Tell me with joy of his rising
up from the grave;
and how he still lives triumphant,
ready to save.
Wonderful story,
Jesus my friend,
living and loving,
and how he still lives triumphant,
ready to save.
Wonderful story,
Jesus my friend,
living and loving,
right to the end.
Alleluiah! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluiah!
He is risen indeed! Alleluiah!
Hymn: Singing the Faith 298
Christ the Lord is risen today;
Alleluia!
All creation joins to say:
Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high;
Alleluia!
Sing, you heavens; let earth, reply:
Alleluia!
Alleluia!
All creation joins to say:
Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high;
Alleluia!
Sing, you heavens; let earth, reply:
Alleluia!
Love’s redeeming work is done,
Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won;
Alleluia!
Vain the stone, the watch, the seal;
Alleluia!
Christ has burst the gates of hell:
Alleluia!
Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won;
Alleluia!
Vain the stone, the watch, the seal;
Alleluia!
Christ has burst the gates of hell:
Alleluia!
Lives again our glorious King;
Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now your sting?
Alleluia!
Once he died our souls to save;
Alleluia!
Where’s your victory, boasting grave?
Alleluia!
Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now your sting?
Alleluia!
Once he died our souls to save;
Alleluia!
Where’s your victory, boasting grave?
Alleluia!
Soar we now where Christ has led,
Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head;
Alleluia!
Made like him, like him we rise;
Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies:
Alleluia!
Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head;
Alleluia!
Made like him, like him we rise;
Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies:
Alleluia!
King of Glory! Soul of bliss!
Alleluia!
Everlasting life is this,
Alleluia!
You to know, your power to prove,
Alleluia!
Thus to sing, and thus to love:
Alleluia!
Alleluia!
Everlasting life is this,
Alleluia!
You to know, your power to prove,
Alleluia!
Thus to sing, and thus to love:
Alleluia!
Charles Wesley (1707–1788)Reproduced from Singing the Faith Electronic Words Edition, number 298
Prayer
Let us pray.
Glory to you, O God.
You raised Jesus from the grave,
bringing us victory over death
and giving us eternal life.
You raised Jesus from the grave,
bringing us victory over death
and giving us eternal life.
Glory to you, O Christ:
for us and for our salvation
you overcame death
and opened the gate to everlasting life.
for us and for our salvation
you overcame death
and opened the gate to everlasting life.
Glory to you, O Holy Spirit:
you lead us into the truth
and breathe new life into us.
you lead us into the truth
and breathe new life into us.
Glory to you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
now and forever. Amen.
now and forever. Amen.
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.
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.
Hymn: Singing the Faith 303
I know that my Redeemer lives —
what joy the blest assurance gives!
He lives, he lives, who once was dead;
he lives, my everlasting Head!
what joy the blest assurance gives!
He lives, he lives, who once was dead;
he lives, my everlasting Head!
He lives, to bless me with his love;
he lives, to plead for me above;
he lives, my hungry soul to feed;
he lives, to help in time of need.
he lives, to plead for me above;
he lives, my hungry soul to feed;
he lives, to help in time of need.
He lives, and grants me daily breath;
he lives, and I shall conquer death;
he lives, my mansion to prepare;
he lives, to lead me safely there.
he lives, and I shall conquer death;
he lives, my mansion to prepare;
he lives, to lead me safely there.
He lives, all glory to his name;
he lives, my Saviour, still the same;
what joy the blest assurance gives,
I know that my Redeemer lives!
he lives, my Saviour, still the same;
what joy the blest assurance gives,
I know that my Redeemer lives!
Samuel Medley (1738–1799)
Reproduced from Singing the Faith Electronic Words Edition, number 303
Reading
Mark 16: 1-8
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. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomband they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”
But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
“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.’”
Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
Hymn: Singing the Faith
Low in the grave he lay,
Jesus, my Saviour,
waiting the coming day,
Jesus, my Saviour,
waiting the coming day,
Jesus, my Lord:
Up from the grave he arose,
with a mighty triumph o’er his foes;
he arose a victor from the dark domain,
and he lives for ever with his saints to reign:
He arose! He arose!
Alleluia! Christ arose!
with a mighty triumph o’er his foes;
he arose a victor from the dark domain,
and he lives for ever with his saints to reign:
He arose! He arose!
