Easter is the day that ends the Lenten Season. It is one of the most important days in the Christian calendar. Any person with a basic knowledge of the Bible can say that Easter signifies the Resurrection of Christ. On that morning, Jesus defeated death and gave us a hope to live. All of this has been gone over again and again in sermons and discussions. One of the most significant parts of the Resurrection was the reaction of Mary Magdalene, whose story is found in John 20:1-18.

Mary is traditionally held to be a fallen woman whom Jesus forgave of her sins. She had every reason to go and mourn over his death. When she saw his empty tomb, she might have thought that the Jews had come in the night to take his body away and subject it to further indignities. The interesting part of her dialogue with the gardener was that she did not recognize him until he called her by name. Until then, she refused to take her mind from the scene of his death. We often emulate her actions. We continue to hold on to our sorrow and loneliness, refusing to see anything beyond our own emotions. We do not allow ourselves to see God’s glory through our tears.

Jesus saw Mary’s sorrow and responded with one word: "Mary." He could have told her, "It is I, Jesus of Nazareth, risen from the dead." That one word opened Mary’s eyes to him, to what until that time had been deemed impossible: rising from the dead. In that one word, he put all the love and comfort that only she could have recognized. She did not doubt him. Logically, what she saw was impossible. A person could not rise from the dead of his own accord. The gardener could have been someone who bore a strong resemblance to Jesus, who had caught her name when she talked with Peter and John. To Mary, however, the gardener was beyond a shadow of doubt the risen Christ. We should model ourselves after Mary’s example. Jesus calls us by name and we often choose to ignore his voice. Easter is a time of triumph but it should also be a time of recognition.