Easter Day
**Please note this service is based on the format of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada. Unless otherwise indicated, all prayers come from Evangelical Lutheran Worship (ELW). Hymns and other prayers have been sourced to give appropriate credit.
**NRSV translation used for the readings, unless otherwise stated.
**This is for personal use at home as the church is unable to gather in our houses of worship but together we can worship in our own homes.
Introduction to the Day
Christ is risen! Jesus is alive, and God has swallowed up death forever.
With Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, we may feel
astonished and confused, unsure of what to make of the empty tomb. But this is
why we gather: to proclaim, witness, praise, and affirm the liberating reality
of Christ’s death and resurrection. In word and feast, we celebrate God’s
unending love, and depart to share this good news with all the world. Alleluia!
Confession and Forgiveness
Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God,
who forgives all our sin,
whose mercy endures forever.
Amen.
Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of one another.
Most merciful God,
we confess that we
are captive to sin and cannot free ourselves. We have sinned against you in
thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as
ourselves. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive
us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your
ways, to the glory of your holy name.
Amen.
In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for us, and for his sake God forgives us all our sins. As a called and ordained minister of the church of Christ, and by his authority, I therefore declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of the Almighty, and of the ☩ Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Gathering Song – Jesus Christ Is Risen Today (ELW #365)
Greeting
Alleluia! Jesus Christ is risen!
Jesus Christ is risen
indeed. Alleluia!
Prayer of the Day
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray.
O God, you gave your only Son to suffer death on the cross for our
redemption, and by his glorious resurrection you delivered us from the power of
death. Make us die every day to sin, that we may live with him forever in the
joy of the resurrection, through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and
reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
Special Hymn - Hallelujah
Readings
A reading from the Book of Acts 10:34-43
Then Peter began to speak to them: “I
truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who
fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he
sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ – he is Lord of
all. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the
baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy
Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were
oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses to all that he
did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree;
but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the
people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank
with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people
and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and
the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him
receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his steadfast love endures
forever!
Let Israel say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”
The Lord is my strength and my might;
he has become my salvation.
There are glad songs
of victory in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of
the Lord does valiantly;
the right hand of the Lord is exalted;
the right hand of the Lord does valiantly.”
I shall not die, but I shall live,
and recount the deeds of the
Lord.
The Lord has punished
me severely,
but he did not give me over to death.
Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the Lord.
This is the gate of
the Lord;
the righteous shall enter through it.
I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
The stone that the
builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
This is the Lord’s doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day that
the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
A reading from the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians 15:1-11
Now I would remind you, brothers and
sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received,
in which also you stand, through which also you are being saved, if you hold
firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you – unless you have come to
believe in vain.
For I handed on to you as of first
importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in
accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised
on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to
Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers
and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.
Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one
untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles,
unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by
the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain.
On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them – though it was not I, but
the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim
and so you have come to believe.
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Children’s Message
(from sermon4kids.com)
Some people
don’t see Jesus because they’re looking for Him in the wrong places.
That is what
happened in our Bible verses today. Early on Sunday morning, while it was still
dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb where Jesus had been buried. She found
that the stone was rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter
and another disciple, John. She told them, "They have taken the Lord’s
body out of the tomb, and I don’t know where they have put Him!"
Peter and John
started out for the tomb. They were both running, but John outran Peter and
reached the tomb first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings
lying there, but he didn’t go in. Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He
noticed the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart
from the other wrappings. Then John saw and believed – for until then, they
still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead.
Then they went home.
Mary stayed
behind, weeping. As she knelt down and looked inside the tomb, she saw two
angels dressed in white. They asked her why she was crying. She told them she
didn't know where they had taken Jesus. Then, Mary turned and saw a man
standing behind her. It was Jesus, but Mary did not recognize Him. She thought
He was the gardener. Then Jesus called her by name and, when she heard His
voice, she recognized Him. After she saw that it was Jesus, she went to the
disciples and said to them, "I’ve just seen Jesus! He is alive!"
Some people,
like Mary, Peter, and John can’t see Jesus because they are looking for Him in
a grave or on a cross. He isn’t there! He is risen and is seated at the right
hand of God in heaven. If you want to see Jesus, look in His Word, He will reveal
Himself to you, just as He did to Mary!
Gospel Acclamation
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark 16:1-8
Glory to you, O Lord.
When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
The gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O
Christ.
Sermon
(with inspiration from Pastor Courtney Reedman Parker)
May only truth be spoken and truth
heard. Amen.
