Hallelujah! Christ is risen!
The day before Palm Sunday last week, my friend Toto posted an invitation to imaginative prayer in our Contemplative Christianity Facebook group. I’ve been back in the pulpit every Sunday this year, covering for a local minister on sabbatical, and I had already written my sermon when Toto made the post. But it inspired me to go back and tweak it just a little to include some imaginative prayer.
Our Easter service this morning also incorporates imaginative prayer, interspersing contemplative scripture reading with hymns of praise. I thought I would share my full notes with you all, in case you want to go through the whole thing on your own or with some friends. All the hymns are found in Voices United, the hymn book of the United Church of Canada. Feel free to switch them out for your favourite Easter hymns.
The translation of John Chrysostom’s Easter Homily is from Anglicans Online and all scriptures are from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition.
Territorial Acknowledgement
For thousands of years, indigenous people have walked on this land; their relationship with the land is at the centre of their lives and spirituality. Today we are gathered on the traditional territory of the Anishinabek and acknowledge their stewardship of this land throughout the ages as well as the richness of their spiritual tradition.
God Calls us to love our neighbours and to work for justice in the world. There is much work to be done before we can say we live justly with our neighbours, so let us join in a commitment to right relations, in the name of the Prince of Peace who reconciles the nations and heals the world.
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Call to Worship
Hallelujah! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed!
Hallelujah! Christ is risen!
The angels of God are rejoicing
Hallelujah! Christ is risen!
The tombs of the dead are empty
Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?
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Lighting the Christ Candle
One: Jesus is the light of the world
All: The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. Thanks be to God!
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Opening Prayer
(Psalm 16:7-11)
I bless the Lord, who is my teacher. My heart instructs me through the night, I keep the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, my soul rejoices, and my body rests secure. For you do not give me up to Sheol or let your faithful one see the Pit. You show me the path of life, in your presence there is fullness of joy, in your right hand are pleasures forevermore. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen
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Hymn #352 I Danced in the Morning
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Invitation to Imaginative Prayer
Our service today will be a little different, there is more hymns and scriptures than usual. We will read John 20 in three sections, responding in song between each one. If it is too much up and down for you, please feel free to remain seated.
Those of you who were here last Sunday may remember closing your eyes and visualising Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem as I chanted a few verses from Zechariah 9. Though I won’t be chanting this morning, I will once again invite you to close your eyes and place yourself in the story as I read it.
Use your inner senses as much as possible. Feel the dusty ground beneath your feet, are you wearing shoes? Look up and notice where the sun is in the sky, are there any clouds? Is there a warm breeze blowing by, or an eerie stillness beckoning you into silence?
Running to the tomb alongside Peter and John, watch with bated breath as Mary speaks to the gardener. Imagine the expressions each of them have on their faces, participating vicariously in their experience. Does Mary look stressed? Does Jesus have a mischievous grin?
As we raise up our hymns of praise, sing not only with your voice, but also with the meditation of your heart. Allow joy to burst forth from within, leaving the empty tomb in its wake. Allow the music to penetrate the hidden recesses of your soul, filling you with the power of Christ’s resurrection, washing your thoughts clean, renewing your heart, as the Spirit prays within you, with groans and sighs too deep for words.
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Prayer for Illumination
God of new beginnings, who burst forth from the tomb, who spoke to Mary Magdalene in the form of a gardener, who appeared behind closed doors in the disciples’ need, send your Holy Spirit into this place, filling every heart with your mercy, touching every mind with your grace. Reveal yourself to those who believe, in the seclusion of their own thoughts, passing freely through every mental and emotional barrier, just as you appeared to the disciples, unhindered by their locks and defences. Allow our breathing to become your breathing, filling us with the peace of your Spirit, relieving all of our fears. Open our eyes that we may see, open our ears that we may hear, bringing the scriptures to life within us, allowing us to participate in the story alongside your disciples.
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John 20:1-10
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’s head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed, for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.
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Hymn #173 Thine is the Glory
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John 20:11-18
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb, and she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not touch me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and she told them that he had said these things to her.
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Hymn #164 The Day of Resurrection
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John 20:19-23
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors were locked where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”
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Hymn #179 Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Give Thanks
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Card Ministry / Birthday Song
Minute for Mission
Offering Hymn #543 We Give Thee But Thine Own
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John Chrysostom’s Easter Homily
Saint John Chrysostom was the archbishop of Constantinople in the fourth century. He is recognised by most denominations in the world as one of the early church fathers. This homily, which was originally written in Greek, just like the New Testament, is still read in churches across the world on Easter morning. We lift up our hearts in chorus with the body of Christ, of which we are only one small part, ready to be instructed by the saints of old.
Are there any who are devout lovers of God?
Let them enjoy this beautiful bright festival!
