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The Resurrection of the Lord 2017 Easter Day (April 16)

Christ is Risen!

"Jesus has risen (Acts 10:34-43)! God's love for us is unshakeable. In the most desperate situations, he will be victorious (Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24). Let us then also walk in new life, putting away the old things (Colossians 3:1-4). Let us celebrate with the two women at the tomb Jesus' triumph over death. He is risen, as he said (Matthew 28:1-10)." -Thomas Oden, Ancient Christian Devotional

Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
Scripture Readings
"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let Israel say: “His love endures forever...” Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: “The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things! The Lord’s right hand is lifted high; the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!” I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done."
Acts 10:34-43
God raised Jesus on the third day

Jeremiah 31:1-6
Joy at the restoration of God's people

Colossians 3:1-4
Raised with Christ

John 20:1-18
Seeing the risen Christ
-------- Common Prayer for Easter Day -------- (Click to View)
Collect for Easter Day
"Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of the Lord's resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen." -The Book of Common Prayer
The Easter sermon of John Chrysostom (c. 400 AD)

Are there any who are devout lovers of God?
Let them enjoy this beautiful bright festival!

Are there any who are grateful servants?
Let them rejoice and enter into the joy of their Lord!

Are there any weary with fasting?
Let them now receive their wages!

If any have toiled from the first hour,
let them receive their due reward;
If any have come after the third hour,
let him with gratitude join in the Feast!
And he that arrived after the sixth hour,
let him not doubt; for he too shall sustain no loss.
And if any delayed until the ninth hour,
let him not hesitate; but let him come too.
And he who arrived only at the eleventh hour,
let him not be afraid by reason of his delay.
For the Lord is gracious and receives the last even as the first.
He gives rest to him that comes at the eleventh hour,
as well as to him that toiled from the first.

To this one He gives, and upon another He bestows.
He accepts the works as He greets the endeavor.
The deed He honors and the intention He commends.
Let us all enter into the joy of the Lord!

First and last alike receive your reward;
rich and poor, rejoice together!
Sober and slothful, celebrate the day!
You that have kept the fast, and you that have not,
rejoice today for the Table is richly laden!

Feast royally on it, the calf is a fatted one.
Let no one go away hungry. Partake, all, of the cup of faith.
Enjoy all the riches of His goodness!

Let no one grieve at his poverty,
for the universal kingdom has been revealed.

Let no one mourn that he has fallen again and again;
for forgiveness has risen from the grave.

Let no one fear death, for the Death of our Savior has set us free.
He has destroyed it by enduring it.
He destroyed Hell when He descended into it.
He put it into an uproar even as it tasted of His flesh.

Isaiah foretold this when he said,
"You, O Hell, have been troubled by encountering Him below."
Hell was in an uproar because it was done away with.
It was in an uproar because it is mocked.
It was in an uproar, for it is destroyed.
It is in an uproar, for it is annihilated.
It is in an uproar, for it is now made captive.

Hell took a body, and discovered God.
It took earth, and encountered Heaven.
It took what it saw, and was overcome by what it did not see.

O death, where is thy sting?
O Hell, where is thy victory?

Christ is Risen, and you, o death, are annihilated!
Christ is Risen, and the evil ones are cast down!
Christ is Risen, and the angels rejoice!
Christ is Risen, and life is liberated!

Christ is Risen, and the tomb is emptied of its dead;
for Christ having risen from the dead,
is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

To Him be Glory and Power forever and ever. Amen!
Music
The Veil of the Temple, Cycle VIII: IV. Rending of the Veil of the Temple: Maya Atma
"Rending of the Veil of the Temple" from The Veil of the Temple
by John Taverner

This is the moment from John Taverner's massive piece for Easter Vigil when the veil in the temple is ripped in half. It is finished. Christ has defeated death. Also from this same work, check out "Jesus having risen from the tomb."
Bach - Mass in B minor (Proms 2012)
Bach - Mass in B Minor
Poetry
Seven Stanzas at Easter - John Updike

Easter Monday - Christina Rossetti
Quotes
“After death something new begins,
over which all powers of the world of death have no more might.”

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"“Let not the things, which have been made new, return to their ancient instability…
Let no one fall back into that from which he has risen, but, even though from bodily weakness he still languishes under certain maladies,
let him urgently desire to be healed and raised up.”

- Leo the Great

"Rise heart; thy Lord is risen. Sing his praise
      Without delayes,
Who takes thee by the hand, that thou likewise
      With him mayst rise …"

—George Herbert

“The message of Easter is that God’s new world has been unveiled in Jesus Christ and that you’re now invited to belong to it.”

-N. T. Wright

“The Gospel of Easter is very clear: we need to go back there, to see Jesus risen, and to become witnesses of his Resurrection. This is not to go back in time; it is not a kind of nostalgia. It is returning to our first love, in order to receive the fire which Jesus has kindled in the world and to bring that fire to all people, to the very ends of the earth.”

-Pope Francis

"Christ is risen from the dead! 
Dying, he conquered death; 
To the dead, he has given life.”

- Byzantine Liturgy, Troparion of Easter.
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