AN EASTER CELEBRATION

May we begin by wishing everyone one of you a very happy and blessed Easter. We hope that you will enjoy the celebrations today, for this is the greatest festival of the Christian church, indeed it is the greatest day full stop. Jesus Christ is risen today. He that was crucified is now alive forever and resurrection to new life in God is promised to each one of us. The Resurrection is presented to us in the scriptures as the event par excellence – the event that changes everything. The whole wide world has been transformed by this miraculous possibility of new life. St Paul, in one of his letters to the Corinthians is desperate to try to make the Christian community understand that every aspect of their lives has been changed by the Easter event. He writes the powerful line – ‘If anyone is in Christ – there is a new creation.’

In other words, the moment we choose to associate ourselves with Jesus Christ – with his teachings about love and reconciliation, his example of generous service to the sick and the needy, his challenge to the arrogance and cruelty of the powers that be and his willingness to sacrifice his life for the good of the world, then we actually help to make the Kingdom of

God, a Kingdom of Justice, mercy, peace and common flourishing present here and now. So it is a wonderful thing we celebrate this feast day.

The prayers and devotions included here are based on the ancient Easter Vigil ceremony. Had the present crisis not occurred, we would have held this celebration in church together. We would have lit a fire and blessed the great Easter candle to symbolise the light of the risen Christ. We would have read many of the greatest and most famous passages of scripture. We would have recalled our baptismal promises and blessed one another with holy water. Then we would have celebrated the Eucharist and received Holy Communion together. This great celebration will take place. Roll on 2021! For this year though we hope that some of the material here will help you to spend some time with God on Easter day.

Alleluia, Christ is Risen!

THE GREAT VIGIL OF EASTER

The Service of Light

You may wish to begin by lighting a candle. You needn’t say all the prayers but it is good to have them. Where we say ‘we’ and ‘our’ it may seem strange in this time of quarantine but it’s a reminder that the Christian family is a truly universal one. We are always together even if not physically so.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this most holy night, when our Lord Jesus Christ passed from death to life, the Church invites her children throughout the world to come together in vigil in prayer. This is the Passover of the Lord. We remember his death and resurrection by hearing his word and celebrating his mysteries, confident that we shall share his victory over death and live with him forever in God.

Amen

Blessed are you Lord God of all creation, to you be glory and praise for ever. Your steadfast love extends to the heavens and your faithfulness never ceases. Illuminate our hearts with your wisdom and strengthen our lives with your word, for you are the fountain of life; in your light we see true light. Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Blessed be God for ever.

You may wish to hold up your lighted candle

Christ yesterday and today, the beginning and the end, Alpha and Omega, all times belongs to him, and all ages; to him be glory and power through every age and forever.

Amen.

By his holy and glorious wounds may Christ our Lord guard and keep us. May the Light of Christ, rising in glory, banish all darkness from our hearts and minds.

Amen

The Service of light from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

The Exsultet

This is an ancient hymn or canticle of the church. It would traditionally have been intoned by a deacon but it works fine when read as a poem. There are a number of beautiful recordings available online. There are also some variations in lyrics.

Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of angels!

O Universe, dance around God’s throne! Jesus Christ, our King, is risen! Sound the victorious trumpet of salvation!

Rejoice, O earth, in glory, revealing the splendour of your creation, radiant in the brightness of your triumphant King!

Christ has conquered! Now his life and glory fill you! Darkness vanishes for ever!

Rejoice, O Mother Church! Exult in glory! The risen Saviour, our Lord of life, shines upon you!

Let all God’s people sing and shout for joy.

Night truly blessed, when hatred is cast out, peace and justice find a home, and heaven is joined to earth and all creation reconciled to you.

Glory to you for ever.

Therefore, heavenly Father, in this our Easter joy

accept our sacrifice of praise, your Church’s solemn offering. Grant that this Easter Candle may make our darkness light.

For Christ the morning star has risen in glory. Christ is risen from the dead and his flame of love still burns within us! Christ sheds his peaceful light on all the world!

Christ lives and reigns for ever and ever! Amen.

The Vigil of Readings

Genesis 1. The Creation of all things

The beginning of the ancient and beautiful poem about God bringing all things into being. It is worth reading the whole first chapter.

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

Now read Exodus chapter 14. This is the famous account of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea. It is always read at the Easter Vigil to show how God is the source of our freedom and our salvation. It isn’t produced here because of its length. If you don’t have a Bible at home then you can try the website biblegateway.com.

Psalm 19

The author CS Lewis of Chronicles of Narnia fame called this psalm the greatest poem of all time.

The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge.There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.

In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun,which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy, and like a strong man runs its course with joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them; and nothing is hidden from its heat. The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul;the decrees of the Lord are sure, making wise the simple;the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;the commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes;

the fear of the Lord is pure, enduring for ever;the ordinances of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold;sweeter also than honey, and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. But who can detect their errors? Clear me from hidden faults. Keep back your servant also from the insolent; do not let them have dominion over me.Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

After hearing from the Old Testament we now turn to the New and to the account of the Resurrection. Beforehand the resurrection is proclaimed.