Are there any who are grateful servants?
Let them rejoice and enter into the joy of their Lord!
Are there any weary with fasting?
Let them now receive their wages!
If any have toiled from the first hour,
let them receive their due reward;
If any have come after the third hour,
let him with gratitude join in the Feast!
And he that arrived after the sixth hour,
let him not doubt; for he too shall sustain no loss.
And if any delayed until the ninth hour,
let him not hesitate; but let him come too.
And he who arrived only at the eleventh hour,
let him not be afraid by reason of his delay.
For the Lord is gracious and receives the last even as the first.
He gives rest to him that comes at the eleventh hour,
as well as to him that toiled from the first.
To this one He gives, and upon another He bestows.
He accepts the works as He greets the endeavor.
The deed He honors and the intention He commends.
Let us all enter into the joy of the Lord!
First and last alike receive your reward;
rich and poor, rejoice together!
Sober and slothful, celebrate the day!
You that have kept the fast, and you that have not,
rejoice today for the Table is richly laden!
Feast royally on it, the calf is a fatted one.
Let no one go away hungry. Partake, all, of the cup of faith.
Enjoy all the riches of His goodness!
Let no one grieve at his poverty,
for the universal kingdom has been revealed.
Let no one mourn that he has fallen again and again;
for forgiveness has risen from the grave.
Let no one fear death, for the Death of our Savior has set us free.
He has destroyed it by enduring it.
He destroyed Hell when He descended into it.
He put it into an uproar even as it tasted of His flesh.
Isaiah foretold this when he said,
"You, O Hell, have been troubled by encountering Him below."
Hell was in an uproar because it was done away with.
It was in an uproar because it is mocked.
It was in an uproar, for it is destroyed.
It is in an uproar, for it is annihilated.
It is in an uproar, for it is now made captive.
Hell took a body, and discovered God.
It took earth, and encountered Heaven.
It took what it saw, and was overcome by what it did not see.
O death, where is thy sting?
O Hell, where is thy victory?
Christ is Risen, and you, o death, are annihilated!
Christ is Risen, and the evil ones are cast down!
Christ is Risen, and the angels rejoice!
Christ is Risen, and life is liberated!
Christ is Risen, and the tomb is emptied of its dead;
for Christ having risen from the dead,
is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
To Him be Glory and Power forever and ever. Amen!
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Hymn #155 Jesus Christ is Risen Today
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Justin’s Easter Homily
The story of Easter is a profound map of the spiritual journey. Jesus plainly calls us to pick up our cross and follow him to death. The death which Jesus modelled is the death of the false self. It is the crucifixion of the ego. It is the end of what was never real. And out of that death rises what always was – the true self, the eternal self, the self which cannot be destroyed. This is the self which does not have the divisions we place on people – race, gender, social status, religion, etc. It is the self which is in Christ and which is Christ.
In the third chapter of his letter to the Colossians, which we will read as our commissioning momentarily, Paul provides a spiritual interpretation of the Easter story. He describes a Christian as someone who has put to death their old self with its lies and anger and greed. Paul says, since we have been raised with Christ, it is time to take up the ways of our new selves, the selves which are free from labels, which are truly Christ who is our life.
Since our false selves have been crucified with Christ our true selves also are resurrected with him. This new self, as Paul calls it, is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its creator. See how Paul says renewed, not actually created from scratch but restored. Even though Paul calls it a new self he is saying that we shed what is false to uncover the image of Christ, our creator, which is in all of us.
The ways of the old self, or the false self, are the ways of idolatry. But Paul is very clear here that what he is considering idolatry is greed, violence, and gossiping. The false self which must be crucified is the self that worships these false desires. This self is concerned with the accumulation of wealth, with an unhealthy need for sexual conquest, with rage and self righteous anger, with slander and gossip. These desires come from the ego, the false self, the old self.
In contrast, the true self, the new self which is resurrected with Christ, is one which does not have selfish and unhealthy desires. The true self is clothed with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. It does not worship the idols mentioned above. Its desires are continually transformed into the image of Christ our creator. We, therefore, forgive as Christ has forgiven. We love as Christ has loved. We allow peace to rule in our hearts and we accept death as Christ has accepted death.
And so seek the cross, my dear sisters and brothers. Seek the death of the old self. For until we have truly died we will never truly live. Those who try to save their lives will lose them. If you cling to your false self – to your job title, your culture, your bank account, your resentments, your vices, or your hair – then Easter will have no meaning for you. But, if you lose your life for Christ’s sake you will be remade in the image of your creator and you will be an Easter people.
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Hymn #183 We Meet You, O Christ
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Commissioning
(Colossians 3:1-4, 9-17)
So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.
Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, enslaved and free, but Christ is all and in all!
Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
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Threefold Amen
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