Easter Sunday Home Service

Prayers of Approach

Alleluia! Christ is risen.

He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

Creator God, you who scattered the stars and filled the deep oceans, come, God, be with us here. Saviour God, you who suffered for us and danced from death to new life, come, God, be with us here. Spirit God, you who are as wild as the wind and fill our hearts with fire, come, God, be with us here.

Come! Shout for joy, for the Lord is risen, he has conquered the cross! Darkness has given way to light. Let shouts for joy and victory sound, for our Lord is risen! Hallelujah!

We exalt you, risen Lord. We worship and adore you. From cross to cave, beaten but not broken; from thorns to throne; from grave to glory, we exalt you, risen Lord. We worship and adore you. Amen.

Hymn Christ the Lord is risen today (R&S 232)

Readings: Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24

Luke 24:1-12

Introduction

The witnesses to the astounding events of Easter saw them from different perspectives. Mary Magdalene is the first to see the stone rolled away from Jesus’ tomb. She is the first to tell the other disciples that Jesus’ body is no longer there which prompts Simon Peter and John to come and see for themselves.

The women came to honour Jesus in the only way left to them – to improve his grave with spices. What happens next is terrifying but the message that the ‘men in dazzling clothes’ give is full of detail, reminding the women that Jesus had predicted his death and resurrection, and this helped to make a new kind of sense out of Jesus’ words and the terrifying moment of discovery and revelation. Though at first disbelieving Peter and John come to see the truth for themselves – that Jesus is risen!

Hymn This is the day, this is the day (R&S 377)

Sermon

Our first reading today is part of the processional psalm probably recited during the ritual journey through the gates of Jerusalem and up to the Temple during major feasts. It is the last of the psalms that form the ‘Hallel’, psalms 113-118, which are recited at major feasts. On the first two days of Passover it would be followed by the ‘Great Hallel’, psalm 136, and together they praise God for all that he has done for Israel, especially in bringing them out of slavery in Egypt and into the promised land. It is possibly the hymn that Jesus and his disciples sang before going out to the Garden of Gethsemane after the Last Supper.

Today’s verses speak powerfully of a reversal of expectation – the rejected stone is not only accepted now, it turns out to be the chief cornerstone, the one that holds the building together. Jesus himself quotes these words in Matthew 21.42, Mark 12.10, and Luke 20.17, so we can assume that they formed part of his self-understanding and sense of identity. When we read them in the light of the resurrection they are a reminder of the momentous change that has come about on this day ‘that the Lord has made’ (v.24). Jesus’ resurrection is a fulfilment of God’s promise of salvation and a vindication of all that he has said and done.

The psalm helps us to link God’s saving actions in the past to his action in raising Jesus on that first Easter Day. However, it took the women and the disciples a little while to make the connections. Although at first the disciples didn’t believe the women, Peter too came to make the comparison of the stone the builders rejected to the risen Jesus (1 Peter 2:7). Despite being the first to hear the news of Jesus’ resurrection Mary Magdalene and the others, as women, were not considered to be reliable witnesses. However, their reaction to hearing the good news is to go and tell the disciples and the others gathered with them. By contrast, Peter’s reaction after seeing the empty tomb is to be amazed but to go home! Maybe he needed time for it to sink in, maybe he had to

think it through, to consider what had really happened, or was he feeling guilty and afraid because of his earlier denial?

Peter is at the very beginning of a journey of understanding about the resurrection. Later in Acts and in his letters, we see that Peter has truly understood the importance of Jesus’ death and resurrection. We might ask ourselves where are we on our journey of understanding, what is the good news that we have to share, and what difference does it make in our lives? In our world of cynicism and fake news would we have believed the women who came with such fanciful tales of resurrection? But we live in a world of contradictions where there are so many people who are prepared to believe the unbelievable despite all the evidence to the contrary, as well as those who refuse to believe in the face of incontrovertible facts.

The women experienced for themselves the ‘two men in dazzling clothes’ inside the tomb and although they shared their experience with the disciples they didn’t believe until they too had experienced it for themselves. Experience and previous knowledge can help us to decide what we believe, as can information from a trusted source. Each of the Gospels includes a version of the resurrection and each is different, in both emphasis and the details included. Yet none of these accounts are untrue – we all see the world differently and the disciples are the same as the rest of us in this respect. We all view the world through different lenses, leading to contrasting interpretations of the same events. So how do we react to what we have seen? Do we talk about what God does for us, or are we like Peter and just go home?

Hymn Christ is alive! Let Christians sing (R&S 260)

Prayers of Intercession

Lord we come to you with thanksgiving, filled with joy that you are risen. We approach filled with hope, for you have conquered death. We approach filled with wonder at the length, depth, height and breadth of your love.

And we come to pray for this world for which you gave yourself.

We pray for those for whom today is just another day: those who have to work; those who have not yet encountered the risen Christ; those who do not celebrate his love. For God gave his Son, to show his love and bring life.

We pray for all who flee their homes in desperation, and travel into an uncertain future. Strengthen them on their journeys, and keep alive their vision of finding a secure and welcoming home. For God gave his Son, to show his love and bring life.

We pray for those who grieve today: those recently bereaved; those for whom this is a time of anniversary; those who wait beside a loved one who is dying. For God gave his Son, to show his love and bring life.

We pray for all in need throughout the world: those without access to clean water; those with insufficient food; those who cannot access the health care that they need. For God gave his Son, to show his love and bring life.

We pray for each other and for ourselves, that we may have wholeness, peace and hope through the presence in our lives of the risen Lord. For God gave his Son, to show his love and bring life. Amen.

Hymn Thine be the glory, risen conquering son (R&S 247)

Blessing

May the risen Lord be with you as you serve him in the world. May his strength sustain you; his peace still you; and his love inspire you to live and love as he did.

And may his blessing rest on you now and evermore. Amen.