04/09/23 Easter Day

EASTER
April 9, 2023
Springwell Holy Eucharist

A Meditation

What we see when we meditate upon Christ’s resurrection is a key into locked places in our own psychology and systems of belief. For many, particularly in our rapidly cascading societal secularization, they see an impossibility. Resurrection is impossible, so impossible it’s impossible to take it even seriously enough to have a discussion about it. There will be no convincing a disinclined partner, no room for even a theory.

For those of us of the Christian faith, we can believe two different things at once. Resurrection is real. It is a mystery. I can entertain different points of view about resurrection that seem mutually exclusive. The belief is post-rational, and it affords a comfortable place to hold fast to the otherwise impossible. The how, the cause, the science: all are interesting digressions, but none of them exist at the heart of the matter. The heart is Jesus, once again alive after having been dead, dead, dead. The Jesus story ends where it began: God creates out of nothing. (God doesn’t worry about rationality either.) You either believe or don’t. A gift wrapped in a mystery.

All the gospels, in narrative form, attest to Jesus’ resurrection. The broad points are in synch; the details are all over the map. It matters that the endpoints are the same. That c0mmon endpoint is an empty tomb. We can’t dismiss the shared witnesses. We can’t reject a story that increasing numbers of people held fast to. These early witnesses can’t just be dismissed out of hand. They attest to Jesus’ resurrection knowing such a thing is impossible. They don’t consider themselves crazy.

Mary Magdelene is the first witness to lay eyes on Jesus. She would have embraced him except for the fact that Jesus stops her in mid-motion by saying to her, “Don’t touch me.” Words and a scene directly from scripture. It can be a point of divergent discussion why Jesus reacts as he does. For me, I think Jesus is still getting used to his resurrected body because he, too, knows this is impossible.

I gave up trying to convince or explain. I’d rather be engaging with Jesus, in whom I believe. I can give up trying to convince people to agree with me. A worthy endeavor, perhaps for others. A fruitless behavior to me.

Pastor Neil

Call to Gather for Worship

Celebrant ☩ Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
People And blessed be his kingdom, now and forever.

Amen.

Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hidden: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Celebrant Jesus said, “The first commandment is this: Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is the only Lord. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There are no other command-ments greater than these.”

THE COLLECT OF THE DAY

Celebrant The Lord be with you.
People And also with you.
Celebrant Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of the Lord’s resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

THE LITURGY OF THE WORD
Jeremiah 31:1-6

At that time, says the Lord, I will be the God
of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.
Thus says the Lord:
The people who survived the sword
found grace in the wilderness;
When Israel sought for rest,
the Lord appeared to him from far away.
I have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.
Again, I will build you, and you shall be built,
O virgin Israel!
Again, you shall take your tambourines,
and go forth in the dance of the merrymakers.
Again, you shall plant vineyards
on the mountains of Samaria;
the planters shall plant,
and shall enjoy the fruit.
For there shall be a day when sentinels will call
in the hill country of Ephraim:
“Come, let us go up to Zion,
to the Lord our God.”

Celebrant The Word of the Lord.
People Thanks be to God.

Let us say portions of Psalm 118 in unison

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; *
his mercy endures forever.
Let Israel now proclaim, *
“His mercy endures forever.”
The Lord is my strength and my song, *
and he has become my salvation.
There is a sound of exultation and victory *
in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the Lord has triumphed! *
the right hand of the Lord is exalted!
the right hand of the Lord has triumphed!”
I shall not die, but live, *
and declare the works of the Lord.
The Lord has punished me sorely, *
but he did not hand me over to death.
Open for me the gates of righteousness; *
I will enter them;
I will offer thanks to the Lord.
“This is the gate of the Lord; *
he who is righteous may enter.”
I will give thanks to you, for you answered me *
and have become my salvation.
The same stone which the builders rejected *
has become the chief cornerstone.
This is the Lord’s doing, *
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
On this day the Lord has acted; *

THE GOSPEL

Celebrant The holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to John.
People Praise be to you, O Christ.

John 20:1-18
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So, she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”

Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.”

When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.”

Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

Celebrant: The Gospel of the Lord.
People: Praise be to thee, O Christ.

SERMON PASTOR NEIL

This is the Day the Lord Has Made
Let Us Rejoice and Be Glad in It

At the end of the sermon, Celebrant: Let us bless the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

THE APOSTLES’ CREED

Celebrant and People together

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE

Celebrant

Let us pray for the Church and for the world.

Leader: Grant, Almighty God, that all who confess your Name may be united in your truth, live together in your love, and reveal your glory in the world.