5 April – Easter Day, Matthew 28.1-10
After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. 5But the angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. 6He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7Then go quickly and tell his disciples, “He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.” This is my message for you.’ 8So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9Suddenly Jesus met them and said, ‘Greetings!’ And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshipped him. 10Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.’
Things to think about with the child at the centre:
Activities
Create your own empty tomb and garden – this could be as a simple pop-up tent, or something more complex! If your church has been running Experience Easter you’ll already have one in place.
You can pre-prepare this, or provide materials and encourage people to make the tomb during the service.
As you read the Gospel, reflect on the tomb scene – Matthew’s description is chaotic and scary, with an earthquake. Do you need to adjust your scene in light of this reading?
Response
We can become over-familiar with the story of Easter, so reminding ourselves that, for those experiencing it first hand, it was filled with crazy, unexpected and world changing events. The earthquake is a symbol of the earth-shattering difference that Jesus’ resurrection makes to those present, and ripples out across the world for ever.
Its no wonder that the angel’s opening statement is “do not be afraid”
Encourage people to reflect on their own lives, and times when unexpected things have changes their lives – whether positive or negative. If possible ask someone who converted to Christianity to share their experience and story.
As we are reinvigorated by Easter Sunday, remember that life is never the same again, and that can be both scary and exciting.
Prayer
As part of your tomb display, create a graffiti wall (using lining wall-paper) and encourage people to come and write onto the wall any thoughts or feelings the Easter story has evoked in them.
Easter to Pentecost lectionary reflections from David Sherwin
Over the next few weeks, beginning with Easter Sunday, we are looking at the stories within the narrative of the lectionary Bible readings leading up to Pentecost. As we do this, may it help us consider where we fit into the story, how our encounter of faith, our meeting Jesus in our lives, has affected us and changed us? What would we write down as our story? Perhaps over the next few weeks, we might write down our journey of faith, our encounter with Jesus, and how our Lord impacts our lives day by day. We can also consider how we might share the Gospel story, the story of Jesus, with those around us and how it might impact their lives. Each week, we consider the principal readings for the day and what they might be saying to us. Allow the reading to speak to you throughout the week and let the story open up before you.
There are two readings for each day. If you only want to concentrate on one reading, that’s fine; maybe one reading speaks to you more than the other, that’s okay, let it do so.
Easter Sunday, 5th April
Alleluia Christ is risen, He is risen indeed, Alleluia.
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