Calling You By Name - Easter 2026
Watch or read below an Easter message from Diocesan Bishop Dan Gifford.
Happy Easter! Today, Christians in thousands of languages around the world will say these life-changing, eternal words: Alleluia! Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia! They are words of both immense power and joy. Power, because Jesus rising from death overturns the final word of death for all people. He is Lord and has the authority to forgive sins, to reconcile all people to God so that they know His love forever.
King of All Kings
We live in a time when we are flooded with news of powerful leaders using their power for evil. But on Easter, THE good news floods our hearts that Jesus uses the power that created the universe to save humanity from evil and sin and death. By His resurrection, He reveals that He is Lord over all lords in the world, past and present. He is King of all kings, no matter how powerful they are. All authority has been given to Him, and by it, He brings us life!
That is why we say Alleluia today! It is a way to express deep joy because Jesus, the God of all power, personally brings you eternal life, and hope, and the experience of God’s awesome love for you. Because of Easter, Jesus calls you by name for this purpose. This changes everything, no matter what you are going through in life.
Two Searching Questions
The first person to meet Jesus on that first Easter morning was Mary Magdalene—a dear friend who supported Jesus' ministry in significant ways. She was in deep anguish because her dear friend Jesus had been horribly executed. When she visited His tomb, it was empty—and she assumed someone had stolen the body. John 20:15 tells us that He asked her two searching questions: "Why are you weeping? Who do you seek?" Jesus’ questions are searching, and they show that Mary was looking for a dead body when she should have been looking for the risen Jesus.
We, like Mary, are tempted at times to discount the power of God in the situations we face, whether it is grief or big challenges in our lives. We naturally tend towards thinking about what is possible from a human point of view. But God gently leads us to Jesus, the Risen Lord, in these questions to Mary: Why are you weeping without hope? Who do you seek?
Mary
As she considered those questions, Jesus forever changed her life. The risen Lord Jesus simply said to her, “Mary.” With that one word, Jesus banished her fear and recreated her life. She cried out: "It is you, my teacher!" She embraced Him, and tears of sadness turned to tears of joy.
Her life would never be the same again. It would be defined by the risen Jesus. She was the first to tell the good news to their friends. She would live for Him. She would be part of the church in Jerusalem and would be filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. All because the Risen Jesus called her name.
He Calls You By Name
This is the way Jesus calls each of you as well. It is not a general address: He calls you each by name to know Him as the risen Lord Jesus, who has conquered sin and death for you and for your salvation. It is a call that turns our lives right upside down so that Jesus is at the center of everything we do and say.
In Isaiah 43, more than 500 years before that first Easter, God made this promise to His people: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you."
Because of Easter, those words are fulfilled for everyone who places their trust in the Lord Jesus. He calls you by name. You belong to Him so that nothing, not even death, can overwhelm you or separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus. So, it is with great joy we say today: The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
+Dan
The Right Reverend Dan Gifford
Diocesan Bishop