Bells Corners United Church
EASTER SUNDAY
WORSHIP SERVICE & AGAPE MEAL
April 12, 2020
[The video recording of this service can be found here]
Verse to Ponder: “But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him.” (Mark 16:6)
Gathering: Risen Today – string trio: Leslie Wade, Daniel Parker, Sarah Parker
Words of Welcome & Announcements
Good morning! I welcome and greet you in the name of Jesus Christ on behalf of Bells Corners United Church as we celebrate Easter!! I hope that today is a day filled with joy, celebration, and excitement as we celebrate together as the risen body of Jesus Christ.
Wherever you are, whatever time of the day, whoever you’re with or just by yourself, I am so glad you have joined us!
In place of a communion, I invite you to join in an agape meal with your family and friends or by yourself. So bring out some bread or crackers and whatever beverage that you have – juice, water, wine or milk and join in the agape meal at a later part of the service.
In this time of church closure, please know that BCUC offers worship service in a number of ways. Please check our website at bcuc.org, for our worship service in audio, video and text formats along with our weekly announcements and updates. You can also follow us on Facebook if you wish.
Beyond worship service, there are other weekly activities and meetings offered online. And everyone is encouraged to make a difference by connecting with each other through emails, phone calls and prayers.
Thanks again for being part of this Easter celebration!
Welcome to our worship service.
Lighting of Christ Candle: Lorrie
(light a candle if you wish or turn on a battery-operated flashlight or a lamp)
We are here on this Easter morning, surrounded by the promises of faith. We light this Christ candle knowing that it is Christ who draws us together as one body. We are risen in Christ! Hallelujah!
Call to Gather[1]: (inspired by Colossians 1: 19-22) Lorrie
In the face of a culture of death
a world of killing fields
a world of the walking dead
Jesus Christ is at the head of the resurrection parade
transforming our tears of betrayal into tears of joy
giving us dancing shoes for the resurrection party
This is the dance of the new creation
this is the dance of life out of death
and in this dance all that was broken
all that was estranged
all that was alienated
all that was dislocated and disconnected
-is reconciled
-comes home
-is healed
-and is made whole
We are risen with Jesus Christ! Hallelujah!
[1] excerpted from targum 2: subversive poetry in a postmodern world col 1:15-20, published in Colossians Remixed: Subverting The Empire by Sylvia C. Keesmaat and Brian J. Walsh.
Prayer of Approach: “God Within Us” written by David Stafford
God moves within us –
Feel the stirring and whirring inside.
God moves within us,
In God’s love we abide.
God moves within me -
I feel God every day.
Guiding, teaching, moulding,
Leading me on the way.
God stirs within me.
God’s peace is in my heart,
God’s courage, strength, conviction,
Help me to do my part.
And while God is within me,
I share God’s love with you.
Because God is in all of us,
Yes – even you! Amen.
Opening Hymn: This is the Day MV 122 Eng/Fr/Eng
This is the day that God has made; we will rejoice and be glad!
This is the day that God has made; we will rejoice and be glad!
Singing hallelu, singing hallelu, singing hallelu!
We will rejoice and be glad!
Singing hallelu, singing hallelu, singing hallelu!
We will rejoice and be glad!
Voici le jour que Dieu a fait; nous le vivrons dans la joie.
Voici le jour que Dieu a fait; nous le vivrons dans la joie.
Chantant Al-le-lu! (3x); nous le vivrons dans la joie.
Chantant Al-le-lu! (3x); nous le vivrons dans la joie.
This is the day that God has made; we will rejoice and be glad!
This is the day that God has made; we will rejoice and be glad!
Singing hallelu, singing hallelu, singing hallelu!
We will rejoice and be glad!
Singing hallelu, singing hallelu, singing hallelu!
We will rejoice and be glad!
Words and music © 2003 Bruce Harding evensong.ca song# 117875
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved
Dance Movement: “Alleluia Meditation” with Wendy Morrell
Storytime for the Young at Heart with Lorrie
HALLELUJAH!
HALLELUJAH!
HALLELUJAH!
It feels good to be able to say that again after this long time of Lent – and maybe it’s even better today when we have something to celebrate amidst all this change around Covid-19.