According to Jewish law, the body of the deceased is to be washed thoroughly, wrapped in a simple white shroud, and buried. All this is to happen within 24 hours of death.
Also under Jewish law, no work can be done on the Sabbath.
So when Jesus died as the Sabbath began, the disciples weren’t allowed to tend to his body. Jesus was placed in his tomb but the ritual of cleansing the body did not happen.
At the beginning of chapter 16 of Mark, the women who were part of the Jesus’ entourage – Mary Magdalene, James’ mother Mary, and Mary’s half-sister Salome – headed to Jesus’ tomb to complete the Jewish burial ritual.
They go anticipating what will be, and what they will need to do. They talk about the plans they have for how things will unfold: Who will roll away the stone? And likely the other details too. Who will anoint Jesus’ body? Do we need someone to keep watch? (another part of the Jewish burial ritual)
We can imagine the conversation unfolding as they make their way to the tomb. Conversations many of us have had as we make our own preparations and funeral arrangements for a loved one. We know what it is to be overwhelmed by our grief and to be focused, almost singlehandedly on the tasks at hand.
When they got to the tomb, the stone was moved and there sat a young man dressed in a white robe.
This man told the women that Jesus wasn’t there, that he has been raised and isn’t there. He then told them to run and tell the disciples that Jesus will meet them all in Galilee, just as he promised.
Mark tells us that the women ran away and told no one about what they saw.
And then the Gospel just ends.
Mark’s version of the resurrection is anticlimactic to say the least. Like much of the rest of his gospel, it is brief and leaves us… wanting.
It is believed that monks, as they were transcribing this Gospel, didn’t like the sudden ending and wrote in the “shorter ending of Mark” and the “longer ending of Mark” that adds in details about Jesus’ appearance to the disciples post-resurrection.
Let’s imagine for a moment though that Mark knew exactly what he was doing. That he crafted an incomplete ending by design. That he left the story hanging on this moment of failure and disappointment for a reason.
Why would he do that?
Maybe because he knew that no story about death and resurrection could possibly have a neat and tidy ending.
Maybe because he believed that this story isn’t over yet, and he writes an open ending to his gospel in order to invite us to jump in and take up our part in continuing it.
Are you ready to take up where Jesus left off?
Will you run in fear or will you proclaim the good news in word and action?
Author Madeleine L'Engle wrote, “The disciples did not bother to try to understand the resurrection body. They doubted, and then they believed. They believed something so wonderful that it changed this broken, fragmented, beaten-down little group of men and women in a moment from depression to enthusiasm, from despair to new life, vibrant and unafraid."
But when you don’t get to hear the resurrection part of the story, as with how Mark ends his Gospel, we are left alarmed and afraid.
The women are alarmed, anxious, and afraid. Their friend, their teacher, the Son of God has been killed by the very empire he came to redeem, and now his body is not where they had laid it.
What do we do when God is not in the place we expect and have been told and taught to believe God will be?
What do we do when God isn’t there and we are unsure where God has gone… where God’s been taken to, how or when or if God will be returned to us?
After a year of pandemic, of restrictions, of self-isolation and separation from the very places we’ve been told and taught to believe God is present we can identify closely with the experience of Mary Magdalene, Mary, and Salome.
Alarmed, anxious, and afraid.
How do you respond to an empty tomb?
Do you return to your life or are you transformed by the good news of Jesus Christ?
The truth is, that we have changed. We
are not the same as we were before this time.
Life and community will not and cannot be the same. And that isn’t only because this is the reality of the pandemic. But more importantly because this is the promise of Easter. The promise of God made to us in baptism, the promise of Jesus from the very start of Mark’s Gospel “the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news” (Mark 1:15).
It is human nature to want clean endings, to want closure. But it was no accident that Mark left his Gospel unfinished.
That’s because the story is just beginning.
It’s only the beginning; this story isn’t over.
It’s only the beginning, and we have a part to play.
If you wonder why there is still so much distress and pain in the world, it’s because God’s not done yet.
It’s only the beginning, and Mark is inviting us to get out of our seats and into the game, sharing the good news of Jesus’ complete identification with those who are suffering, and his triumph over injustice and death with everyone we meet.
If you do not like the end of Mark’s gospel, then write a better one…with your life!
You are the end of the Gospel!
You want to experience the resurrected Christ? Live as he lived, love as he loved, forgive as he forgave, and believe as he believed and you will experience Jesus.
