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SERVICE OF LIGHT
Greeting/Invocation
We light the EASTER CANDLE and say or sing:
Christ our Light!
~Thanks be to God!
Christ is risen, alleluia!
~He is risen indeed, alleluia!
HYMN FOR AN EASTER EVENING
Three days our world was broken; the Lord of Life lay dead.
“Take up your cross.” he told us who followed where he led.
Would we now hang in torment with thieves on ev’ry side,
Our Passover shattered, our hope crucified?
Three days we hid in silence, in bitter fear and grief.
Three days we clung together where he had washed our feet.
Three days and on the third day, the women came at dawn.
His tomb, they said, was empty, his broken body gone.
Who could believe their story? The dead do not arise,
Yet he walks among us, and with our own eyes
We’ve seen him at this table; we’ve shared his bread and wine.
Hearts burning bright within us, we’ve seen his glory shine.
Three days our world was broken and in an instant healed,
God’s covenant of mercy in mystery revealed.
Two thousand years are one day in God’s eternal sight,
And yesterday’s sorrows are this days delight.
Though still Christ’s body suffers, pierced daily by our greed,
yet death has no dominion: our Christ is ris’n indeed!
Text: M.D. Ridge (1999) ; Tune: THAXTED, 13 13 13 11 13 13 by Gustav Holst, 1874-1932, alt.
SERVICE OF THE WORD
Evening Psalmody
Antiphon
Worthy is the Lamb
to receive all glory and honor and power, Alleluia!
Revelation 11:17-18; 12:10-12
We give you thanks and praise,
God of Power and Sovereign over all–
the God who is and who was
for you have taken power into your hands
and have entered upon your reign.
The nations have raged and caused destruction,
but the day of retribution has come:
now is the time to judge those who have died,
now is the time to reward the prophets who served you
and your beloved who revere your Name,
the time to destroy those who destroy the earth.
This is the hour of victory for our God,
the hour of salvation and power,
when God’s Anointed
begins the reign of Justice.
For the accusing prosecutor has been overthrown,
–who day and night accused humanity before God–
conquered by the sacrifice of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
for their love of life did not prevent them
from laying down their lives our of love.
So rejoice, O you heavens
and all you that dwell therein!
Give glory to the ONE and to the WORD
And to the BREATH of Love!
As always before,
so now and evermore.
Worthy is the Lamb
to receive all glory and honor, Alleluia!
READING I Peter 3: 18, 22
The reason why Christ died for sins once for all, the just one for the sake of the unjust, was that he might lead you to God. He was put to death insofar as fleshly existence goes, but was given life in the realm of the spirit. He ascended to heaven and sits now at God’s right hand, with angelic powers and rulers subjected to him.
Responsory
R. I believe that my Redeemer lives and that on the last day I shall rise from the earth, *and in my flesh I shall see God, my Savior; alleluia, alleluia! V. It will not be some other being, but I myself who see him. My own eyes will look upon him. *and in my flesh I will see God, my Savior; alleluia, alleluia! V. Glory to the Abba and the Word and the Holy Breath of Love.
Gospel Canticle
Antiphon
“Whoever receives the one I send, receives me,
and whoever receives me receives the ONE who sent me.” Alleluia!
Canticle of Mary
My heart + is radiant with the Lord,
My whole being delights in God my Savior.
All people now will call me blessed
For God has loved this humble handmaid.
The Almighty has shown me great favor
Holy is the NAME,
Whose mercy embraces the faithful,
From one generation to the next.
The mighty arm of God,
Scatters the proud in their own conceit,
Pulls tyrants from their thrones
While lifting up the lowly:
Fills the famished with bounty,
And reveals the emptiness of riches.
Rescues lowly Israel,
Sharing such loving kindness,
As promised to our ancestors
To Abraham and Sarah, and their descendants forever.
Glory to the One and to the Word
And to the Breath of Love
As always before
So now and evermore. Amen
“Whoever receives the one I send, receives me,
and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.” Alleluia!
SERVICE OF PRAYER
Litany of Intercession
O Gentle Shepherd, you are the living bread that came down from heaven,
~free us to share all that you give us to sustain and nourish life.
O Gentle Shepherd, you gave your flesh and blood for the life of the world;
~free us to use our hearts, minds and bodies to become bread for the world.
O Gentle Shepherd, you revealed yourself as the Way and Truth of eternal Life , ~free us to embrace your way of life with its loving, forgiving, valuing, including and serving others.
O Gentle Shepherd, you sent the apostles to proclaim the good news of God’s all-inclusive and unconditional love; ~ free us to share this love with all those we encounter, especially those whom society, culture and religion exclude or oppress for being different in any way.
O Gentle Shepherd, the Universe celebrates the glory and beauty of your resurrection with every sunrise, the sprouting of every seed, and the birth of every new life; ~free us to live mindfully and in harmony with Mother Earth and all of Earthkind.
Prayer of Jesus
Our Father…
Closing Prayer
Good and Gracious God, creator and ruler of the universe, in every age you have called human beings to develop and use their gifts, talents and abilities to contribute to the common good. Help us to do the special work you have asked from each of us so that we can join you and the rest of Earthkind in the ongoing work of creation where the power and glory of your love is revealed now and forever. Amen
Blessing
May the God of Life and Light who raised Jesus from the dead + bless us and grant us peace. ~Amen.
Let us bless Adonai, Alleluia, Alleluia! ~Thanks be to God, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Those who wish may end evening prayer with the Marian Antiphon for the Easter Season.
O Queen of Heaven, be joyful, alleluia!
For He whom you have humbly borne for us, alleluia!
Has arisen, as he promised, alleluia!
Offer now our prayer to God, alleluia!
Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, Alleluia!
For our Love is truly risen, Alleluia!
Let us pray.
Holy, Immortal and Mighty God, you have brought joy to the world by raising Jesus from the dead. By the prayers of Mary his Mother, and of all the myrrh-bearing women,
raise us up with Jesus and bring us to the fullness of life. We ask this through the same Jesus Christ, our Risen Love. Amen.