As we gather, we recognize that we live, work, pray, and play
in the traditional, unceded lands
of the Cowichan Tribes and Coast Salish People. 
We continue to commit ourselves
to the work of reconciliation and relationship-building
with our First Nations neighbours.     

Call to Worship:  

 Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us;
therefore let us keep the feast. ​

1 Corinthians 5.7-8 

O Come, Let Us Worship. 

Gathering

Alleluia! Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!
May his grace and peace be with you.
May he fill our hearts with joy!

Almighty God,
to you all hearts are open, all desires known,
and from you no secrets are hidden.
Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the
inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you,
and worthily magnify your holy name;
through Christ, our Lord. Amen. 

Collect for Today
Lord of life and power,
through the mighty resurrection of your Son,
you have overcome the old order of sin and death,
and have made all things new in him.
May we, being dead to sin
and alive to you in Jesus Christ,
reign with him in glory,
who with you, and the Holy Spirit is alive,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The Proclamation of the Gospel:

John 20. 1-18

Sermon:  The Ven.  Brian Evans

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of
our hearts be ever acceptable to you, O Lord.  Amen.

       “What Is Stirring Within Us"

Bishop Anna, in her Easter Message to the diocese, speaks of the surprise when Jesus’ disciples arrive at the tomb on the 3rd Day: they discover the tomb is empty.

Then, looking around, they discover a man standing in their midst who asks: “Why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?"          

Bishop Anna then shares how the disciples discover that Jesus has gone ahead.

He is already on his way to Galilee.            

Bishop Anna shares how she sees it, and talks of how Jesus has gone ahead, to plant the seeds of faith.            

Except.            

Except, it does not stop at this point.

Jesus calls the disciples—calls you and I—calls us to follow, and water the seeds of faith, which he has planted (my words).  

The Archbishop of Canterbury shared these thoughts (in his 2023 thoughts for the world) for Easter 2023:

" ‘Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.

(Matthew 28.7)

‘It is a recurrent theme of the resurrection narrative of the Gospel that the disciples are struggling to fully comprehend: the good news of the resurrection.
They do not understand what has happened.
They are cautious and fearful.
They lack decisiveness, and wait for something to happen.
Jesus always seems further ahead. or seeing further ahead, than the rest of us.
Just as the angel urges them to follow him to Galilee, so we constantly must hold up our eyes, and focus on the future, God’s future, where Jesus is leading us.’ "              

Earlier this week, prior to reading Bishop Anna’s words of encouragement and those of Archbishop Welby, it was after reading other notes for today, these words came to me:

“What is Stirring within Us?”                        

How many of us have tried to fly a kite?

My good friend, Rev. Dale Huston, (former priest in this parish) a few years ago re-imagined his interest from childhood of kite-flying. He started by creating some exceptional kites.            

The best part is that they all flew with exceptional precision.            

Flying a kite is not only about having an airworthy object. It is also about the wind, air currents, and many other variables.            

Deciding to fly your kite, you do so with a variety of anticipations and questions.            

During Lent, we have been casting our prayers, in faith, to the Holy Spirit, to the wind of God; or as we heard last week, the Ruach of God, the breath of God, that will give life to our prayers.               

That Holy Spirit is similar to the monofilament string anchoring the kite: that which is nearly invisible, yet we know is there.            

It is that breath of God, giving life to our yearnings, healing our hurts, shedding the hates and fears. The same Spirit protecting us from our fears, and forgiving our failings.            

We, who hold on to these strings of prayer, are not unlike a child flying a kite; and you can sense their fear should the power of the wind break the string, or even worse lift them off the ground.        

At the same time, returning to the task at hand for today: our responsibility in hearing the readings, offering our prayers, participating in the liturgical actions, along with the symbolic gestures of the liturgy, observing how on this day to observe how first God brought us into creation, then offering his salvation through the resurrection.            

God does this with exceptional precision.  

This is not unlike the precision of a perfectly crafted kite caught in the air streams.

We need to be caught in the airstreams of the Holy Spirit.            

“God’s faithfulness, in spite of human unfaithfulness, takes center stage.” -Amy Lindeman Allen            

The Easter message is very clear and succinct.  

God does not make a choice at Easter of who is in and who is out. God show no partiality (Acts 10:34).  

The resurrection of Christ gives new life to those seeds he has gone ahead and planted for us to water.   This new life is dependent on our faithfulness, in living out the resurrection of Jesus.            

The stone has been rolled away: the stone of our sin has been rolled away.

The stone has been rolled away from the tomb to give us new life            

When we fully accept this truth, then there will be a stirring within each of us. Each wanting to rush to the garden of life.            

It is in that garden we will discover the life of Christian faith stirring within us.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Christ is risen!    

Amen. 

Let Us Pray

United in the hope of joy and resurrection, let us pray for the Church, the world, and all in need.

You call your church to witness to your salvation.
We give thanks for all theologians, preachers, and teachers, who proclaim your gospel.
Equip all the baptized to share
the joy of the resurrection,
in all we say and do.

Risen Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

You bring abundant life throughout creation.
The green blade rises, and all creation
greets the resurrection dawn.
Preserve vineyards and orchards,
and those who tend to them.
Feed us with the fruits of creation.

Risen Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

You show your steadfast love without regard to borders, barriers, or human-made divisions.
Infuse your justice in every nation of the world,
that all experience the peace only you can give.

Risen Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

You anointed your Son
with the Holy Spirit, and with power.
Encourage us, by his example, 
in our ministries of healing, care, and outreach.
We pray for all health care workers caring for the sick.
We pray for all who are sick in body, mind, or spirit.
We continue to pray for those in need,
particularly in our parish:
Roy & Gail; Daryl & Sue; Roy; Jay;  
Sheila; Joseph; and those on our hearts. 

Risen Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

As you have raised Jesus from the dead,
you show us your resurrection promise.
With your holy ones, who have sung your praise,
free us from fear, and empower us
to go and tell the good news.

Risen Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Rejoicing in the victory of Christ’s resurrection,
we lift our prayers and praise to you,
almighty and eternal God;
through Jesus Christ, our risen Lord. Amen. 

In this day, we give thanks for the strength and salvation that we have received from our God.

And we grant, and ask, that we who confess your name, may now confess your baptism in the world, and that we, too, may all live in the joy of your resurrection.

As our Saviour taught us:
Our Father,
who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name,
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as in heaven. 
Give us today our daily bread. 
Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who tresspass against us.
And lead us  not into temptation, but deliver us fom evil.  
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power and the glory,
forever and ever.  Amen.

The Doxology:

Glory to God,
whose power working in us can do infinitely
more than we can ask or imagine.  
Glory to God from generation to generation,
in the Church and Christ Jesus, forever and ever.  Amen. 

The Blessing

And let us join with Christians around the world, today, as we rejoice in the power of the Resurrection, Lord, and give thanks to God.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Christ is risen!    
And may God be with you all.  Amen.