Repent and believe. Turn from your ideas, your expectations, your ideas, wants, desires, and ways - die to your old self - and believe in this good news of new and abundant life.
Walking into the newness of resurrected life means and requires us to leave part of ourselves behind. Our old selves. Old ways. And sometimes this happens without our being ready or even wanting to.
Sometimes it means leaving things we are not ready to leave behind.
But we do not move forward alone.
Just as God has done before, God does again sending a messenger to us.
Today is not the end of the story. Today is the beginning. The beginning which is not yet known and still unwritten. We don’t know where God… where Jesus is leading us.
But we know, and God has promised to prepare a place for us and us for the place where we are going.
That is the good news on this Easter morning. Just as Jesus has told us before, Jesus tells us now.
Resurrection, new life, often doesn’t look the way we expect, anticipate, or plan. In fact, it very likely will alarm us.
Do not be afraid. Follow where Jesus is leading… where Jesus is going… where Jesus is waiting for us to see him and to continue living into the new life we have been given.
Mark wants us to know that Jesus’ death is only the beginning. The rest of the story is unfolding before our very eyes and through our lives.
We don’t’ get closure to this story, because it is still ongoing.
Mark’s Gospel is “The beginning of the good news” (1:1). Our story is its continuation.
Amen.
Hymn of the Day – Now All the Vault
of Heaven Resounds (ELW #367)
Creed
Let us confess
the faith of our baptism, as we say the Nicene Creed:
We believe in
one God,
the Father,
the Almighty,
maker of
heaven and earth,
of all that
is, seen and unseen.
We believe in
one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son
of God,
eternally
begotten of the Father,
God from God,
Light from Light,
true God from
true God,
begotten, not
made,
of one Being
with the Father;
through him
all things were made.
For us and for
our salvation
he came down from heaven,
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the
virgin Mary
and became truly human.
For our sake he was crucified under
Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the
Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the
living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in
the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds
from the Father and the Son,
who with the
Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified,
who has spoken
through the prophets.
We believe in
one holy catholic and apostolic church.
We acknowledge
one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for
the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Prayers of Intercession
Alive in the risen Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, we bring our
prayers before God who promises to hear us and answer in steadfast love.
Silence
Praise to you for your power revealed in the resurrection! Fill your church with the power of your love that is stronger than death. Send us to tell the good news wherever death holds sway.
Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
Praise to you for your life at work in the resurrection! Fill all of creation with your life. Bring it to blossom and flourish; use it to remind us of your persistent grace. Cultivate our care for what you have made.
Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
Praise to you for the peace made possible in the resurrection! Fill the nations with your peace. Draw together people of all nations and languages; reveal new possibilities and inspire new beginnings.
Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
Praise to you for the hope of the resurrection! Fill all in need with hope: those who are afraid or confused, those who are sick or suffering, those who are dying, and those who grieve. Assure them of your promises.
Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
Praise to you for the joy of your resurrection! Fill this assembly with joy as we are called your beloved in baptism. Multiply that joy so that we share it at home, at work, and in our community.
Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
Praise to you for your faithfulness revealed in the resurrection! Fill us with trust, that we join with all who have gone before us in proclaiming: “your mercy endures forever!”
Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
Please take time to offer your own intercessions or to pray in silence.
In the hope of new life in Christ, we raise our prayers to you, trusting in your never-ending goodness and mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Peace
The peace of Christ be with you always.
And also with you.
Hymn of Thanksgiving – Thine Is the Glory (ELW #376)
**Although not physically at our church buildings to share our offering together I would encourage you to set your offering of money aside so that it can be dropped off or placed in the church once services resume, to mail your offering to the church, or to make donations online. Please remember ministry is still taking place.
Thanksgiving for the Word
Let us pray.
O God of justice and love, we give thanks to you that you illumine our
way through life with the words of your Son. Give us the light we need, awaken
us to the needs of others, and at the end bring all the world to your feast;
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy
Spirit, be honor and glory forever.
Amen.
Lord’s Prayer
Gathered into one by the Holy Spirit, let us pray as Jesus taught us.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen.
Blessing
May our glorious God grant you a spirit of
wisdom to know and to love the risen Lord Jesus.
The God of life, Creator, ☩ Redeemer, and Sanctifier, bless you now and forever.
Amen.
Sending Song – This Joyful Eastertide (ELW #391)
Dismissal
Alleluia! Christ is risen.
Christ is risen
indeed. Alleluia!
Go in peace. Share the good news. Alleluia!
Thanks be to God. Alleluia!
