Easter
The fullness of the resurrection requires more than a day to unpack. The Easter season is a fifty-day celebration that ends on Pentecost Sunday (the Greek word pentekoste means “fiftieth”). The Easter season is a time to let the implications of the resurrection sink in deeper, inviting us to realign our worldview and conform our living to the reality that we have been raised with Christ to new life. Easter is full of joy and the laughter of love—the grave is empty, love has won, Christ is risen! Give yourself over to the experience of that joy—take in the absolute wonder of God’s purposeful plan of salvation (from Seeking God’s Face by Philip Reinders).
- Calling -
O Lord, open our lips.
And our mouth shall proclaim Your praise.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever. Amen. Alleluia!
Alleluia. The Lord is risen indeed:
O come, let us adore him. Alleluia.
- Constitution -
Read/Listen, Meditate, Pray, and Contemplate on God’s Word, remembering that God is with you and ready to speak to you because he loves you.
Praying the Psalms
Psalm 140
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
[1] Deliver me, O LORD, from evil men;
preserve me from violent men,
[2] who plan evil things in their heart
and stir up wars continually.
[3] They make their tongue sharp as a serpent’s,
and under their lips is the venom of asps. Selah
[4] Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;
preserve me from violent men,
who have planned to trip up my feet.
[5] The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,
and with cords they have spread a net;
beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah
[6] I say to the LORD, You are my God;
give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O LORD!
[7] O LORD, my Lord, the strength of my salvation,
you have covered my head in the day of battle.
[8] Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked;
do not further their evil plot, or they will be exalted! Selah
[9] As for the head of those who surround me,
let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
[10] Let burning coals fall upon them!
Let them be cast into fire,
into miry pits, no more to rise!
[11] Let not the slanderer be established in the land;
let evil hunt down the violent man speedily!
[12] I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted,
and will execute justice for the needy.
[13] Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
the upright shall dwell in your presence.
Psalm 141
A Psalm of David.
[1] O LORD, I call upon you; hasten to me!
Give ear to my voice when I call to you!
[2] Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,
and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!
[3] Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth;
keep watch over the door of my lips!
[4] Do not let my heart incline to any evil,
to busy myself with wicked deeds
in company with men who work iniquity,
and let me not eat of their delicacies!
[5] Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness;
let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head;
let my head not refuse it.
Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.
[6] When their judges are thrown over the cliff,
then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant.
[7] As when one plows and breaks up the earth,
so shall our bones be scattered at the mouth of Sheol.
[8] But my eyes are toward you, O GOD, my Lord;
in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!
[9] Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me
and from the snares of evildoers!
[10] Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
while I pass by safely.
Old Testament Reading
Isaiah 19
[1] An oracle concerning Egypt.
Behold, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud
and comes to Egypt;
and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence,
and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.
[2] And I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians,
and they will fight, each against another
and each against his neighbor,
city against city, kingdom against kingdom;
[3] and the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out,
and I will confound their counsel;
and they will inquire of the idols and the sorcerers,
and the mediums and the necromancers;
[4] and I will give over the Egyptians
into the hand of a hard master,
and a fierce king will rule over them,
declares the Lord GOD of hosts.
[5] And the waters of the sea will be dried up,
and the river will be dry and parched,
[6] and its canals will become foul,
and the branches of Egypt’s Nile will diminish and dry up,
reeds and rushes will rot away.
[7] There will be bare places by the Nile,
on the brink of the Nile,
and all that is sown by the Nile will be parched,
will be driven away, and will be no more.
[8] The fishermen will mourn and lament,
all who cast a hook in the Nile;
and they will languish
who spread nets on the water.
[9] The workers in combed flax will be in despair,
and the weavers of white cotton.
[10] Those who are the pillars of the land will be crushed,
and all who work for pay will be grieved.
[11] The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish;
the wisest counselors of Pharaoh give stupid counsel.
How can you say to Pharaoh,
“I am a son of the wise,
a son of ancient kings”?
[12] Where then are your wise men?
Let them tell you
that they might know what the LORD of hosts has purposed against Egypt.
[13] The princes of Zoan have become fools,
and the princes of Memphis are deluded;
those who are the cornerstones of her tribes
have made Egypt stagger.
[14] The LORD has mingled within her a spirit of confusion,
and they will make Egypt stagger in all its deeds,
as a drunken man staggers in his vomit.
[15] And there will be nothing for Egypt
that head or tail, palm branch or reed, may do.
[16] In that day the Egyptians will be like women, and tremble with fear before the hand that the LORD of hosts shakes over them. [17] And the land of Judah will become a terror to the Egyptians. Everyone to whom it is mentioned will fear because of the purpose that the LORD of hosts has purposed against them.
[18] In that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the LORD of hosts. One of these will be called the City of Destruction.
[19] In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD at its border. [20] It will be a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry to the LORD because of oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and deliver them. [21] And the LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the LORD in that day and worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vows to the LORD and perform them. [22] And the LORD will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the LORD, and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them.
[23] In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.
[24] In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, [25] whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.” (ESV)
Isaiah 20
[1] In the year that the commander in chief, who was sent by Sargon the king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and fought against it and captured it—[2] at that time the LORD spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go, and loose the sackcloth from your waist and take off your sandals from your feet,” and he did so, walking naked and barefoot.
[3] Then the LORD said, “As my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and a portent against Egypt and Cush, [4] so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptian captives and the Cushite exiles, both the young and the old, naked and barefoot, with buttocks uncovered, the nakedness of Egypt. [5] Then they shall be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and of Egypt their boast. [6] And the inhabitants of this coastland will say in that day, ‘Behold, this is what has happened to those in whom we hoped and to whom we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria! And we, how shall we escape?’”
New Testament Reading
2 Peter 1
[1] Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:
[2] May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
[3] His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, [4] by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. [5] For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, [6] and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, [7] and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. [8] For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. [9] For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. [10] Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. [11] For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
[12] Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. [13] I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, [14] since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. [15] And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.
[16] For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. [17] For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” [18] we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. [19] And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, [20] knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. [21] For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
- Communion -
Pray for yourself, others, our church, our neighbors, and the world.
Pray the Lord’s Prayer & the collect of the week:
Our Father who art in heaven...
Almighty God, whom truly to know is everlasting life: Grant us so perfectly to know your Son Jesus Christ to be the way, the truth, and the life, that we may steadfastly follow his steps in the way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
- Commission -
May the God of peace, who raised to life the great shepherd of the sheep, make us ready to do his will in every good thing, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. (Based on Hebrews 13:20-21)
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord and our neighbors.