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Welcome
Tonight, we are coming out of the darkness once again and into the light. Out of the darkness into the light is the way of creation and the way of our lives.
If you are joining us on zoom, please have your candle and a small bowl of water with you.
Blessing of Water
Water has blessed us from the beginning. Since life sprang up from her depths she has nourished, refreshed, and cleansed us. Let us raise our hands tonight to bless her in return:
Sister water, in you we see the generosity of the Divine. In you we seek comfort and healing. With gratitude and joy we bless you tonight, dear sister, and ask your blessing in return. Amen.
Blessing of Fire
Holy One,
You are the unfaltering
Creator of every light.
We bless this fire in your name,
For you are the light that never fails. Amen
(Light personal candle from pascal candle and place on table - while instrumental music playing)
PLAYING INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC DURING THE LIGHTING OF ALL THE CANDLES
https://youtu.be/VU9QubwL94Y?si=APZQV82ATzTr1KBx
After all the candles lit and everyone is seated.
Opening Song: May the Christ Light Shine in You by Kathy Sherman
Exsultet: Let us hear the glorious proclamation of Easter and Spring, in the Exsultet
(revised by Denise Hackett-Stoner and sung on recording by Ellen Garcia)
https://youtu.be/r0fKg4PlRkg?si=XnYMAIx4BKuSoBUT
LITURGY OF THE WORD
Reading 1: The Story of Salvation History adapted from Hebrew Scriptures by Jay Murnane
In the beginning, there was only chaos and a void. God breathed life into it and said, "Let there be light." And there was light: sun and moon and stars in the heavens. There emerged vast bodies of water filled with live creatures. Then, birds flying across the breadth of the skies, and on the earth, reptiles and animals of every kind, color and shape. And all had a purpose. God saw what had come to be, and God found it very good.
God then said: "Let us make human beings in the divine image; women and men together to take care of all of this, and one another! When this was done, God viewed the whole of creation, and loved it, for it was very, very good.
But human beings did not take care of creation and each other. Human beings corrupted the good-ness of what God had made. Rain fell, a torrential, purifying rain, covering the earth and washing away all the corruption to which people had given birth. Only Noah, his family, and living creatures from every species on earth floated above the flood in an ark made of wood.
After forty days, the rain subsided, so that the water was no longer a flood, and the ark came to rest on high, dry ground. The people and the animals looked up into the sky and saw something beautiful. God said: "That is my rainbow, the sign of my presence with you and my love for you. It will forever be the sign of my relationship with you, and your responsibility to take care of creation, and each other."
From these survivors of the flood, creation was begun all over again. Many, many years went by and there were many gatherings of people all over the face of the earth. One of these was the people, Israel, and among all of God's precious people, the Jews were very precious. During a time of famine, the Jews were invited by the Egyptians, their neighbors, to share their land and their food. But some centuries after this hospitality, a cruel leader in Egypt forgot the old relationship and made the Jews into slaves.
They lived this way for a long time, until Moses came among them and risked his safety and security to convince the Jews that God loved them and wanted them to be free. So, they left Egypt, filled with the Spirit of God, led by Moses and Miriam through the desert in search of a new home where they could be free again.
During this difficult journey, they were often disillusioned and resentful, and they complained bitterly. Moses asked God for help, and God offered the ten commandments, so that the people might know the simplest possible way to love God and their fellow human beings. And from these survivors of oppression, Israel began all over again.
But the people forgot the simple way of God and were not always faithful, and at times they were as oppressive to each other and to strangers just as the Egyptians had been to them. They paid lip service to God, but their hearts were very far from God, and therefore, from justice and compassion.
This is our ancient story of the creation of the world and we honor it by saying Amen.
Reading 2: Not People Of The Cross by Joan Chittister
Light and dark are the colors of life. No life is ever all of one or all of the other. On the contrary. Life is the interplay, the dialogue, the interpreter between the two.
But being able to read the languages of light and dark around us, knowing which we’re seeing when, is a cultivated spiritual art. It is the difference between being spiritually mature and being a spiritual child, between being wholly alive and only partially alive.
It was the mystics, lost in the presence of God, who could say “alleluia” in the midst of great sufferings of the soul—the sense of rejection that came with desolation or the public ridicule that came with official rejection of all kinds. It was the mystics who could see the light of God in the middle of periods others would have called dark.
It was a sense of Divine Light in all things that kept the Jewish convert Edith Stein strong in the face of death at the hands of the Nazis; and Joan of Arc unyielding to the churchmen who condemned her for following her conscience rather than being obedient to them; and Galileo faithful even in the midst of rejection by a church intent on smothering modern science in the name of faith; and Dorothy Day implacable in her pursuit of peace in a country that called her “communist” for doing it.
Spiritual leaders like these remember what so many of us far too often forget.
Christians are not people of the cross. Christians are people of the empty tomb, the ones who know that every step on the way to the Light is Light.
These are inspired words from Journey Into Light by Joan Chittister and the community affirms them by saying, Amen.
Renewal of Baptismal Promises
Please respond “I promise” to the following questions as we renew our baptismal promises.
Do you promise to do what is good for your sisters and brothers everywhere, rejecting injustice and inequity and living with the freedom and responsibility of children of God?
All: I promise.
Do you promise to work for the realization of God’s vision of harmony and right relations among people and peoples, rejecting the idols of money and property and accepting all as family, regardless of race, gender, or position?
All: I promise.
Do you promise to cherish the universe, and this precious planet, working creatively to renew and safeguard the elemental sacraments of air, earth, and water?
All: I promise.
