In the joy and hope of this Easter morning,   we sing Alleluia with the fullness of hearts. Christ is Risen! Love is stronger than Death! Alleluia!

In the joy and hope of this Easter morning,  in the midst of our singing and shouting,  we know there are those who are bewildered and sad.  We pray for those that have no hope,  for those who suffer from depression, loneliness, and fear. 

We pray for those places and peoples in our world:- where death and domination rule,  where imperial powers ignore the poor, where war never ends,  where children are hungry,  where parents grieve because they cannot provide,  where accidents happen and death abounds senselessly.  We pray for those held hostage to addiction and chronic illness that debilitates. 

In the joy and hope of this Easter morning,  we realize the depth and breadth of what it means to be your Easter people.  For we are the ones who are called to go into the places in our lives and world to work for justice and life for all in your Creation.  It is up to us to bear witness to the promise of resurrection, to hold those in despair, and believe for them, that Love is stronger than death. 

In the joy and hope of this Easter morning, O God, give us the courage to bear your living Love in every corner of our lives,  so that your peaceable realm will be so,  here on earth, as it is in heaven.    In the name of the Risen Christ, we pray,  Alleluia! Amen. 

‘Morning does not belong to the individual, it belongs to the church of the triune God, to the Christian family, to the brotherhood.’… (Dietrich Bonhoeffer) I have seen the Lord!...(John 20:18) John 20:1-18 Seeing the Lord!

John 20:1-18 Seeing the Lord! Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” … (John 20:17)

Through Mary’s Eyes Jesus said, … Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ”

She Came in the Dark 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… (John 20:1)

She Persisted 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!” So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in.

She Persisted Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene Then the disciples went back to their homes,… (John 20:2-10)

She is given a message Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ”… (John 20:17)

She is given a message Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side… (John 20:27)

She is given a message Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ”… (John 20:17)

The Message For Us The Temple, which was the intersection between Heaven and Earth, is now replaced with Jesus, who is equally at home in Heaven and Earth… Tom Wright: How God Became King

The Message For Us When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit… (John 19:30)