resurrection

witnesses to your resurrection

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
Birth, Crucifixion, and Resurrection of Christ triptych, Hans Memling, 1510 via Wikimedia Commons
 
Lord Jesus Christ, by your glorious resurrection,
    in which you appeared alive and immortal
    to your disciples and faithful followers,
    by your forty days abiding and sweet converse,
    in which by many infallible proofs,
    speaking of things pertaining to the Kingdom of God,
    you comforted them and assured them of your actual resurrection,
    removing all doubt from their hearts;
grant that we may be numbered
    among those appointed to be witnesses to your resurrection,
    not only by the words of our mouths,
    but by the evidence of our good works;
to your honor and glory,
  for you are alive and reign,
    with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
      one God for ever and ever. Amen.

Ludolph of Saxony, c.1295 – 1378, German Carthusian & Catholic theologian
2000 Years of Prayer
 
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During the forty days after he suffered and died, 
    he appeared to the apostles from time to time, 
     and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. 
And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.

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Question

In what way can you be a witness to Jesus’ resurrection before people who do not believe?

growing into your likeness

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​CompositeJesus via Wikimedia Commons
 
Spirit of Truth, direct our attention to the life of Jesus
    so that we might see what you would have us be.
Make us, like him, teachers of your good law.
Make us, like him, performers of miraculous cures.
Make us, like him, proclaimers of your kingdom.
Make us, like him, loving the poor, the outcast, the children.
Make us, like him, silent when the world tempts us
    to respond in the world’s terms.
Make us, like him, ready to suffer.
 
We know we cannot be like Jesus
    except as Jesus was unlike us, being your Son.
Make us cherish that unlikeness,
    that we may grow into the likeness
    made possible by Jesus’ resurrection.
Amen
 
Stanley Hauerwas, 1940- , American ethicist and theologian
 
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Romans 8:29-30
 
For God knew his people in advance, 
    and he chose them to become like his Son, 
    so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 
And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. 
And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. 
And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.

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Questions

In which of the ways mentioned have you become more like Jesus?
Which of the ways presents the biggest challenge in becoming more like Jesus?

but not held

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The Resurrection, El Greco via Wikimedia Commons
 
Christ is Risen!
We watch this Jeremiah mired down in mud, in cistern,
    in fear and hostility
    all around him,
    finally extricated by watching friends who have done your work.
We watch this Jesus, set deep in the grip of death . . . but not held!
    held overnight,
        but not held;
    held two nights,
        but not held;
    because the power of death could not hold him.
We know ourselves to be held,
    over night, for two nights, too long,
    held by fear and anxiety,
    held by grudge and resentment,
    held by doubt and fatigue,
    held by too much stuff,
        by all manner of the forces of death.
Held powerless . .  but turned toward you.
You in your risenness, make Sundays even for us,
    even among us,
    even here,
    even now,
    no longer held. Amen.

Walter Brueggemann, 1933 – 2025,  American Protestant Old Testament theologian

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Jeremiah 37:6-11

So the officials took Jeremiah from his cell and lowered him by ropes into an empty cistern in the prison yard. It belonged to Malkijah, a member of the royal family. There was no water in the cistern, but there was a thick layer of mud at the bottom, and Jeremiah sank down into it.

But Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, an important court official, heard that Jeremiah was in the cistern. At that time the king was holding court at the Benjamin Gate, so Ebed-melech rushed from the palace to speak with him. “My lord the king,” he said, “these men have done a very evil thing in putting Jeremiah the prophet into the cistern. He will soon die of hunger, for almost all the bread in the city is gone.”

So the king told Ebed-melech, “Take thirty of my men with you, and pull Jeremiah out of the cistern before he dies.”  So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to a room in the palace beneath the treasury, where he found some old rags and discarded clothing. He carried these to the cistern and lowered them to Jeremiah on a rope. Ebed-melech called down to Jeremiah, “Put these rags under your armpits to protect you from the ropes.” Then when Jeremiah was ready, they pulled him out.

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Questions

How can each day be Sunday for you, 
    where Jesus can pull you up out of the struggles that hold you down?
 

