When Jesus Called Your Name | John 20:1–18 | St. Mary Magdalene & Baptism of Maria Madeline Hageman

Mary Magdalene stands at the empty tomb, staring directly at the risen Jesus — and doesn’t recognize him. She mistakes her own Savior for a gardener. If the woman who watched him die can miss the resurrection standing three feet away, what hope do the rest of us have of recognizing what God is doing in our own lives?In this sermon, preached for the baptism of Mary Madeline, Pastor Rojas walks through Jesus’ resurrection appearance to Mary Magdalene and shows that an empty tomb — even proof itself — is not enough to create faith. Left to ourselves, we stand in the wreckage of grace and call it an ordinary morning.But He doesn’t leave her there.Jesus doesn’t argue Mary into belief. He speaks one word — her name — and grief becomes worship. That is the same voice that spoke over Mary Madeline in her Baptism: the Good Shepherd calling his own sheep by name before they have done anything to earn the hearing of it. Faith isn’t your achievement. It’s his voice landing on you and making you his own.