Acts 10:34-43 Peter's proclamation of Jesus as the crucified and risen Lord
or Isaiah 65:19-26 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together
Psalm 118:1-2,14-24 The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone
1 Corinthians 15:19-26 Christ ... the first fruits of those who have died
or Acts 10 as above
John 20:1-18 At the empty tomb; Mary Magdalene meets the risen Jesus in the
garden
Luke 24:1-12 The women find the tomb empty and tell Peter and the others
Victory over death
This is the great day of celebration. By the power of God life is triumphant over death. This is the beginning of the new age in which we see the promises of God being fulfilled. When his Word was made flesh in the birth of Jesus, humankind was given power to become children of God [John 1:12]. Now he has given us hope of fulfilment as his adopted children by restoring our relationship to our creator. That is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them. -- 2 Corinthians 5:18-19. The restored relationship is for eternity, it is the fulfilment of our destiny: the promise of life with God. That new life joins us with Christ in life beyond death: in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. -- 1 Corinthians 15:19-20.The evidence of this victory over separation from God is seen in the resurrection
of Jesus. It is an historical event for which we have the witness of the holy
women and the apostles. We are not only dealing with analogies or mere symbols
of the triumph of good over evil. We believe that were was an objective change
in the reality of human life through a real event in the world that we know.
(1 Corinthians 15:3-4). It was the heart of the apostles' preaching (eg Paul
at Antioch: Acts 13:32-33.) And there were many witnesses (John 20:2,6,8, John
20:11-18,1 Cor 15:5; Luke 22:31-32, 34, 36, Luke 24:11,17; John 20:19; Mark
16:11,13,14 etc.). They thought at first they were seeing a ghost (Luke 24:38-41)
It was not wish fulfilment on a grand scale, but good news reluctantly accepted
and verified by the experience of many witnesses.
What they saw and apparently touched, the body of the man who eat with them,
was not the same physical body they had known before his death, although it
bore the identifying marks of his suffering. Christ did not return to earthly
life like Jairus' daughter (Mark 5:22-24,35-43), the young man at Nain (Luke
7:11-17) or Lazarus (John 11:1-44) whom he had raised. At some time they would
die again. Christ's resurrection in essentially different. In his risen body
he passes from the state of death to another life beyond space and time. His
appearances to the disciples were not limited by locked doors or the time needed
to travel from one place to another. He enjoys the sovereign freedom henceforth
to be present how and where he wills. (Matt 28:9,16-17; Luke 24:15,36; John
20:14,17,19,26; 21:4.) He might or might not be recognized.
So the risen Lord was able to contact the people who could recognize him and
many did. We too have the capacity to meet with him, as we do in the Eucharist
now, and as we see him in the suffering faces of humanity, know him in our devotions,
and as we shall see at the end when we too will be raised up in a new kind of
body, not constrained by time and space, in which we will share with him the
new life of children restored to the family of God with our first-born brother.
(1 Corinthians 15:19-20; 1 Peter 1:3)
The Gathering of the People of God
CALL TO WORSHIP
The Lord is risen.
He is risen indeed.
Let us praise the Lord.
The Lord's name be praised.
HYMN 290 Christ the Lord is risen today
PRAYER OF ADORATION
CONFESSION [Three parts concluding]
... Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy.
... Christ have mercy. Christ have mercy.
... Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy.
DECLARATION OF FORGIVENESS
Through Christ God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on
earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross. -- Colossians
1:20
Hear then Christ's word of grace to us: Your sins are forgiven.
Thanks be to God.
A CANTICLE FOR EASTER [and lighting the Easter candle]
Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of angels!
Exult, all creation around God's throne!
Jesus Christ, our King, is risen! Sound the trumpet of salvation!
Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendour, radiant in the brightness of
your King!
Christ has conquered! Glory fills you! Darkness vanishes for ever!
Rejoice, O holy church! Exult in glory! The risen Saviour shines upon
you!
Let this place resound with joy, echoing the mighty song of all God's
people
It is truly right that with full hearts and minds and voices
we should praise the unseen God, the all-powerful Father,
and his only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
This is our passover feast, when Christ, the true Lamb, is slain,
whose blood consecrates the homes of all believers
This is the day when christians everywhere
washed clean of sin and freed from all defilement,
are restored to grace and grow together in holiness.
This is the day when Jesus Christ broke the chains of death,
and rose triumphant from the grave.
Father, how wonderful your care for us! How boundless your merciful
love!
To ransom slaves, you gave away your Son!
Day truly blessed, when heaven is wedded to earth,
and we are reconciled to God!
Therefore, heavenly Father, in the joy of this day,
receive our sacrifice of praise, your church's solemn offering.
Accept this Easter candle.
May Christ dispel the darkness of our night!
May the Morning Star which never sets find the flame of our love always burning.
May Christ, that Morning Star, who came back from the dead, shed his
peaceful light on all the world.
Service of the Word
INTRODUCTION OF THEME: Victory over death
A word to the children
FOR THE OLD TESTAMENT Acts 10:34-43 Peter's proclamation of Jesus
PSALM 118:1-2,14-24 The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone
EPISTLE 1 Corinthians 15:19-26 Christ ... the first fruits of those who have
died
GOSPEL Luke 24:1-12 The women find the tomb empty and tell Peter and the others
The Lord's Supper
We thank you ....
[The great prayer of thanksgiving continues, recalling God's
goodness in caring for his people, the life and saving work of our Lord Jesus
Christ, how he commanded his disciples to remember him with the bread and the
wine, and we pray for the gift of the Holy Spirit on us and what we do.]
THE LORD'S PRAYER
BREAKING THE BREAD
THE LAMB OF GOD
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world, have mercy
on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world, grant us peace.
The Sending Forth of the People of God
HYMN 303 Thine be the glory, risen conquering Son
WORD OF MISSION
BLESSING
DISMISSAL
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord:
In the name of Christ. Amen.
NOTES
The Easter Candle
The Uniting Church, in common with other churches in recent
years, has revived some ancient symbols. The Easter or Paschal candle is a symbol
with a liturgy in the Western Church that can be traced back at least to the
seventh century. It signifies the resurrection and is lit for services throughout
the Easter season until Pentecost, and again whenever there is a baptism when
the candidate's candle is traditionally lit from it to remind us of the connection
between baptism and the resurrection faith, baptism being a sign of dying to
an old life and rising to a new life with Christ. In the early church Easter
was the time for baptisms. In some churches the Paschal candle is also lit for
funerals to signify new life in Christ after death.
'A Canticle for Easter' is from Uniting in Worship, People's Book adapted from the Liturgy for the Easter Vigil of the Roman Catholic Church. `A Litany for Easter' is in Uniting in Worship, People's Book and comes from the Book of Alternative Services, 1985, Anglican Church of Canada.
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