Freelton and Strabane Pastoral Charge
Horseshoe Falls Regional Council.
Easter
Sunday, April 17 2022
Minister: Rev. Will Wheeler, B.A. M. Div.
905-659-3380 E Mail [email protected]
Administrative Assistance: Linda Young : [email protected]
Announcements
One: The Angels sing and rejoice. They proclaim that hearts are healed and the weeping is done
All The earth shouts joy and new life begun Christ the Lord is Risen
Lighting of the Christ Candle
One: Christ walked the Lenten road alone, his shadow the only thing that understood
All: In that shadow of Christ we followed.
One: The path has reminded us of the brokenness of our world of our selves
All, God has taken all the broken pieces of our lives, and has begun to draw them together in hope. The hope that is found in the empty tomb.
As we light this candle we remember how Christ lives and is a part of each of us. How Christ known brokenness and knows ours. In the hope we have may we in the light of the empty cross, of the empty tomb strive to draw the broken pieces together into kaleidoscope of love and wholeness. May that light continue to burn with in us.
(To the tune I saw three ships come sailing in )
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
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 .
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.
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.
Prayer
All: God of Easter, you have come to to make all things whole. The Risen Christ is our hope touched by your love This moment will bring peace and joy to our souls for our faith has lifted us up and once more brought us to this moment. A moment that takes all that is broken and makes in whole once more, The path shadowed by the cross brought us to the cross now takes us beyond this day rejoicing in the light of the cross illuminating our way
I can remember stopping to get a coffee at my favorite coffee spot 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.
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. Luke makes is 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.
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. A 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.
A friend sent me an image of a tight shut bloom. It said. And 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 shadow of sin is gone, the shade of death cannot strike us. Our promise of life beyond this life is fulfilled in this moment.
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 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 for the tomb is empty. “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:
You see, 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
Prayers of the people
Prayer All God of grace and glory, by the death and resurrection of your Beloved child your reign of wholeness has been unleashed within our bent and broken world. Open us to your empowering grace that we may be bearers of your world-redeeming love. We pray for your world that on this day for even a moment it may know the peace that comes with your triumph. For all those in need we offer prayer.
One: We offer you the names of those whom we have loved. Those that are still in need today, and those that are a part of our lives
All We ask for your blessing and offer you our own prayers in the silence of our hearts.
One: Lord hear our Prayers
All: And in your love answer
One Lord we entrust all of the prayers of our heart’s to you and now that in your time and in your way they shall be answered.
In Christ Amen
Offering
We give thee but thy own. The work of the Church continues and there are three ways you can continue to support that work. Consider using PAR, use the donate button on our Web Site or drop your gift at the Manse. Let us make our offering and give thanks.
One: Praise God who from all Blessing flow
Prayer We dedicate this offering and all our resources to sharing the good news of peace that comes in the risen Christ. Make us instruments of healing and channels of forgiveness. We rejoice in the promise of salvation that we are privileged to share. Amen
Communion
One: The Lord be with you
All: And also with you
One: Lift up your hearts
All: We lift them up to the Lord
One: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God
All: It is right to give our thanks and praise.
One: in the infancy of time when for you a minute was millennium in creation, when you poured your infinite energy into the very foundations of the earth all things came into being. All of creation was a reflection of your love and we were one with you. Yet we became distracted and we forgot to see you in all that surrounds us. Still in your patient love you sent us the prophets and the saints. Still today we become distracted and in our hurriedness we forget and fail to see you in all that surrounds us. Once more You call us to gather around a sacred meal which reminds us of your presence. At that meal Jesus, took the bread and the wine, broke the bread and poured the wine, which becomes symbols of the gift of love and sacrifice that you had him make for us so that we may know the wholeness of your love forgiveness and eternal life.
Still us in the flight of our day to feel your creative energy which opened a tomb and losses the grave clothes. That raised Jesus, and has brought us once more into being one with you.
In the glory of the risen Christ may we proclaim the mystery of the faith
All: Christ has died, Christ has Risen and Christ will come again.
One Here in this minute a moment in the millennium of your presence in creation we remember the this Holy meal we have shared so many times in our past. We pray and know the taste of the wine and bread. In that remembering we pray that your Holy Spirit descend upon us and bless this memory and honouring for you God transcend the physical of this world, and shall lift us up to a deeply spiritual being.
All: We are an Easter people with all the host of heaven we say
Amen Amen Amen.
Once more we gather in prayer given to us by are risen lord
our father ....
Yesterdaywe honour our heritage.
Todaywe know that we are not alone,that we live in God's world.
Tomorrowwith God,we will discoverthe undiscovered country.
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