I long for a firsthand touch

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The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, Caravaggio via Wikimedia Commons
 
How easily, O Christ,
   do I long for a firsthand touch
   from you, my friend and savior,
   risen and glorious, victorious over death,
   radiant with luminous life.
O, how easily does my yearning arise
   to have been one of those in the upper room
   when you returned in resurrected form.
I know that my faith would be strong
   if, like Mary in the garden,
   I had reached out to hug your living presence
   on Easter morning.
I do not doubt the quality of my zeal
   had I broken bread with you
   at the sunset inn on Emmaus road.
It’s not easy to be among the living faithful
   fed by second-hand accounts
   of your resurrection visits,
   even though they have been passed on with loving care
   for millennia mouth-to-mouth.
But I take hope today, in this Easter season,
   that I too can taste and feel
   your fulfilled promise:
   “I am with you always; even to the end.”
Every time I break bread with friends or strangers
   or encounter kindness on my daily byroads,
   when I am visited by you
   even though my inner doors are locked in fear,
   let my heart be as open as the horizon
   for the feast of an Easter visit
   from you, my Risen Savior.

Edward Hayes, 1931 – 2016, Catholic Priest, Kansas City

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Luke 24:30-32

When he was at table with them, 
    he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 
And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. 
And he vanished from their sight. 
They said to each other, 
    “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, 
     while he opened to us the Scriptures?”

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Questions

Do you ever hope for an intimate, Emmaus road kind of encounter with Jesus 
    when you participate in worship services?
During what parts of a worship service do you feel God’s presence most prevalently?

Resurrect us with resurrection power

/ Eric Mathews / 1 Comment

Icon of the Resurrection, Bulgarian Icon, via Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0

 
We pray that this Easter there will be a brand new beginning for all of us.
Grant that our ugly pasts will be buried
  and that we might arise in the newness of life
  as new people who are making a fresh and a genuine new commitment
  to walk with the risen Christ.
May the risen Christ save lost souls, convert us sinners, and teach us
  that we are no longer captives to the sins which bind and blind us.
Have mercy on the sick and suffering.
Heal those who are physically, mentally, and spiritually sick.
Comfort the bereaved and grief-stricken.
Empty out tombs of despair, discouragement, and defeat.
Resurrect us with resurrection power.
Raise us to new levels of powerful and victorious living.
Bless the preaching of your Holy Word.
Burn our altars of prayer with the fire of the Holy Ghost.
Give us the boldness to tell the world that Jesus, our savior, is not dead
  but the living Lord of history.
In Jesus’ name, we pray.
Amen.

J. Alfred Smith, Sr, 1931-2025, African American Pastor in California

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Romans 6:8-11

And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. 
We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, 
    and he will never die again. 
Death no longer has any power over him.  
When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. 
But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. 
So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin 
    and alive to God through Christ Jesus.
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Question

How can the resurrection of Jesus give you power to face your everyday challenges?

Easter Prayer of Gregory the Great

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Resurrection, Luca Giordano via Wikimedia Commons

 
It is only right, with all the powers of our heart and mind,
    to praise You Father and Your Only-Begotten Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Dear Father, by Your wondrous condescension of Loving-Kindness
    toward us, Your servants, You gave up Your Son.
Dear Jesus You paid the debt of Adam for us to the Eternal Father
    by Your Blood poured forth in Loving-Kindness.
You cleared away the darkness of sin
    by Your magnificent and radiant Resurrection.
You broke the bonds of death and rose from the grave as a Conqueror.
You reconciled Heaven and earth.
Our life had no hope of Eternal Happiness before You redeemed us.
Your Resurrection has washed away our sins,
    restored our innocence and brought us joy.
How inestimable is the tenderness of Your Love!

We pray You, Lord, to preserve Your servants
    in the peaceful enjoyment of this Easter happiness.
We ask this through Jesus Christ Our Lord,
    Who lives and reigns with God The Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
    forever and ever.

Pope Gregory the Great (c. 540 – 604) of Rome, Patron Saint of Teachers
source
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1 Peter 1:3-4
 
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again
    to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 
    to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, 
    kept in heaven for you.
 
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Questions

What significance does the resurrection of Jesus make in your life?
What difference does Jesus’ resurrection make in your relationships?

