Opening Verse		Alleluia!  Christ is risen   --   He is risen indeed Alleluia !   Lord Jesus, risen from the dead and alive for evermore Stand in our midst today as in the upper room; speak your peace to our hearts and minds; and send us out into the world as your witnesses, to the glory of your name. Amen. John Stott
Collect Prayer
First Reading:
Second Reading:
Gospel Reading
Post Communion Sentence
Commentary:
Meditation:
Hymns
Prayers for Sunday and the week ahead:

Prayers

Risen Lord Jesus, as Mary Magdalene met you in the garden
on the morning of your resurrection,
so may we meet you today and every day:
speak to us as you spoke to her; reveal yourself as the living Lord;
renew our hope and kindle our joy;
and send us to share the good news with others. Amen.

 

God our Father, we come today to worship you and confess that devotion to you is often far from our minds. This morning may we refocus our attention upon our love for you and how we show that love. Help us Lord to be more willing to pour out our lives as fragrant offerings of love. We lay our lives before you and ask that we might know that love which does not count the cost.

Lord God, as we wait upon you now, as we listen for your voice in the silence of hearts and as we offer our prayers to you we think of those people in our lives who have loved us with a generous love we think of those who like Mary have not counted the cost of what they have given us; of those who given all of themselves to us as Christ gave himself for the world; and we thank you for them - and ask you to bless them and for you to make us like them.

As we go into this week, O God, help us to have a focus, a purpose that is beyond that of just getting by; beyond that of just trying to make it through another week; show us we pray what you would have us do; reveal to us our own personal and unique ministry—and help us to do it.

Bless O God those in our midst and those around the world whom we name in our hearts before you at this time; we especially ask for those who are poor in the basic needs of daily living; and for those who are poor in love; hear too the prayers we ask for those who need healing or hope in their lives, those who need justice, and those who require mercy.

Lord God - we gather in the name of the Risen Christ to pour forth our praises in glad Easter Celebration. We rejoice that you have not left us without hope - but have come back to us in the victory of the resurrection and given us the assurance of eternal life with he whom you lifted from the tomb. Praise be to your name - both now and forevermore. Amen.

Grant to us, O Lord, that most excellent of all virtues, the gift of your divine love. Let love be in our thinking and our speaking, in our daily work and in the hidden places of our souls. Let love be in our friendships and in our life with those it is hard to bear. Let love be in our joys and in our sorrows, in our life and in our death. Amen. William Temple, 1881-1944

Most glorious God, who on this day delivered us by the mighty resurrection of your Son, Jesus Christ, and made your whole creation new: grant that we who celebrate with joy his rising from the dead may be raised from the death of sin to the life of righteousness; through him who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. Methodist Worship

Meditation

John Baptist De La Salle was born in Rheims,France, 30th April 1651, and died on 7th April 1719. He was declared patron saint of teachers in 1950. 

300 years ago he wrote these words for teachers: “Take even more care of the young people entrusted to you than if they were the children of a king.” His words remind all of us of whatever age to respect one another’s dignity as unique individuals. 

A few years ago, a black South African teacher talked of working with black South African schoolchildren. He had spoken to one lad who looked miserable, and said to him: “You are created in the image of God. Don’t walk round with your eyes cast down.” 

It has been said that the task of Christians is not to make people into something that they are not, but to convince them of who they already are. We are all children of God and worthy of dignity. When we look into the eyes of another person we see the image of God, no matter that it might be marred and disfigured. For this reason alone we must treat all people with respect and kindness, in the same way that we would like to be treated. 

Let us pray:
Lord Jesus, you invite each of us by name and you call us “friends”. Lead us to show as much respect and care for others as we would like them to show for us. Help us to look for and bring out the best in all who share our lives this day. Moreover may we learn to see your likeness in the people whom we meet. Amen.

 

Meditation

Lord, you have freed us from the fear of death. You have made the end of our life here into the beginning of true life for us. You give rest to our bodies for a time in sleep, and then you awaken them again with the sound of the last trumpet. Our earthly body, formed by your hands, you consign in trust to the earth, and then once more you reclaim it, transfiguring with immortality and grace whatever in us is mortal or deformed.

You have opened for us the way to resurrection, and given to those that fear you the sign of the holy cross as their emblem, to destroy the enemy and to save our life. Eternal God, on you have I depended from my mother's womb, you have I loved with all the strength of my soul, to you have I dedicated my flesh and my soul from my youth until now.

