Sunday, April 20, 2014, Easter (full size gallery)
What a delightful Easter Sunday, the culmination of Holy Week!
We started out at the Sunrise Service at the Long’s House, bright and early at 6:30am. The sun was clearly visible down the river but did fully manifest itself until the Rev. Bobby Greene of Memorial Baptist was in the midst of his sermon. Catherine read twice, the opening prayer and the Apostles Creed and Nancy and Helmut provided the music for the opening hymn "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" and "He Lives." A good crowd was appreciative of the abundant reception in the Long home with ham biscuits of many sorts, egg casseroles, donuts and fruit
By 11am we were basking in full sunlight with blue sky. Temperatures were in the 60’s. The Osprey were out building nests in the gentle breeze, certainly one of the memories of this week. 75+ people were in attendance augmented by some families – Longs and Dukes, especially. Bonnets were everywhere including Boyd’s. A great time to greet parishioners.
Easter is a time of celebration and that included music with Marilyn providing music inside during the lighting of the Paschal fire, Mary Lawrence on trumpet echoing the hymns, Brad performing the intricate "Prelude and Fugue in F major" (Bach) and the choir adding "Up from the Grave" during communion. The bulletin is here . We also received numerous Easter gifts.
We used Eucharistic prayer 3 which is perfect for the Easter season. The sermon provided the theme of intentionality and expectations:
"The death of a loved one ends life as we know it. Our expectations change. The things we had planned to do together are no longer possible. And even though for the longest time we continue to look for and to expect that person, ultimately we have to accept the fact that the person is gone.
"But have they really left? The Bible tells us that love is stronger than death, and that love never ends. I think that’s true—whether the person we love is alive or dead, we still love that person, and always will.
"And that love brings with it expectations"
Relating this to Matthew 28 – "And Jesus sends them out with the expectation that they will be able to see within the events ahead of them, as tragic as many of these events will be, that the kingdom of God is still at hand and that their job will be to find others who long for this kingdom and who will seek it and who will catch glimpses of its fiery and transforming light even in the midst of the death and destruction that they will all face."
"This early morning story of Mary Magdalene and the other Mary going to see the tomb reminds us to look with expectation at simple things like the lens of a beloved’s glasses in buried in the dirt, to hold the rock of a murdered friend, and to see the kingdom of God breaking in and bringing with it new life, even in death."
Easter celebrates the reality of Jesus’ resurrection in all its many aspects. Hope, Transformation, Evangelism and a new life. Each of the readings show a different part of resurrection.
There are two Gospel readings:
John’s Gospel shows the ability of the risen Christ to bring transformation and hope into the most difficult situations of human pain and grief. John ‘leads the reader from the empty tomb to that which is the real meaning of the resurrection – the creation of a new relationship between Jesus and those who believe in him.’
The Matthew reading also emphasizes Jesus triumph over death and includes examples of this relationship. The disciples will later see him in Galilee and they will be forgiven for deserting him. He is comforting to the women. The women leave the tomb filled with awe (“fear”, v. 8) and “great joy”. Jesus meets the Marys again later (v. 9). That they “took hold of his feet” attests to his bodily resurrection.
The Acts reading emphasizes the broader nature of the resurrection spreads the message of Christ to all and in particular the Gentiles.
The Psalms and Colossians speak to the type of life we receive in Christ.
1. In death to sin, self, and the world (v.3a; cf. 2:20; Rom. 6:6-11)
2. In spiritual resurrection to newness of life (v.1a; cf. 2:12-13; Rom. 6:6, 11)
3. In new, spiritual life, aliveness to God (vv. 3b, 4a; cf. Rom. 6:11, 13)
4. In resurrection glory (v.4b; cf. Rom. 8:17-18; 2 Thess. 1:10)