Easter Sunday – flashback to 2017 (full size gallery)
We are having Easter 2020 in the pandemic. So no church services. This is a flashback to 2017, one-third of the photos from that day. Complete gallery is here
We had over 40 in our Easter zoom service. Here are some links of the resources that were used:
1. Bulletin
2. Powerpoint and videos
3. Easter Gifts.
4. Sermon
5. Lectionary discussion
Easter Sunday, the culmination of Holy Week!
Easter celebrates the reality of Jesus’ resurrection in all its many aspects. Hope, Transformation, Evangelism and a new life.
Easter is a time of new growth. Walking through Port Royal there were plenty of examples – cherry trees, forsythia, dogwood, and new leaves on trees. Bill Wick’s Viburnum was amazing for its growth
Easter is a time of celebration and that included music, “Christ the Lord is Risen Today” and the closing “The Day of Resurrection. The readings for year A are here.
Celebration was apparent in the number of Easter bonnets that are traditionally worn on this Sunday.
The service traditionally opens with the lighting of the Paschal fire outside and procession inside. We will have the paschal candle until Pentecost.
Matthew’s Gospel for this Easter follows Marks example in Holy Week but there are some major differences – some dramatic events (the earthquake, the curtain of the temple) as well as a different in emphasis – particularly in the role of women
On Friday, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James (“the other Mary”) have seen Jesus’ body laid in the tomb, the stone door sealed, and a guard mounted. Now, soon after dawn on Sunday morning (“the first day of the week”) they return to “see” and probably to mourn.
Matthew highlights important milestones with displays of cosmic power, God’s power: here, and when Jesus died, an “earthquake”
David Lose wrote this week. “First, it struck me that one of Matthew’s additions is that the women, when confronted by the divine messenger and the news that Christ has been raised, do not just flee the tomb in fear and silence, as in Mark (1:8), but “left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy” (28:8). Isn’t that a wonderful reminder that fear and joy are not opposites but, as with doubt and faith, can be experienced at the same time and, indeed, might be inseparable? Fear, as we have noted before, seems quite frequently “in the air” these days and for all kinds of reasons. Jesus’ resurrection does not spell an end to fear for those who follow him, but rather makes it possible to experience joy amid what might otherwise be crippling fear.
“Resurrection, that is, doesn’t simply answer or end problems, but rather creates something new, and Christian faith does not remove us from the hardships, limitations, and challenges of this life, but creates for us possibilities that simply would not be available had God not intervened, first in the raising of Jesus and again by entering into our own lives. “Second, it struck me that after the note of comfort – “do not be afraid” – there is invitation, even command – “come and see… go and tell.” Comfort we associate with the Gospel, but command? Note, however, that this command is not a burden to be accomplished but a gift to be opened and delighted in. The resurrection of Christ creates the possibility to do spontaneously and joyfully what otherwise would be impossible.
“Might we therefore also recognize, Dear Partner, that the Christian answer to fear is not simply comfort but also invitation to a life of courage? That participation and purpose are some of the gifts of the resurrection? That our people are not simply longing to hear “it will be okay,” but “here is the life and work God is giving you”? Perhaps in this spirit, we can not only bless people at the end of the service, but also send them forth to meet the challenges before them with confidence and to address the problems they will encounter with courage and joy, knowing that the God who raised Jesus from the dead is not done yet. Not done with the world God loves so much, and not done with them, the children of God, who God also loves so much.”