First Day of Easter: Easter Sunday, Year A–Principal Service

Above:  Resurrection of Jesus (Eastern Orthodox Icon)

Without This, Christianity is a Lie.

APRIL 9, 2023

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The Assigned Readings for This Sunday:

Acts 10:34-43 or Jeremiah 31:1-6

Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24

Colossians 3:1-4 or Acts 10:34-43

John 20:1-18

The Collect:

Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of the Lord’s resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Sometimes Easter devotions, sermons, and homilies degenerate into the same category as high school and college graduation addresses; they begin to sound alike.  So I choose to keep this one succinct.  In the late 1990s I belonged to St. Thomas Aquinas Episcopal Church, Baxley, Georgia.  One Easter Sunday our celebrant was The Reverend Canon Robert “Bob” Carter, Canon to the Ordinary of the Diocese of Georgia.  Canon Carter delivered the shortest and most concise Easter sermon I have heard.  And now I share it with you verbatim:

Christ is alive!  It’s true!  It’s true!

Amen.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

Published originally at SUNDRY THOUGHTS OF KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR on June 20, 2010