Tag: Easter

Prayers for Creation

14th April 2023 

The  LORD’s unfailing love and mercy still continue, fresh  as the morning, as sure as the sunrise. Lamentations 3:22,23

 You Lord, are the source of all that is good: 

We praise you.

You call us to have compassion for your world: 

May we strive to do your will.

You have made us as brothers and sisters with all that lives: 

May we come together in peace. 

A reading Peter 1: 3, 4a  Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.

Response

Imagine the sun rising, the glowing disk that rises up over the horizon, spilling light out over the landscape. Imagine that that dawn is constantly breaking out above the horizon as the world travels around the sun. 

Jesus,  light of the world, bring hope to those who feel condemned to live in darkness. Empower us, your Easter people, to reassure and supported you those struggling with mental ill health, to create an inclusive and empathetic society. Bring hope to the people of Afghanistan especially women and girls whose lives are being foreclosed. 

Jesus Lord of life, hear us.

Imagine now a spring of water bubbling and gurgling as it constantly overflows. 

Jesus,  fountain of living water, may you satisfy the thirst of all who seek justice. Empower us, your Easter  people,  to strive for justice – for those fleeing war and persecution, for those who face intolerance and exclusion, for those seeking just wages and  fair trading practices. We pray for peace in Jerusalem, in Israel and in the occupied territories.

Jesus Lord of life,  hear us.

Imagine – smell – a new baked loaf of bread, with a crisp crust and soft crumb. Jesus bread of life, may you satisfy those who hunger for righteousness. Empower us, your Easter people, to aid those in need  – challenging the systems that allows children to go hungry, that make people choose between heating and eating, that ignores the plight of those facing climate induced drought and starvation in the Horn of Africa

Jesus Lord of life, hear us.

Imagine new leaves unfolding on the tip of a branch, bluebells uncurling underneath the trees, the first tentative steps of a new born lamb. Jesus, the way, the truth and the life, show us how to live in harmony with creation that all may live. Empower us, your Easter people, to treat the world with care, to treasure its biodiversity and to understand how to live simply that others may simply live.

Jesus Lord of life,  hear us.

Imagine a new born baby, its vulnerability and its need for care. Jesus as we are born again in baptism into your one family, fill us with your love.  Empower us, your Easter people, to care for all our brothers and sisters – those across the world, and those here in our local community. We pray for healing for  all who ill  …

Jesus Lord of life, hear us.

 Imagine a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis. Imagine  a chick breaking out of its shell. New life growing out of something past.  Jesus, the resurrection, may you bring new life to all in whom their current life has come to an end. 

As we remember those we love who no longer live in this world, bring comfort to all who mourn and grieve. 

Jesus Lord of life, hear us.

The  Grace

Easter Day Intercessions

17th April 2022

Can I invite you to cup your hands, 

and imagine that in them you are holding an egg.

Feel the smoothness and the hardness of the shell. It is there to protect the  young chick inside.

Let us pray for those people and situations who need protection. For the people of Ukrainian living with the dangers of war and especially for young children and those who have been separated from their families. For the people of the Philippines living with the dangers of flooding and mudslides in the aftermath of Storm Megi, and for the people of South Africa suffering from storm force rains and floods. For the Javan rhinoceros threatened with extinction by trophy hunting, poaching and habitat loss. We pray for the climate which needs protection from our human stupidity.

Lord in your mercy: hear our prayer.

Now imagine that you can hear a small tapping sound as the chick in your egg uses its beak to break open the shell.

Let us pray for those places and situations where people are trying to free themselves. For refugees and asylum seekers. For people trapped by poverty. For people in abusive relationships. For people working in unsafe environments. For the work of Tree Aid planting trees to free communities from the worst affects of the climate crisis. For the people of Shanghai trapped by rising covid infection rates. For Just Stop Oil trying to free us from our dependency on fossil fuels.

Lord in your mercy: hear our prayer.

Now imagine that the shell is breaking open and out struggles a small damp and floppy chick, 

needing warmth and comfort to gain its strength.

Let us pray for those who need care and comfort and healing. For ecosystems struggling to cope with the climate crisis and the pressures of human consumption. For those who are lonely, for those in pain.  For those who feel anxious and afraid. For those who are sick.

Lord in your mercy: hear our prayer

Now imagine that the chick perched in your hands  is all fluffed up and warm, with a beady eye and a happy cheep. 

Let us give thanks for the wonder and joy of life, for the beauty we see around us and the love we encounter day by day, for the resilience of nature. 

On this day of resurrection we remember those who have died recently, 

And those whose year’s mind occurs now, 

Let us give thanks for the hope and reassurance that God gives us through the resurrection of his Son,  Jesus Christ. 

 Merciful God accept these prayer for the sake of your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.

.8

Easter Day

17th April 2022

Acts 10:34-43

Peter began to speak to Cornelius and the other Gentiles: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ–he is Lord of all. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how 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. We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not 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. He 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. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; *
his mercy endures for ever.

2 Let Israel now proclaim, *
“His mercy endures for ever.”

14 The Lord is my strength and my song, *
and he has become my salvation.

15 There is a sound of exultation and victory *
in the tents of the righteous:

16 “The right hand of the Lord has triumphed! *
the right hand of the Lord is exalted!
the right hand of the Lord has triumphed!”

