An Easter Reflection

April 12, 2020

Preacher: Rev. Bruce Kemp

Passage: Jeremiah 31:1-6

Bible Text: Jeremiah 31:1-6 | Preacher: Rev. Bruce Kemp | Easter Sunday

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April 12, 2020
Responsive Call to Worship

Leader: This is the Good News – the light shines in the darkness & the darkness will never overcome it.

All: Hallelujah! Christ is risen.

Leader: This is the Good News: once we were no people; now we are God’s people.

All: Hallelujah! Christ is risen.

Leader: This is the Good News – the grave is empty & Christ is risen.

All: Hallelujah! Christ is risen indeed!

Leader: Let us worship God with Easter joy!

Prayer of Adoration

God of mystery and power, we have heard the Good News of Easter and we are glad to be caught up in its joy today. Your love fills us with expectation. Darkness will never overcome the light you shine in Christ Jesus. Just as Jesus spoke to Mary in the garden that first Easter day, you call each of us by name because you love us. We are so grateful for the hope we have in your resurrecting power, embracing us this day. So, may we live our love for you gladly, today and every day, as we celebrate with Easter joy, our hearts full of praise. AMEN

HYMN: Rejoice, the Lord is King

Rejoice, the Lord is King; your sovereign Lord adore

Give thanks, O mortals, sing and triumph evermore

Lift up your heart; lift up your voice, rejoice, again I say, rejoice.

His reign can never fail; he rules o’er earth and heaven;

The keys of death and hell are to our Jesus given

Lift up your heart; lift up your voice, rejoice, again I say, rejoice.

Rejoice in glorious hope, for Christ the judge shall come

And take the faithful up to their eternal home

We soon shall hear the archangel’s voice, the trump of God shall sound rejoice.

Prayer of Confession (Unison)

God of mystery, we confess that faith doesn’t come easy every Easter.

When we face loss in our own lives, we sometimes lose track of the promise in Christ’s resurrection.

Sorrow can weigh us down.

Our challenges can feel like a stone too heavy to roll away.

Forgive us, O God, and let the joy of this day assure us

that the power of your love will never let us go. Amen.

Assurance of Pardon

St John records Jesus’ words: “I do not call you servants any longer, but I have called you friends. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Dear friends, Christ has laid down his life for us and invites us to love one another as he has loved us. Let us rejoice in his redeeming, resurrecting love.

FAMILY HYMN: I danced in the morning

I danced in the morning when the world was begun,

and I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun

and I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth

At Bethlehem I had my birth

Dance, then, wherever you may be; I am the Lord of the Dance, said he

And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be, and I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.

I danced for the Scribe, and the Pharisee,

But they would not dance and they wouldn’t follow me

I danced for the fishermen, for James and John

They cam with me and the dance went on.

Dance, then, wherever you may be; I am the Lord of the Dance, said he

And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be, and I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.

I danced on the Sabbath and I cured the lame

The holy people said it was a shame

They whipped and they stripped and they hung me high

And they left me there on a cross to die.

Dance, then, wherever you may be; I am the Lord of the Dance, said he

And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be, and I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.

I danced on a Friday when the sky turned black;

It’s hard to dance with the devil on your back

They buried my body, and they thought I’d gone

But I am the dance, and I still go on.

Dance, then, wherever you may be; I am the Lord of the Dance, said he

And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be, and I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.

They cut me down and I leap up high

I am the life that’ll never, never die.

I’ll live in you if you’ll live in me

I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.

Dance, then, wherever you may be; I am the Lord of the Dance, said he

And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be, and I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.

Children’s Time: An Egg for Easter

Sometimes it is hard for us to imagine God. But here’s one way to think of God.

We know that God is called our heavenly Father; Jesus is our Lord and big brother and the Holy Spirit is God through Jesus giving us help to live each day.

Now think of an egg. When your parents make a hardboiled egg for you, it is easiest to see what I mean. To get to the egg inside, you need to take the shell off. Then you need to peel away the white to get to the yellow yolk in the middle. But the egg cannot be an egg if it was only the yellow yolk or the white that surrounds it or the shell that surrounds that. Each part of the egg is special. Each has a purpose and each part helps the other.

Now think of God. The yellow yolk is at the centre to remind us that God is to be in the centre of our life; the white surrounding the yolk reminds us that God will always help guide us and teach us, and the shell is the promise of God that no matter what may happen to us in this life, he will surround us with his arms of love and forgiveness.

Happy Easter

RESPONSIVE READING:

Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you.

I say to the Lord, “You are my God. My happiness lies in you alone.”

He has put into my heart a marvellous love for the faithful ones who dwell in his land

Those who choose other gods increase their sorrows.

Never will I offer their offerings of blood

Never will I take their name upon my lips.

O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup

It is you yourself who are my prize.

The lot marked out for me is my delight

Welcome indeed the heritage that falls to me

I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel.

Who even at night directs my heart?

I keep the Lord ever in my sight

Since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm

And so my heart rejoices, my soul is glad.

Even my body shall rest in safety

For you will not leave my soul among the dead

Nor let your beloved know decay

You will show me the path of life

The fullness of joy in your presence

At your right hand, happiness for ever.

Prayer for Understanding

Spirit of power and new possibility open our minds to understanding, our hearts to loving, and our wills to carrying out the mission of the Risen Christ, God’s Living Word. Amen.

Jeremiah 31:1-6

1 At that time, says the Lord, I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.

2 Thus says the Lord: The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness; when Israel sought for rest,

3 the Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have continued my faithfulness to you.

4 Again I will build you, and you shall be built, O virgin Israel! Again, you shall take your tambourines, and go forth in the dance of the merrymakers.

5 Again you shall plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria; the planters shall plant, and shall enjoy the fruit.

