Easter School ’11 Final Worship

(Written up the next day from briefest of notes!)

Isaiah 43 :1-2

Do not be afraid, I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are mine.

My year group know how significant and important this verse is for me, but this morning I want to talk to all of us.

I want to take you back to the garden on the first Easter morning, as described in John, chapter 20.

Mary Magdalene is standing there, outside the empty tomb, she’s on her own, the guys who were with her have gone, run off -

Peter, and The other one… disappeared in their excitement,

but Mary is confused and bemused.

She’s still crying, she’s been crying for days now, her eyes behind her veil are swollen and sore, she can hardly see.

The temptation is to curl into a ball inside that dark tomb cave and hope it will all go away, hope it’s all been a bad dream.

Everything has gone wrong, she’s full of confusion, doubts, disbelief, anger.

She needs the reassurance of something, even a body.

But  somehow she turns from the tomb, and in doing so, through the tears sees a figure she supposes to be the gardener.

Questions form…

“Mary”

In that moment,  -her name on the lips of her Lord, she recognises him.

Suddenly she understands, and everything falls into place,

Her name

Her Lord

Her call

And WHAT a call….!?!

“GO and tell them, go…. tell…”

—————

We’re often pulled back and down

Confused, doubting and scared

It can be circumstances and situations, emotions, irrational and rational fears

Lack of understanding

We spiral out of our own understanding, out of focus

We can spend days & nights crying – real tears or metaphorical ones, until we can no longer see clearly what is around us and what is ahead.

Like Mary, we need to turn from the tomb, from the dark and listen again for the voice of Jesus, for our name…

When we hear our name, like Mary we recognise Him again, recognise our call once more.

We hear our name & our call in so many ways,

in prayer,

in our personal circumstances,

in the affirmation of friends,

in Scripture,

even in the TV broadcast of an Ordination service

I have called you by name, DO not be afraid,

All of us in this room have been called by name..

I want to say to you, DO not be afraid…

I want to say to 3508 DO NOT BE AFRAID

I need to say to me -Do NOT be afraid…

We are all called, by name

The one who calls us is  faithful… and He will Do This….

Amen