Service

Opening Sentences

Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! We meet in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. The peace of the Lord be always with you. And also with you.

Most merciful God, who by the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ, delivered and saved the world, grant that we who walk the way of suffering now, may share also in His everlasting victory. Amen.

Song

Jesus Christ is Risen today

John 20 The Empty Tomb NIV

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

Song

Praise is rising by Benton Brown

John 20

Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). 17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

An Easter reflection

What a lot of death we see around us! I was looking at some 30 year old photos recently and was surprised by how many of the people in them had died; aunties, uncles, cousins, friends…

During this pandemic the presence of so much death has changed how we live.

It seems we have been living in the ever-present shadow of death. And are desperate to escape it. Whether we are thinking about our own mortality or mourning a loved one, it often feels too uncomfortable to bear. But the resurrection of Jesus changes everything. Faith in the resurrection of Jesus changes everything about how we view our own death, and that of others, and our lives! In all the Easter readings we see a monumental change in Jesus’ followers from anxiety to peace, from fear to boldness, from mourning to joy, as they realize that Jesus is indeed alive; as they work out what this means for them personally. And indeed in the second reading, as Jesus speaks Mary’s name, it seems this is a personal message Jesus wants us to hear, that he has won the victory over our death. As you listen to that message again today, may your heart and mind be transformed to live, not in the shadow of death but in the light of His glorious resurrection. Listen faithfully, because this changes everything!

Prayers

Taize Chant “O, Lord hear my prayer”… space for your own conversation with Jesus about the concerns of your heart.

Hymn

Thine be the Glory by Edmond Burdy and F.Handel

The blessing and dismissal

Alleluia, Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed. Alleluia!
All our problems we send to the cross of Christ.
All our difficulties we send to the cross of Christ.
All evil works we send to the cross of Christ.
All our hopes we set on the risen Christ;

Contact

To contact Chaplaincy email kmpt.chaplaincy@nhs.net