Christ resurrected by Jan Snellinck via Ad Meskens [CC BY-SA 4.0]
If you were not risen,
Lord Christ, to whom would we go
to discover a radiance
of the face of God?
If you were not risen,
we would not be together
seeking your communion.
We would not find in your presence
forgiveness,
wellspring of a new beginning.
If you were not risen
where would we draw the energy
for following you
right to the end of existence,
for choosing you again and anew?
Brother Roger of Taize, 1915 – 2005, founder of the Taizé Community, France
______________________________
And if Christ has not been raised,
then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins.
In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost!
And if our hope in Christ is only for this life,
we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.
But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead.
He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.
prayer & verse 