ALL: We believe in God, the great Spirit of Creation, in Jesus, the simple servant of justice and love who lived among us so that all might live with abundant fullness; in the breath of God’s center, the Spirit, who continues the work of forgiveness and reconciliation, birthing and blessing, challenge and hope, so that together we can continue the work of creation. AMEN
( Pass water bowls as we bless each other with the words: we are a new creation.)
A Poem: The Summer Day by Mary Oliver
Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean—
The one who has flung herself out of the grass,
The one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
Who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down,
Who is gazing around with her enourmous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thouroughly wahses her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don’t know exactly what prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, ow to fall down
Into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
How to be idle and blessed, how to stroll thorugh the fields,
Which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done!
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?
Gospel Acclamation: Alleluia: Alleluia by Elaine Hagenberg
Gospel: A reading from the anonymous author known as Matthew (Mt 28:1-10)
After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning,
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.
And behold, there was a great earthquake;
for an angel of the God descended from heaven,
approached, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it.
The angels’s appearance was like lightning
with clothing as white as snow.
The guards were shaken with fear
and became like dead men.
Then the angel said to the women in reply,
“Do not be afraid!
I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified.
He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said.
Come and see the place where he lay.
The women hurried away from the tomb with awe and great joy
to carry the good news to the disciples.
Suddenly, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them.
They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage.
Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid.
Go tell my brothers and sisters to go to Galilee,
and there they will see me.”
These are inspired words from the anonymous author known as Matthew, and we affirm them with, Amen.
Gloria: Glory to God, Marty Haugen
Shared reflection
“After three days I will rise again” We have heard this verse many times. The number three is significant - Abraham traveled with his son Isaac into the wilderness for three days before he was expected to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. We know God stopped the sacrifice of Isaac and told Abraham to choose life instead of death. Jonah was in the whale’s belly for three days and could have chosen the grave before he came to an understanding of what was his purpose in life. Esther fasted for three days before she went to the King in defiance, expecting to be put to death. Between life and death Esther chose to live life courageously and she saved her people.
Three days. We just spent 40 days of Lent leading up to these last three days. So much of life can happen in three days. These three days are a roller coaster of emotions. Holy Thursday began with supper that ended in fear. Jesus is arrested, and most of the community flees. Good Friday filled with suffering, death and great loss. Tonight, with joy we celebrate the risen Christ. But celebrating the risen Christ is not enough. It is only the beginning; it is another beginning. We have the opportunity every day, indeed every moment to begin again. This is our resurrection! Coming out of the darkness into the light once again. Will we embrace life with all its ups and downs, joys and sufferings, to the fullest?
Mary Oliver puts it best. ‘What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?
Prayers of the Community
As we prepare for this sacred meal, we are aware that just as Jesus is anointed, so is each of us. As bearers of LIGHT and HOPE, we bring to this table our blessings, cares and concerns. Please voice your intentions beginning with the words, “I bring to the table…..”
We pray for these and all unspoken intentions. Amen.
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
The Indwelling Divine is present; let us pray with open hearts and hands.
O Holy One, you are always with us. We celebrate your gift of life! In wonder, we stand in the beauty, abundance and variety of creation.
We remember Jesus, the Galilean teacher: who took children in his arms and blessed them, who cared for those who were poor, who cured sick people and wept with those who were sad. He taught us how to forgive and live as one with you and all creation.
On this special night, we remember Jesus, the Christ, who rose from the tomb of
darkness and death. We remember those first witnesses to this event: the women who went to bless and anoint his body, and then courageously told the others what they had experienced.
You invite us to be “resurrected people” who participate and co-create in making all things new in our world. Guide us to see what is new and what needs renewal in ourselves and in our world.
We stand in the presence of joyous troubadours and ancestors in faith. Together with all of creation, we sing:
Holy, Holy, Holy: Here in This Place by Christopher Grundy
https://youtu.be/uXyu57tR2gk?si=bUO8zAL8FxEwGCSg
We are ever aware of your Spirit with us. The bread and wine we share tonight is a blessing of Spirit and hard work from seed to farm laborers, from vintners to bakers. We are honored by their gifts. May this bread and wine nudge us forward to use our God-given gifts to be the Christ presence rising in our world.
On the night before he faced betrayal and death, Jesus shared supper with the people closest to him. Jesus did more than ask us to remember him. He shared his gracious love and showed us how to live when he washed the feet of his companions.
When he returned to his place at the table, Jesus took bread, gave thanks, and offered it to everyone present saying:
Take and eat, go and love one another.
At the end of the meal, Jesus took the cup of the covenant, spoke the grace and offered it to them saying:
Take and drink of the covenant made new again through my life in you and offered for all in need of our care and kindness.
Please share the Bread with the words: We are a new creation.
Communion Meditation:
Now the Green Blade Rises,by Stephanie Seefeldt
Post Communion prayer
Let us proclaim the mystery of faith:
Christ has died in all who have died.
Christ is rising within us and in all who work for justice and promote kindness and peace.
Christ is present with us everywhere.
Be nourished and savor the goodness of God! We acknowledge the God beyond our understanding, and our existence, AMEN.
Let us pray our Jesus Prayer:
O Holy one who is within, around and among us.
We celebrate your many names.
Your wisdom come; your will be done,
unfolding from the depths within us.
Each day you give us all that we need.
You remind us of our limits and we let go.
You support us in our power, and we act with courage.
For you are the dwelling place within us, the empowerment around us,
and the celebration among us, now and forever, Amen.
(Adapted by Miriam Therese Winter)
BLESSING
Let us raise our hands and bless each other, with these words:
May we embrace the daring example of Jesus and rise
to the needs of our time.
May we be always curious and caring about Creation around us
and live what we proclaim.
May this Easter season renew and refresh us, bringing us
closer to the Holy One. Loving and caring for each other
is our purpose in life. AMEN!
Closing Song: Arise, Three Altos
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