Musings for Easter Sunday

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Resurrection of Our Lord, Easter Day

Midweek Musings

Reflection by Deb Johnson

INTRODUCTION

On this day the Lord has acted! On the first day of the week God began creation, transforming darkness into light. On this, the "eighth day" of the week, Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. We celebrate this new creation in the waters of baptism and in the feast of victory. With great joy we celebrate this day of days, even as we begin the great fifty days of Easter. Filled with hope, we go forth to share the news that Christ is risen!

PRAYER OF THE DAY (ELW)

O God, you gave your only Son to suffer death on the cross for our redemption, and by his glorious resurrection you delivered us from the power of death. Make us die every day to sin, that we may live with him forever in the joy of the resurrection, through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

FIRST READING Acts 10:34–43

Peter's sermon, delivered at the home of Cornelius, a Roman army officer, is a summary of the essential message of Christianity: Everyone who believes in Jesus, whose life, death, and resurrection fulfilled the words of the prophets, "receives forgiveness of sins through his name."

³⁴Then Peter began to speak to them: "I truly understand that God shows no partiality, ³⁵but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. ³⁶You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ — he is Lord of all. ³⁷That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: ³⁸how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. ³⁹We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; ⁴⁰but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, ⁴¹not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. ⁴²He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. ⁴³All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."

Psalm 118:1–2, 14–24

¹Give thanks to the LORD, for the LORD is good;

God's mercy endures forever.

²Let Israel now declare,

"God's mercy endures forever."

¹⁴The LORD is my strength and my song,

and has become my salvation.

¹⁵Shouts of rejoicing and salvation echo in the tents of the righteous:

"The right hand of the LORD acts valiantly!

¹⁶The right hand of the LORD is exalted!

The right hand of the LORD acts valiantly!"

¹⁷I shall not die, but live,

and declare the works of the LORD.

¹⁸The LORD indeed punished me sorely,

but did not hand me over to death.

¹⁹Open for me the gates of righteousness;

I will enter them and give thanks to the LORD.

²⁰"This is the gate of the LORD;

here the righteous may enter."

²¹I give thanks to you, for you have answered me

and you have become my salvation.

²²The stone that the builders rejected

has become the chief cornerstone.

²³By the LORD has this been done;

it is marvelous in our eyes.

²⁴This is the day that the LORD has made;

let us rejoice and be glad in it.

SECOND READING Colossians 3:1–4

Easter means new life for us as it first meant new life for Christ. His resurrection reshapes the entire focus and motivation for our lives, since we are now hidden with the risen Christ in God.

So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ²Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, ³for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.

GOSPEL Matthew 28:1–10

Sorrow gives way to "fear and great joy" when two women are sent by an angel to proclaim the good news: Jesus is risen!

After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. ²And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. ⁴For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. ⁵But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. ⁶He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. ⁷Then go quickly and tell his disciples, 'He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.' This is my message for you." ⁸So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹Suddenly Jesus met them and said, "Greetings!" And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. ¹⁰Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."

Reflection

When I received “the assignment” via email to muse on the lessons, I thought “This is easy. Folks know this story, and heck we are looking forward to the music, the flowers, the hymns we can sing with gusto, and for some something new to wear!” But alas I was called to the last verse of the Psalm “This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

Could this be a contradiction to these 40 days of Lent? The journey starts with a service of remembering that we are from dust and to dust we shall return. It continues and we are reminded to be contemplative. And this most holy of weeks we start our mornings in silent reflective worship and communion, to the Last Supper and the knowledge that Jesus will be betrayed, to the death on the cross, and a vigil. Let us rejoice and be glad in it? Yes, we can rejoice even in our deepest contemplation, our grief, and our loneliness. We can rejoice that we can feel them and know that we are not alone. For we know that there this too is part of the journey … just as the angel said “Do not be afraid … for he has been raised” and we are to “set our minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” So even in today’s contemplation, grief, fears and sorrows we can rejoice … because THIS IS THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE.

As these 40 days come to an end rejoice in the story of Christ’s death, the waiting at the tomb, and of course the resurrection of our Lord.

Let us Pray

• For those who wait
• For the laughter of children these days
• For those imprisoned by self-doubt, anger, and greed
• For peace in all the world
• For our brothers and sisters who celebrate the resurrection around the world

Quote

This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118: 24)