He Called My Name.....

When the sacrifice was finished, the body of Jesus securely hidden away, and the political machine that had ordered his execution satisfied that even his body could not be retrieved, the disciples, and those that loved him hid in fear.  For three days, they were hidden away, in grief, fearing for their lives and the lives of their families. 

I have been hidden away in grief before.  It is a darker pit than any grave, for your soul burns within you to hold that dear one again.  Your mind races over all the things you should have said and done, but didn’t.   You heart begs for one more chance to make things right.  Your body longs to go to the grave with the one you loved.
I can only imagine how these men and women were feeling.  Not only had they lost their dearest friend, they had lost their hope.  For this one who now lay in a tomb, was the one they believed would be the savior of their nation.  For them, all hope was gone.

The women, as women will do, went about the tasks that still had to be done.  To them fell the task of the body being properly prepared for the grave.  Early in the morning, they woke, took the necessary things, and went to the tomb where the soldiers were guarding Jesus body.  I am sure they were thinking how would they get the soldiers to let them pass, or who would roll the great stone away from the entrance, but more I am thinking, they were, as women do, trying to just get on with life, without any hope for the future.

Imagine the vision.  The soldiers are gone. Where could they be?
What would have caused a Roman soldier to leave his post, knowing his life would be forfeited if he did?  And then the sight of the entrance to the tomb… the stone rolled away to the side.  Had they taken his body and hidden it? 

Picture yourself in that circumstance.  What if this were the body of someone you love, and now it is gone?  You are powerless.  Your body, overcome with grief and fear, trembles.  Tears flow in unceasing, uncontrollable great rivers.  Where have they taken him? 

The scripture at John 20: 11 - 16, describes a meeting that forever will hold my heart. It cannot be said a better way…
“ But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb.  And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.  Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”  She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”
Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?”

She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”

Jesus said to her, “Mary!”

He spoke her name.  It was all she needed to know it was Jesus. 

We all know voices. We get a phone call from a friend we have not heard from in a while, and we know their voice instantly.  Children who are out playing, hear a women’s voice calling and know exactly who is calling them.  From birth to death, we begin to recognize voices.  Each voice distinct in it’s tone, it’s urgency.  We only need to hear it to know if it is a cry for help, a voice of recognition.  Think of someone you love, saying your name.  You know that voice. No one else says that name the way they do.

And so it was for Mary.  And so it was for me.  I have heard that voice call my name.  “Susan” softly as if in a whisper inside my soul, and I needed nothing else to know that it was the voice of my Savior. 

He is risen, He is alive, and He is calling your name today…