Jesus, Lord of all life, fill us with the joy of your risen life today.
We have been on an amazing journey together this Lent, haven’t we? A journey of discovery and excitement, of growth and learning, and of course inevitably, at times of anxiety, and uncertainty – of difficulty and struggle.
There have been moments of rest and peace,
of trusting and faithfulness,
of learning about prayer…through our Lent Courses especially, and of playfulness with Godly Play,
of growing together as disciples – friends and followers of Christ.
And then in this Holy Week – we have processed with donkeys,
waving palms and singing Hosanna,
shared the last supper in the upper room when Jesus washed his disciples feet,
and then those heart-rending moments of betrayal, denial and arrest, and at the foot of the cross on Friday, of deep sorrow, sadness, heartbreak and tears.
This is the journey of Lent, Passiontide and Holy Week which ends in the cross and Jesus dying there – its seems to be all a disaster and disappointment!
Maybe this year – this journey has felt more significant than ever set against the backdrop of world events.
And maybe it’s also felt more significant because a number of our church family, children and adults, have been on the journey towards confirmation – discovering more about the nature of God and the Christian faith.
What does it mean to be a Christian? Today on Easter Day – the resounding answer to that question is new life!
When we think of new life – what image comes into our minds? Maybe a tiny shoot springing up from a seed…and as we will sing later in this service:
Now the green blade rises from the buried grain,
wheat that in the dark earth many days has lain,
love lives again, that with the dead has been.
Love is come again, like wheat that springs up green!
Or we might think of an egg and a chick – the quintessential symbols of Easter.
An Easter Egg is a good image for Easter – Jesus is stripped of his clothes and his dignity -just as we take off the foil wrappings from an Easter Egg, and on the cross his body is broken – just like we break the egg, and his life ebbs away.
He is buried in a tomb which is sealed shut and soldiers stand guard – our Easter Eggs look like the tomb with the stone rolled in front.
But then early next morning – the women who loved him most come to the tomb to care for his broken body as one last tender act of love and care for Jesus, even in death.
But they find the stone is rolled away and the tomb is….empty – just like the inside of an Easter Egg!
At Easter – the sad sorrow of Holy Week becomes the jumping with joy of Easter Day. Jesus is not here, at the Empty Tomb – he has risen to glorious new life – our hearts rejoice our souls are glad!
On Easter Day we praise God who has gloriously raised Jesus from the dead – broken the power of death and all that is bad in the world and gives us new hope.
In the darkest night – Christ is our light
In the saddest time – God gives us hope
The message of our readings today is of utter and complete transformation of what seemed the complete end of the road.
Jesus dies on the cross and is buried. It’s the end of it all, surely?
His friend, Peter, denied he even knew Jesus. There’s no coming back from that, surely?
But the women come running with an unbelievable story and Peter, now runs, as fast as he can to see for himself, with hardly dared for hope rising in his heart.
You see, the end is never an end with God. God is Life-giver and can bring new life even out of death.
And when we start believing that then there is no end to what we can do too.
You know there is only so much that words alone can do to tell the story of the resurrection – our whole liturgy every Sunday does this for us in words, music and actions.
On Easter day – apart from eating lots of chocolate eggs – and saying Alelluia – we sing out our joy!
There’s a wonderful song that we can sing together on this Easter Day – let’s sing of the Lord’s goodness on this most glorious day!
Sing of the Lord’s goodness,
Father of all wisdom,
come to him and bless his name.
Mercy he has shown us,
his love is for ever,
faithful to the end of days.
Come, then, all you nations,
sing of the Lord’s goodness,
melodies of praise and thanks to God.
Ring out the Lord’s glory,
praise him with your music,
worship him and bless his name.
Power he has wielded, honour is his garment,
risen from the snares of death.
His word he has spoken,
one bread he has broken,
new life he now gives to all.
Alelluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed. Alleluia!
Service: Rev Michelle Dalliston, 20th April 2025. (St John’s Church Peterborough UK)
Reading: Acts 10.34-43; Psalm 118.1-2, 14-24, 1 Corinthians 15.19-26; Luke 24.1-12