Saturday, March 31, 2018

Easter is a time of newness!




Good Evening Beloved Community!

Alleluia! Christ is Risen
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Happy Easter one and all. I hope everyone is having the feeling of newness after our long Lenten observance. We are still on pilgrimage though because that is what life is all about after all. Today, going down to the church this morning to open up, I kind of felt like I was going to the tomb like the Mighty Marys and the many other women featured in the Gospel of Mark. When you open up a church on Sunday morning you never know what you might find. Today the parking lot was vacant, our little alcove in the back entrance didn't have our usual homeless people camping out. The church was silent, clean, and empty but not really God and the whole company of heaven was present before everyone arrived. Before I left my house, I decided that I had better pack my cross that I wear as a L.E.M. (Lay Eucharistic Minister) just in case. I found out that I needed it and was a LEM and a Lay Eucharistic Visitor today. God is always full of surprises. Sorry no April Fools jokes here the only surprise is that Christ is Risen and we are risen and made new not just on Easter but everyday. So dear ones let us spend a time of prayer and meditation so that we may find rest for our souls this Easter Evening before we visit our friends on the road to Emmaus tomorrow.

Alleluia! Christ is risen. 
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!

On this day the Lord has acted; we will rejoice and be glad in 
it.    Psalm 118:24

Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord 
Jesus Christ.    1 Corinthians 15:57

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that 
are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Colossians 3:1

Christ has entered, not into a sanctuary made with hands, a 
copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in 
the presence of God on our behalf.    Hebrews 9:24

You shall receive power when the Holy Ghost has come upon 
you; and you shall be my witness in Jerusalem, and in all 
Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.    Acts 1::8



O Gracious Light Phos hilaron

O gracious Light,
pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven,
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!
Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of life,
and to be glorified through all the worlds.



IN  LAK’ECH

TÚ ERES MI OTRO YO.
YOU ARE MY OTHER ME.
SI TE HAGO DAÑO A TI,
IF I DO HARM TO YOU,
ME HAGO DAÑO A MI MISMO.
I DO HARM TO MYSELF.
SI TE AMO Y RESPETO,
IF I LOVE AND RESPECT YOU,
ME AMO Y RESPETO YO.
I LOVE AND RESPECT MYSELF.
LUIS VALDEZ

 A Smudging Prayer

Creator,
our Father in heaven,
we come to you as your children.

We confess that we are weak and broken images of you.
We pray for the forgiveness and healing you give in Jesus Christ. May his Spirit clean our spirits, minds, hearts, and bodies.
We pray that your Holy Spirit will help us to worship in spirit and truth. 

We pray in the name of Jesus, so that his Spirit will carry our prayers to you. Amen. 


Be still and know that I am God.
Be still and know that I am.
Be still and know.
Be still. 
Be.

Repeat until you feel relaxed and ready for our virtual candlelight prayer vigils. 

Let us light our candles and be at prayer. Tonight we pray for the peace of the world and especially the victims of the atrocities in Gaza. We pray for the families who lost loved ones and friends. We pray for and  end to violence and terror of all kinds and that our family members who are driven to commit these terrible acts may learn that this isn't the way to live or treat others. Help us to continue to love God, love our neighbors, and ourselves. We pray for all who are actively involved in making peace and striving for justice and universal human rights of others. We pray that we may be CALM (compassionate, accepting, loving, and merciful) Help us we pray to take time for our physical, spiritual, and mental health. We give thanks O God for the gift of your son as our savior and redeemer and brother. We give thanks to Jesus for the forgiveness of sins and the love model he continues to show us daily.Let us remember this tonight: The Light of Christ In Me recognizes the Light of Christ in you! Amen.




Christ our Passover     Pascha nostrum
1 Corinthians 5:7-8; Romans 6:9-11; 1 Corinthians 15:20-22

Alleluia. 
Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us; * 
    therefore let us keep the feast, 
Not with 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 in Christ shall all be made alive. Alleluia.


A Song of the Heavenly City

Revelation 21:22-26, 22:1-4

I saw no temple in the city, *
for its temple is the God of surpassing strength and the Lamb.

And the city has no need of sun or moon to light it, *
for the glory of God shines on it, and its lamp is the Lamb.

By its light the nations shall walk, *
and the rulers of the world lay their honor and glory there.

Its gates shall never be shut by day, nor shall there be any night; * into it they will bring the honor and glory of nations.

I saw the clean river of the water of life, bright as crystal, * flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

The tree of life spanned the river, giving fruit every month, * and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of nations.

All curses cease where the throne of God and the Lamb stands, and all servants give worship there; *

there they will see God’s face, whose Name shall be on their foreheads. 





John 20 New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

The Resurrection of Jesus

20 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 towards 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. 10 Then the disciples returned to their homes.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look[a] into the tomb; 12 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. 13 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.’ 14 When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 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.’ 16 Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew,[b] ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher). 17 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.”’ 18 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.

