Easter
Sunday, April 17, 2022
Prayer for Easter
We give you thanks, great God, for the hope
we have in Jesus, who died but is risen and rules over all. We praise you for
his presence with us. Because he lives, we look for eternal life, knowing that
nothing past, present, or yet to come can separate us from your great love made
known in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
John 20:1-18
Early on the first day of the week,
while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone
had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the
other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken
the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” Then
Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were
running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb
first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he
did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He
saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’
head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself.
Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw
and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must
rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.
But Mary stood weeping outside the
tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels
in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and
the other at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said
to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid
him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there,
but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you
weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said
to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him,
and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to
him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not
hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my
brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my
God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have
seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.
What
do you think Mary is looking for? A dead body? A friend? Answers? Next steps?
Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord.” What “announcement” does God have for you to share?
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