Called by Name

Earth Day Mary [of Magdala] stood weeping outside the tomb…. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,” which means Teacher. —John 20:11, 15–16 In her homily at the 2019 CAC Universal Christ conference, Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis reminds us that we are each called by the resurrected Christ who knows us by name: Mary is the first preacher in the gospel … not because she recognizes Jesus, but because he knows her, and what she can do, and what she’s got to give. Amen. In the moment of speaking and seeing, in the moment of revelation and connection, there is a passing on, an apostolic succession, that goes to this woman on the outside of her society, who has no status, no stature, except that Jesus sees her , an...