THE DAILY FOUNTAIN DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE OF THE CHURCH OF NIGERIA (ANGLICAN COMMUNION)
DATE: WEDNESDAY, 27TH APRIL, 2022
TOPIC: MASTER!
TEXT: JOHN 20:11-18
11. But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down [and looked] into the tomb.
12. And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
13. Then they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him."
14. Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing [there,] and did not know that it was Jesus.
15. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" 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."
16. Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to Him, "Rabboni!" (which is to say, Teacher).
17. Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and [to] My God and your God.' "
18. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and [that] He had spoken these things to her.
MESSAGE:
While Peter and John left for their homes, Mary Magdalene stayed back, crying at the ‘disappearance’ of Jesus’ corpse. Sincerely ignorant, she continued searching for whosoever that ‘stole’ the body of Jesus so that she could continue to attend to the body. This level of love and commitment does not go unrewarded. Jesus called her by her first name and she quickly recognised the voice of her Master. She became the first to see the risen Lord. It is good to know that Jesus knows each of us by name. He calls us by our names and we recognise His voice and follow Him (John 10:27). It is just like a shepherd calling out to his flock.
However, this experience is directly related to how close we are to Him. Just in the same way that a sheep that is trailing behind the Master may not hear the voice of the shepherd, so also a Christian following from afar will not hear the voice of the Master. An undistracted love for the Master will always take us to a place of intimate relationship and communion with Him, and from this standpoint, we can hear every ‘beat’ of His heart and respond accordingly.
PRAYER:
Lord, let my search for You not end at the surface; drive me to a place of deeper search – to the secret place, for therein is Your hiding place.
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