Darkness. The sky was dark when Jesus let out his last breath. The morning was dark when Mary reached the tomb. Mary’s soul was dark when she saw that the body of her beloved Jesus was gone. Life was dark when the hope of the disciples was put to death for good. Life was dark. It was dark.
Darkness is a problem in life. Danger can lurk in the dark; you cannot see to protect yourself. You are exposed; naked. You can get lost in the dark. It is impossible to see your way out of a problem when in the dark. It is interesting that the perspectives of people whose lives have gone dark and therefore attempt suicide are described as having tunnel vision. Their vision is limited, they can see only one solution. Things have gone dark for them. Darkness is a problem in life.
Even though the morning was probably starting to break, the darkness had completely overcome Mary. Heartbroken, she searched for her Savior in the garden. She looked and looked, she went and got the disciples to help her, she even asked the gardener. Her life was dark. She was convinced that her Savior was gone. It was so dark that she did not even see Jesus. In her darkness, she could not see through the exterior of the gardener into his soul. She could not see that her own beloved Savior was standing right next to her.
What do you do when you are lost in the dark? What do you do when you do not even recognize your own salvation? I have known people who cry from being lonely all while family is gathered around them. What do you do when the darkness penetrates so deep that you cannot see the love that is right in front of your eyes?
Sometimes your eyes will deceive you. Sometimes you will be convinced of one thing, when another thing is all together true. Legal courts have discovered that eye-witness testimony is an extremely poor way to get at the truth. Statistically speaking, eye witnesses hinder the investigation of truth more than they help. The eyes deceive. The eyes see things that are not there. Or, they fail to see what is there. Sometimes, they cannot see Jesus and let you know that the one who created, saves, and redeems you is standing right in front of you. Sometimes they allow you to be lost and lonely when the one who would die for you is right there with you.
When darkness has overtaken your sight completely, Jesus does have one way of getting at you…one way of saving you from the darkness; he speaks your name. In the scriptures we recall that, "He calls his own sheep by name... and the sheep follow him because they know his voice."
“Mary,” Jesus says through the darkness.
Indeed, the sheep know the voice of the shepherd, and Mary knows the voice of the one who loves her. You cannot forget the voice of someone so close to you when you hear your name lovingly spoken. It was the Word after-all that created the heavens and the earth. It was the Word that became flesh and lived among us. And, it is by the Word that we were given a name. When we hear our name, we recognize our Savior.
Seeing is not believing. It is through listening that we will find the truth. It is through listening that we will remember whose we are. It is through listening that we will hear our names woven through the fabric of life. It is through listening that Christ will pull us from the darkness into newness of life. Take time to listen for the Word. Take time to listen for Christ. Your name is being spoken. And, God speaks your name beautifully, you precious child of God.
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