ALLELUIA! CHRIST IS RISEN!

Fra Angelico - Convento di San Marco, Florence

The Lord is risen, indeed. Alleluia!

After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And 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. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then 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.’ So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, ‘Greetings!’ And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshipped him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.’ (Matthew 28: 1-10)

Collect for the Great Vigil of Easter

Dear friends in Christ: On this most holy night, in which our Lord Jesus passed over from death to life, the Church invites
her members, dispersed throughout the world, to gather in
vigil and prayer. For this is the Passover of the Lord, in which,
by hearing his Word and celebrating his Sacraments, we share
in his victory over death.

Let us pray.

O God, through your Son you have bestowed upon your
people the brightness of your light: Sanctify this new fire, and
grant that in this Paschal feast we may so burn with heavenly
desires, that with pure minds we may attain to the festival of
everlasting light; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Image from the Web Gallery of Art.

UPDATE: Our Easter Vigil celebration at St John's Episcopal Church, according to the liturgy in "The Book of Common Prayer", was joyful and lovely last evening.  First a fire was lit outside in the churchyard, then a member of the clergy lit the large Paschal candle from the fire, followed by the lighting of smaller candles for the congregation. The cantor sang prayers, and then the congregation processed into the darkened church with their candles.  Once we were inside, we heard several lessons from the Hebrew Testament, the seven days creation story, the story of the parting of the Red Sea in Exodus, and readings from the prophets Isaiah and Zephaniah.  The lights came on and the Eucharistic liturgy followed.  The congregation, choir, and clergy made a joyful noise unto the Lord in prayer and song.

ALLELUIA! CHRIST IS RISEN!

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 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.

(John 20:11-18)

Collect: Easter Day

O God, who for our redemption gave your only-begotten Son to the death of the cross, and by his glorious resurrection delivered us from the power of our enemy: Grant us so to die daily to sin, that we may evermore live with him in the joy of his resurrection; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

A Blessed and Happy Easter!

TALKING TO FACEBOOK

Facebook asks, What's on your mind?"

What's on my mind? I've been reflecting on my Lent that was pretty much non-Lent, followed by a good Holy Week, which I've not yet got together in my head enough to write about.  For Lent, I did not give up anything, nor did I do anything positive that was any different from my daily life. Daily life seems to keep me pretty much occupied and out of trouble - most of the time.  During Holy Week, I attended services on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday, and it was all good.  We had a nice, quiet Easter Day, which was good, too.

And then there's the ongoing puzzle of prayers I say and hymns I sing, even as I don't really believe all that I pray and sing. What's even odder is that some of my favorite hymns include theology to which I do not subscribe.

That's what is on my mind, Facebook, as though you cared.

ALLELUIA! CHRIST IS RISEN!

GIOTTO di Bondone - Scenes from the Life of Christ: Resurrection (Noli me tangere)
Fresco, 1304-06
 Cappella Scrovegni (Arena Chapel), Padua

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 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.

(John 20:11-18)

Alleluia. Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us; therefore let us keep the feast, 

Not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Alleluia. 

Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 

The death that he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 

So also consider yourselves dead to sin, and alive to God in Jesus Christ our Lord. Alleluia. 

Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. 

For since by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 

For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. Alleluia.

(Book of Common Prayer)

A Blessed and Happy Easter!

THE MORNING OF THE ROLLING STONE

Delightful.

Thanks to Fr Kirstin via Kelvin Holdsworth.

WHAT IS EASTER?

Three blondes died and found themselves standing before St. Peter. He told them that before they could enter the Kingdom of Heaven, they had to tell him what Easter was.

The first blonde said, "Easter is the holiday where they have a big feast, give thanks and eat turkey."

St. Peter rolled his eyes, said, "Blondes!" and banished her to Hell.

The second blonde said, "Easter is when we celebrate the birth of Jesus and exchange gifts."

St. Peter said, "Wrong," and he banished her to Hell. St. Peter looked at the third blonde and said, "OK ... Tell me."

She said, "Easter is a Christian holiday that coincides with the Jewish festival of Passover. Jesus was having Passover feast with His disciples when he was betrayed by Judas, and the Romans arrested him. The Romans hung Him on the cross and eventually He died. Then they buried Him in a tomb behind a very large boulder."

St. Peter was surprisingly impressed. "Verrrrry good," he said.

The blonde continued, "Now every year, they roll away the boulder, and Jesus comes out. If he sees his shadow, we have six more weeks of basketball."

St. Peter fainted.

Don't blame me. Blame Ann.