Mary
April 12, 2023|Easter 2023 Series
April 12, 2023|Easter 2023 Series
Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). John 20:16
Read: John 20:11-18
Listen: John 20
Confused and full of grief, Mary stands outside the empty tomb where Jesus’s body had been laid. It’s in this broken place where Jesus meets her and calls her name, “Mary.” Immediately, she knows his voice and turns toward him. The story calls back (see John 10:27), where Jesus says, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” There’s something tender in these words and the scene with Mary. Not only is Jesus the Son of God, but he is a shepherd who knows his sheep. And what’s interesting is that Mary turns from grief to mission with that one word. She immediately went to the disciples to share what she saw.
What if Jesus knows our name too? What if he calls our name and invites us to follow him too? What if he knows us, knows what we have been through, knows what we struggle with, loves us, and invites us to follow him?
The truth is that he does know and invites us to follow him. Realizing this is true—this truth is too good not to share. May we, like Mary, be moved in gratitude to share what God has done in our life. We don’t have to know or understand everything about the Bible, but we can share what we’ve experienced God doing in our lives.
Pray a prayer of gratitude for what God has done. Thank him for caring about you, and said in John 10:27, knowing his sheep. Then ask God for an opportunity and the words to share what God has done in your life with somebody.
Join us all of 2023 developing a different spiritual practice each month. SPIRITUAL PRACTICES are intentional regular activities to deepen our relationship with God and mold us to be more like Jesus.
April is CONFESSION. Keep track of our spiritual practices at beyondtheweekend.org/spiritualpractices.