I hope you and your family are finding fun ways to celebrate Easter this year – and I hope the Easter Bunny was able to get to your house last night!
I’ve been thinking this week that Easter just isn’t the same when we’re practising social distancing. It would be so much better if we could get dressed up and go to church to sing all the hallelujahs with the choir and the congregation. It would be better if we could have a big family gathering for dinner tonight…
But then, I thought about what it must have been like on that first Easter morning. There sure wasn’t any celebrating happening when the women were walking to Jesus’ tomb with their spices. They were mourning his death. They were going to pay respect to his body. Imagine how sad they were feeling…
And then, when they got to where Jesus had been buried, they found that the stone had been rolled away and his body was gone! I don’t think their first reaction would have been one of joy, do you? I imagine they thought someone had stolen his body – and that would make them really upset…
When they looked inside the tomb, what did they see? Someone all dressed in white sitting where Jesus’ body had been! I bet they were scared!
But, it wasn’t a robber, it was an angel, and the angel said, “Don’t be afraid”
Wow! That reminds me of the time that an angel appeared to Mary and to Joseph way back during Advent… Remember what the angel said to them? “Don’t be afraid”
And then, when Jesus was born and the angels came to the shepherds in the field, the first thing they said was…. Right! They said “Don’t be afraid!”
It seems to me that whenever an angel shows up that’s the first thing we hear – and then there is good news. For Mary and Joseph, it was that they were going to be the parents of a very special baby… for the shepherds, it was the birth of a saviour.
For the women that day it was that death didn’t win! Jesus was still alive in the world! Now that’s a reason to celebrate for sure! It’s such good news that we are still celebrating it today – 2000 years later!
On that first Easter morning, Jesus’ friends and followers weren’t getting together to celebrate. They were hiding because they were worried about what might happen to them if the Roman soldiers knew they were Jesus’ friends. Even when the women came to tell them that Jesus was alive, they had to stay hidden away.
That’s a little bit like what’s happening in our world right now, isn’t it? We are all staying home because of the bad news of the Corona Virus. The news is getting better though – Don’t be afraid! - and not as many people are getting sick… but we still need to stay at home and practise social distancing because that’s what is going to make this threat go away for good. So, we can celebrate – and we should celebrate today! – but we will do it safely at home.
Maybe our celebrations this Easter are more like the celebrations of that first Easter so long ago… But, lucky for us we have modern technology to help us stay in touch with those we love. I hope you will spend lots of time today talking to your friends and family – by phone, or facetime, or however you are making this happen these days…
So, even though things are different and sometimes a bit uncomfortable these days, there is still lots to celebrate! Family, technology, better news about the virus …
And, through us, Jesus is still alive in the world!
HALLELUJAH!!
HALLELUJAH!!
HALLELUJAH!!
Children’s Hymn: Joy (Amy Grant)
1. I've got the joy (joy), joy (joy), joy (joy)!
I've got the joy (joy), joy (joy), joy (joy)!
I've got the joy (joy), joy (joy), joy....! Hallelujah!
Down in my heart (clap, clap)
Down in my heart (clap, clap)
Down in my heart to stay,
Down in my heart to stay.
2. I've got the love...
3. I've got the light...
arrangement Amy Grant
CCLI Song# 1263591 CCLI lic# 11199365
Prayer for Illumination
Let us gather our hearts in this prayer for illumination
God of joy and delight, open our hearts to receive your Word anew and give us hope as Easter people. Amen.
Gospel Reading: The Resurrection of Jesus Mark 16: 1-8 with the Shorter Ending of Mark (NRSV)
16 When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” 4 When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. 6 But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” 8 So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
The Shorter Ending of Mark:
And all that had been commanded them they told briefly to those around Peter. And afterward Jesus himself sent out through them, from east to west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation.
May we find ourselves renewed in this story of hope. Thanks be to God!
