Today is Easter Sunday. Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed, Alleluia! In today’s Gospel reading, Matthew gives an account of the first Easter morning with considerable theatrical effect. There was an earthquake, the angel’s appearance was like lightning and the guards shook with fear. At the heart of the narrative, however, stands the stark and simple message of the empty tomb. The angelic messenger spells out the implications: ‘He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.’ The empty tomb points to the Easter message of new life.
For those of you who wanted to do some thinking and preparation for today’s service during the preceding week, I invited reflection on the image of Easter eggs. In today’s picture from their book, Exploring the Orthodox Church, Rees and Sara joined their friends Anna and Michael to attend the Easter service in the local Orthodox church. The service began at 11.30 on Saturday evening. Afterwards they went to Anna and Michael’s home to share their Easter breakfast at 3.00 in the morning. They were given Easter eggs, but these were no ordinary Easter eggs. They were not made from chocolate. They were real hard-boiled eggs that had been dyed in bright colours. Anna and Michael knocked their eggs together hard to try to crack them. ‘Christ is risen!’ said Anna. ‘He is risen indeed!’ responded Michael.
Lord Jesus Christ,
you are risen, you are risen indeed, alleluia!
Lord Jesus Christ,
send your disciples to the four corners of the earth,
to proclaim the good news of Easter to all people.
Lord Jesus Christ,
you are risen, you are risen indeed, alleluia!
Amen.
Next Sunday is the Second Sunday of Easter when the Gospel reading from John portrays Jesus coming and standing among his disciples on the evening of Easter Day. Thomas, who was not present when Jesus came, refused to believe without seeing for himself. The image to help prepare for next Sunday’s theme is seeing. You can find out more about that theme by looking at the Educational Resources and the Preparation Resources.
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