it about our name?
We can hear our name being called in a crowded room.
We always turn towards the person calling our name, even if we are not the one they are calling.
Our name stands out above all the other words we hear each day.

If you are mother, you will inevitably turn when you hear the word, Mom.
It is instinctive.
Even if you consciously know your children are not with you, subconsciously, you respond.
I have had that happen to me quite a few times.

The woman heard her name as I called her.
She came over to our table.
I introduced her to my friend.
We caught up for a few minutes.

Out of all those voices, she heard me call her name.
Above the din in the restaurant, her name stood out.
It always amazes me when that happens.
Calling someone by name is such a personal thing.

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)  Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).  Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her. (John 20:1-18)

A distraught Mary stood before the empty tomb.
Jesus was not there.
She had no idea where the body of her Lord had gone.
Mary was weeping.

Mary turned to see a man.
She assumed the man was the gardener.
She wanted to know where the gardener might have put Jesus.
She offered to go and get His body.

There was no explanation.
There was no direct answer.
The man, who was mistaken as the gardener, said only one thing.
Mary.

As soon as He called her name, Mary cried out.
Teacher (literally, My Teacher).
I can see her at Jesus’ feet clinging to Him.
Jesus told her not to hold onto Him, since He had not yet ascended to His Father.

Jesus simply called her name.
Mary knew at that moment, it was indeed her Lord.
It is no different with us.
We hear our name when Jesus calls to us.

Jesus’ call is effectual.
When Jesus calls, we respond.
When Jesus calls our name, we recognize Him for who He is.
Jesus is Lord: When He calls, we answer.

Listen.
Listen in the quiet of your heart.
Do you hear Him calling your name?
Above the din of this world, you will hear His call.

You will answer.