By Rev. Aaron Lauer

One of the most frequent questions I get asked as a pastor is “What should I call you? Are you Reverend? Pastor? Father?” And my response is almost always “Just call me Aaron.”

It’s not that I don’t have respect for my titles or the work I put into earning them. It’s honestly the fact that I rarely respond to them. I’ve always been “Aaron,” from the time I was a little kid to my friends and family today. If I hear my name called, then that’s what I will respond to. 

In the Gospel reading for Easter Sunday this year, Mary Magdalene is crying in the garden after she finds Jesus’ tomb empty. She believes that someone has taken away her Savior and she is distraught with what to do. A man appears next to her, she sees him and assumes he is a gardener. It isn’t until she hears him call her name, “Mary,” that she realizes it is Jesus. 

There is a power in someone knowing your name, calling you by it. There is intimacy, a recognition, and a respect. Anyone can call you “Sir” or “Ma’am” or “Friend” or “Hey you!” But to know someone’s name and use means that they see us, know us, and have a connection with us.

Some of us have a nickname that we answer to. Some of us have claimed a new name for ourselves. Some of us love the name we were given at birth. No matter what our name may be, there is a power to it. And to hear it said means we are loved, seen, and known. There is an affirmation of our identity when people call us by our name in respect and dignity. 

This Easter season, I hope you can live into the truth and beauty of your name. I hope you claim your name, whether it was given to you or you chose it. And that when you hear it spoken by others, it is from a place of love!  

Blessings and peace,

Aaron