Set by my side an angel of light, to guide me to the place of repose, where are the waters of rest, among the holy Fathers. You have broken the fiery sword and restored to Paradise the thief who was crucified with you and implored your mercy: remember me also in your kingdom, for I too have been crucified with you. Let not the dread abyss separate me from your elect. Let not the envious one bar the way before me. But forgive me and accept my soul into your hands, spotless and undefiled, as incense in your sight. Macrina 4th century

Commentary

The Bible reading today tells of Mary finding the empty tomb. This is not necessarily good news! Mary must have been devastated to see the empty tomb, and suspected grave robbers. We know that this kind of thing took place at the time and there was a death penalty for those caught.

Mary then runs to tell Peter and the disciple whom Jesus loved, commonly thought to be John. Mary goes to Peter, in part, because he is a leader of the disciples, also Peter and the beloved disciple remained in the vicinity rather than fleeing with the other disciples (18:15-18, 25-27; 19:26-27). The presence of these two men at the tomb will be important, because it establishes two legal witnesses (the number required by Torah law) to the empty tomb.

As a woman, Mary has no legal standing as a witness. This is an interesting detail in itself, Jesus will feel able to ignore this traditional understanding of the role of a woman and use Mary as the first Apostle and important witness. Make certain, the involvement of a woman is not something that the early church would have invented, not if they wanted the resurrection to be taken seriously!

When they enter the tomb they do not see the scene of a robbery, the grave clothes have been left behind, folded, not the actions of a thief! The resurrection is therefore not like the raising of Lazarus. Jesus does not need to be unwrapped from the cloths, he has departed the physical body, his is an entirely different kind of ‘bodily’ existence. His body is different, it can now pass through doors and grave clothes. The disciple whom Jesus loved knew that something miraculous had taken place. This was the moment when belief in the resurrection first became a reality in a human mind. This was a momentous moment! Some scholars think that he simply believes the truth of Mary's report that Jesus' body is missing, but that seems trivial compared against the serious tone of "he saw and believed" and Jesus' later comment to Thomas, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe" (20:29).

However we must not loose sight of the importance of Mary, her role in the Gospel story is crucial. Make no mistake she is the first Apostle. She is sent by Jesus as the ‘Apostle to the Apostles.’ It was she who was the first person to meet with the risen Jesus. We do not know a great deal about Mary Magdalene from the Gospels. Popular and extremely doubtful tradition tends to associate her as a prostitute, the woman who anoints Jesus feet (Luke 7:36-50; Matt 26:6-13) or with Mary of Bethany (Luke 10:38 John 11:1-2). You will perhaps remember such things as Jesus Christ Superstar or The Last Temptation of Christ. None of these fictional portrayals helps us to understand who the real Mary was! Feminists theologians have commented upon the willingness of a male dominated church to denigrate the importance of this first female Apostle. This has been done by allowing tradition to impart to Mary Magdalene the role of a sinful albeit repentant woman. This was only possible given the manner in which women were quickly marginalised into inferior roles once Jesus had physically left the scene. What we do know for sure is that (Luke 8:2 )Mary Magdalene was healed of seven evil spirits by Jesus, and she is spoken of in the context of women who had supported Jesus in his mission.

Once the men have left, Mary returns to the tomb to find two angels sitting where Jesus had lain, "one at the head and the other at the feet" (v. 12), like the two gold cherubim who sat at either end of the mercy seat on the Ark of the Covenant (Exod. 25:18). Neither Peter nor the beloved disciple saw the angels, and Mary does not recognize them as angels either. They ask Mary why she is crying, and she explains through her tears that "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him" (v. 13). We don't know who "they" is, and Mary surely doesn't either. Then Mary turns, and Jesus repeats the question that the angels just asked. Mary fails to recognize Jesus. Perhaps her vision is clouded by tears. Perhaps her grief so overwhelms her that she cannot think clearly. Perhaps since she came looking for a dead man, her mind is incapable of seeing a live man. We often see what we expect to see, and fail to recognize the unexpected that is right in front of our face. Perhaps Jesus' body has been transformed so that he is not immediately recognizable. There is irony here. Jesus' opponents, because of their hostility, failed to see the Messiah in their midst. Now Jesus' friend, because of her love, also fails to see.

There is also spiritual tension here. On the one hand, Jesus' resurrection body can be touched and handled (v. 27; Lk. 24:39), bears the marks of the wounds inflicted on Jesus' pre-death body (20:20, 25, 27), and not only cooks fish (21:9) but eats it (Lk. 24:41-43). On the other hand, Jesus' resurrection body apparently rose through the grave-clothes (20:6-8), appears in a locked room (vv. 19, 26), and is sometimes not (at least initially) recognized. There is something lovely about Jesus making his first resurrection appearance to Mary Magdalene, otherwise a minor character in the Gospel story. We would think that Jesus would grant this honour to one of the inner-circle disciples or to his mother. But God's ways are not our ways. We would not have picked Mary Magdalene for this honour, but neither would we have picked so many of the characters whom God chooses, like Saul to be a missionary. God calls whom God calls.

