Living Messages, Easter Sunday, April 16, 2017

Easter Sunday (Year A)

Sunday, April 16, 2017

Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus, commissioned by Jesus himself, become the first apostles. With great joy, they obey Jesus’ command, bearing witness to the risen Christ. The Gospel that began with a man afraid to marry his disgraced betrothed and a fearful king who tries to kill potential rivals ends with overwhelming joy. Jesus’ command to the women becomes a command to all of us: Stop being afraid! God has defeated death. Rejoice, and share the good news!

 – Judith Jones

Theme: Living Messages

Reflection:  Her face gave it away. She was tired and drained, overloaded with too many clients, her energy sapped by the endless paperwork and frequent disappointment. She gave me a name, but not much hope.

“I don’t know how sincere he is,” she said.

Substance abuse treatment facilities cover the communities I serve, encouraged by a mild climate and limited regulations. And my mental-health clinic receives the second wave: men and women who receive inadequate treatment in these facilities, and end up homeless, or barely holding on.

Her newest referral was in the latter group. Still living in a recovery home, but not for long without employment. He was a week and a half from landing back on the street. Less than three weeks clean from decades of heroin use, he was frightened. If he didn’t find work, he would start shooting up again.  

The challenges were numerous, but as we began tackling them, I would have sworn he had angels to push the stones away. An angel in nursing cleared his medication challenge. Another angel with a food box, and still another for his phone. I scheduled time Monday morning for work search.

Monday, he arrived panicked. He was frozen with fear, knowing he needed more time in recovery. His sponsor suggested residential treatment, but most centers have weeks if not months of waiting lists. He had five days. 

More emails, more phone calls. A man had dropped out of a program. Could we have his packet faxed that day? 

“Then go quickly…” the angel said.

While we waited, he told me about his time before heroin. He had been a Bible teacher. He told me his favorite verses, and his eyes lit up. We found out the bed was his, and he would get into treatment before the five days were up. His panic and fear lifted. 

He called me last week, full of gratitude. He was working the program, looking forward to completing it and coming back to stay in recovery and work. He spoke of getting a new chance at life. A resurrection moment in the here and now. I told him I couldn’t wait.

“He is going ahead of you … there you will see him.”

As Easter people, we spend our next weeks seeing Jesus in the texts. But when Sunday is over, we’re back to our work, our families, our daily lives, fixed on the usual. Walking the road, heads down, our resurrection joy reserved for just one day, or at best, a day each week.

Not me. I’m racing ahead down the road, eyes peeled. Unafraid. Waiting to see Jesus around every bend. And when I see him, I’m not keeping it to myself.

(You always are welcome to respond with your thoughts and reflections in the comments section at the bottom of the blog post.) 

 Faith App:  Sometimes the hardest way to share God’s love and resurrection message is with our voices. Don’t fear – let your hands and feet lead the way. Hands outstretched to comfort and serve, and feet moving to walk and work with others are active messages of Christ alive, in us!

HYMN/SONG SUGGESTIONS

Alleluia, Christ is Arisen, ELW 375

Thine Is the Glory, ELW 376

Christ Has Arisen, Alleluia, ELW 364

O Sons and Daughters, Let Us Sing, ELW 386

Good Christian Friends, Rejoice and Song! ELW 385

Christ Is Alive! Let Christians Sing, ELW 389

Now All the Vault of Heaven Resounds, ELW 367

Now the Green Blade Rises, ELW 379 (could be appropriate for sunrise)

Christ is Risen! Shout Hosanna! ELW 383

Look, Now He Stands! LBW 152 (The LBW is the green Lutheran Book of Worship, but with lyrics like “This broken world is touched by Christ, oh, rise and live,” and “Your call to life beats our heartbeat and sounds your hope. Yes, yes, you live!” it might be worth printing it.)

Risen Today, Aaron Shust

Morning Has Broken, ELW 556/Cat Stevens

Glorious, Paul Baloche/Brenton Brown

Easter Song, Keith Green

Today is the Day, Lincoln Brewster

Same Power, Jeremy Camp

He Lives, Chris Tomlin

Good News, Tim Timmons

Redemption Song, Sarah Hart

Can’t Keep a Good Man Down, Newsong

MUSIC VIDEO

Easter Sunrise Medley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCtJMVWXj8g

LESSONS

Acts 10:34-43 Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality.”

Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 The Lord is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation.

Colossians 3:1-4 So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above.

Matthew 28:1-10 Come, see the place where he lay. Then go tell … “He has been raised from the dead.” 

