Easter Sunday - 12th April 2020

Easter Sunday 
APC 12th April 2020
 
Introduction and Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our Easter Sunday Celebration.  On Friday we left in silence and darkness as we felt the disillusionment and dejection of the disciples as they watched their master die.  Today we will follow the ladies to the tomb as they faithfully pay their respects and put spices on their beloved friend’s body…They are in for a huge surprise.  You might be too…Let us pray…
 
Opening Prayer
Living God we thank you for this day of praise and celebration - a day of hope after despair, joy after sorrow, life after death.  A day to lift up our hearts and offer you our praise.
Loving God, we remember today all you have done for us and for all the world – your great victory over sin and death, your triumph over everything that keeps us from you and prevents us living the life that you want us to live.
Saving God, we join this day with your church in every age to bring our Easter worship- to acknowledge you as a God of love and power, to welcome Christ as our living Lord.
Sovereign God, breathe new life into our hearts this day.  Fire us with renewed confidence and enthusiasm.  Fill us with resurrection power, and grant that we might meet and walk with Christ, offering him our joyful faithful service this and every day, for His name’s sake.  Amen.
Let us say the Lord’s Prayer together…
 
Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, which 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.
 
Bible Reading   Luke 24 v 1-12     “Jesus Has Risen”
 
“On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” 8 Then they remembered his words.
9 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.”
 
Reflection                       Surprised by Easter
 
To be completely honest with you this morning – I love Easter and I also find it difficult.  I love the themes of the cross and the resurrection.  I love the fact that people are on holidays and have more time to come to special services.  I love the opportunity that holy week gives us to slow down and be more reflective and creative in our worship.  I love the dramatic way the week moves from sadness to great celebration.  I love chocolate eggs and the fact that the kids are on holidays at a time when I can be off as well.  But I also find it difficult because year on year it becomes progressively more challenging to say the same thing in ways that you hope will be inspiring for your congregation.
So as I sat in my office reading through Luke’s account of the resurrection this week, I wasn’t really expecting to find anything new. 
Maybe you are listening in this morning and that’s exactly how you feel.  Perhaps you’ve heard the Easter story a hundred times already.  Perhaps your expectation of this morning’s service isn’t particularly high.  Well, if it’s any consolation, you are in good company.  For you see, it wasn’t any different for most of the main players in the original story. 
None of Jesus’ followers had high expectations that first Easter Sunday.  If truth be told, they were all depressed.  The exciting adventure they had experienced with Jesus over these last few years had come to an abrupt and cruel end.  Their great leader crucified naked like a common criminal on a Roman cross.  It was all over - no more miraculous healings, no more inspirational teaching, no more hope of freedom from the rod of Rome. 
As was the custom, the women had the courtesy to pay their respects and care for the deceased remains of Jesus.  Nothing Jesus had previously talked about seems to have resonated with any of them.  And why would it?  Jewish resurrection teaching at that time was solely focused on the end of history when God would give all his faithful followers a new body.  Never in a million years did it cross the minds of the disciples that when Jesus’ talked about resurrection he was referring to his own personal bodily resurrection in the here and now. 
These women were simply doing their duty, paying their respects as they walked to the cave where Jesus body had been placed.  They must have been expecting the armed guard of Roman soldiers to give them access to the tomb.  Instead they were greeted by the biggest surprise of their lives.  The guards were nowhere to be seen and the large round stone protecting the entrance had been rolled to the side.  Had there been a break in?  Was the body stolen?  Had the authorities come and taken it away?  As they struggled to make sense of what they saw, their lives were to be turned upside down in an even more remarkable way.  Two angelic beings from the unseen spiritual realm were momentarily allowed to be visible.  The women were terrified so they fell to the ground and covered their faces.  The question the angels asked remains among the most important questions any human being can ever consider – “Why do you seek someone who is alive among the dead?  He is not here, He is risen.”
The truth is, most of society remains unmoved and unsurprised by the Easter story.  That’s because like the disciples at this point in the drama, most people still think that Jesus is dead.  They regard Jesus as one of the greatest men who ever lived, one who lived one of the loveliest lives ever seen on earth. 
But you see, that simply will not do.  For Jesus is not dead.  He is alive.  He is not simply a hero of the past.  He is a living reality of the present.
Then there are those of us who simply think of Jesus as the greatest teacher.  Our tendency is to think of Christianity and Christ as simply something to be studied.  And so we are happy to read scripture and to discuss it with other Christians but we are less comfortable with joining with others to pray. 
As I read (red) these words in my study this week that was a resurrection moment for me.  I realised again how frequently I’ve fallen into the ministerial trap of seeing Jesus as someone to be studied rather than to be encountered in a relationship every day.
We must never forget that Jesus is not just the lead figure in a book, even if that book is the greatest story ever told.  He is the living presence of the Creator of the universe.
Then there are those who simply see in Jesus the perfect example to follow.  He is that, but that in itself is also never enough.  That’s because we’re all still sinners. 
One of the most frustrating realities of being human is that there are things about our actions, our speech and our attitudes that we would love to change but if we’re honest, we discover that no amount of education, no amount of understanding and no amount of New Year’s resolutions actually makes any difference. When the Times asked a number of writers for essays on the topic, “What’s wrong with the world?” the famous author GK Chesterton sent in the reply shortest and most to the point.  He wrote,
Dear Sirs:
I am,
Sincerely yours,
G.K. Chesterton.
So people worry themselves sick, they drink more than they know is wise, they watch pornography, they gossip, they are impatient, they are angry, they are often harmfully critical and so the list goes on.  For me this is the biggest reason why at the age of 18 I asked God to come into my life.  I knew there were things about myself that weren’t good but no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t change.  I knew I needed God’s help to change. 
That’s why the truth that Jesus is alive is so important.  Not only does Jesus provide us with a perfect example of how we should live, even more importantly, if we ask Him, He will guide us and strengthen us to follow that example.  Jesus Christ gives us the power to change.  He is not simply a model for life.  He is a living presence to help us to live life well.
Perhaps you have tuned in this morning with a very low expectation.  Perhaps that’s because like the disciples you too are searching for someone who is alive among the dead.
It is my prayer that God would grant you the miracle of faith to be surprised by the reality that Jesus is not just a great example and a profound teacher.  He is who He said He was, the Son of the Living God. He is not just an historical figure of the past.  He is the Living Lord who wants to live within you by His Spirit and give you the help and the power that you need to live a life of which you can be pleased.
And at this time of crisis, He is the one who is really and truly present with you every day.  So let me encourage you, even though you can’t see Him, to talk to him.  Have the courage to be completely honest with him and share your life experience with him.  Tell him your fears, unload your frustrations and your anger at His feet.  Quiz him about any issue you want.  Ask him for wisdom, patience and strength.  Pour out your sadness and grief in his presence.  Whether it’s at home with your family, in the car as you drive to work or the tractor as you plough the field, in your room in a nursing home or on a chaotic hospital ward, at the side of a grave or at a desk studying for important exams.  Christ is there with you. The God of the universe, right there with you.  So please, invite him constantly into your situation.  You may be surprised at what happens when you do….
And we thank God for His word.  Amen.
Let us pray…
 
