It’s funny that your name was given to you by your parents but before too long it becomes something that identifies you and it becomes your own.  Even little babies respond to their names.  When someone says our name it can mean so much to us.  We all know what it feels like when a loved one speaks your name so gently, or when someone you respect learns who you are and calls you by name.  We know how it stings when we have disappointed someone and they say our name with sadness, or when we are called out in anger.  When we hear our name we stop and pay attention.

I think of Someone who called Mary by name on the day of His Resurrection.  The tomb at daybreak must have been so silent, so sad, so lonely.  She came to do her work, she came because of her great  love.  She spoke, He spoke and there was no recognition in her voice until…….until He spoke her name.  He called her with such tenderness and such love that she immediately knew who He was.  Imagine  how she must have felt, looking at Him who spoke her name.

Each moment of every day He calls our names.  If you become quiet enough you can hear your name in the gentle breeze, in the silence of a butterfly’s wings, in the song of the birds, in the stars that light the heavens.  Your name is echoed throughout the universe for all time.  He calls your name…..listen and adore.