Holy Week continues on this day of silence, the day in-between crucifixion and resurrection. Holy Saturday Let us pray: Almighty God, your name is glorified even in the anguish of your Son’s death. Grant us the courage to receive your anointed servant who embodies a wisdom and love that is foolishness to the world. Empower us in witness so that all the world may recognize in the scandal of the cross the mystery of reconciliation. Amen. where once feet that danced through the streets of Jerusalem welcoming the Messiah now softly pad the back alleys in search of shadows; hearts that leapt with joy at the sight of David's true son are thrown out with Golgotha's garbage; hands that wrapped a new born son in bright bands of cloth now shroud his broken body and lay him gently, tenderly, softly in death's manger. where glad hosannas rang out there is now only the silent weeping heart of God. There is generally no music or large services to observe Holy Saturday. It is a day of silence, a day of between; it is a time to sit and meditate on what Jesus’ death, and death in general, means – for the disciples then and for us now. As you read each of the scripture passages, however, feel free to lyrically chant along with Jesus, Remember Me, from the Taize (France) community. Lamentations 3:1-9, 19-24 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 3 I am one who has seen affliction under the rod of God’s wrath; 2 he has driven and brought me into darkness without any light; 3 against me alone he turns his hand, again and again, all day long. 4 He has made my flesh and my skin waste away, and broken my bones; 5 he has besieged and enveloped me with bitterness and tribulation; 6 he has made me sit in darkness like the dead of long ago. 7 He has walled me about so that I cannot escape; he has put heavy chains on me; 8 though I call and cry for help, he shuts out my prayer; 9 he has blocked my ways with hewn stones, he has made my paths crooked. 19 The thought of my affliction and my homelessness is wormwood and gall! 20 My soul continually thinks of it and is bowed down within me. 21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: 22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” Jesus, Remember Me (Jacques Berthier and community of Taize) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUOYdsfsu8Q The Burial of Jesus’ Body from Each of the Four Gospels Matthew 27:57-66 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 57 When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59 So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb. 62 The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember what that impostor said while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 Therefore command the tomb to be made secure until the third day; otherwise his disciples may go and steal him away, and tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,’ and the last deception would be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers; go, make it as secure as you can.” 66 So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone. Jesus, Remember Me (Jacques Berthier and community of Taize) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUOYdsfsu8Q Mark 15:42-47 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 42 When evening had come, and since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Then Pilate wondered if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead for some time. 45 When he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the body to Joseph. 46 Then Joseph bought a linen cloth, and taking down the body, wrapped it in the linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where the body was laid. Jesus, Remember Me (Jacques Berthier and community of Taize) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUOYdsfsu8Q Luke 23:50-56 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 50 Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph, who, though a member of the council, 51 had not agreed to their plan and action. He came from the Jewish town of Arimathea, and he was waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God. 52 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid it in a rock-hewn tomb where no one had ever been laid. 54 It was the day of Preparation, and the sabbath was beginning. 55 The women who had come with him from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how his body was laid. 56 Then they returned, and prepared spices and ointments. On the sabbath they rested according to the commandment. Jesus, Remember Me (Jacques Berthier and community of Taize) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUOYdsfsu8Q John 19:38-42 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 38 After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body. 39 Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. 40 They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. 41 Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. 