6 For there shall be a day when sentinels will call in the hill country of Ephraim: “Come, let us go up to Zion, to the Lord our God.”

Matthew 28:1-10

1 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.”

HYMN: 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 son’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 King; 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.

Sermon:

An Easter Reflection

Today is for the Christian community the day of resurrection. It marks for us the transition in our relationship with God as we now once more can celebrate the new life and new hope that Jesus brought to us when he rose from the dead. And while we can never undo time and truly live in a time before the resurrection, we can re-imagine what it may have been like to live in that time as we ponder the revelation of God that has come to us through the prophets of old and the apostles of the early church. In a real sense the message that I want to offer today is a reflection on life so that we may live our lives with meaning and purpose as we hold the cup of our life and discover within it the promise and the presence of God.

To begin with I want us to imagine what life would be like without the event of Jesus’ resurrection. We would still be aware of the presence of God in our world and we would still have the opportunity to pray to God and to learn of his commandments and laws. We would still be able to gather to worship the One who had given us this life and we would still be able to reflect God’s truths through our life in community and as we interact with the world around us.

So, what has really changed with the resurrection? What difference does it make to our lives? It is often remarked in the writings of what we call the New Testament that the people before the time of Jesus lived this life in faith and hope of a lasting relationship with God. They knew that their lives were finite and that their passing from this world meant a separation between them and God. They knew that the fulness that they could feel while alive in the flesh could not be maintained beyond. The body died and the life force disappeared, but they ever longed for, hoped for and even imagined that somehow part of them never passed away. Many in the community believed that they descended to a life that was void of the presence of God, void of a body capable of holding their spirit. They looked for and hoped for a way to be connected to God for all eternity.

As Christians, most of us have come from backgrounds that were not steeped in Jewish theology and tradition. We have been influenced by Greek, Roman and other ancient philosophies. We have sought to understand our present human condition with its frailties and finiteness and have sought to understand whether part of us somehow survives this world. For many in the ancient world the body came to be seen as a vessel that caused pain and suffering. Its eventual decay and death was the opportunity for the soul to finally be released to experience life without constrictions. The pain of this life, its shortness and its disease were all reasons to escape this life and move to a place where no more pain or suffering could eat away at the soul. This was a view that gained popularity among many Christians of the early centuries. When tied to the event of resurrection, it was a joyous occasion for the soul had finally gained its release and it was free to be with God forever.

But this was not the Jewish understanding. Yes, many of the Jewish people hoped that there could be a resurrection that would restore those who had died and enabled them to once again experience the fulness of life with God; but that resurrection was not one of spirit alone but spirit and body as one. God did not create us as spirit alone or body alone but as one unit. We have a physical element that is revealed by the body that allows us to function in the world and enables us to move; we have a mental element that allows us to think and act; and we have a spiritual element that allows us to become conscious of the presence of God and through which we can channel our decisions and so interact with our world.

For the Jewish people, the loss of the body meant that the created person was incomplete. A person’s life was diminished and so their ability to have a meaningful relationship with God and to be remembered by God was taken away. The way in which God created us is the way in which God will recreate us. As we have been created to be in this world as one – body, mind and spirit – so we will be recreated as one.

The significance of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead is this: whatever in the past has separated the people of God from an eternal relationship has been taken away. And while the fulness of all things still is to come, the promise is there that the end of this life will no longer mean the end of life. The physical life of this world will still come to an end until the time when Christ returns, but for all those who believe in the promise of God made in Jesus and believe in the event of resurrection, there is a future with God.

As once in history God preserved the life of the people through the blood of lambs and enabled a physical death to pass the people by, so God chose to use the blood of Jesus – a symbolic Lamb – to enable both physical and spiritual death to pass us by. We may not fully understand how the death of Jesus could be capable of opening us up to an eternal life with God, but we can be thankful that God determined that we should be granted the opportunity to not only live this life with him but have the opportunity to know a life that never ends.

There is still a mystery as to what happens to us when this life is over until the time when all is revealed with the return of Jesus, but in the meantime we can rest assured that when we pass from this life, we can find peace knowing that this life will not be the end for us but rather the beginning of a life that will know no end.

May God be blessed and praised for his wonderful gift of new life through our Lord Jesus Christ. AMEN
Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession

God of power and possibility, you broke open the tomb that held our Lord.

Now break into your church where your people are distracted by old quarrels, meaningless diversions, or unhelpful divisions about mission and service.

Resurrect, renew and revive your church!

God, in your mercy,

All: Hear our prayer.

God of resurrection and 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 old hurts and misunderstandings, or carelessly taken for granted,

Resurrect, renew and revive our life together!

God, in your mercy,

All: Hear our prayer.

God of might and mercy, you broke the schemes of those who stood in the way of your love. Now break into the governance of your world. Stir the minds and hearts of leaders to work for justice and equitable sharing. Where laws are corrupt, or people suffer under harsh rule,

Resurrect, renew and revive the leaders of the world!

God, in your mercy,

All: Hear our prayer.

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 someone mourns the loss of any relationship or dream,

Resurrect, renew and revive our lives!

God, in your mercy,

All: Hear our prayer.

God of Easter Renewal and Resurrection, you have broken into our lives again this day. Break into all our moments of celebration and joy. Give us gratitude, the impulse to share, and a spirit of grace and understanding.

Resurrect, renew and revive our souls and spirits!

God, in your mercy,

All: Hear our prayer.

And break into the circumstances, places, and lives we name in the silence of our hearts…

(Hold a brief silence)

Resurrect, renew and revive your people!

God, in your mercy,

All: Hear our prayer.

Now we pray in one voice the words that Jesus gave us:

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. And 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 and ever. AMEN

HYMN: Alleluia, alleluia, give thanks to the risen Lord