Alleluia! Christ arose!
Vainly they watch his bed,
Jesus, my Saviour;
vainly they seal the dead,
Jesus, my Lord:
Jesus, my Saviour;
vainly they seal the dead,
Jesus, my Lord:
Death cannot keep his prey,
Jesus, my Saviour;
he tore the bars away,
Jesus, my Lord:
Jesus, my Saviour;
he tore the bars away,
Jesus, my Lord:
Robert Lowry (1826–1899)
Reproduced from Singing the Faith Electronic Words Edition, number 305
Sermon
In church on Easter Day for the first seven years on my ministry as a Presbyter I have always preached from John’s account of the Resurrection, found in John 20: 1-18. It is always the set account in the Lectionary.
This year, for reasons that I hope will become clear, I have felt strongly led to preach from Mark’s account of the Resurrection.
Mark’s is almost universally agreed by Biblical scholars to be the earliest written account of that first Easter Day. Scholars would also agree that the author of Mark originally ended his gospel at verse 8, and that the rest is a later addition: indeed there exist two separate additional endings that are both printed in some translations.
Mark’s account of the Resurrection is simple and quite stark. The women arrive at the tomb finding the heavy entrance stone rolled away, the body of Jesus gone and a young man dressed in white sitting there, apparently waiting for them. He tells them Jesus has been raised from death and they run away, afraid. That’s it! No resurrection appearances from Jesus; just mystery and wonder and fear at what is to come next.
Many have said that with the restrictions quite correctly imposed by the government it feels like Lent, with its theme of self-denial, has somehow been extended. Somebody posted on Facebook that “this is the Lentiest Lent I’ve ever Lented” and whilst the English is dodgy, we all know exactly what they mean.
In the church calendar Lent has ended, but for many of us it feels like it is still going on; especially today of all days when we must celebrate Easter Day, the day of Resurrection, at home instead of physically together in church.
I think I’ve come across a better analogy.
There is a tradition in church, only implied in Scripture, of the harrowing of hell. The tradition is that on Holy Saturday, the day Jesus body lay cold in his tomb, he himself stormed the gates of hell and rescued all the souls who were there, emptying the realm of the devil.
So, although it appeared that Jesus was inactive that day, waiting for Resurrection, he was in fact very active demonstrating the love that motivated everything he said and did.
To some in our society at the moment it may appear that the “church” is doing very little. Our buildings are closed and our regular services and activities suspended. It could appear that our churches are silent and dark and inactive, dead, cold in the grave.
And yet this is not the case. You may have seen the picture I posted on our Churches Facebook pages of the interior of an empty church with the caption “The Church isn’t empty, the Church is deployed.”
The church is indeed deployed. We are, for a time, out of our buildings. The church is deployed as we share in worship together online, whether it be through a service sheet like this or through video or livestream (which I may try at some point). The church is deployed every time one of us goes shopping for a neighbour who can’t leave their home. The church is deployed every time we phone somebody to see how they are doing or just to say “hello” so they don’t feel as lonely. The church is deployed when we pray for others. The church is deployed in all the acts of kindness and love being undertaken by Christian disciples for each other and for those in their communities.
To the casual observer the church may appear to be closed and inactive, just as on Holy Saturday Jesus appeared to be dead and inactive, but this is far from the case.
So rather than being in a very long Lent, the Lentiest Lent ever; perhaps we are instead in the midst of a prolonged Holy Saturday.
Of course, we can only take that analogy so far because two thousand years ago Jesus was raised from death to new Resurrection life! As the last verse in the hymn says:
“Death cannot keep his prey,
Jesus, my Saviour;
he tore the bars away,
Jesus, my Lord”
Jesus, my Saviour;
he tore the bars away,
Jesus, my Lord”
Jesus is alive! That is what our Scripture from Mark’s gospel tells us. That is what all the Resurrection accounts in the four gospels tell us: that somehow by the power of God Jesus who was dead was raised from death in a new way.
Jesus is alive! Mark’s gospel leaves what that means as a mystery in many ways. The fact of the Resurrection is the point, the author of Mark doesn’t think we need to know more.