42 And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. Jesus, Remember Me (Jacques Berthier and community of Taize) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUOYdsfsu8Q Litany (inspired by John 3: 16) God loved the world so much that God sent Jesus the son so that all who believed in him would have eternal life God loved the world so much love gave everything it had that anyone who grasped the story of love would be grasped by love’s story and find what is eternal God loved the world so much heaven opened up itself completely so that whoever welcomed the kingdom in through works of love and justice would find the lasting wholeness of life God loved the world so much Jesus put on flesh and lived among us so that the face of God would be clear to humanity and the word of God would be clearly heard that no life is cheap enough to destroy God loved the world so much God went there Gods-self so that anyone who banked on love would discover life’s ultimate value and in so doing live in its fullness God loved the world so much God let Jesus gamble everything on love through to crucifixion and death so that all who ventured to love in that way would know what had been distilled in eternity God loved the world so much that God sent Jesus the son so that all who believed in him would have eternal life Let us pray: My Lord, today all is silent. You have given your precious life for the salvation of the world. You died a horrific death, poured out all mercy from your wounded heart, and now you rest in peace in the tomb as the soldiers keep vigil. Lord, may I also keep vigil with you as you sleep. I know that this day ends with your glorious triumph, your victory over sin and death. But for now I sit quietly mourning your death. Help me, dear Lord, to enter into the sorrow and the silence of this Holy Saturday. Today no Sacraments are celebrated. Today the world waits in mourning in anticipation of the glory of new life! As I keep vigil, awaiting the celebration of your Resurrection, fill me with hope. Help me to look forward to the celebration of your Resurrection, but also to look forward to the hope of my own share in the new life you won for the world. I entrust my whole being to you, dear Lord, as you lay lifeless and still. May your rest transform the brokenness of my own soul, my weaknesses, my sin and my frailty. You are glorious and you bring the greatest good out of your apparent defeat. I trust in your power to do all things and I entrust my life to you. Jesus, I trust in you. Amen. Our siblings in the Roman Catholic Church observe an Easter Vigil between sunset Saturday and sunrise Sunday. Although most Protestants don’t usually participate in this type of observance, it may bring a sense of deeper intimacy with Jesus. If you choose to participate, the litany and prayers for the Vigil are provided for you following a brief reflection from Father Andy Alexander, SJ, of Creighton University's Collaborative Ministry Office. Reflection from Father Alexander: On Holy Saturday we enter into the mystery. Today we contemplate Jesus, there in the tomb, dead. In that tomb, he is dead, exactly the way each of us will be dead. We don't easily contemplate dying, but we rarely contemplate being dead. I have had the blessed experience of being with a number of people who have died, of arriving at a hospital shortly after someone has died, of attending an autopsy, and of praying with health sciences students over donated bodies in gross anatomy class. These were powerful experiences because they all brought me face-to-face with the mystery of death itself. With death, life ends. Breathing stops, and in an instant, the life of this person has ended. And, in a matter of hours, the body becomes quite cold and life-less -- dramatic evidence, to our senses, that this person no longer exists. All that is left is this decaying shell that once held his or her life. Death is our ultimate fear. Everything else we fear, every struggle we have, is some taste of, some chilling approach to, the experience of losing our life. This fear is responsible for so much of our lust and greed, so much of our denial and arrogance, so much of our silly clinging to power, so much of our hectic and anxiety-driven activity. It is the one, inevitable reality we all will face. There is not enough time, money, joy, fulfillment, success. Our physical beauty and strength, our mental competency and agility, all that we have and use to define ourselves, slip away from us with time. Our lives are limited. Our existence, in every way we can comprehend it, comes to an end. We will all die. In a matter of time, all that will be left of any of us is a decomposing body. Today is a day to soberly put aside the blinders we have about the mystery of death and our fear of it. Death is very real and its approach holds great power in our lives. The "good news" we are about to celebrate has no real power in our lives unless we have faced the reality of death. To contemplate Jesus' body, there in that tomb, is to look our death in the face, and it is preparation for hearing the Gospel with incredible joy. That we are saved from the ultimate power of sin and of death itself comes to us as a great relief, as a tremendous liberation. If Jesus lives, you and I will live! The mystery of death, which we contemplate today, will be overcome - we will live forever! Today's reflection will lead us to the vigil of Easter. This night, communities from all over the world will gather in darkness, a darkness that represents all that we have been reflecting upon today. The God who created us, who led a chosen people out of slavery, raised Jesus from death. We can rejoice that death has no final victory over us. Then we celebrate the Easter Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. Tonight we celebrate our faith -- that we have been baptized into the death of Jesus, so that we might have everlasting life with him. As we behold the body of Jesus in the tomb today, and as we contemplate the mystery of our death, we prepare our hearts to receive the Good News of life. We know that tomb will be empty and remain empty forever as a sign that our lives will not really end, but only be transformed. One day, we will all rest in the embrace of Jesus, who knows our death, and who prepares a place for us in everlasting life. Our reflection on this holy Saturday, and our anticipation of celebrating the gift of life tonight and tomorrow, can