Freelton Strabane United Church

To live our discipleship with integrity and grace.

Horseshoe Falls Regional Council

Easter Sunday

Sunday, April   20th 2025

Minister:  Rev. Will Wheeler, B.A. M. Div. 905-659-3380  E-mail: [email protected]

 Music Director Joan Simpson       

 Call to Worship

One The night is still with expectation. The world sleeps knowing   that the morning will bring a new day. 

All: The tomb is cold and dark and silence is broken only by the occasional drop of water. The air is heavy with the smell of Myrrh and spices. 

One: The tomb is cold and dark and silent. The air is heavy with the smell of Myrrh and spices. The silence is suddenly broken by the sound of grating stone on stone

All: In the predawn light they enter and gently begin to remove the wrapping so lovingly applied. 

One: The earth responds in the glory of the morning, new life, and God’s triumph. 

All: Christ is risen! Christ is risen! Shout O skies! Rejoice O fields! The whole of the heavenly hosts cries Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Let the all the bells on earth and in heaven ring out this joyful Eastertide 

One: Let all the angels rejoice and praise 

This Easter morn, this Easter morn

 Hearts are healed and weeping is done

This Easter Day in the morning 

All: And all the souls on earth shall sing,

This Easter morn this Easter morn;

And all the souls on earth shall sing,

This Easter Day in the morning .

One: Then let us all rejoice and praise 

This Easter morn This Easter morn;

for Christ the lord has risen again,

This Easter Day in the morning.

All: And all the bells on earth shall ring,

This Easter morn This Easter morn;

And all the bells on earth shall ring,

this Easter Day in the morning.

Lighting of the Christ Candle 

One: We have travelled through the weeks of Lent frozen in the burdens we carry.  The Light of the new day, the light of God’s resurrected Sun now releases us from all that which would bind us. Christ once more has taken on our burdens and the stone is rolled away.  The stone is rolled away and the light of the risen Christ shines into the darkest corners of our lives a light that cannot be extinguished. 

We gather O God, Here in your presence. We gather together, surrounded by the new life of spring. We lift high our voices in praise and song  We hear your voice echo threw all the ages  “Fear not for the one you seek is not there, but here with you in our hearts.” We rejoice for the risen Christ is with us this day in our hearts filling us with joy.  Draw us together in our meditations and prayers this day as your people fill our hearts with your joy your presence. Amen.   

Hot cross buns.  I have been avoiding the well until this weekend.  I do like the classic with citrus peal. Toasted lots of butter. 

I can remember years back someone sending me an Easter greeting a picture of gleaming hot cross buns in a basket with a crisp white cloth. A plate of butter and a bowl of Jam. 

 a quick glance at the sentiment and it appeared the wording said, “The hurt is over” (really eating a basket of hot cross buns with butter and jam the hurt is just beginning.) Yet when I took the second look it actually said the “hunt is over”   

Good Friday, Easter Sunday, hot cross buns are almost a sacred food. Like mincemeat at Epiphany  Which calls to mind the spices offered by the Magi,  Like pretzels which show arms folded across you a chest, so hot cross buns remind us of the Cross.  They really remind us that the “Hurt is over”

It’s Easter Sunday, it is the moment that resonates in our soul, like striking one of my singing bowls.  The soul sings. 

The whole of who we are is held in this moment of Easter. 

It is a moment of stunned silence, of tears, of wonder which is beyond words. 

John has just Mary where the others have the women. Regardless They had come in the early morning to the tomb. The women, to bring spices, agarwood and myrrh to honour him one last time. They came with no idea of what would happen. There only concern was the stone.   But the stone was moved, to tomb empty. Then the…beyond words. 

A lot of us have had those beyond words moments in our lives, the stunned shocked silence.  The deer in the head lights. 

I know I have told this story. It is one of those stories just sends dread.

I had stopped for a coffee while shopping 

  I mentioned the changed display Danish and the like.  The women at the counter told me of her morning.  How with all the store managers waiting for their morning biscotti that moment she lifted the lid of the jar and the jar shifted but a fraction onto the sweet spot in the glass shelf and the entire glass shelf shattered into thousands of pieces dropping the 8 biscotti jars crashing into the goodies below. That moment of stunned silence of horror holding nothing now but a lid in her hands. Stunned into silence and then tears. For what else could you do. 

