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In John 20, Mary Magdalene is in the garden, weeping; the body of her Lord is not in the tomb. When she hears her name, in the familiar voice of her teacher, she turns. The voice who had spoken healing to her and set her free earlier in the Gospel now changes the world. The empty tomb is not another blow of sadness but the resounding cavern of resurrection! In the word “Mary,” a new world is created for a person submerged in grief; there is now a world where death does not have the last word. A world where healing can continue and spread, and there is hope when all seems lost.
Names matter and names can bring change. The names which arise from being a follower of Jesus matter. Child of God. Disciple of the way. Bearer of peace. Body of Christ. These names are declared to us, and they can change our world. As we go into the world, we bear the names God gives us and are invited to voice names which a hurting and broken world needs to hear.
This message is excerpted from “Names that change” from Jeanette Bidne in the April 2023 Café online magazine. Today we commemorate Mary Magdalene, apostle.