Click here for this liturgy in a downloadable .doc file
GREETING
In the nighttime of our sin, the grace of God rises like the dawn.
In the coldness of our hearts, hope rises like the sun.
Into all that is cold and shadowed in our lives, the light of God shines.
From the sleep of sin and the dust of our death
O God of grace, shine your light upon us!
Come to us, and renew us, O God of life!
May the light of Christ, rising in glory,
dispel the darkness of our hearts and minds.
Thanks be to God for the light of Christ. Alleluia!
This is the Passover of Christ, the victory of love
over sin and death, evil and violence.
Thanks be to God for the life of Christ. Alleluia!
OLD TESTAMENT READING — From Exodus 14.10 – 15.21
PRAYER
God of life, from all that oppresses, set us free.
From the wounds that paralyze us and the sorrows that will not heal,
God of Life, set us free!
From the tyranny of our fear, from the grip of envy and shame,
God of Life, set us free!
From the power of sin, and all that keeps us from you,
God of Life, set us free!
From the lure of evil and violence, from all our hurtful ways,
God of Life, set us free!
from our slavery to the darkness, into your gracious light,
God of Life, set us free, and grant us your grace! Amen.
GOSPEL — Luke 24.1-10
SONG
PSALTER (Psalm 107.1-2, 10-15)
O give thanks to the Holy One, for God is good.
God’s steadfast love endures forever!
Let the redeemed of the Holy One say so,
whom God has redeemed from trouble.
We sat in darkness and in gloom,
prisoners in misery and in irons,
for we had rebelled against the words of God,
and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
Our hearts were bowed down with hard labor;
we fell down, with no one to help.
Then we cried to God in our trouble,
and God saved us from our distress.
God brought us out of darkness and gloom,
and broke our bonds asunder.
Oh God, we thank you for you steadfast love,
for your wonderful works to humankind.
NEW TESTAMENT READING — Romans 6. 1-11
ACCLAMATION
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
Christ is risen indeed! ALLELUIA!
The stone has been rolled away!
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
The tomb where they laid him is empty.
This is the work of God, wonderful in our eyes!
To the one whom everyone scorned, we give our praise!
The Gentle One is victorious,
the innocent one over the powers of this world.
Christ, on your cross, our life and death have struggled.
But Love has overpowered death itself.
Christ, in your grave, our sin lay dead and defeated.
The Sun of our life has risen, and brought us into glory.
Christ, in your rising, we are brought to life.
Victorious Savior, have mercy on us all! Alleluia!
MEDITATION
SONG
THE PRAYERS
BAPTISMAL RENEWAL
When the sun rose upon the empty tomb,
it brought a new day,
Everything was changed:
there was a new Creation.
God of resurrection,
by the light of Christ’s rising,
grant us a new day.
By the mystery of your grace,
raise us up to new life
in the Spirit of Christ.
All of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus
were baptized into his death.
Therefore we have been buried with him
by baptism into death,
so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead
by the glory of God,
so we too might walk in newness of life.
By God’s great mercy
God has given us a new birth into a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
and into an inheritance
that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading.
Blessed be God!
[Here people may be invited to interact with the water, for instance by touching it, or making a cross on their foreheads… or it may be sprinkled on everyone with greens.]
SONG
PRAYER OF BLESSING
Beloved Mystery, you have raised Christ from the dead, and with Christ you have raised us into new lives. Give us faith to continually die with Christ—surrendering our lives to you— so that we might be raised with Christ. May the wonderful mystery of resurrection give light to our days, courage to our love, and hope to our hearts. We thank you for the gift of life, made always new. This is the day you are creating, and we rejoice in it! Alleluia!
SONG
BLESSING
God of love, you have raised Jesus from death to life!
Lead us always into newness of life.
Light of Christ, rising in glory,
be the light of our hearts!
Spirit of Resurrection, grant us your grace.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
SENDING FORTH & PASSING THE PEACE