bring immense peace and joy, powerful freedom and vitality to our lives. For if we truly believe that death holds no true power over us, we can walk each day with courage and freedom, in the grace being offered us - to give our lives away in love. Brothers and sisters: Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life. For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his, we shall also be united with him in the resurrection. Rom 6:3-11 Easter Vigil Readings and Prayers: I Genesis 1:1-2:2 The Story of Creation In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was barren, with no form of life; it was under a roaring ocean covered with darkness. But the Spirit of God was moving over the water. The First Day God said, "I command light to shine!" And light started shining. God looked at the light and saw that it was good. He separated light from darkness and named the light "Day" and the darkness "Night." Evening came and then morning - that was the first day. The Second Day God said, "I command a dome to separate the water above it from the water below it." And that's what happened. God made the dome and named it "Sky." Evening came and then morning - that was the second day. The Third Day God said, "I command the water under the sky to come together in one place, so there will be dry ground." And that's what happened. God named the dry ground "Land," and he named the water "Ocean." God looked at what he had done and saw that it was good. God said, "I command the earth to produce all kinds of plants, including fruit trees and grain." And that's what happened. The earth produced all kinds of vegetation. God looked at what he had done, and it was good. Evening came and then morning - that was the third day. The Fourth Day God said, "I command lights to appear in the sky and to separate day from night and to show the time for seasons, special days, and years. I command them to shine on the earth." And that's what happened. God made two powerful lights, the brighter one to rule the day and the other to rule the night. He also made the stars. Then God put these lights in the sky to shine on the earth, to rule day and night, and to separate light from darkness. God looked at what he had done, and it was good. Evening came and then morning that was the fourth day. The Fifth Day God said, "I command the ocean to be full of living creatures, and I command birds to fly above the earth." So God made the giant sea monsters and all the living creatures that swim in the ocean. He also made every kind of bird. God looked at what he had done, and it was good. Then he gave the living creatures his blessing -- he told the ocean creatures to live everywhere in the ocean and the birds to live everywhere on earth. Evening came and then morning that was the fifth day. The Sixth Day God said, "I command the earth to give life to all kinds of tame animals, wild animals, and reptiles." And that's what happened. God made every one of them. Then he looked at what he had done, and it was good. God said, "Now we will make humans, and they will be like us. We will let them rule the fish, the birds, and all other living creatures." So God created humans to be like himself; he made men and women. God gave them his blessing and said: Have a lot of children! Fill the earth with people and bring it under your control. Rule over the fish in the ocean, the birds in the sky, and every animal on the earth. I have provided all kinds of fruit and grain for you to eat. And I have given the green plants as food for everything else that breathes. These will be food for animals, both wild and tame, and for birds. God looked at what he had done. All of it was very good! Evening came and then morning - that was the sixth day. So the heavens and the earth and everything else were created. The Seventh Day By the seventh day God had finished his work, and so he rested. Let us pray: Almighty ever-living God, who are wonderful in the ordering of all your works, may those you have redeemed understand that there exists nothing more marvelous than the world’s creation in the beginning except that, at the end of the ages, Christ our Passover has been sacrificed. Who live and reigns for ever and ever. II Genesis 22:1-18 The LORD Tells Abraham To Offer Isaac as a Sacrifice Some years later God decided to test Abraham, so he spoke to him. Abraham answered, "Here I am, LORD." The LORD said, "Go get Isaac, your only son, the one you dearly love! Take him to the land of Moriah, and I will show you a mountain where you must sacrifice him to me on the fires of an altar." So Abraham got up early the next morning and chopped wood for the fire. He put a saddle on his donkey and left with Isaac and two servants for the place where God had told him to go. Three days later Abraham looked off in the distance and saw the place. He told his servants, "Stay here with the donkey, while my son and I go over there to worship. We will come back." Abraham put the wood on Isaac's shoulder, but he carried the hot coals and the knife. As the two of them walked along, Isaac said, "Father, we have the coals and the wood, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?" "My son," Abraham answered, "God will provide the lamb." The two of them walked on, and when they reached the place that God had told him about, Abraham built an altar and placed the wood on it. Next, he tied up his son and put him on the wood. He then took the knife and got ready to kill his son. But the LORD'S angel shouted from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am!" he answered. "Don't hurt the boy or harm him in any way!" the angel said. "Now I know that you truly obey God, because you were willing to offer him your only son." Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in the bushes. So he took the ram and sacrificed it in place of his son. Abraham named that place "The LORD Will Provide." And even now people say, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided." The LORD'S angel called out from heaven a second time: You were willing to offer the LORD your only son, and so he makes you this solemn promise, "I will bless you and give you such a large family, that someday your descendants will be more numerous than the stars in the sky or the grains of sand along the beach. They will defeat their enemies and take over the cities where their enemies live. You have obeyed me, and so you and your descendants will be a blessing to all nations on earth." Let us pray: O God, supreme Father of the faithful, who increase the children of your promise by pouring out the grace of adoption throughout the whole world and who through the Paschal Mystery make your servant Abraham father of nations, as once you swore, grant, we pray, that your peoples may enter worthily into the grace to which you call them. Through Christ our Lord. III Exodus 14:15-15:1 The Israelites Cross the Red Sea At Etham the LORD said to Moses: Tell the people of Israel to turn back and camp across from Pi-Hahiroth near Baal-Zephon, between Migdol and the Red Sea. The king will think they were afraid to cross the desert and that they are wandering around, trying to find another way to leave the country. I will make the king stubborn again, and he will try to catch you. Then I will destroy him and his army. People everywhere will praise me for my victory, and the Egyptians will know that I really am the LORD. The Israelites obeyed the LORD and camped where he told them. When the king of Egypt heard that the Israelites had finally left, he and his officials changed their minds and said, "Look what we have done! We let them get away, and they will no longer be our slaves." The king got his war chariot and army ready. He commanded his officers in charge of his six hundred best chariots and all his other chariots to start after the Israelites. The LORD made the king so stubborn that he went after them, even though the Israelites proudly went on their way. But the king's horses and chariots and soldiers caught up with them while they were camping by the Red Sea near Pi-Hahiroth and Baal-Zephon. When the Israelites saw the king coming with his army, they were frightened and begged the LORD for help. They also complained to Moses, "Wasn't there enough room in Egypt to bury us? Is that why you brought us out here to die in the desert? Why did you bring us out of Egypt anyway? While we were there, didn't we tell you to leave us alone? We had rather be slaves in Egypt than die in this desert!" But Moses answered, "Don't be afraid! Be brave, and you will see the LORD save you today. These Egyptians will never bother you again. The LORD will fight for you, and you won't have to do a thing." The LORD said to Moses, "Why do you keep calling out to me for help? Tell the Israelites to move forward. Then hold your walking stick over the sea. The water will open up and make a road where they can walk through on dry ground. I will make the Egyptians so stubborn that they will go after you. Then I will be praised because of what happens to the king and his chariots and cavalry. The Egyptians will know for sure that I am the LORD." All this time God's angel had gone ahead of Israel's army, but now he moved behind them. A large cloud had also gone ahead of them, but now it moved between the Egyptians and the Israelites. The cloud gave light to the Israelites, but made it dark for the Egyptians, and during the night they could not come any closer. Moses stretched his arm over the sea, and the LORD sent a strong east wind that blew all night until there was dry land where the water had been. The sea opened up, and the Israelites walked through on dry land with a wall of water on each side. The Egyptian chariots and cavalry went after them. But before daylight the LORD looked down at the Egyptian army from the fiery cloud and made them panic. Their chariot wheels got stuck, and it was hard for them to move. So the Egyptians said to one another, "Let's leave these people alone! The LORD is on their side and is fighting against us." The LORD told Moses, "Stretch your arm toward the sea; the water will cover the Egyptians and their cavalry and chariots." Moses stretched out his arm, and at daybreak the water rushed toward the Egyptians. They tried to run away, but the LORD drowned them in the sea. The water came and covered the chariots, the cavalry, and the whole Egyptian army that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them was left alive. But the sea had made a wall of water on each side of the Israelites; so they walked through on dry land. On that day, when the Israelites saw the bodies of the Egyptians washed up on the shore, they knew that the LORD had saved them. Because of the mighty power he had used against the Egyptians, the Israelites worshiped him and trusted him and his servant Moses. The Song of Moses Moses and the Israelites sang this song in praise of the LORD: I sing praises to the LORD for his great victory! He has thrown the horses and their riders into the sea. Let us pray: O God, who by the light of the New Testament have unlocked the meaning of wonders worked in former times, so that the Red Sea prefigures the sacred font and the nation delivered from slavery foreshadows the Christian people, grant, we pray, that all nations, obtaining the privilege of Israel by merit of faith, may be reborn by partaking of your Spirit. Through Christ our Lord. IV Isaiah 54:5-14 The LORD