Mary addresses Jesus, whom she assumes to be the gardener, with the word, kyrie, which the NRSV translates Sir, but which is often translated Lord. Jesus addresses her by her name, Mary. Hearing her name and Jesus' voice, Mary recognizes him and addresses him, Rabbouni. Mary, like the disciples at Emmaus, does not recognize Jesus until a specific act lifts the veil from their eyes. The disciples at Emmaus recognized him when he broke bread with them. Mary recognizes him when he calls her by name. This incident reminds us of Jesus words, "He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice" (10:3-4).

Mary's word, Rabbouni, is confusing. John tells us that it means teacher, a lesser word than Lord, which she used earlier (v. 13). Mary probably threw herself at Jesus feet and clung to him in her great joy. Jesus commands her not to cling to him, because he is ascending to the father and is therefore unable to resume life, as he knew it before. In this Gospel, his resurrection and his ascension constitute one event rather than two. He is in the process of ascension, part of the glorification, which is necessary to enable the gift of the Spirit (7:39). Rather than clinging to Jesus, Mary is to go to his brothers, his disciples. He and his disciples are brothers by virtue of the fact that they share a common Father, "my Father and your Father…, my God and your God." This is the first time in this Gospel that Jesus has referred to the disciples in this way. Until now, Jesus alone has been the Son of God. "The hour of Jesus, shortly to culminate in Jesus' ascension to the Father, will create a new situation where the God and Father of Jesus will also be the God and Father of Jesus' brethren (and they will no longer be) Jesus' disciples, but his brothers.

Mary obeys by going to the disciples and announcing, "I have seen the Lord" and by telling them all that he had said to her (v. 18). At Easter the challenge to us having heard the good news of the resurrection of Jesus is to go and do likewise. Charles Royden (also using resources lectionary.org)

Commentary

Lesslie Newbigin warned about the misunderstanding created by the medieval crucifix, which shows Jesus as a drooping, defeated, pain-drenched figure - a symbol of abject submission and defeat. This picture of the cross as the defeat of goodness by the powers of evil has been enormously influential in Spanish Christianity and is part of the background of Latin American liberation theology. In English, when we want to express our pity for a helpless victim of circumstances, we are inclined to exclaim: 'Poor devil.' The Spanish equivalent of this expression is 'Poor Christ!'
But the earliest representations of the crucifixion do not portray it like this. They depict Christ with head erect, the warrior beating down the powers of death and hell, the victorious challenger of all the powers of evil. This is the > understanding of the cross as the New Testament teaches us. The cross is not abject submission to the power of evil; it is the price that paid for a victorious challenge to the powers of evil.
And so the final act of this triumph on the cross is celebrated today in the events of the resurrection. The battle has already been won but the disciples do not yet know it. The resurrection is nothing more than conformation of something that Jesus had shouted from the cross was 'finished'. In a sense the resurrection is therefore not a miracle at all, it is the natural consequence of the defeat of death which Jesus secured-on the cross. That was the turning point -'crux'- this is now the proof. Praise God.

Commentary

Graveyards are not happy places. They might be places for contemplation, even perhaps places of natural beauty, but they are by their nature bathed in tears. The women go there in our story today full of the normal feelings which surround bereavement, grief and anguish. They were at home in a graveyard because they were mourning and full sadness. Their mood was made more intense by the events surrounding Jesus death, the pain, suffering and violence of one betrayed and officially murdered. Yet the following events turned that sorrow into a quite different experience. 

The women encounter not a dead idol, but a living Lord. The graveyard is transformed from a place of sorrow into a Garden in which dreams come true. Resurrection morning is about that transformation. 

There is much speculation surrounding what kind of resurrection took place that first Easter morning. Did Jesus rise from the dead in a physical way, or was he just discovered anew in the hearts and minds of the believers? We could ponder many things but I leave you to consider just two. 

That event which transformed the women and subsequently the other disciples, must have been of immense power. They were frail and frightened human beings, even in the presence of Jesus, when he was arrested in the Garden. Suddenly they became willing to lay down their lives in the service of Christ after his death. They became convinced that death held no power over them any longer. The resurrection brought about that transformation. 

The risen body of Jesus was certainly different, he could suddenly appear in a locked room. Yet the disciples told that it was the physical risen body, it had scars and holes and Jesus ate with them. 

Much has been made of the resurrection as a metaphor for the risen faith of the disciples. Truthfully we know that such people were unlikely to find courage and a willingness to die for such a theological metaphor, no matter how clever the theory might sound in theological colleges. 

