SPEAKER_10: Hallelujah, Christ is risen.
SPEAKER_05: Hallelujah.
SPEAKER_02: There is one body and one spirit.
SPEAKER_05: There is one hope in God that's called to us.
SPEAKER_02: One Lord, one faith, one baptism.
SPEAKER_02: One God and Father of all.
SPEAKER_02: Let's pray together.
SPEAKER_02: Almighty God, you are open.
SPEAKER_05: All desire is open.
SPEAKER_05: And from the cleanse our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit.
unknown: That we may perfectly love you.
SPEAKER_05: And will you magnify your holy name through us our Lord.
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: The Lord be with you.
SPEAKER_02: And also with you.
SPEAKER_02: Let us pray.
SPEAKER_02: O God, for who our redemption gave your only begotten Son to the death of the cross, and by his glorious resurrection delivered us from the power of our enemy.
SPEAKER_02: Grant us so to die daily to sin.
SPEAKER_02: That we evermore live with him in the joy of his resurrection through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever.
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: Please be seated.
SPEAKER_02: What?
SPEAKER_02: Being seated, our children are invited to children's church.
SPEAKER_02: And the back of Mr.
SPEAKER_02: Alex.
SPEAKER_01: Peter began to speak to the Gentiles.
SPEAKER_01: I truly understand that God shows no partiality.
SPEAKER_01: But in every nation, anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.
SPEAKER_01: You know the message he sent to the people of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: Preaching peace by Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_01: That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power.
SPEAKER_01: How he went about doing good and healing for all who were oppressed by the devil.
SPEAKER_01: For God was with him.
SPEAKER_01: We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem.
SPEAKER_01: They put him to death by hanging him on a tree.
SPEAKER_01: But God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear.
SPEAKER_01: Not to all people, but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses.
SPEAKER_01: And who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
SPEAKER_01: He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead.
SPEAKER_01: All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.
SPEAKER_01: Hear what the Spirit is saying to God's people.
SPEAKER_01: God's mercy endures forever.
SPEAKER_01: Let Israel now proclaim, God's mercy endures forever.
SPEAKER_01: The Lord is my strength and my song.
SPEAKER_05: And has become my salvation.
SPEAKER_01: There is a sound of exaltation and victory in the chance of the righteous.
SPEAKER_01: The right hand of the Lord has triumphed.
SPEAKER_05: The right hand of the Lord is exalted.
SPEAKER_05: The right hand of the Lord has triumphed.
SPEAKER_01: I shall not die but live.
SPEAKER_07: And declare the works of the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: The Lord has punished me sorely.
SPEAKER_01: But God did not hand me over to death.
SPEAKER_01: Open for me the gates of righteousness.
unknown: I will enter them.
SPEAKER_01: I will offer thanks to the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: This is the gate of the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: Whoever I enter, I will give thanks to you for you answered me.
SPEAKER_05: And I become my salvation.
SPEAKER_01: The same stone which the builders rejected has become the deep for stone.
SPEAKER_01: This is the Lord's doing.
SPEAKER_01: On this day the Lord has acted.
SPEAKER_00: Seated at the right hand of God.
SPEAKER_00: Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
SPEAKER_00: For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
SPEAKER_00: When Christ, who is your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.
SPEAKER_00: Hear what the Spirit is saying to God's people.
SPEAKER_02: 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.
SPEAKER_02: 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 had laid him.
SPEAKER_02: And Peter and the other disciple sat out and went toward the tomb.
SPEAKER_02: The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.
SPEAKER_02: He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings laying there, but he did not go in.
SPEAKER_02: Then Simon Peter came following him and went into the tomb.
SPEAKER_02: He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus' head, not lying on the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself.
SPEAKER_02: Then the other disciple who reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed.
SPEAKER_02: For as yet they did not understand the scripture.
SPEAKER_02: Then the disciples returned to their homes.
SPEAKER_02: But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb.
SPEAKER_02: As she went, she bent over to look into the tomb.
SPEAKER_02: And she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other with the feet.
SPEAKER_02: They said to her, What?
SPEAKER_02: Why are you weeping?
SPEAKER_02: She said to them, They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid it.
SPEAKER_02: When she said this, she turned around and found Jesus standing there.