17 I shall not die, but live, *
and declare the works of the Lord.

18 The Lord has punished me sorely, *
but he did not hand me over to death.

19 Open for me the gates of righteousness; *
I will enter them;
I will offer thanks to the Lord.

20 “This is the gate of the Lord; *
he who is righteous may enter.”

21 I will give thanks to you, for you answered me *
and have become my salvation.

22 The same stone which the builders rejected *
has become the chief cornerstone.

23 This is the Lord’s doing, *
and it is marvellous in our eyes.

24 On this day the Lord has acted; *
we will rejoice and be glad in it.

1 Corinthians 15:19-26

If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

John 20:1-18

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.

But Mary 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 around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” 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

‘I have seen the Lord!’ 

‘I have seen the Lord!’ says Mary Magdalene. To have been one of those first disciples and heard those words, indeed to have been Mary and seen what she saw, must have been amazing, thrilling, sensational, out of this world! To see alive the one you thought was dead, the one you thought had been disfigured, mutilated and  cruelly killed, must have been so overwhelming, so joyous, so unbelievable. 

This is the moment that has been eagerly anticipated throughout John’s Gospel. “I am the resurrection and the Life” Jesus had promised, and it was – and is – so. And Mary Magdalene is the first witness. 

Those who witness the resurrection, are, Peter says, commanded by God to preach to the world and testify to what Jesus Christ has brought about. 

What is the resurrection about? It is not simply ‘coming back from the dead’ – it is not resuscitation. That was what Lazarus and the widow of Nain’s son experienced. Resurrection is about the Life, which is more than just the mortal life we live now. It is certainly a life that continues into the ‘next world’ but equally importantly it is Life experienced in this world. Otherwise it would , as Paul says, leaves us more to be pitied than ever. The resurrection is a reality to be experienced in this life. 

I think that what John’s gospel tells us is that to experience the resurrection and to experience the kingdom of God – to experience God’s reign –  are one and the same. Jesus came to announce the kingdom of God (or in Peter’s words, to preach God’s peace) to inaugurate the reign of God and establish God’s kingdom on earth. To experience God’s reign is to do God’s will – just as Jesus did,  repeatedly declaring that he did what the Father did. When that happens things change, life is transformed – life becomes Life!  The vine’s branches flourish and are abundantly fruitful, the blind see, bread is multiplied and wine jars  overflow.  Those who are open to God – in Peter’s words, those who fear God – can experience this.  

The inauguration of God’s reign – resurrection  – is an ongoing process that will be completed when, as Paul writes, Jesus has destroyed -ie overcome, supplanted – every ruler and every authority and power.  It is that rule, that reign, that kingdom, which is being built upon the cornerstone rejected by we would-be human builders. 

Resurrection is real, it is a reality – but maybe it is something we have to be open to see. In John’s gospel there are many instances of people who do not see or understand what is happening around them. They are blinkered, they are looking the wrong way, they are avoiding walking in the light. Peter and the beloved disciple don’t understand what they see when they find the tomb empty and the grave clothes folded. Mary Magdalene struggles. She doesn’t see at first, and confuses Jesus with a gardener. If Jesus hadn’t spoken would she have left the garden in ignorance? 

So we need to be alert in looking for signs of the resurrection, for signs of the Life. We need to witness to these signs, to share the insights and to enable each other to see what is happening around us. We need to both seek and tell the good news. And we need to live the resurrection, to live The Life. That is not to live the uninformed ‘worldly life’ but to live The Life according to the way God desires, according to God’s rule, following the teaching and example of Jesus. To live that lifestyle of which Jesus is the corner stone. 

This is the only way I believe that we will cope with the climate crisis that we have created for ourselves.

 Counting on … day 155

17th April 2022

Christ is risen! Happy Easter! 

The resurrection is God’s promise of Life. 

Last night I had a lovely surprise – a little tap on the kitchen door and Heidi popped her head round. She had come home after three weeks protesting with Just Stop Oil. I wasn’t expecting her until maybe mid week. It was such a wonderful feeling of joy and love – a small taste of the feelings that the disciples must have felt when Jesus returned to them. 

When Adam and Eve went against God’s wishes in the Garden of Eden, God rather than confiscating their lives, allowed them to live but thereafter they had to live with the hardships that their actions had produced. The  resurrection is God’s assurance of the continuation of Life – it does not exempt us from having to live with the damage we have caused, but surely today of all days must give us the impetus to want to transform how we live, to heal the injuries we have caused, to live according to God’s will in loving harmony with all our fellow beings. 

The urgency of the climate crisis is such that globally we need to cut our emissions by about 50% over the next 8 (just EIGHT!) years and to zero by 2050. Halving emissions in 8 years is not compatible with expanding oil and gas production, is not compatible with policies that do not swop gas boilers for passive haus insulation levels,  petrol cars for enhanced public transport and active travel, industrial farming for regenerative agriculture. 

Do make changes in your lifestyle. Do press the government and businesses for systemic change. Do stand up for climate protestors and for the victims of the climate crisis.