ST ANDREW’S  CHURCH

APRIL  17th  2022      EASTER

 

LIGHTING OF THE CHRIST CANDLE

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Thank you Rev. Shirley Cochrane for leading us in worship this Easter morning. We welcome you, as together we proclaim Hallelujah Christ has Risen, Christ has risen indeed! Happy Easter to you all.

 

CALL TO WORSHIP

Hallelujah! O Day of Resurrection, let us shine with joy!

Christ has led us from death to life.

O Day of Resurrection, let us live with hope!

Christ has led us from earth to heaven.

Christ has risen from the dead. Hallelujah!

He has risen indeed! Hallelujah!

 

HYMN                247 Christ the Lord is risen today

 

 

‘Christ the Lord is risen today,’
all creation join to say.
Raise your joys and triumphs high;
sing, ye heavens, and earth, reply.
Love’s redeeming work is done,
fought the fight, the battle won:
lo! our sun’s eclipse is o’er;
lo! he sets in blood no more.
Vain the stone, the watch, the seal;
Christ hath burst the gates of hell.
Death in vain forbids him rise;
Christ hath opened paradise.
Lives again our glorious Kìng:
where, O death, is now thy sting?
Once he died our souls to save;
where thy victory, O grave?
Soar we now where Christ hath led,
following our exalted Head;
made like him, like him we rise;
ours the cross, the grave, the skies.
Hail! the Lord of earth and heaven!
Praise to thee by both be given;
every knee to thee shall bow,
risen Christ triumphant now.

 

PRAYER of ADORATION

 

Gracious, life-giving God, maker of all things visible and invisible, on the first day of the world, you spoke and out of chaos came creation. Out of shadows came light. On the first day of the week, Christ was resurrected by your grace, and out of death came life. you always come to us through the Holy Spirit, to shine light on our way forward, offering your gift of new life in Christ Jesus. Praise and honour and blessing be to you, O God, Creator, Christ and Holy Spirit,  this day and every day, now and always. Lord we humbly confess before you …..

 

UNISON PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Loving and life-giving God,

you raised Jesus from the grave

and shattered the powers of sin and death.

But we confess that we remain captive to fear,

resisting the hope that new life is possible for us.

We hide in tombs of indifference,

seeking comfort rather than justice in this world.

We cling to resentment and disappointment,

refusing the freedom that comes with forgiveness.

Forgive us, O God,

and restore us to joy and wholeness through your great mercy.

 

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

This Easter Day, God has turned our mourning into dancing! God has taken off our sackcloth and clothed us with joy! We are God’s forgiven people. Let us be at peace with God, with one another, and with ourselves, through the undying mercy of our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

THE PEACE

 

HYMN                252  He is Lord  X 2

 

He is Lord, He is Lord!
He is risen from the dead and he is Lord!
Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord.

 

SCRIPTURE READINGS

Psalm 118: 15-26;

15 Shouts of joy and victory  resound in the tents of the righteous:
“The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!
16     The Lord’s right hand is lifted high;
the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!”
17 I will not die but live,    and will proclaim what the Lord has done.
18 The Lord has chastened me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.
19 Open for me the gates of the righteous;
I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord  through which the righteous may enter.
21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
you have become my salvation.

22 The stone the builders rejected  has become the cornerstone;
23 the Lord has done this,     and it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 The Lord has done it this very day;  let us rejoice today and be glad.

25 Lord, save us!  Lord, grant us success!

26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
From the house of the Lord we bless you.[a]

 

John 20.1-18

20 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. 2 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!”

3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

11 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.

SERMON          Jesus is Risen

I speak to you in the name of the Father ,Son and Holy Spirit

 

Jesus is Risen !           He is Risen indeed !

 

This is a rare occasion when the days of  Muslim Ramadan, Jewish Passover  and Christian Easter  are  celebrated simultaneously

But only Christians  can proclaim a risen and living  Lord and Saviour ! The resurrection means that Christianity and its God are unique and completely different and unique among world religions.

Some believe, and some don’t. In fact, most don’t. That’s the way it’s always been. But in our day skepticism is even more acute. The motto that seems to be gaining acceptance  of late is “Follow the Science.” Many moderns, thinking themselves to be sophisticated and scientifically informed, simply refuse to believe pretty much anything that has to do with what Christians call revelation, but certainly not that a man can be raised from the dead. Scientific proof requires carefully controlled and repeatable experimentation. Thus many people reject the Resurrection because it cannot be proven scientifically   The Resurrection, being an historical event, cannot be repeated. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event.

