“Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ She turned and said to him in Aramaic, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means Teacher).”
(John 20:16 ESV)
I am a SciFi fan. I remember watching Men in Black where “K” (Tommy Lee Jones), one of the agents in a black suit, jumps up and down waving his arms and shouting, “Eat me!” to a very large alien. The alien obliges by swallowing him, only to be exploded from the inside by the swallowed “K” who had carried his large gun with him! Messy.
My youngest daughter, Sophia, is often frustrated over being the youngest. Privately, some of us would like to be less ahead of her in age, but in this reality, time is linear. Like her father was at her age, she is an extrovert. Consequently, she is quite prepared to be in-your-face about everything and anything. Just to be the centre of what is going on, and to be recognized and seen, she literally or metaphorically jumps up and down, waving to get our attention, not dissimilar to the agent “K”‘s effusive display in the film. When she knows that she is seen, she so loves to explain or recount her life experiences to me that she almost glows with the satisfaction of being heard.
In a similar manner, I sometimes feel like both “K” and Sophia in front of Jesus in God’s throne room. I pray — and metaphorically, I am jumping up and down — hoping to gain the attention of my God and Saviour in order to be heard, even though in reality I am of course heard, simply because Jesus loves me.
Over two thousand years ago, Mary was distraught and dismayed, searching for Jesus’ body when she found His tomb empty. What had happened to her Saviour? Her life’s anchor had been ripped from her heart. So, ignoring Peter and the angels, she carries on in her search for Jesus. She wants to be heard by someone who would have the answer to her question: Where have they taken my Lord?
Unknowingly, she bumps into Jesus, and in her distress, she does not recognize the Man who asks her the question: “Whom are you seeking?” She is too busy in her turmoil, her dilemma, focused on being able to minister to His dead body and say her farewells.
She is desperate to be heard, to pour out her heart — so desperate that it is only when Jesus calls her name that her eyes are opened and she finally knows that she is home and she is heard, even as she was unknowingly previously called by Jesus. Then, with her eyes opened, she sees that the risen Jesus is no longer lost to her, but she is once more the centre of His attention.
Have we been too consumed in the telling of our story to realize that God is here with us already, and we are the focus of His attention?
Is the risen Jesus calling your name today to open your eyes?
Prayer: Lord, You are our anchor and our Saviour. Clear our minds that we may see You and know that we are always heard. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
Copyright © 2022, by Rod Marshall <roderickhenrymarshall@gmail.com>, first published on the PresbyCan Daily Devotional presbycan.ca .
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England
Reprinted from PresbyCan with author’s permission