Alleluia. Christ is risen!

He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

The Gloria is sung for the first time since Ash Wednesday. It may be accompanied by bellringing, drumming and all sorts of musical fanfare.

Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth. Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory.

Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us; you are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer.

For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father.

Amen.

Lord of all life and power, who through the mighty resurrection of your Son overcame the old order of sin and death to make all things new in him: grant that we, being dead to sin and alive to you in Jesus Christ, may reign with him in glory; to whom with you and the Holy Spirit be praise and honour, glory and might, now and in all eternity. Amen

An image of the risen Jesus emerging in triumph from the tomb. Painted on a leaf by dalit artists based at our partner charity, SEEDS in Kerala, south India.

The Resurrection Gospel

After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, “He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.” This is my message for you.’ So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, ‘Greetings!’ And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshipped him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.’ While they were going, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests everything that had happened. After the priests had assembled with the elders, they devised a plan to give a large sum of money to the soldiers, telling them, ‘You must say, “His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.” If this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.’ So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story is still told among the Jews to this day.

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’

This is the Gospel of the Lord

The baptismal blessing

Its difficult of course to recreate the baptismal section at home! But here is part of it.

The Creed

Brothers and sisters, I ask you to profess the faith of the Church.

Do you believe and trust in God the Father?

All I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

Do you believe and trust in his Son Jesus Christ?

All I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

Do you believe and trust in the Holy Spirit?

All I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.

Amen.

You may wish to have some water ready and, as you say this prayer, either make the sign of the cross after dipping your fingers in water or, for some real ceremony, pour or splash some water over yourself!

May God, who has received us by baptism into his Church, pour upon us the riches of his grace, that within the company of Christ’s pilgrim people we may daily be renewed by his anointing Spirit, and come to the inheritance of the saints in glory. Amen.

Almighty God, we thank you for our fellowship in the household of faith with all who have been baptized in your name. Keep us faithful to our baptism, and so make us ready for that day when the whole creation shall be made perfect in your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Eucharist

We cannot share communion together but we can show you some of the prayers that would have been used and shall be used again.

It is indeed right, our duty and our joy, always and everywhere to give you thanks, almighty and eternal Father, and in these days of Easter to celebrate with joyful hearts the memory of your wonderful works.

For by the mystery of his passion Jesus Christ, your risen Son, has conquered the powers of death and hell and restored in men and women the image of your glory. He has placed them once more in paradise and opened to them the gate of life eternal.

And so, in the joy of this Passover, earth and heaven resound with gladness, while angels and archangels and the powers of all creation sing for ever the hymn of your glory.

The special Eucharistic prayer for Easter. You may wish to follow this by saying the Lord’s Prayer. Then we encourage you to pray your own personal prayers. There are many forms of intercessions out there but sometimes the most meaningful words to use are your own at a particular moment. On the day of Easter call to mind everything you wish to pray for and offer it to God. Offer thanksgiving for family, for friends, for health, for the beauty of the creation and that it may be transformed in the image of Christ.

Pray for blessing and healing for the sick. Pray for eternal rest in heaven for all those who have died. Pray for comfort for all those who mourn. Pray for courage, fortitude and encouragement for all our healthcare workers at this time of great challenge for them. Pray for scientists, artists, musicians, scholars and all those whose God-given creativity makes the world a better place. Pray for our children and that there learning will continue well at this time. Pray for Justice and peace in the world. Pray for help for all those who are struggling for work and facing poverty as a result. Pray for every good cause you can think of.

An act of spiritual communion

Lord Jesus Christ, my saviour, my Lord and my God, in union with the faithful of your church throughout the world, I desire to present to you my soul and body, with the earnest wish that I may ever be united to you. And since I cannot now receive you sacramentally, I ask you to come spiritually into my heart. I unite myself to you and embrace you with all the affections of my soul. Let nothing ever separate me from you. Let me live and die in your love. Amen.

The Blessing

The God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the eternal covenant, make us perfect in every good work to do his will, working in us that which is well-pleasing in his sight; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be among us and remain with us always.

Amen

Thine be the glory, risen, conquering Son;endless is the victory, thou o'er death hast won;angels in bright raiment rolled the stone away,kept the folded grave clothes where thy body lay.Refrain:Thine be the glory, risen conquering Son,Endless is the vict'ry, thou o'er death hast won.

Lo! Jesus meets us, risen from the tomb;Lovingly he greets us, scatters fear and gloom;let the Church with gladness, hymns of triumph sing;for her Lord now liveth, death hath lost its sting.Refrain:Thine be the glory, risen conquering Son,Endless is the vict'ry, thou o'er death hast won.

No more we doubt thee, glorious Prince of life;life is naught without thee; aid us in our strife;make us more than conquerors, through thy deathless love:bring us safe through Jordan to thy home above.Refrain:Thine be the glory, risen conquering Son,Endless is the vict'ry, thou o'er death hast won.