Skeptics claim that death has the final word. God claims that life has the final word. The crucifixion was the culmination of humanity’s acts of violence against God. The resurrection is the climactic demonstration of God’s unrelenting love toward humanity. We reflect today on the biblical witness concerning the promise of the Creator.

 

Can we intelligently embrace this claim? John wrote his Gospel to persuade us to do just that. In fact, he tells us in this same chapter: These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20:31,  )

In light of the resurrection, Christians  tell a story of the world after God has shown up. For it is, after the resurrection, that the followers of Jesus recognize that in all that he did, Jesus glorified God on earth. This particular recognition is born of a deep familiarity with the revelation of God preserved by the people called Israel. So now we tell the story.

 

At the last count  there are  2.38 billion people around the world  who, on Easter  Day still  claim and proclaim   Christ is Risen –  Jesus is alive

Now we  depend a great deal on our senses  as we encounter  the world. Sayings  like  “Seeing is believing”  and  “Don’t believe  everything that you  hear”  come to mind.  I am guessing  but  the day of Resurrection  certainly  seems to flood and overwhelm  the disciples an followers  of Jesus

Human beings are distinguished in part by our rational capacity, our ability to reason. It is a gift from our Creator   However mere reason—as great as it is—is not by itself sufficient, Only faith is sufficient, with our senses and our reason in a supporting role perhaps. But in the end, it is to faith that we are called.

The scene opens on a solitary figure walking through the darkness. Mary Magdalene has broken through her fear in order to tend to the body of her teacher and friend. All gospel accounts of this moment vary on some points. But what is consistent is the day and that it is Mary Magdalene who is the first to go to the tomb.

When Mary finds that the stone has been removed, she jumps to conclusions. Her perception of what has happened is that someone has entered and stolen the body. But the author does not tell us if she entered or even looked in the tomb. Did she really know that the body of Jesus was not there?  How often do we too jump to conclusions about God’s actions in our lives? Nevertheless, she runs back to tell Peter  and the others what she believes has happened. They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have laid him” (v. 2).

What Mary sees she dose not understand. She thinks of the opening to Jesus’ tomb as an entrance,  never thinking  of it as an exit. In her mind, some thugs have come and robbed the tomb.. She can’t conceive of the possibility that Jesus has actually walked out of the tomb by Himself.

A typical rich man’s tomb of that time would be large enough to walk into, with a place to lay out the body on one side and a bench for mourners on the other side. The entrance might be an opening only 3 feet high and 2.5 feet wide. It was large enough to get into, yet there was a bit of stooping necessary. There was some commitment needed to go inside the tomb

Look at how Peter and John react to Mary’s alarming announcement. They run as fast as they can to the tomb to investigate..  It is generally agreed that John, the “other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved,” is the youngest of the apostles.  Thus he “outran Peter and reached the tomb first” (John 20:4). But if John is the youngest –  Peter is surely the most impetuous, and, when he finally gets to the tomb—he runs right in. Inside, Peter discovers that the tomb is, indeed, empty. The details are intriguing. We read that he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself” (vv. 6, 7). The author describes the placement of the wrappings, but also notes that the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head has been rolled up and put in another part of the tomb. We should note that the tomb is truly empty when Peter and then the other disciple enter. There is no angel; no heavenly messenger.

Now, you can almost hear the wheels turning in Peter’s head. He’s looking at the scene, and he’s taking in what he sees. He’s thinking. He’s using his power of reasoning. The grave cloths in which a body would have been bound to preserve it are laid out neatly—not thrown aside carelessly: the face cloth is “folded up in a place by itself.” This does not have the signs of a robbery. As Peter and John survey the scene, it becomes pretty clear that the body wasn’t stolen.

He’s putting two-and-two together. He doesn’t know what make of it all because it doesn’t fit with anything he has ever in his whole life considered reasonable.  I’m not saying that Peter is an unbeliever at this time. We have biblical data to indicate that he is in fact, a man of faith

In verse 8 we read  again, the word “saw.” Mary “saw” But this time the Greek term is different. It is eido, which doubles in Greek for “knowing”. We sometimes use the word “saw” in English to mean the same thing. When the nickel drops, and the fog lifts, and we understand, we will say, “Now I see!” We mean, “Now I understand. Now I know.”