All-Powerful, the Holy God of Israel, rules all the earth. He is your Creator and husband, and he will rescue you. You were like a young wife, brokenhearted and crying because her husband had divorced her. But the LORD your God says, "I am taking you back! I rejected you for a while, but with love and tenderness I will embrace you again. For a while, I turned away in furious anger. Now I will have mercy and love you forever! I, your protector and LORD, make this promise." The LORD Promises Lasting Peace I once promised Noah that I would never again destroy the earth by a flood. Now I have promised that I will never again get angry and punish you. Every mountain and hill may disappear. But I will always be kind and merciful to you; I won't break my agreement to give your nation peace. The New Jerusalem Jerusalem, you are sad and discouraged, tossed around in a storm. But I, the LORD, will rebuild your city with precious stones; for your foundation I will use blue sapphires. Your fortresses will be built of rubies, your gates of jewels, and your walls of gems. I will teach your children and make them successful. You will be built on fairness with no fears of injustice; every one of your worries will be taken far from you. Let us pray: Almighty ever-living God, surpass, for the honor of your name, what you pledged to the Patriarchs by reason of their faith, and through sacred adoption increase the children of your promise, so that what the Saints of old never doubted would come to pass your Church may now see in great part fulfilled. Through Christ our Lord. V Isaiah 55:1-11 The LORD'S Invitation If you are thirsty, come and drink water! If you don't have any money, come, eat what you want! Drink wine and milk without paying a cent. Why waste your money on what really isn't food? Why work hard for something that doesn't satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and you will enjoy the very best foods. Pay close attention! Come to me and live. I will promise you the eternal love and loyalty that I promised David. I made him the leader and ruler of the nations; he was my witness to them. You will call out to nations you have never known. And they have never known you, but they will come running because I am the LORD, the holy God of Israel, and I have honored you. Turn to the LORD! He can still be found. Call out to God! He is near. Give up your crooked ways and your evil thoughts. Return to the LORD our God. He will be merciful and forgive your sins. The LORD says: "My thoughts and my ways are not like yours. Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, my thoughts and my ways are higher than yours. "Rain and snow fall from the sky. But they don't return without watering the earth that produces seeds to plant and grain to eat. That's how it is with my words. They don't return to me without doing everything I send them to do." Let us pray: Almighty ever-living God, sole hope of the world, who by the preaching of your Prophets unveiled the mysteries of this present age. graciously increase the longing of your people, for only at the prompting of your grace do the faithful progress in any kind of virtue. Through Christ our Lord. VI Baruch 3:9-15, 32-4:4 [Baruch is not in Protestant Bibles] Wisdom Comes from God Listen carefully, people of Israel, so you can learn about wisdom and the commands that lead to life. You have lived in this enemy land so long that you are now much older. You are unfit to worship the Lord and are unclean, like a dead body. In fact, you are almost dead yourselves! Don't you know why these things are happening to you? It's because you have turned away from the only source of wisdom. If you had followed the ways of God, you would have lived in peace forever. Learn where wisdom, strength, and knowledge come from. Then you will know how to have a long and peaceful life, and you will find light to guide you. God alone knows Wisdom, because he knows everything. In fact, he discovered Wisdom with his own knowledge. God created the earth to last forever, and then filled it with all kinds of animals. When he commanded light to shine, it trembled and obeyed, and now goes wherever he sends it. Wisdom is found in the book of God's laws and teachings, and they will last forever. Everyone who follows Wisdom will live, but those who ignore her will die. People of Israel, you must turn to Wisdom and keep her with you always. Her light shines brightly, so walk toward it. Don't give away to any other nation the glorious Wisdom that rightfully belongs to you. We should celebrate, because we are the people of Israel, the only ones who know what pleases God. Let us pray: O God, who constantly increase your Church by your call to the nations, graciously grant to those you wash clean in the waters of Baptism the assurance of your unfailing protection. Through Christ our Lord. VII Ezekiel 36:16-28 The LORD Will Be Honored The LORD said: Ezekiel, son of man, when the people of Israel were living in their own country, they made the land unclean by the way they behaved, just as a woman's monthly period makes her unclean. They committed murders and worshiped idols, which made the land even worse. So in my anger, I punished my people and scattered them throughout the nations, just as they deserved. Wherever they went, my name was disgraced, because foreigners insulted my people by saying I had forced them out of their own land. I care what those foreigners think of me, so tell the Israelites that I am saying: You have disgraced my holy name among the nations where you now live. So you don't deserve what I'm going to do for you. I will lead you home to bring honor to my name and to show foreign nations that I am holy. Then they will know that