Other gospels, written after Mark, do tell us more. They tell us of a Jesus who was in some way different because people did not recognise him immediately, yet definitely still the same Jesus so that people came to a sudden awareness. Mary Magdalene recognised Jesus in the garden when he spoke her name, after initially thinking he was a gardener. The two on the road to Emmaus didn’t recognise the stranger who walked alongside them until he broke bread. Even they didn’t appreciate the full meaning of the Resurrection and what it would lead to; a worldwide sister and brotherhood of Christian disciples numbered in billions.
If we can go back to the analogy of Holy Saturday, the church is in some ways apparently still and cold, though we know this isn’t the case. That is the perception many will have, and indeed the perception some had even before the Covid-19 Coronavirus hit.
Just as Jesus rose from death, changed, renewed and restored; resurrected: so our church will be raised to new life. We will meet again for corporate worship with a renewed sense of the value of meeting together to praise our Lord. We will perhaps appreciate all the more our fellowship together.
But maybe, just as Jesus was transformed by the Resurrection so too may our worship and fellowship be transformed. We have an opportunity, whilst we are at home, separated yet connected by the same Holy Spirit, to think and pray about what God might be saying to us about how we are church together. What is God calling on us to continue doing, what is God calling on us to lay aside and what is God calling on us to take up?
Through the death and resurrection of Jesus God gave us the greatest gift of love that has ever been given: the assurance of forgiveness and the promise of resurrection life. Let us continually seek to serve God in faithfulness and gratitude, at different times and in different seasons in different ways, always open to the transforming power of Resurrection!
Hymn: Singing the Faith 311
The day of resurrection,
earth, tell it out abroad!
The passover of gladness,
the passover of God!
From death to life eternal,
from earth unto the sky,
our Christ has brought us over
with hymns of victory.
earth, tell it out abroad!
The passover of gladness,
the passover of God!
From death to life eternal,
from earth unto the sky,
our Christ has brought us over
with hymns of victory.
Our hearts be pure from evil,
that we may see aright
the Lord in rays eternal
of resurrection light;
and, listening to his accents,
may hear, so calm and plain,
his own ‘All hail!’ and, hearing,
may raise the victor strain.
that we may see aright
the Lord in rays eternal
of resurrection light;
and, listening to his accents,
may hear, so calm and plain,
his own ‘All hail!’ and, hearing,
may raise the victor strain.
Now let the heavens be joyful,
let earth her song begin,
the round world keep high triumph,
and all that is therein;
let all things seen and unseen
their notes of gladness blend,
for Christ the Lord is risen,
our joy that has no end.
let earth her song begin,
the round world keep high triumph,
and all that is therein;
let all things seen and unseen
their notes of gladness blend,
for Christ the Lord is risen,
our joy that has no end.
St John of Damascus (c. 675–c. 750)translated by John Mason Neale (1811–1866)
Reproduced from Singing the Faith Electronic Words Edition, number 311
Prayer
Lord our God, we give you thanks
because you have delivered us from the power of
darkness
and brought us into the kingdom of your Son.
Grant that, as by his resurrection
we are brought to new life,
so by his continued reign in us
we may be brought to eternal joy;
through the same Christ our Lord. Amen
because you have delivered us from the power of
darkness
and brought us into the kingdom of your Son.
Grant that, as by his resurrection
we are brought to new life,
so by his continued reign in us
we may be brought to eternal joy;
through the same Christ our Lord. Amen
The Lord’s Prayer
Hymn: Singing the Faith
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:
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.
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 the Church with gladness
hymns of triumph sing,
for her Lord now liveth,
death hath lost its sting:
risen from the tomb;
lovingly he greets us,
scatters fear and gloom;
let the Church with gladness
hymns of triumph sing,
for her Lord now liveth,
death hath lost its sting:
No more we doubt thee,
glorious Prince of Life;
life is naught 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:
glorious Prince of Life;
life is naught 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:
Edmond Budry (1854–1932)translated by Richard Birch Hoyle (1875–1939)
Reproduced from Singing the Faith Electronic Words Edition, number 313
Blessing
God the Father,
by whose glory Christ was raised from the dead,
strengthen you
to walk with him in his risen life;
and may almighty God bless you
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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