Opening Prayer

Dear Jesus, you are alive! Open our ears to hear your voice calling our names today. Amen.

Scripture: John 20:1-18

Very early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb where Jesus had been buried. When she got there, the big stone that covered the opening had been rolled away. The tomb was empty!

Mary ran to find Peter and John. “They’ve taken Jesus away!” she cried. “I don’t know where he is!”

Peter and John raced to the tomb. John got there first, but Peter went in first. They saw the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus — but no body. John looked at the empty cloths, and he believed. Then they went home.

But Mary stayed. She stood outside the tomb, crying. She looked inside and saw two angels in white. “Why are you crying?” they asked.

“Because they’ve taken my Lord away,” she said.

Then she turned around and saw a man standing there. She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you’ve moved him, tell me where he is.”

And then Jesus said one word: “Mary.”

She knew that voice. It was Jesus — alive! She cried out, “Rabbouni!” — which means “My Teacher!”

Jesus told her, “Go tell my brothers that I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”

So Mary ran to the disciples and told them: “I have seen the Lord!”

What This Means

Have you ever been somewhere dark and scary — maybe your room at night, or a place you didn’t know — and then someone you love called your name? Remember how everything changed in that moment? You weren’t lost anymore. You were found.

That’s what happened to Mary. She came to the tomb in the dark, crying, with no hope at all. She thought Jesus was dead and gone forever. She couldn’t even recognize him when he was standing right in front of her. She thought he was just the gardener.

But then Jesus spoke her name. One word — “Mary” — and everything changed. She knew his voice because she was one of his sheep, and the Good Shepherd knows every one of his sheep by name.

Here’s the amazing part: Jesus does the same thing for you. In your baptism, God spoke your name. He didn’t just say “I love everybody.” He said, “I love you. You are mine.” And on Easter morning, when Jesus walked out of that tomb alive, he walked out for you. Death couldn’t hold him, and because of that, it can’t hold you either.

Mary came in the dark. She left carrying the brightest news the world has ever heard: “I have seen the Lord!” That’s what Easter does — it turns our darkest mornings into the greatest news.

Let’s Talk About It

Eberley: Why do you think Mary didn’t recognize Jesus at first? What does it tell us that she recognized him by his voice and not by how he looked? How is that like the way we know Jesus today — through his Word — even though we can’t see him?

Sonja: Mary was so sad she was crying. What made her stop crying? Have you ever been really scared or sad, and then someone you love showed up and made it better? How is that like what Jesus did for Mary?

Dahlia & Freddy: What did Jesus say to Mary? Just one word — her name! Does Jesus know your name too?

Remember This

Jesus calls you by name, and nothing — not even death — can take you away from him.

Closing Prayer

Dear Jesus, thank you for calling Mary by name on that first Easter morning. Thank you that you know our names too — Eberley, Sonja, Dahlia, and Freddy. Help us hear your voice in your Word and remember that you are alive and you love us. Amen.

Memory Verse

“I have seen the Lord!” — John 20:18