Preparation
O Lord, open our lips
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Praise
God of glory,
by the raising of your Son
you have broken the chains of death and hell:
fill your Church with faith and hope;
for a new day has dawned
and the way to life stands open
in our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Psalm 33.4-5, 18-22
For the word of the Lord is true
and all his works are sure.
He loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of the loving-kindness of the Lord.
Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon those who fear him,
on those who wait in hope for his steadfast love,
To deliver their soul from death
and to feed them in time of famine.
Our soul waits longingly for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
Indeed, our heart rejoices in him;
in his holy name have we put our trust.
Let your loving-kindness, O Lord, be upon us,
as we have set our hope on you.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.
Reading
John 20.11-18
Mary Magdalene 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 round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ 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 hold on to 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.
Reflection
Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’
Every year, as I read these words, I feel an incredible emotional charge sweep through me. I often feel as though I want to burst into tears of joy. These five words are, for me, some of the most powerful words in the whole of scripture. It is at this moment that it becomes clear that Jesus knows each of us by name, and that he loves us with a love that defies description. As the desolate Mary stood before the empty tomb, contemplating the further horror and indignity that had been inflicted upon her Lord, she is confronted with a new reality … Jesus is risen from the dead! But, this ultimate act of divine power and authority has not created an impassable gulf between Mary and Jesus, rather it has brought them even closer together.
There are times in all of our lives when we wonder where God is? National and natural disasters wreak havoc in the lives of people; personal tragedies wreak havoc in the lives of people; the cruelty, vanity and greed of humanity inflicts so much pain on those who are perceived to be weak and ineffective. As we hear these tales of horror, we look on feeling both helpless and hopeless. We are sometimes driven to ask, ‘Where is God in all this?’ Today we are given the answer. Today we see Jesus standing before the desolate and the dispossessed and calling them each by name.
It makes such a difference to us when someone remembers our names, doesn’t it? The use of our names makes us feel special, it opens our hearts and minds in a way that can never be achieved by the most generous acts of anonymous charity. The use of our names opens the door upon a new level of relationship. We have been remembered, and that simple demonstration remembrance makes us feel warm and special.
Jesus is constantly standing before us and calling us by name. Even when we are feeling at our lowest and most fearful, Jesus is standing before us and calling us by name. Jesus is ever inviting us into a special relationship with him, a relationship that will fill our hearts with the love and hope that can come from him alone.
The challenge for us is quite straightforward. When the desolate times come, we need to set aside the arrogance of self-belief and self-reliance and we need to take our weakness to him. We need to let him call us by name, to take our hands and to lead us into the closeness and comfort of his loving embrace. Let us pray that that peace and joy may be known to all who are struggling to cope with the pressures of life today.
Prayers of Intercession
In the power of the resurrection, let us pray to the Lord.
Give grace to the Church to be a faithful witness to the Resurrection of her Master. Open our eyes to recognise him in all the ways in which he comes to us, and help us to make him known to many.
Spread the peace and joy of the first Easter morning to heal the disputes of the world. Guide into truth all who are seeking assurance and do not know for whom they seek.
Help us to see the love of Christ in all we meet, to know him in our homes and in our work. Bless those who serve him through serving and caring for others in our community.
We pray for the sick in body and mind, that they may feel the healing power of Christ. Comfort with the assurance of life hereafter all who are bereaved.
May those who have departed this life enter into eternal life through the Resurrection of the Lord. Keep us firm in that hope until we too are called to be with him.
We pray through Jesus Christ, first revealed in his risen body to blessed Mary Magdalene.
Prayer for the week
Lord our God, as we celebrate with joy
the resurrection of Jesus our Saviour,
help us to make the Easter faith
a deeper reality in our lives;
that we may know something more of the peace
he bequeathed to his disciples,
and lay hold of the victory
he won for us over sin and death,
rejoicing in the hope of the life immortal
which is ours in him,
our Redeemer and our Lord.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught 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 trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
The Grace
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
be with us all evermore. Amen.
Hymn
Alleluia, alleluia,
give thanks to the risen Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia,
give praise to his name.
Spread the good news o’er all the earth:
Jesus has died and has risen:
Alleluia, alleluia,
give thanks to the risen Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia,
give praise to his name.
We have been crucified with Christ:
now we shall live for ever:
Alleluia, alleluia,
give thanks to the risen Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia,
give praise to his name.
Donald Fishel (b. 1950)
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