Sermon: “He Has Been Raised! He Is Not Here!” by Rev. Kim Vidal
Dawn is breaking in Jerusalem. The sun is about to spill its golden rays over the horizon. Maybe there was fog in the air that day - that hung over the city and countryside like a shroud. There wasn’t much conversation on the way to the tomb. Hearts were too heavy. Jesus had been crucified and now buried in a tomb somewhere. Three women went to visit the tomb that early morning. Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James and Salome. They brought with them spices to anoint Jesus’ dead body as was the custom in those days to control the smell of decomposition and help minimize unpleasant odors. They went to deliver the fragrance of life to the place of death. This for me is an astounding act of love. When they set out that morning, the women I’m sure did not know what to expect besides the eerie tomb and the foul smell of death. And their first worry came out in the open: “Who will roll away the stone for us so we can enter the tomb?”. They know particularly well that stones sealing tombs in those days were very heavy that needs few people altogether to move them. But the women still show up for each other, in an act of love that goes beyond fear and hopelessness, a love that denies the end of a relationship. Jesus was a big part of their transformation. And so they went and add a new episode of their sad story even when that episode is filled with uncertainty.
But as the women approach the tomb, they could not hide the surprise in their faces. “Look! Look at the stone! It’s been moved…” They run up to get a closer look: “Who could have done this?” The women silently exchanged glances, and then, one at a time, they crouched down and entered the tomb. But as they scan the cold darkness they realize their worst fears- Jesus is gone… the tomb is empty - a metaphor telling us that death had been defeated and the spirit of Jesus Christ is on the loose! Jesus and what he stood for is free of the grave and roaming at large in the world. Jesus cannot be held down, defined or controlled. Jesus’ spirit is on the loose!
In the cold, dark, empty tomb, the women saw a young man dressed in white robe, interpreted to be an angel, who greeted them with some news. “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him.” An alarming news descended upon their hearts. Jesus’ body is gone. Someone must has stolen, not just his body, but the last moment they would share with their friend and rabbi. They have taken him away. There was nothing to do but hold each other, and weep. They have taken Jesus away!
The preacher Anna Carter Florence interprets this text today to note that Jesus was literally taken away from people in so many ways. She says: “I’ve heard it from the seminary students who said: Oh, they’ve deconstructed my Bible; they’ve taken away my Jesus, and I don’t know where they’ve laid him. I’ve heard it in youth groups, too, when the teenagers start losing what little idealism they had, and coming to terms with the world we’ve left them: Oh, they’ve ruined my planet with violence and hypocrisy; they’ve taken away my Jesus, and I don’t know where they’ve laid him. And I hear it in the church, whenever a group of people gets scared that things are going to change if we do this or that, and what if we don’t like it? … Oh, they’ve desecrated my church with heresies; they’ve taken away my Jesus, and I don’t know where they’ve laid him. I think the church is weeping not for the crucified Jesus but for a stolen body, and a desecrated tomb. Do you hear that weeping and wailing? It breaks your heart, even as it makes you crazy.”
Could it be true what the angel had said? He has been raised! He is not here! Who raised him up? Where is he now? Could Jesus have really come back from the dead? Could he really be alive again? We certainly can give several propositions here. NT scholars Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan, co-authors of the book, The Last Week contend that “Jesus who was crucified by the political authorities has been raised by God. This means that God has said “yes” to Jesus and “no” to the powers who killed him. God has vindicated Jesus…Easter is God’s “yes” to Jesus against the powers who killed him. Another possible interpretation that Jesus has been raised is grounded in the experience of Jesus’ followers. It was this body of the believers who raised him up. They declared that Jesus lives forever in their hearts and in their minds. They make Jesus, to this present day, a living reality in their daily lives.