SPEAKER_02: Jesus said to her, What?
SPEAKER_02: Why are you weeping?
SPEAKER_02: Who are you looking for?
SPEAKER_02: 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.
SPEAKER_02: Jesus said to her, Mary.
SPEAKER_02: She turned and said to him in Hebrew, Rabuni, which means teacher.
SPEAKER_02: 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.
SPEAKER_02: Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, I have seen the Lord.
SPEAKER_02: And she told them that he had said these things to her.
SPEAKER_02: Please be seated.
SPEAKER_02: I am grateful to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord with you today.
SPEAKER_02: And I want to start out by suggesting this is not a new story.
SPEAKER_02: There are some good bits about that because I think the story invites us to do things, frankly, that we're loath to do.
SPEAKER_02: Good news, we'll get to hear it again next year and be inclined again to pattern our lives about the story.
SPEAKER_02: I think sometimes we come to Easter, we come to Christmas, and we think, how neat that that happened long ago.
SPEAKER_02: And we forget to put ourselves in this story.
SPEAKER_02: So the story begins.
SPEAKER_02: It begins with a woman.
SPEAKER_02: The first witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ was a woman.
SPEAKER_02: The first evangelist to the resurrection of Jesus Christ was a woman.
SPEAKER_02: The first person to touch the risen Lord was a woman.
SPEAKER_02: Now I don't know why it took us 1976 years before we figured out that women not only can be but ought to be ordained to the priesthood.
SPEAKER_02: Thank God we did.
SPEAKER_02: That's the kind of view I think we have before us in this story.
SPEAKER_02: You see, there's a difference between tradition, which is the living faith of the saints, and traditionalism, which is peer pressure from dead people.
SPEAKER_02: We are invited each year to put traditionalism in the tomb, leave it there and seal it shut and walk away.
SPEAKER_02: This is a woman, Mary, who knew Jesus.
SPEAKER_02: She saw him, she ate him, and I hope you realize when the resurrected Jesus stands in front of her, she doesn't recognize him.
SPEAKER_02: In fact, he thinks he's the hired health.
SPEAKER_02: The gardener.
SPEAKER_02: Now I've got gardeners that come to my home with a great deal.
SPEAKER_02: I think I spend$100 a month and they mow and they wee and they blow off when they're done.
SPEAKER_02: This is why we come back to the story because if you see there's a word for that, it's called thing.
SPEAKER_02: Sometimes I go shopping and I worship my own productivity more than I give witness to the risen price to the cashier.
SPEAKER_02: Sometimes I'm on my phone when I go to complete a transaction.
SPEAKER_02: The person behind the register you see is the hired helper.
SPEAKER_02: That's what we call sin.
SPEAKER_02: The person behind the register is the resurrected Jesus.
SPEAKER_02: We usually make the wrong mistake.
SPEAKER_02: The hired help.
SPEAKER_02: Instead of sharing with Mary and the good news.
SPEAKER_02: The resurrected Jesus is precisely found in the people who clean up after us.
SPEAKER_02: So once upon a time I was in a seminary class, pastoral theology, the professor was pretty hard-nosed.
SPEAKER_02: I studied.
SPEAKER_02: For that final exam, it had one question.
SPEAKER_02: What's the name of the woman who cleans the building?
SPEAKER_02: Many of us didn't do well.
SPEAKER_02: This is why we'll be back here next year.
SPEAKER_02: This is why we'll be back here next year, because many of us don't know that person's name.
SPEAKER_02: There's another great part of this story.
SPEAKER_02: It's April, right?
SPEAKER_02: The messengers from God are wearing white before Memorial Day.
SPEAKER_02: What kind of crazy people are those?
SPEAKER_02: Let me tell you some good news.
SPEAKER_02: God's messengers don't have to, uh they don't have to obey our own dress coat.
SPEAKER_02: They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and colors, including yours.
SPEAKER_02: Angel in Greek means messenger.
SPEAKER_02: It doesn't mean wings and halo.
SPEAKER_02: It means somebody who tells a message worth listening to.
SPEAKER_02: Hear the good news from people who wear white before Memorial Day.
SPEAKER_02: Hear the good news from people who do things like smoke or vote libertarian.