Jesus Appears to the Disciples

19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’

Jesus and Thomas

24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin[c]), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’

26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’27 Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ 28 Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ 29 Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’

The Purpose of This Book

30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may come to believe[d] that Jesus is the Messiah,[e] the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.


The Song of Mary Magnificat

Luke 1:46-55

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,

my spirit rejoices in you, O God my Savior, *

for you have looked with favor on your lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed: *

you, the Almighty, have done great things for me,

and holy is your name.

You have mercy on those who fear you *

from generation to generation.

You have shown strength with your arm *

and scattered the proud in their conceit,

Casting down the mighty from their thrones *

and lifting up the lowly.

You have filled the hungry with good things *

and sent the rich away empty.

You have come to the help of your servant Israel, *

for you have remembered your promise of mercy,

The promise made to our forebears, *

to Abraham and his children for ever.


Acts 1:1-11

The Promise of the Holy Spirit

In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over the course of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. ‘This’, he said, ‘is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’

The Ascension of Jesus

 So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’


The Song of Simeon    Nunc Dimittis

Luke 2:29-32


Lord, you now have set your servant free *
    to go in peace as you have promised;
For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, *
    whom you have prepared for all the world to see:
A Light to enlighten the nations, *
    and the glory of your people Israel.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
    as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. 

Collect of the day

O God, who made this most holy night to shine with the
glory of the Lord's resurrection: Stir up in your Church that
Spirit of adoption which is given to us in Baptism, that we,
being renewed both in body and mind, may worship you in
sincerity and truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives
and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,
now and for ever. Amen.

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever.    Amen.
or the alternative form.
Eternal Spirit, 
Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver, 
Source of all that is and that shall be, 
Father and Mother of us all, 
Loving God, in whom is heaven:
The hallowing of your name echo through the universe! 
The way of your justice be followed by the peoples
of the world! 
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings! 
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom 
sustain our hope and come on earth.
With the bread we need for today, feed us. 
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us. 
In times of temptation and test, strengthen us. 
From trials too great to endure, spare us. 
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, 
now and for ever. Amen.

Let us pray in the words attributed to St. Francis and Teresa of Avila.
A Prayer attributed to St. Francis

Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is
hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where
there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where
there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where
there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to
be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is
in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we
are born to eternal life. Amen.

Teresa of Avila (1515–1582)
Christ Has No Body

“Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.”  Teresa of Avila
The Beatitudes Matthew 5:3–12
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. (5:3)
Blessed are those who mourn: for they will be comforted. (5:4)
Blessed are the meek: for they will inherit the earth. (5:5)
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness: for they will be filled. (5:6)
Blessed are the merciful: for they will be shown mercy. (5:7)
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they will see God. (5:8)
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they will be called children of God. (5:9)
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (5:10)

Prayers for Easter!

Jesus we give thanks for your rising from the dead and redeeming us from sin, fear, and invisibility.

Jesus we give thanks for the women in your life who bore witness to your resurrection and thereby gave us a place in ministry with you.

Jesus we give thanks for your institution of the Holy Eucharist and making us aware of who you truly are in the breaking of the bread and in fellowship with one another.

Jesus we give thanks for your acceptance of all of us and including us on your journey with you.

Jesus we give thanks for your healing power everyday that we live move, and have our being. 

Jesus we give thanks for you who came down from heaven to be among us and live as we are from babyhood and until your resurrection.

Jesus we pray for all who are in need of healing now, be with them and may they feel your love and give them courage.

Jesus we pray for all clergy and lay ministers who are in need of rest after this Lenten, Holy Week and  Easter day.

Jesus we pray for all who mourn any kind of loss that they may feel your comforting hands upon them.

Jesus, we pray for all who are dying and those who have died and entered into the Thin  Places.

Jesus, we pray for sound government. and that divisions may cease.

Jesus we pray and give thanks for this night all that is on our hearts minds and we pray especially for those who have asked us for our prayers.

Jesus , receive these our prayers in your name. Amen.




God’s Blessing be with you,
Christ’s peace be with you,
the Spirit’s outpouring be with you,
now and always. Amen.
(source: Celtic)

The Wisdom of God
the Love of God
and the Grace of God
strengthen you
to be Christ’s hands and heart in this world,
in the name of the Holy Trinity. Amen.
(source: Celtic)

Good Night Beloved Community! Have a restful and peaceful night as we celebrate being made brand new by the death and resurrection of Jesus.
May we continue to follow on our pilgrim journey with courage, strength, and resilience. May we spread the Good News of the God News to all whom we meet not only in our words but in our compassionate, accepting, loving, and merciful deeds.  I love you and give thanks to God for you this day and always.

Love and blessings,

Sara

Resources
Online Book of Common Prayer
The Good Book Club
#LiveLent
Meeting Jesus in the Gospel of John
Bible Gateway
Oremus Bible Browser
Enriching Our Worship 1 - 1997
In Lak 'Ech Luis Valdez
A New Zealand Prayer Book
Metis Aboriginal Ministries. 
Walk With Me On Our Journey

Easter Wings by George Herbert



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