Another explanation connected somehow to the body of the believers proclaiming that Jesus lives forever is found in the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians. Writing in 40 common era, ahead of the gospel writers, Paul is the first writer who attempted to define what resurrection is. Another NT scholar, Bernard Brandon Scott in his book The Trouble with Resurrection asserts that Paul doesn't describe or debate the "how" of resurrection. Paul doesn't even know the story of the empty tomb nor the details around it. This is not important to Paul: not the empty tomb, or the nitty-gritty facts of the Easter stories in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
According to Scott, Paul understands the word resurrection in simple Greek word, “anastasis” which means “standing up” and “egeiro” meaning “to get up”. These are common everyday words, like getting up in bed or standing up from a chair, that do not carry any theological meanings at all. Paul believed and taught his congregation that Jesus was raised not with a physical body but with a spiritual body. The faith community, both past and present, is Christ’s spiritual body. The faith community is resurrected with Christ. And through this resurrected body of the believers, Paul says God has made a statement about where the Risen Christ lives: it lives in this body of believers through love -- and love is victorious over all, even over death itself. This is Paul's answer to the Messengers at the tomb who asked "Why seek the living among the dead?" (Luke 24:5). Paul says, “You don't! You seek and find the Risen Christ in your own living, for this is where life is found.” Can we really trust in Paul’s teaching? Or, like those who have heard the news on the first Easter simply think that it's an idle tale? We can only answer this question for ourselves. I do know this, however, that Jesus is found when we, the body of Christ, continues to make Jesus Christ alive in the world through our acts of love, justice and peace.
In that bewilderment and moment of agonizing fear, the women ran out of the tomb, carrying the spices that were meant to anoint a dead body. Too often, we, like the women, choose to run away from the empty tomb bewildered by the absence of the body and paralyzed by our own emptiness. We still live, as if - it is always a Good Friday world; a world where violence, suffering, greed, and death reign with stubborn propensity. Our world is still stuck in the despair of Good Friday. Even this morning, I know that some of you are still grieving for lost loved ones or anxious because of illness or broken relationships; the world is still mourning the death of thousands of people due to COVID-19; fear looms large as we hear news of the pandemic in many parts of the world; people are still put down or killed because of their racial ethnicity or religious beliefs; poverty and famine continue to affect third world countries. For many of us, it seems that everyday is endlessly Good Friday, with no hope in sight. But take heart. In every sadness, there is joy. In every Good Friday, there is Easter Sunday.
At the Tuesday’s lectionary group, a consensus was put in place. The mission of the three women who brought the spices to anoint Jesus’ dead body was totally changed and redirected to something more remarkable. The women whose original intent was to spice up the dead body of Jesus, were commissioned instead by the angel, a messenger of God, to go and tell the disciples and Peter that Jesus is going ahead of them to Galilee. And there they will see him. The women the first human messengers of Easter. Yes, Mark indicates that the women left in trembling in fear and didn’t say a word at first. And yet, after fear and anxiety had left their hearts, I’m sure they went and told the disciples about their experience. They went out to spice up the world with good news!
Have you been there? traveling toward the tomb- like the women ready to anoint a dead body… and the spices you carry with you are scented with your own expectation- and then redirected to share the good news of the empty tomb? Or are you like the disciples and Peter? Sitting in a dark room… defeated… sad… alone… grieving for something you lost… and not seeing God’s presence in the midst of your sorrow? Or are you like Paul who taught the people in Corinth what to make of this doctrine of resurrection? Scratching your heads as to how you make sense of this archaic belief about a bodily resurrection?
My friends, we know these people, don’t we? In fact, they are so much a part of our Christian upbringing. We know them so well that we can tell their story by heart- because each of their stories is also our story! This is the Galilee where Jesus had gone to meet us. And hearing it gives all of our life stories… hope.
So we stand here this morning, a human community in the midst of a broken world with a renewed sense of hope. On this Easter Sunday, we celebrate the power of life over death, the strength of love over hatred, but also immense beauty in our brokenness and pain. We experience the life-giving Christ in the breaking of the bread and sharing of the cup. We declare with the women, the disciples and Paul these powerful Easter words: “We are made alive in Christ!” and “Christ is made alive through us!” “Alleluia! Amen!”
Prayers of the People
Let us gather our hearts in prayer.
Easter God, we look around expecting death, but instead we see new life. Like a seed planted in the cold dark earth that sprouted with leaves, flowers and fruits, your gift of hope is within us and in your whole creation! The sick and despairing discover healing; the vulnerable discover boldness; the troubled and distressed discover peace; the depressed and downhearted discover joy; the church discovers a new vision of community and service. Each of us discovers that we can truly be followers of Jesus.
