Imagine walking into your kitchen early in the morning. You're still sleepy. The coffee hasn’t kicked in yet. And then, out of nowhere, your five-year-old grandson asks, “Grandma where do people go when they die?” You are taken aback, what to answer. That jolt — that shift from the ordinary to the eternal — is what this Gospel feels like
Doing What is Rite
In Jewish tradition, funeral rites were sacred and precise. The body of the deceased was wrapped in cloth, anointed with spices and quickly buried- usually before sunset. But the mourning for the dead person was not rushed. For three days, it was believed that the soul would travel close to the body. During this period when the tranquility of the earth allowed space for mourning and prayer, it was customary for family and close friends to visit the tomb, especially early in the morning.
It is no accident, therefore, that on the third day, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb. She's not going to witness a miracle. She was about to complete the funeral rites, to anoint a lifeless body. But what she found was not death. A stone rolled up. Angel with a message. Then the risen Christ Himself uttered her name: "Mary."
Mary Magdalene is doing what many of us do when we grieve: she’s retracing steps, revisiting places, replaying memories. She comes to the tomb, but not to find answers. She comes because she doesn’t know what else to do. It’s like how we keep a chair at the table even after someone’s gone, or how we talk to photos as if they could talk back. Grief is love that has nowhere to go. And that’s where we meet Mary.
Difficult Recognition
But she doesn’t recognize Him. Why couldn’t she recognize Him? He didn’t look like a ghost. He didn’t come with a halo and thunder. Mary was looking for the “old Jesus,” the one she had seen on the cross. She was unable to even imagine that He had risen from the dead. Did the “gardener” even resemble the Jesus she had known when he walked the earth? Did he look too ordinary? Had his original features changed after He rose from the dead? Why didn’t Jesus look like Himself so that she could immediately recognize Him?
He looked like… the gardener. Maybe that’s the point. Maybe the resurrected Jesus doesn’t always show up in dazzling visions but in the ordinary — in someone who brings you a cup of tea, or in the neighbor who mows your lawn without being asked, or in the child who whispers, “I love you,” when you least expect it.
Being Called by Name
Then comes the moment that changes everything. Jesus says her name: “Mary.” One word. One name. But in it, the voice of creation — the voice that said, “Let there be light” — now says, “Let there be hope.” That’s the twist of Easter: it’s personal. Resurrection isn’t just a big theological idea or a Church celebration with lilies and trumpets. It’s a God who calls you by name. Not by your title, your failures, your roles — but by your name.
Do you remember the story of Hagar in the Old Testament? She was also alone, weeping in the wilderness. And the angel of the Lord appeared to her — not to lecture her, but to speak her name. She called God El-Roi, meaning “the God who sees me.” That’s the same God who meets Mary in the garden — not a distant Savior, but the One who sees her tears and speaks her name.
Seeking Him Every Day
Friends, if there's one message today, it’s this: God sees you. In your kitchen chaos, in your silent worries, your bedtime prayers, in your exhausted hugs. Easter is not just about Jesus rising from the dead. It’s about you and me rising from our despair, our busyness, our numbness — because someone calls us by name.
So, when your name is called — maybe in a shout from the bathroom, in a whisper from a loved one, remember: that might just be the same gardener on Easter morning.
- Father Boby's inspirational homily was recorded live during Mass at the Father Peyton Center this morning. You can view the Mass (and the Rosary at the 30-minute mark) on the Family Rosary YouTube page.
- To join the Rosary and Mass Livestream, visit the Family Rosary YouTube or Facebook page at 11:30 a.m. Eastern, Monday – Friday. Consider inviting others to join too! (*If you are not a member of Facebook and a signup window appears, simply select the X at the top of the pop-up message and continue to the livestream.)