Summary of the Lessons:  On this resurrection day, both 2000 years ago and today, the message is the same. This Good News is for all. God shows no partiality; he is Lord of all. Are we running with this message, joyously sharing? Do our lives allow others to see Jesus risen indeed?

OPENING LITANY based on Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24

L:  Christ is Risen!

C:  He is Risen Indeed!

L:  We give thanks to you, Lord, for you are good!

C:  And your steadfast love continues forever!

L:  The Lord is my strength, the power that sustains me,

C:  And this Easter morn, has become my everlasting hope.

L:  The people of God are filled with rejoicing;

C:  The Lord is victorious and lifted up! Alleluia!

L:  Despite what I’ve done, I haven’t been abandoned;

C:  Instead, the Lord answered when I knocked on the gate,

L:  Welcomed me through the way reserved for VIPs,

C:  And I am overwhelmed with gratitude, filled with awe.

L:  The Lord made sure that the rock the builders rejected;

C:  Became the most critical, holding everything together.

L:  Today is the day the Lord has made;

C:  Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

CONFESSION

L:  Today’s worship is our celebration: the tomb is empty!

C:  We confess we are like these women: joyful yet afraid.

L:  Rejoicing in this resurrection miracle of new life.

C:  Yet afraid to let dawn break into our stone-cold hearts.

L:  The angel assured the women Jesus had gone on ahead,

C:  But how hesitant our steps down the road to follow him,

L:  And how timid our voices to share the Good News,

C:  Our lives whisper the message instead of shouting it loud!

L:  Suddenly, on the road, Jesus appeared and greeted them,

C: And they dropped at the Lord’s feet, ecstatic to worship him.

L:  Do we see Jesus meeting us in our holy work today,

C:  And are we delighted at the chance to worship him anew?

(Silent reflection)

L:  In our confession, we pray together,

C:  Most Merciful God … shake up the dead places in us and show us anew our risen Savior. Take away our fears so that we can see Jesus clearly as he appears to us in our daily lives, when we seek him and when he surprises us in the faces of others. Enliven us to worship with great joy and go as living messages of Christ to our brothers and sisters everywhere.

Here is Good News:  Jesus Christ is Lord of all – cradle Christians and those arriving in worship for the first time today, newborn Christians and those who have heard this resurrection story for many decades. All of us, together sinners and saints. Everyone who believes in our Risen Lord receives forgiveness of sins through his name. You are set right through the life, death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.

In the name of…

Amen.

PRAYER OF THE DAY

L:  We pray together, 

C:  God of Celebration… Today we celebrate this Easter miracle, the new life we have through the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Fill us with such great joy that it overflows from our mouths, our hearts and our hands, so that we become living messages of welcome to all people.  Amen.

COMMUNION BLESSING

L:  We pray together,

C:  We give you thanks, most gracious God, for the glorious revealing in this bread, the victory song in this cup.  Send us out, filled with great joy, running to tell what we have seen, and looking for Jesus on the road ahead of us wherever we go. Amen. 

SENDING

L:  Christ is Risen!

C:  He is Risen, Indeed!

L:  We leave the tomb and run ahead,

C:  Joyfully sharing Jesus as Lord of all!

L: Go now, living messages of the living Christ, to love and to serve the Lord.

C: Thanks be to God!

First Reading Acts 10:34-43 (NRSV)

Setting the Scene: The book, Acts of the Apostles, is the sequel to the Gospel of Luke, written for gentile Christian converts. After a vision, the apostle Peter makes his first speech to the gentile household of Cornelius, a Roman soldier. Perhaps Peter is the convert here, as he proclaims Jesus as Lord, not just to the Jews.

³⁴ Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality,  ³⁵ but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.  ³⁶ You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all.  ³⁷ That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced:  ³⁸ 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.  ³⁹ 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;  ⁴⁰ but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear,  ⁴¹ 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.  ⁴² 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.  ⁴³ All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Second Reading Colossians 3:1-4 (NRSV)

Setting the Scene: The apostle Paul says we can be living messages to the world of Christ’s resurrection, but only if our thoughts begin that transformation.

³ So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  ² Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth,  ³ for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  ⁴ When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.

Gospel Matthew 28:1-10 (NRSV)

Setting the Scene: Each of the Gospels has a different telling about who arrives at the tomb first. In Matthew’s narrative, a group of women are the first to experience the resurrection.

28 After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.  ² And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.  ³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow.  ⁴ For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men.  ⁵ But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified.  ⁶ He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.  ⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.”  ⁸ So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.  ⁹ Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him.  ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”