Easter Meditation – “What’s in a Name?”
John 20:1–18
Rev. Kimberly Orr, Director of Religious Life
It begins in the dark.
Before the sun’s rays banish the lake’s morning mist — before the first sips of coffee are enjoyed or church bells begin to ring — we are invited to sit alongside Mary Magdalene, who has already arrived at the tomb.
This is not yet a story of joy. Mary sobs in the gray of early morning, her heart still gripped by the horror of the cross. She recalls the promises Jesus had made, the hope she and others had carried. Now, it all seems to be unraveling—falling into silence, ashes and fear.
And then — a single, familiar word softly pierces her grief:
“Mary.”
Jesus speaks her name, and the world begins to tilt back toward life. The Risen One is not recognized by appearance or spectacle, but through holy intimacy — through the simple act of being called by name. This is resurrection at its most personal. Not abstract. Not distant. But eye-to-eye, name-to-name, soul-to-soul.
At Lakeside, we too listen for this Voice.
In the hush of morning, on a bench near the shore.
In the stillness at the dock at sunset.
In the warmth of greetings from familiar neighbors.
Resurrection happens here — not just in sermons or songs, but in the ordinary miracle of quiet observation… of seeing and being seen, of being known, of being called…
By name.
Jesus says to Mary, “Do not hold on to me,” because resurrection does not return us to the past. It draws us into something emerging, unfamiliar and full of new promises and new hopes. Mary becomes the first gospel witness — the apostle to the apostles. She runs, not with all the answers, but with the truth of her encounter: She has seen the Lord.
This Easter, may we go as Mary did. Not filled with the hubris of certainty, but with Spirit-imbued courage. Not clinging to what has been, but leaning into what is becoming — what the Spirit is birthing through and among us. Not looking for the living among the dead — but walking boldly toward newness of life.
Christ has spoken our name… “Lakeside.”
Can you hear it on the breeze?
In the cry of the eagles, the lapping of the lake, the stillness of your own heart?
He is here.
He is risen.
And he calls you… by name.