In the common sharing of our faith as Easter people, the Risen Christ who lives in our hearts leads us into new life where forgiveness and love abounds. You make us witnesses to the peace that is your work in the world. You send us into broken hearts and relationships as agents of reconciliation. You move us to live in the power of your healing love as we remember those among us who are troubled in body, mind or spirit. Help us to be your voice, your enfolding arms, your listening ear to those who are discouraged, dissatisfied, disheartened. Grant forgiveness, peace and joy to all who call upon you. And in this spirit, we lift up our brothers and sisters in our prayer and those among us who need your healing love. In silence, listen to the longings and celebrations of our hearts.
Risen Christ, we remember the many parts of the world where you walk on wounded feet and reach out with scarred hands. We pray for your body in the world, wounded and scarred, not only by violence or hatred, but also by our own actions that have wounded others. And as we break bread and share the cup of grace, may we all proclaim that we are made alive in Christ and that Christ is made alive through us! May it be so. Amen.
The Agape Meal
“Agape” is the New Testament Greek word for “self-giving love”. The kind of love that comes from God and models God’s loving choice for our well-being and all of Creation. In the Christian tradition, agape is also the name for informal meals and times of togetherness and mutual sharing which remind us of all those meals Jesus shared with his friends and the unity that his Spirit continues to give us even today.
Proclamation (inspired by 1 Corinthians 11:23-26)
We enter the story when a meal has been shared,
when prayers of thanksgiving have been spoken, when fellowship shared.
This is the place and this is the time. Here and now,
God waits to break into our experience.
On the night when Jesus was betrayed, he took a loaf of bread,
and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said,
“This is my body broken for you. Do this in remembrance
of me.”
In the same way, he took the cup, saying,
“This cup is the new covenant. Do this, as
often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you
proclaim Jesus who gives us Easter hope.
Let us pray.
Loving friend and companion, we welcome your presence with us. May these gifts of bread and cup, nourish our bodies, hearts and minds. And may our spirits be refreshed as we live in the light of your presence, with us now, and at all times and places. Amen.
Prayer of Consecration & the Lord’s Prayer
Send now your Holy Spirit upon this bread and this cup, O God that they might be our remembrance and our proclamation of the presence of Jesus Christ with us, through us and in us. Let us now recite the prayer that Jesus taught his followers:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, The power, and the glory, For ever and ever. Amen.
The Sharing of the Bread and the Cup
Let us now share and partake the bread and the cup reminding us of God’s unconditional love.
This is the bread – food for the journey. Take, eat and be nourished by God’s love.
This is the cup – drink for the journey. Take, drink and be sustained by God’s grace.
Prayer after the Meal
For the bread we have eaten, for the wine we have tasted, for the life we have received, we thank you, loving God. Empower us to live as Jesus has lived, to bring new life to others and to give light to the world. Amen.
The Offering
This is now the time to offer our gifts of time, talents and resources as expressions of our gratitude to God’s blessings. If you are not on PAR and wish to send in your offering and donations, you can drop them in the slot by the kitchen door of the church. You can also send in your support through e-transfer or canadahelps.org. Thank you for your continued love and support to BCUC.
Offertory Prayer
Rejoicing! Celebrating! Giving thanks! Gracious God, hope and new life are your amazing gifts to us. As we offer our gifts back to you, remind us that we are Easter people and you call us to sow seeds of love and justice in the world. Amen.
Sending Forth
Go forth this day filled with faith, hope and love.
May the blessing of God, sustainer and creator,
of Christ who is known in the breaking of the bread,
and of the Spirit who gives us new life,
be with us all this Easter Sunday
and in the days to come. Amen.
Closign Hymn: Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Give Thanks VU 179
Refrain: Hallelujah, Hallelujah, give thanks to the risen Christ;
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, give praise to God’s name.
Jesus is Lord of all the earth.
First born of all creation. Refrain.
Spread the good news o’er all the earth.
Jesus has died and is risen. Refrain.
We have been crucified with Christ.
Now we shall live forever. Refrain.
Come, let us praise the living God,
Joyfully sing to our Saviour. Refrain.
Words and music © 1973 The Word of God Music Arr © 1987 Songs for Gospel People
song# 74756 Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved.