Worship at Home (for Easter Day)
Introduction
It may feel somewhat strange, even awkward to contemplate celebrating Easter during our current national and global emergency. The situation we find ourselves in may take us back to the familiar stories of Scripture to read them through a different lens. Just as the lack of traffic is sharpening the sound of bird-song and the quietness on the streets is giving other creatures the opportunity to retake some space, so the requirement to be quiet at home may help us to see things in the Easter story that we might otherwise overlook in our joyful celebrations in Church. Despite the difference, and recognising the impact it is having on us, we nevertheless, begin worship on this Easter day by reminding ourselves of the truth that is central to our Christian faith and hope. Jesus Christ is our Risen Saviour!
Call to worship - (I encourage you to say this aloud, and with as much energy as you can muster! Together we acclaim:)
Alleluia, Christ is Risen
He is risen indeed, alleluia
Hymn -StF 297 Christ is Alive! Let Christians Sing - https://youtu.be/bi67IOed0LE
Prayers of approach and adoration
Let us pray:
Father of all glory and giver of all life,
You raised Jesus from the dead
and give us confidence to say,
Alleluia, God is good!
Lord Jesus Christ, Saviour of all
who for the joy set before you endured the cross
your risen life gives us confidence to say,
Alleluia, God is good!
Holy Spirit, breath of God
who bears witness to the power of God in creation, redemption and sanctification,
your presence with us gives us confidence to say,
Alleluia, God is good!
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
One God in Three persons,
We declare our confidence in you as we say
Alleluia, God is good! Amen.
Collect for Easter Day
Lord of all life and power,
who through the mighty resurrection of your Son
overcame the old order of sin and death
to make all things new in him:
grant that we, being dead to sin
and alive to you in Jesus Christ,
may reign with him in glory;
to whom with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit
be praise and honour, glory and might,
now and in all eternity. Amen.
Reading: Acts 10:34-43
34 Then Peter began to speak: ‘I now realise how true it is that God does not show favouritism 35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. 36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37 You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached – 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
39 ‘We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, 40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. 41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen – by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.’
Hymn StF 309 - See What a Morning https://youtu.be/6xM-fpXayUg
Reading Mark 16:1-8
16 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3 and they asked each other, ‘Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?’
4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
6 ‘Don’t be alarmed,’ he said. ‘You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, “He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”’
8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
Sermon
Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb? (v3)
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| "Who will roll away the stone - Hanna Cheriyan Varghese (Malaysia) |
I am sure many of us will be missing our Easter traditions this morning. Some of us may even have missed the opportunity to rise before the crack of dawn to participate in a sunrise service! But Easter without an Easter breakfast, a joyous gathering at Church, possibly with the celebration of Holy Communion may not feel much like Easter at all. I do hope that the strange circumstances we find ourselves in haven’t deprived you all of one Easter tradition: hopefully later today you will get to enjoy an Easter Egg!
Perhaps we have become so accustomed to our Easter traditions that we forget that in Jerusalem, two thousand years ago, the mood and scene was very different. Jesus’ disciples awoke on that morning after the Passover Sabbath to the numbing reality that they had seen him be arrested, tried and taken out to be executed. For them, the waking thought on that Sunday morning was the thought that Jesus was dead and buried in a borrowed tomb.
Many of us have experienced the death of a loved one, for some of us the experience is recent. So we know the indescribable ache and absence that comes morning after morning as sleep gives way to consciousness. We are filled with unanswered questions, unuttered words and where the voice of our loved one once greeted us, now: silence.
Of course, for the people most closely connected to someone who has died, that time of emptiness is somewhat postponed by all of the busyness of having to make the arrangements for a funeral and farewell. Maybe, if that is your experience you will be able to identify with the women in our Gospel reading.
In the gloom of the early day, the three women, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome came to the tomb where they had watched Jesus’ hasty burial. They brought with them the spices they had purchased as soon as the Sabbath restrictions had been lifted.
Jewish concepts of resurrection and life-after-death were by no means fully formed or fully agreed in the first century. Indeed it was one of the points of contention between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the latter denying any sense of resurrection and after-life. Yet the Jewish tradition placed high value on giving dignity to those who had died.
The women came to complete Jesus’ burial rituals. Resurrection was not on their mind. They had come to make sure, in modern terms, that he had “a good send off.” Just as Joseph of Arimathea had determined, by his request to Pilate, that the disgrace and horror of Jesus’ crucifixion would end with dignity and honour, so these women came to ensure that the simple, hasty but dignified burial just before sunset on Friday would now be completed with full anointing.
Mark tells us that these women had stood at Christ’s cross, they had heard the jeering and the insults of the crowd as they mocked him. Now in this act of devotion, they came to declare that Jesus’ enemies would not have the final word. His friends and those who loved him, would restore his dignity and preserve his memory by honouring him in these burial rituals.