My response would have been stunned silence, swear and then tears. 

There at the tomb that moment of stunned silence when they saw the stone moved, that moment of horror when they look in and there is nothing there, the tears for what else could you do. Then, the angels. 

Who are you looking for.  Again there must have been that moment of stunned silence, the drop to the floor for the jaw the gospellers makes it sound a lot more calm then what it must have been.  The running to the disciples, the jumble of words talking over each other the catching of breath. The anger at the disbelief and then Peter goes.  Mary pleading with who she thought was a gardener. 

The Hurt is over, beyond the stunned silence, beyond the tears, beyond the running and the angels. 

The hurt is over. 

This is our moment our moment of victory given to us in the cross and the empty tomb. 

Today is our defining moment. 

Christmas does not matter, Epiphany, Pentecost a flash in the pan, Transfiguration Sunday, Assentation Sunday, All Saints, Baptism of Jesus, feast days for the Saints and all the Sundays in between are nothing without this day. 

Ok so today is a defining moment.  Yes today is the center point of the faith.  Sure we get the promise that when our earthly journey is through we begin a new heavenly journey.  But what does this mean to our everyday. 

A fair question. 

There is a tomb within each of us.  In that tomb are all our fears, our angers, our disappointments.  In that tomb are our lost dreams, lost love, all the grief we hold, the pain of our lives past hurts.  There is a great stone that lies in front of this tomb. The stone is far too heavy for us to set aside.  It is a stone of doubt. It is a pudding stone speckled with “what ifs” and “this is too painful” and I’m afraid”  Easter is that moment when because of the gift which is given us today, Christ in his rising come and touches the stone in front of our tomb and transform that stone to a stone of love, which slides aside.  And in that moving of the stone aside we are given courage, strength, insight, all that we need to be able to unbind what is held in our tomb and let it go.   We in this moment can come out and see the world with new eyes new courage. 

There is a saying “the day will come when the risk of remaining a tight bud is more painful than the risk it takes to blossom and the bud is opened to the flower 

That is what Easter, what today brings to our everyday. The Path you are on has come to an end choose life.   

The courage to live through the pain of life, the faith to role the stone away, the courage to move forward blossoms today. 

Next week or perhaps the next, The flowers today, will be gone, the bread on the table will get eaten, the juice back into the bottle. Long after the hot cross buns have been eaten, replaced with the promise of bbq, after We have feasted on Easter suppers and lament the chocolate eggs we ate.  After all of these moments but what we do here today, what we proclaim here today, all of what today means that will last beyond all time. . “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: 

 The hurt is over, but also the hunt, we who have been lost are now found, found in the love the cross, found in the love of the empty tomb found in the love of God. 

Rejoice, for today the heavens have proclaimed that we are not alone that in life in death in life beyond death God is with us. Amen 

Litany of living in the light

One: In the Joy of the new day in the presence of the empty tomb. We celebrate the life we are given in the resurrection

All We today renew our faith and commit ourselves to mission and ministry of God.

One How shall we do this?

All We shall live in the light of Hope

One the stone is rolled away Amen

All We shall live in the light of faith

One the stone is rolled away Amen

All We shall live in the light of Love

One the stone is rolled away amen

All: We shall live in the light in the being a place open to the community

One: The stone is rolled away Amen

All: We shall live in the light by doing outreach to those in need

One: the stone is rolled away Amen

All: We shall live in the light by being open to New ideas and dreams of how we may as the body of Christ live out our commitment to be the church in this community

One: the stone is rolled away Amen

All: We shall live in the light by being a part of the universal Church

One: The stone is rolled away amen

All: We shall live in the light by sharing prayers for all the brokenness of the world For those that are in need, those that are lost, those that seeking still.

One: The stone is rolled away the tomb is burst open and we have new life in Christ. May we through the power of the Holy Spirit work joyfully in the light of the Lord to help the love of God to shine and dispel the darkness. .

All For we are not alone

One In Life

All In death

One in Life beyond death

All We are not alone. Thanks be to God Amen

Offering

 Prayer May our gifts give testimony to the risen Christ. As we share in his ministry of healing and reconciliation, pour out your spirit in our midst that we may be equipped and empowered to carry out your purposes. We cannot keep the good news to ourselves; teach us how to pass it on Amen.

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