Tuesday of the Octave of Easter
Let all the house of Israel therefore know certainly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."
Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"
Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are far off, even as many as the Lord our God will call to himself." With many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, "Save yourselves from this crooked generation!"
Then those who gladly received his word were baptized. There were added that day about three thousand souls.
For the Lord's word is right. All his work is done in faithfulness. He loves righteousness and justice. The earth is full of the loving kindness of the Lord.
Behold, the Lord's eye is on those who fear him, On those who hope in his loving kindness, To deliver their soul from death, To keep them alive in famine.
Our soul waits for the Lord. He is our help and our shield.
But Mary was standing outside at the tomb weeping. So as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb, And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. They asked her, "Woman, why are you weeping?"
She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I don't know where they have laid him." When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, and didn't know that it was Jesus.
Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?"
She, supposing him to be the gardener, said to him, "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, "Rabboni!" which is to say, "Teacher!"
Jesus said to her, "Don't hold me, for I haven't yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brothers and tell them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"
Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had said these things to her.
The power of a name spoken in love transforms everything. When Jesus calls "Mary," her whole world shifts from devastation to joy, from searching to being found. There's something profound about how recognition happens here – not through explanation or argument, but through the tender intimacy of her name on his lips.
This echoes what happens in Acts when Peter's words cut straight to the heart of his listeners. The crowd doesn't need lengthy theological treatises; they need the truth spoken clearly: "God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified." Sometimes the most powerful encounters with the risen Christ happen in moments of stark honesty about where we stand.
Notice how both Mary and the crowd in Jerusalem respond immediately. Mary turns toward Jesus; the crowd asks, "What shall we do?" There's no hesitation, no committee meetings about next steps. When we truly encounter the resurrection, something in us knows we can't stay the same.
Peter's answer is beautifully practical: repent and be baptized. The path forward isn't complicated, though it's certainly costly. What emerges is a pattern we see throughout the Easter season – recognition, transformation, mission. Mary becomes the first apostle to the apostles. Three thousand people join the community in a single day.
The movement here is from isolation to community, from grief to proclamation. Both Mary and the new converts become messengers, carrying news that changes everything. This suggests something important about how resurrection works in our own lives – it's never just for us alone.
In our ordinary moments of loss or confusion, Christ still calls our names. The question becomes whether we're listening for that voice that knows us completely.
What would it mean to hear Jesus call your name today? How might you be called to carry resurrection news to someone who needs it?