Mark’s gospel is famous for sticking to the point. So his inclusion of the women’s concern about the stone must have seemed important to him as he wrote. In a physical and literal sense, the stone that Joseph had rolled against the tomb, to keep out the wild animals and other threatening presences, now stood between the women and their intention to honour Jesus. For us, the stone may symbolise how sometimes death feels like an impenetrable barrier between us and those that we have loved.
As far as the women were concerned, the stone not only separated them from the horror and stench of death and physical decay but it stopped them from offering their final act of devotion. We too, when we are separated from loved ones, whether for a short time, as in the current crisis, or through death, may feel that there is an immovable object that stops us from giving and receiving love to those who are dear to us.
As the women approached the tomb, they never imagined the possibility that Jesus was not behind the stone. As they approached and saw that his tomb was opened they were shocked and probably feared the worst. Moreover, they were alarmed to discover a figure within the tomb. This was not the scene they had expected.
It was probably difficult for them to take in what they were being told when the “Young man dressed in a while robe,” a figure we traditionally interpret to be an angel, spoke to them.
‘Don’t be alarmed,’ he said. ‘You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, “He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”’
The Jesus they had come to honour in his death, was no longer behind the stone. What’s more, the messenger was telling them something that was almost impossible to believe, despite the fact that Jesus had told them what would happen, before his death. The angel declared, “He is risen! He is not here.”
The women were not filled at once with faith, courage and understanding. Mark (in what many scholars think was the original ending to the Gospel) tells us,
Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
Of course, even if the Gospel does end there, we have a strong reason to believe that eventually they began to understand and believe. Their tongues were loosened and they shared the wonder they had seen. How do we know? Mark knew about their experience because he was able to write it down and record it for us!
Having experienced the death of Jesus, they approached the tomb with a sense of grief, sorrow and despair. We too, may be feeling overwhelmed by what is happening in the world at the moment. However, their desire to honour Jesus allowed them to experience the possibility that his death had not been the end of the story. There in the garden, at the tomb, Jesus would reveal himself to be alive, to be the healer and to be the bringer of joy and in the coming days and weeks, his disciples would grow to believe that he had, indeed, Risen.
We may feel that the current national emergency that has required us all to “stay at home” means that we struggle to see beyond the stone and the heaviness with which it sets the seal on death and suffering and utter desolation. Yet we are invited to journey in our hearts and minds with the women. We may carry the weight of grief and sorrow as we approach the tomb, but the promise of God is that if we are willing to come with the intention of offering honour and devotion to Jesus then we, too, can discover that despite the huge obstacle in our way, we can encounter Christ as the one who is Risen and who goes ahead of us.
The Risen Christ is present with us as we each worship alone in our homes. We can join our voices with those who have gone before us in declaring “Christ is Risen, He is Risen indeed.” Once the stone of this current crisis has been rolled away, then the roof will be raised as God’s people declare in song that Christ has won the victory! And we can look forward to this emergency passing and to being able to gather together and join our voices as one congregation again, we look forward to singing, “Thine be the glory, Risen Conquering Son!”
Hymn - StF 313 Thine Be the Glory! - https://youtu.be/RbBOOmkMLmI
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Prayers of Intercession - (adapted from - Intercessions for the Church Year - Susan Sayer)
In the joy of this Easter morning let us pray to the God who loves us completely.
We pray that the joy and conviction of Christians may be so radiant
that our faith will shine into the darkness of those who are lost, weary and searching for answers to their questions, doubts and emptiness.
Risen Lord, live in us all.
We pray that from the current global crisis some good may come;
we ask that even in the midst of trouble there may be opportunities for development and growth in body, mind and spirit.
Risen Lord, live in us all.
We pray for the newly born, and for all families, that the children may be nurtured and the elderly cherished. We pray for those, both young and old, who are having to learn to be together in different ways: through telephone calls, video conferencing and email. Help us to express our love and yours through these different forms of communication
Risen Lord, live in us all.
We pray for those in mental, physical or spiritual distress, for those whose mental capacity does not allow them to understand the current restrictions that we live under;
help us to recognise in our shared suffering that through his death on the cross, Christ shares our agony and invites us come to share in his risen life.
Risen Lord, live in us all.
We pray for those who have died and who now share your risen life forever.
Risen Lord, live in us all.
In silence we praise you, Father, for your abundant blessings.
Father of our Risen Lord Jesus,
accept these prayers offered in His name. Amen
The Lord’s Prayer
Hymn StF 298 - Christ the Lord is Risen Today! https://youtu.be/sK9UPrj4MsM
Blessing
God the Father, by whose
glory Christ was raised from the dead,
strengthen us to walk with
him in his risen life;
and may almighty God bless
us,
the Father, the Son and
the Holy Spirit. Amen
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