But, if the risen body was able to move through walls, why was the stone removed? Not to let Jesus out, since he seems no longer confined by tombstones. Perhaps just to let the women in, so that they could see the truth of the resurrection for themselves and be witnesses. Today we must ask God to remove the tombstone afresh from our eyes, that we might discern the truth of the risen Lord Jesus. Charles Royden

Commentary

Easter is an exciting time for children and adults alike! As the Spring comes with the possibility of longer, sunnier days, so nature responds with new flowers and new birth. God is everywhere in this creative rebirth, and we praise Him for His generosity to us.

We Christians recognise Spring as a powerful metaphor for the Resurrection which we celebrate upon this happiest of mornings. The transforming miracle of Jesus leaping from death and the tomb is repeated in smaller ways in a thousand small resurrections in the lives of people. God comes to them with His transforming power, healing the broken, offering companionship to the lonely, bringing hope and new life. Resurrection is offered to the people of God. 
 

Spring is also an important metaphor because it reminds us that it has to be preceded by the dark time of winter. Sometimes we have to experience the darkness before we can truly appreciate the light, we need to feel the absence of God before we can properly feel His Presence.
Joan Crossley
 

Meditation

John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress includes this famous incident:
"Up this way, therefore, did burdened Christian run, but not without great difficulty, because of the load on his back. He ran thus till he came to a place somewhat ascending; and upon that place stood a Cross, and a little below, in the bottom, a Sepulchre. So I saw in my dream, that just as Christian came up with the Cross, his burden loosed from his shoulders, and fell off his back, and began to tumble, and so continued to do, till it came to the mouth of the Sepulchre, where it fell in, and I saw it no more. Then was Christian glad and lightsome, and said with a merry heart, He hath given me rest by his sorrow, and life by His death."  Bunyan concludes, "Then Christian gave three leaps for joy, and went on his way singing." Easter is a time for joyful leaps and singing hearts.

Meditation

“God…can bring thee summer out of winter though thou have no spring. Though in the ways of fortune and misunderstanding, or conscience thou have been benighted till now, wintered and frozen, cloudy and eclipsed, damp and benumbed, smothered and stupefied, now God comes to thee, not as the dawning of the day, not as in the bud of spring, but as the sun at noon to banish all shadows….” John Donne

Today we light the Paschal Candle for Easter 2004, it takes its name from the Hebrew word ‘Pesach’ meaning Passover. Passover was that time when the Israelites celebrated their exodus from slavery in Egypt. It was the feast celebrated by Jesus with the disciples (Maundy Thursday) on the night before he died. The Paschal Candle is then lit for every service in our church during the full 50 days of Eastertide. After the solemn weeks with purple colours of Lent we wear the white of Easter and the brightness of the candle symbolises the joy of the resurrection.
The sight of a living creature emerging from an egg has long been cherished as a graphic example of the wonderful new life which is proclaimed at Easter. The enclosed shell of an egg came to remind people of the sealed tomb from which the risen Christ emerged victorious over death.
 

Prayers

O unfamiliar God, we seek you in the places you have already left and fail to see you even when you stand before us. Grant us so to recognise your strangeness that we need not cling to our familiar grief, but may be freed to proclaim resurrection in the name of Christ. Amen (Janet Morley)

O God who loves us, we offer this day into your keeping: our plans into your providence, our words into your silence, our activity into your stillness. Look upon us in your steadfast love and grant us you saving health, so that we help others and grow to wholeness in your praise. Amen
 

Listening God, closer to me than my nearest friend. Draw near to me, in trouble or need. Stay with me in health or sickness. Love me in joy or sorrow and bind me closer to you. And love me through each and every phase of life and beyond its end. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, world without end. Amen
 

Today we rejoice in the salvation of the world. Christ is risen; let us arise in him! Christ enters new life; let us live in him ! Christ has come forth from the tomb; Let us shake off the fetters of evil ! The gates of hell are open, the powers of evil are overcome ! In Christ a new creation is coming to birth, Alleluia ! Lord make us new, Alleluia !
 

Grant that it may be our meat and drink to do the will of our Father who is in heaven. Grant unto us to take up whatever cross is laid upon us and gallantly and gladly to carry it. Grant that as we may share his cross, so we may share his crown; as we share his death, so we may share his life. And so grant that having suffered with him, we may also reign with him. This we ask for your love's sake. Amen.
 

 

Hymns for Sunday - Mission Praise

(1).Christ the Lord is risen today 76 (2). There is a Redeemer 673 (3). My God and is thy table spread-on notices (4). If Christ had not been raised-on notices (5). Thine be the glory 689