That’s what happens with young John. He “went in, and he saw and believed.” Now what took place in that moment that enabled him to come to faith is disclosed for us in the next verse, verse 9: “for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.”

The two go home. There are no shouts of joy, no celebration. The emptiness of the tomb does not seem yet to have made a difference. The disciples are clueless concerning the meaning of Jesus’ death, disappointed by this presumed dashing of their hopes, and astounded by reports of the empty tomb. (Not  much has changed.)

The focus returns to Mary standing weeping outside of the tomb.  She isn’t thinking or dreaming that Jesus is alive. She believes He is still dead, and only wants to know where He is so she can do the final work of preparing His body for burial.  Mary, still overcome by grief , now glances back and sees someone behind her. whom she  believes  is a gardener

It is Jesus, but she doesn’t recognize him. Jesus says to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She  says to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” Jesus says, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher).

 

Mary certainly knows who Jesus is, and it is strange that she does not immediately recognize Him. Some think it was because she is emotionally distressed and has tears in her eyes. Others speculate it is because Jesus looks somewhat different, retaining at least some of the marks of His suffering. The resurrection body of Jesus is different, yet similar to His pre-resurrection body. It is definitely real and tangible, and Jesus is not a phantom.

 

Do not cling to Me: Some confusion has come regarding what Jesus means. Some think Jesus tells Mary not to touch Him in any way, as if her contact will somehow defile Him. Yet the sense is that Mary immediately holds on to Jesus and does not want to let Him go.

Without knowing it, Mary has correctly identified Jesus as the gardener who is bringing a new world, a new life, and a new creation into being,

Jesus identifies a woman as the first witness of His resurrection. The law courts of that day would not recognize the testimony of a woman, but Jesus did. This also argues for the historic truth of this account. If someone fabricated this story, they would not make the first witnesses to the resurrection women, who were commonly (if unfairly) regarded as unreliable witnesses.

It is the witness of revelation, the revealed truth of God—that leads to faith. Reason may enter into it. We may confidently assert that ours is a reasonable faith, that there is evidence for what we believe. Maybe even sight, on occasion, is an aid to faith. But certainly hearing is. Scripture says—that faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ (Rom. 10:17). So, “the word of Christ” is essential. But we will “understand” it, to use John’s word here in verse 9, only when the Holy Spirit illumines our minds to grasp it.

We are witnesses to the moment when Mary meets her risen Lord. Her grief turns to joy and she brings to us the good news that has been proclaimed throughout the ages, I have seen the Lord.

John presents us with the narrative that lies at the heart of the Gospel. Jesus, who was crucified, has been raised.; the outward and visible sign that Jesus has conquered death and a new creation has begun. The death of Jesus on the cross was the payment, but the resurrection is the receipt, showing that the payment was perfect in the sight of God the Father.

We read and preach the Christian Scriptures because in them we find the complete revelation of God. Only then can we recognize that, like the first disciples, we, too, are living in the meantime ;  The time when we wait on God’s next move.

 

Easter Sunday, and the liturgical season that follows, is the opportunity for the church to tell why we say this is the day the Lord has made. A truth made clear because of the resurrection.  The familiarity of rehearsing the first resurrection stories is both comforting and imperative. It reminds us that God’s steadfast love endures forever.

Are we being called to see the new things that God is doing in our lives and in our world? : We remain on the journey of discovery.

Jesus is Risen !

He is Risen indeed !

 

 

HYMN                258  Thine be the glory

 

Thine be the glory, risen, conquering Son;
endless is the victory Thou o’er death hast won.
Angels in bright raiment rolled the stone away,
kept the folded grave-clothes where Thy body lay.
Thine be the glory, risen, conquering Son;
endless is the victory Thou o’er death hast won.

Lo, Jesus meets us, risen from the tomb.
Lovingly He greets us, scatters fear and gloom;
let His church with gladness hymns of triumph sing,
for the Lord now liveth; death hath lost its sting.
Thine be the glory, risen, conquering Son;
endless is the victory Thou o’er death hast won.

