John 20:11-18
Mary Magdalene stood crying
outside the tomb. She was still weeping, when she stooped down and saw
two angels inside. They were dressed in white and were sitting where
Jesus' body had been. One was at the head and the other was at the foot.
The angels asked Mary, “Why are you crying?”
She answered, “They have taken away my Lord’s body! I don’t know where they have put him.”
As
soon as Mary said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there.
But she did not know who he was. Jesus asked her, “Why are you crying?
Who are you looking for?”
She thought he was the gardener and said, “Sir, if you have taken his body away, please tell me, so I can go and get him.”
Then Jesus said to her, “Mary!”
She turned and said to him, “Rabboni.” The Aramaic word “Rabboni” means “Teacher.”
Jesus
told her, “Don’t hold on to me! I have not yet gone to the Father. But
tell my disciples that I am going to the one who is my Father and my
God, as well as your Father and your God.” Mary Magdalene then went and
told the disciples that she had seen the Lord. She also told them what
he had said to her.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
A few years ago, my mother gave copies of a little book called Jesus Calling*
to me, my sister, and my niece. When Mother died in January, I found
extra copies in her “stash” of books, so I know that she shared this
inspirational book with many people over the years.
Mother spoke of Jesus Calling
often…she faithfully read her copy every day. I have it on my desk,
and often, I look at the notes she made and the parts she underlined. I
will admit that I didn’t pay much attention to my copy until Mother’s
last days on this earth. And while I sometimes get busy, I always catch
up on the entries at some point during the week. I would highly
recommend Jesus Calling to each of you…the passages are brief and
easy to understand – as if they were written from Jesus directly to us.
There are also scripture references for each entry that correlate the
message to actual Bible verses.
This morning, I was reading the
entry for August 30th, which begins…”There is no place so desolate that
you cannot find Me there.” In the second paragraph, “Jesus” tells us,
“No set of circumstances could ever isolate you from My loving
Presence.”
As I read this story from John 20 of Mary Magdalene
and how despondent and lonely she must have felt after Jesus’ death, I
was touched by the gentleness of Jesus’ encounter with her. He didn’t
yell at her…or scream, “Mary, it’s ME…JESUS! How could you not know
Me?” He gently and sweetly approached her. And with a simple
almost-whisper of her name, Mary recognized her Lord. The tenderness of
this image nearly moves me to tears. Jesus is always with us…but He
never forces Himself on us.
This may be a difficult day for you.
You may be so busy that you don’t see how you can possibly accomplish
everything on your “to-do” list. You may be brokenhearted with grief and
sadness…frightened about circumstances beyond your control…angry over
some injustice or wrong…sick or injured - and worried about your health
and well-being. Or you may be filled with uncontrollable joy and
excitement about wonderful things that are happening to you and/or
someone you love. Life may be exceptionally hard right now…or
incredibly good…or somewhere in between.
Regardless of your
situation and present circumstances, Jesus is with you. He is gently
and tenderly calling your name. You may be looking everywhere for Him…or
He may not even be “on your radar” today. But I assure you that you
are on His! He is with you…waiting to be recognized…ready to meet your
every need and walk with you through this day – and every other. Stop…look…listen…and call to Jesus! Recognize His presence, and take every opportunity to let others know that He is always available to each
of us.
Jesus IS calling…your Lord is right beside you! Will you acknowledge His presence?
©2016 Debbie Robus
*www.JesusCalling.com
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