The Gospels relate that the women went to Jesus' tomb early in the morning of the first day of the week. They did not presume that they were going to meet the risen Jesus. In fact, they were quite confused and forgot that the tomb was sealed.

Mary Magdalene was among these women. As he usually does, John recounts the story of an individual person to provide us with deeper teaching. No one recognized the risen Jesus on the first encounter with him. So Mary did not recognize Jesus until he called her by her name. Seeing the risen Jesus was not a matter of physical recognition but of faith. Before Jesus called her by her name, Mary was still locked in her own confusion and grief, outside the new world of the resurrection. Only when Jesus called her by her name could she enter into the joy of the resurrection: "I have called you by your name and you are mine." (Isaiah 43:1)

Listen to Jesus calling you by your name. In response, leave this world of sorrow and trouble behind you to enter into the new world of the resurrection.