Easter morning carries a kind of tension we don’t always name out loud.
We gather with lilies and music and “alleluias.” And yet many of us also carry fatigue, grief, and unanswered questions. That’s not far from where the first witnesses found themselves. Mary didn’t come to the tomb expecting resurrection. She came because she had seen Jesus die.
And still, something had already happened.
John tells us that one of the disciples “saw and believed,” and then immediately adds, “They didn’t yet understand.” That’s a quiet but important truth. Belief and understanding don’t always arrive at the same moment. We often wait until everything makes sense before we trust. But sometimes trust comes first, and understanding follows later.
Mary’s experience takes that even further. She sees Jesus and doesn’t recognize him. She assumes he’s the gardener. Only when he speaks her name—“Mary”—does everything change. In that moment, she knows him. Not through explanation or argument. Just a name spoken in love.
That moment reminds us that we don’t solve resurrection; we encounter it. Faith grows as we realize that we are known.
And then, before Mary has time to sort it all out, she is sent. “Go to my brothers and sisters…” Before she understands everything. Before she can explain it clearly. Just go. The message wasn’t hers to perfect. It was hers to carry.
There’s good news in that for us. We don’t have to have everything figured out before we respond to Christ. We don’t have to wait for certainty before we live as witnesses.
In the end, this story goes beyond an empty tomb to relationship. “My Father and your Father… my God and your God.” Through Christ, we are brought near.
So the invitation is simple, even if not easy: trust what you have seen of Christ, listen for his voice, and respond when he calls.
You may not understand everything yet. That’s okay.
He knows your name.
We’d love to see you in person at Lincoln Park-Lynnwood United Methodist Church, 3120 Pershing Street, Knoxville, TN. Come as you are. We’re not in the judging business. We’re in the welcoming business.
