Today in Passion Week
Meditations, Reflections, Prayers

Easter (Kyomtho)

An Easter Blessing

Through the resurrection of Jesus
God has redeemed us and made us his children.
May God bless us with joy.
Amen.

Our Redeemer has given us lasting freedom.

May we inherit everlasting life.
Amen.

By faith, we rose with Jesus in baptism.

May our lives be holy,
so that we will be united with Jesus for ever.
Amen.

May almighty God bless us,
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Today: In the Garden: Not the Gardener

Bible Reading:

Opening Prayer:

O God, who on this day,
through your Only Begotten Son,
have conquered death
and unlocked for us the path to eternity,
grant, we pray, that we who keep
the solemnity of the Lord’s Resurrection
may, through the renewal brought by your Spirit,
rise up in the light of life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Today's Readings (alternate)
Acts 10:34, 37-43; Psalm 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23;
Colossians 3:1-4 or 1 Corinthians 5:6-8; John 20:1-9

Daily Meditation:

May our celebration
raise us up and renew our lives!

One of the great songs we often sing on Easter has the words,
"This is the feast of victory of our God. Alleluia!"
Everything with which we struggle,
and every hope and desire we have,
come together in this day.
The tomb is empty!

Sometimes Easter Sunday can be a busy day,
with visiting, meals, and travel.
Our prayer when we wake,
and our "calling to mind" throughout the day,
can help us remember what we are grateful for today.
There is Light in the midst of every darkness.
New life, ever lasting life is ours.
Our journey to the font of renewal
has helped us remember we have been placed with Jesus.
If we haven't done so at liturgy this morning,
we might renew our Baptismal promises today.

Easter Sunday Reflections
by Laurence Freeman OSB

The angel said to the women he was not there, where they were looking for him, because he was risen. After death we know him no longer after the manner of the flesh - which includes the manner of the imagination. Like meditation, he is not what we think. Like the kingdom , not here, not there.

Then the angel told them that he was going before them to Galilee where they would see him. "Now I have told you", he concludes matter-of-factly. There is no explanation, simply the proclamation. Job done. How could this be made readily understood or explained satisfactorily?

The job is to communicate it and hope. If it's not true, after having seen the possibility and heard the proclamation, everything is drained of color and energy.

The stakes of the human condition have suddenly increased dramatically.

Strangely, we can't say exactly what it is the early Christians were communicating and that has formed a continuous chain of transmission since. It was an experience that could not be held in thought or imagination or in the senses, of his being present, in a way that touched and changed them indubitably, not as a memory or an archetype but as a personal presence.

How do we explain any of the most important occurrences in our life?

The women turn back, to do all they could do in the circumstances - speak about it to others. Then there he is. Coming towards them to meet them. Didn't the angel say he would see them in Galilee? They aren't in Galilee. Why he is here when they were supposed to see him there? Is he there too?

In seeing him they begin to see that they were in his mind despite (or because) of all he had been through. Death, the great oblivion, had not made him forget them. They must be worth more than they thought. He must be more than they imagined.

Do not be afraid, he tells them. It is fear that shrivels the mind and makes us incapable of the expansion needed to see him and to realize that we can live now in a quite different and fearless way. (Even the angel had told them not to be afraid). Perhaps we are more afraid than we acknowledge even to ourselves.

He too gives no explanation just the experience in itself, of himself. It leads to an action, a new priority in life, that defines the life of his friends and disciples henceforth - to share this life-changing news with others.

Alleluia, he is risen indeed. Job done. A new creation. Where do we go from here?

Easter Sunday Reflections from All Hallows in Leeds, England

Reading: Isaiah 65.17-25

Reflection

I do not know
what resurrection is
(though I'm almost sure
it has something to do
with hallowing the common ground.)

Of course, that's not all of it.
I expect one day I'll get up
and find that it sneaked up on me
while I wasn't looking,
and maybe even that it's been there all along.

That's as may be.
There's no point in trying to see things
before you're ready.
You have to walk before you can run.

In the meantime,
I believe in it
And that feels like an initial step.

For now,
it will do.

It is enough.

Kathy Galloway

Prayer

Thanks be to God for this new dawn
This new beginning of a day and of our lives
Creation's re-creation through pain and sorrow.

Life-giving strength bursts from the grave,
And from an ending comes the promise of a new tomorrow.

Amen.

O Jesus, stretch forth your wounded hands over your people to heal and to restore, and to draw us to yourself and to one another in love. Amen.

Intercessions:

Christ is the Lord of life, raised up by the Father;
in his turn he will raise us up by his power.
Let us pray to him, saying:
Christ our life, save us.

Lord Jesus, light shining in the darkness, you lead your people into life, and give our mortal nature the gift of holiness,
- may we spend this day in praise of your glory.

Lord, you walked the way of suffering and crucifixion,
- may we suffer and die with you, and rise again to share your glory.

Son of the Father, our master and our brother, you have made us a kingdom of priests for our God,
- may we offer you our joyful sacrifice of praise.

King of glory, we look forward to the great day of your coming in splendor,
- that we may see you face to face, and be transformed in your likeness.

Closing Prayer:

Raise me up! Renew my life!
Father of life, I see the light again!
I was in darkness and had lost hope
but Jesus Christ, your son,
has won out over death - for me.
I celebrate today, your love, the life you give me.
I feel your presence as you breathe on my mind
and open my heart.
So many times in my life my eyes are closed
but today I see the risen Lord
in the breaking of the bread.
Thank you for this morning of hope,
thank you for such incredible love.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.

Sources:
Creighton University Online Ministries - Praying Lent
The World Community for Christian Meditation (www.wccm.org)
All Hallows in Leeds, England
Lectionary of the Syriac Orthodox Church

MW Journal Issue 70 - Holy Week Special - 4 (Easter)

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