I am the LORD God. I have spoken. I will gather you from the foreign nations and bring you home. I will sprinkle you with clean water, and you will be clean and acceptable to me. I will wash away everything that makes you unclean, and I will remove your disgusting idols. I will take away your stubborn heart and give you a new heart and a desire to be faithful. You will have only pure thoughts, because I will put my Spirit in you and make you eager to obey my laws and teachings. You will once again live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. Let us pray: O God of unchanging power and eternal light, look with favor on the wondrous mystery of the whole Church and serenely accomplish the work of human salvation, which you planned from all eternity; may the whole world know and see that what was cast down is raised up, what had become old is made new, and all things are restored to integrity through Christ, just as by him they came into being. Who lives and reigns for ever and ever. VIII The Gloria Glory to God in the highest. And on earth peace to men of good will. We praise You. We bless You. We adore you. We glorify You. We give You thanks for Your great glory. O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father almighty. O Lord Jesus Christ, the Only-begotten Son. O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father: you Who take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. You Who take away the sins of the world, receive our prayer. You Who sit at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us. For you alone are holy. You alone are the Lord. You alone, O Jesus Christ, are most high. Together with the Holy Spirit in the glory of God the Father. Amen. Let us pray: O God, who make this most sacred night radiant with the glory of the Lord’s Resurrection, stir up in your Church a spirit of adoption, so that, renewed in body and mind, we may render you undivided service. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Epistle Romans 6:3-11 Don't you know that all who share in Christ Jesus by being baptized also share in his death? When we were baptized, we died and were buried with Christ. We were baptized, so that we would live a new life, as Christ was raised to life by the glory of God the Father. If we shared in Jesus' death by being baptized, we will be raised to life with him. We know that the persons we used to be were nailed to the cross with Jesus. This was done, so that our sinful bodies would no longer be the slaves of sin. We know that sin doesn't have power over dead people. As surely as we died with Christ, we believe we will also live with him. We know that death no longer has any power over Christ. He died and was raised to life, never again to die. When Christ died, he died for sin once and for all. But now he is alive, and he lives only for God. In the same way, you must think of yourselves as dead to the power of sin. But Christ Jesus has given life to you, and you live for God. Gospel Year A Matthew 28:1-10 Jesus Is Alive After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, approached, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothing was white as snow. The guards were shaken with fear of him and became like dead men. Then the angel said to the women in reply, "Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, 'He has been raised from the dead, and he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.' Behold, I have told you." Then they went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce this to his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them. They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me." An empty grave!! Opening prayer from https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/prayers.php?id=36
Opening picture from My Catholic Life! found at https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/triduum-and-easter-prayers/prayer-meditation-for-holy-saturday/ Scripture passages from biblegateway.com Prayer from My Catholic Life! found at https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/triduum-and-easter-prayers/prayer-meditation-for-holy-saturday/ Where Once by Thom M. Shuman, http://prayersfortoday.blogspot.ca/ (as found on https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2013/02/gospel-reflection-heart-of-god.html) Litany by Roddy Hamilton, http://www.nkchurch.org.uk/index.php/mucky-paws (as found on https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2014/02/litany-god-loved-world-so-much.html) Father Alexander’s reflection found on https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/Holy-Saturday-AM.html Easter Vigil litany found on https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/Lent/e-vigil-readings.html#III Easter Vigil prayers found on https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/Lent/v-prayers.html#I The Gloria found on https://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayer.php?p=139 Picture of empty tomb from personal collection of Pastor Amy Winnie; possible burial tomb of Jesus in Jerusalem Comments are closed.
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ZOOM WORSHIP SERVICE
SUNDAY @ 11 AM To join by phone, dial (929) 205-6099 and enter the meeting ID and password below: Meeting ID: 876 1875 9099 Password 333 PrayerGracious Loving Lord, please keep all of your children safe in these trying times. Guide us. Open our ears to hear, our eyes to see, our minds to understand and our hearts to know and be your love to others. We pray this in Jesus' name, Amen. Want to support RLUMC and our missions? Donate Today
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September 2023
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