Understanding the Mystery of your Incarnation

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Adoration of the Christ Child, School of Jan Joest, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
 
O Lord Jesus Christ,
   make me worthy to understand
   the profound mystery of your holy incarnation,
   which you have worked for our sake and for our salvation.
Truly there is nothing so great and wonderful as this,
   that you, my God, who are the creator of all things,
   should become a creature,
   so that we should become like God.
You have humbled yourself and made yourself small
   that we might be made mighty.
You have taken the form of a servant,
   so that you might confer upon us a royal and divine beauty.

You, who are beyond our understanding,
   have made yourself understandable to us in Jesus Christ.
You, who are the uncreated God,
   have made yourself a creature for us.
You, who are the untouchable One,
   have made yourself touchable to us.
You, who are most high,
   make us capable of understanding
   your amazing love
   and the wonderful things you have done for us.
Make us able to understand the mystery of your incarnation,
   the mystery of your life, example and doctrine,
   the mystery of your cross and Passion,
   the mystery of your resurrection and ascension.

Angela of Foligno 1248-1309 Italian Franciscan tertiary
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Hebrews 1:1-3

Long ago, at many times and in many ways,
    God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,
    but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son,
    whom he appointed the heir of all things,
    through whom also he created the world.
He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature,
    and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.
After making purification for sins,
    he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high
 
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How do you understand the incarnation of God’s son?

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Let us grow with him

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The Nativity, Federico Barocci 1597, wikimedia commons
 
 
O food and bread of angels,
   the angels are filled by you, are satisfied by you,
   but not to the point of satiety.
They live by you; they have wisdom by you.
By you they are blessed.

Where are you for my sake? In a mean lodging, in a manger.
For whom? He who rules the stars sucks at the breast.
He who speaks in the bosom of the Father is silent in the Mother’s lap.
But he will speak when he reaches a suitable age,
   and will fulfill for us the Gospel.
For our sakes he will suffer, for us he will die.
As an example of our reward, he will rise again.
He will ascend into Heaven before the eyes of his disciples,
   and will come from Heaven to judge the world.

Behold him lying in the manger; he is reduced to tininess,
   yet he has not lost anything of himself.
He has accepted what was not his,
   but he remains what he was.
Look, we have the infant Christ; let us grow with him.

Augustine of Hippo 354-430
Praying to Our Lord Jesus Christ
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Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God 
    something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.
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How is it that Jesus could be fully God even as he was a tiny baby?
How is Jesus’ birth the beginning of the Gospel fulfillment?

Continue reading →

God’s rescue operation and new creation

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image by geralt via pixabay

 
Lord, we dream about justice.
We glimpse for a moment, 
    a world at one, a world put to rights, a world where things work out, 
    where societies function fairly and efficiently,
    where we not only know what we ought to do but actually do it.
And then we wake up and come back to reality.
 
…from the very beginning, two thousand years ago,
we the followers of Jesus have always maintained that
 
You took the tears of the world and made them Your own,
    carrying them all the way to Your cruel and unjust death
    to carry out God’s rescue operation,
and that You took the joy of the world and brought it to new birth
    as You rose from the dead and thereby launched God’s new creation.
 
N.T. Wright, 1948-, British New Testament Scholar, retired bishop
 
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Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: 
The old has gone, the new is here!  
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ 
and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 
    that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, 
    not counting people’s sins against them. 
And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
 

for those suffering the anguish of inner darkness

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photo via pixabay CC0

 
Lord Jesus, 
as you bowed your head and died,
a great darkness covered the land.
 
We lay before you
the despair of all
who find life
without meaning or purpose,
who suffer the anguish
of inner darkness
that can only lead them 
to self-destruction and death.
 
Lord,
in your passion, you too
felt abandoned, isolated, derelict.
 
You are one
with all who suffer
pain and torment
of body and mind.
 
Be to them the light
that has never been mastered.
Pierce the darkness
which surrounds and engulfs them,
so that they may know
within themselves
acceptance, forgiveness, and peace.
 
We pray for those who,
through the suicide
of one close to them,
suffer the emptiness of loss
and the burden of untold guilt.
May they know
your gift of acceptance,
so that they may be freed
from self-reproach
and mutual recrimination,
and find in the pattern
of your dying and rising,
new understanding, and purpose
for their lives.
 
Neville Smith, retired Anglican priest and hospital chaplain
 
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The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
    and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
The righteous person may have many troubles,
    but the Lord delivers him from them all