No more we doubt Thee, glorious Prince of life!!
Life is nought without Thee; aid us in our strife;
make us more than conquerors, through Thy deathless love;
bring us safe through Jordan to Thy home above.
Thine be the glory, risen, conquering Son;
endless is the victory Thou o’er death hast won.

 

OFFERING

On Easter Day, we celebrate God’s most precious gift to us in Christ’s dying and his rising. As we present our gifts to God this day, may our generosity reflect God’s goodness to us and the hope we have to offer the world in Christ Jesus, our Risen Lord.

 

DOXOLOGY

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;

Praise him all creatures here below

Praise him above ye heavenly host.

Praise Father Son and Holy Ghost

 

OFFERTORY PRAYER

Generous God, we come before you with grateful hearts, recognizing how much you have given us in Christ Jesus. Bless these gifts so that they may spread the hope and joy we feel this day to those who have not yet tasted your kindness. With our gifts, we offer ourselves to you in the name of your greatest gift, Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord.  Amen

 

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE

God of Easter Renewal and Resurrection, you have broken into our lives again this day. Break into all our moments of celebration and joy, We pray that we will be filled with the joy of Easter and a desire to live in new ways that reflect the gospel.

 

God of power and possibility, you broke open the tomb that held our Lord. Now break open your church, tense and tired after months of pandemic restrictions, worried over differences and disagreements, uncertain about the way ahead in mission and service. Guide us with your wise and creative Spirit. Resurrect, renew and revive your church!

 

God of new life,  you broke into the hearts of Jesus’ fearful friends. Now break into our relationships with one another. Where they are vibrant and life-giving, nurture them. Where they are strained by misunderstanding or neglect, reconcile them. Heal us with your merciful and engaging Spirit.

 

God of might and mercy,  you broke open the schemes of those who stood in the way of your love.  Now break open the governance of your world. Stir the minds and hearts of leaders to work for justice and equitable sharing. Where laws are corrupt, where deceptions masquerades as truth, and where people suffer under the schemes of those who lust for power, confront people with your Spirit of truth and compassion. Break open the war in Ukraine and bring  peace

 

Next Friday, April 22 we celebrate Earth Day. We pray for the well-being of the Earth’s ecosystems and for those displaced and harmed by the climate crisis.

 

God of healing and hope, you broke the bonds of death which tried to shackle new life. Now break into situations of illness, pain, grief, and loss. Wherever people are sick in body, mind, or spirit, and wherever people mourn the loss of a loved one or a cherished future, embrace each one with your Spirit of comfort and courage.

 

WE  bring to you  our prayers for…

 

As well we place before you  the circumstances we name in our hearts  in silence before you……………

 

By your Spirit, give us gratitude, generosity and the grace to understand each other. Resurrect, renew and revive our souls and spirits!  Now we pray in one voice the words that Jesus gave us:

 

THE  LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father, who art in heaven hallowed be thy name,  thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.  Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

 

HYMN                255  Now let the vault of heaven resound

 

Now let the vault of heaven resound
in praise of love that doth abound,
‘Christ hath triumphed, hallelujah!
sing, choirs of angels, loud and clear,
repeat their song of glory here,
‘Christ hath triumphed, Christ hath triumphed!”
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!

2. Eternal is the gift he brings;
wherefore our heart with rapture sings,
‘Christ hath triumphed, Jesus liveth!’
now doth he come and give us life;
now doth his presence still all strife
through his triumph; Jesus reigneth!
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!

3. Oh fill us, Lord, with dauntless love;
set heart and will on things above,
that we conquer through thy triumph;
grant grace sufficient for life’s day,
that by our life we ever say,
‘Christ hath triumphed, and he liveth!’
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!

4. Adoring praises now we bring,
and with the heavenly blessed sing,
‘Christ hath triumphed, hallelujah!’
Be to the Father and our Lord,
to Spirit blest, most holy God,
thine the glory never ending!
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!

 

BENEDICTION

May Christ’s rising  lift your spirits and gladden your hearts . May his resurrection  bring you joy and peace  in believing  and may you abound in hope.  Go forth to  love and serve God in all you do. Almighty God – Father  – Son  and Holy Spirit Bless you  now and forever  Alleluia

 

CLOSING SONG