Prayer of Easter Assurance
Living God, we come to you on this day of celebration, conscious that there is so much in our lives that is uncertain, so much we cannot predict, so much we neither know nor understand. 
Assure us of the victory you have won in Christ.
Remind us once more through this season that in all the changes and chances of this world you are an unchanging rock, an unfailing deliverer, an everlasting hope.
Assure us of the victory you have won in Christ.
Remind us as we continue to celebrate Easter in the days ahead, that your love continues through all things, your power is supreme over all things, and your presence is with us in all things.
Assure us of the victory you have won in Christ.
Give us this day, a sense of your greatness, a recognition of all you have done and a confidence in all you shall do.
Assure us of the victory you have won in Christ.
Living God be among us now we pray through the risen Christ.  Help us to hear His voice, to offer him our service and to offer you our praise.
Assure us of the victory you have won in Christ.
We know that our hope is in you and in you alone.  Help us to accept that, to live in that assurance and so to follow wherever you might lead us.
Assure us of the victory you have won in Christ.  For it’s in His name that we ask it.  Amen.
 
Closing Words
I want to wish you and your families a very happy Easter.  I want to say a big thank you to Dave Hendry for all the extra work he has put in this week downloading and uploading the services every day.  Please do tune in again next Sunday when we will reflecting on the post-resurrection encounter between Jesus and Thomas!  To finish today, I’m going to do something a little different.  In a moment I will lead us in a benediction and the words of the grace after which I want to play you a beautiful piece of music entitled ‘Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place’.  You’ll recognise the angelic voice as our very own Sharon O’Sullivan.  I know you’ll enjoy it. So please stay logged on after we’ve said the grace together…
Benediction
May the loving power of God,
which raised Jesus to new life,
strengthen you in hope,
enrich you with his love,
and fill you with joy in the faith
So may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all now and forever more.  Amen.