SPEAKER_02: That's why we'll be back next year.
SPEAKER_02: Because if you're like me, you're not going to do it there for me.
SPEAKER_02: Now Mary's the most courageous of the disciples.
SPEAKER_02: This is the case.
SPEAKER_02: She shows up when everybody else flees.
SPEAKER_02: The men are afraid of their own necks, and Mary actually not only comes, she sticks around.
SPEAKER_02: And in Mary's story, there's really something interesting, isn't there?
SPEAKER_02: Not only has she mistaken the resurrected Jesus from the hired help, she's scared to death that the Jesus she knew has been taken from her.
SPEAKER_02: Where have you put him?
SPEAKER_02: She is desperately clinging to the Jesus she knew, but I'd like you to consider that the Jesus she is clinging to is the dead one.
SPEAKER_02: Not the risen one.
SPEAKER_02: And if I'm honest, the number one reason people are not interested in church is because churches hold on to the dead one.
SPEAKER_02: We're too afraid to follow the risen Christ.
SPEAKER_02: We'd rather take it the way we had it than dare to leave the tomb.
SPEAKER_02: What am I talking about?
SPEAKER_02: Lots of things.
SPEAKER_02: A few in my mind this week.
SPEAKER_02: Sorry, choir, you've already heard this.
SPEAKER_02: I'm going to tell you one story about the dead Christ that we love holding on to, particularly the church that raised me.
SPEAKER_02: I hope to God most of you have never seen this.
SPEAKER_02: It's a million-dollar bill.
SPEAKER_02: You're correct in thinking that's not official U.S.
SPEAKER_02: currency.
SPEAKER_02: It's not.
SPEAKER_02: Let me tell you about the million-dollar bill.
SPEAKER_02: I used to wait tables at a cracker barrel in Gaffney, South Carolina, and the arguably the worst day of the year was Easter.
SPEAKER_02: Here are some of my PTSD memories from Easter.
SPEAKER_02: Keep in mind, I had foregone going to services so I could wait on people.
SPEAKER_02: Here are some of the lines that still haunt me when I have nightmares.
SPEAKER_09: We'd like to give you a tip, but we gave all our money to the church.
SPEAKER_02: Don't eat out.
SPEAKER_02: But you know what's even worse than that is the million-dollar bill with nothing else.
SPEAKER_02: Let me read to you from the back of the million-dollar bill.
SPEAKER_02: The million-dollar question.
SPEAKER_02: Will you go to heaven when you die?
SPEAKER_02: Have you lied, stolen, used God's name in vain, or lusted?
SPEAKER_02: It gets worse.
SPEAKER_02: If so, God sees you as a liar, thief, blasphemer, and adulterer at heart.
SPEAKER_02: If you die in your sins, you'll end up in a terrible place called hell.
SPEAKER_02: It goes on to say, listen, here's good news.
SPEAKER_02: God pretty much hates you, but um, hey, God will tolerate you in the end.
SPEAKER_02: The million-dollar bill is the dead Jesus.
SPEAKER_02: And it belongs in the tomb, and that tomb should be sealed.
SPEAKER_02: I met the million-dollar bill again last week.
SPEAKER_02: I was at a fundraiser for an Episcopal relief organization called Half Shears Will Travel.
SPEAKER_02: They give haircuts to homeless men and women and to families all over the city who have to choose between a meal and a haircut, and you know what they're going to pick.
SPEAKER_02: There were ten of us that went.
SPEAKER_02: It was period costume, 1950s, dressy casual.
SPEAKER_02: Four of us were pink ladies.
SPEAKER_02: Polka dots, headscarf.
SPEAKER_02: I mean, she really looked at the part.
SPEAKER_02: And I dressed like the guy that uh you wouldn't want coming home for your dog.
SPEAKER_02: Because I didn't have to buy anything.
SPEAKER_02: So I put in my Converse and my jeans and my white t-shirt, and I borrowed some cigarettes and I rolled them up in my pocket and I put one behind my ear.
SPEAKER_02: I was arguably the worst dressed person at that day, but we got name tags.
SPEAKER_02: Mine said the Reverend Mike Stone.
SPEAKER_02: Now, everything went fine.
SPEAKER_02: It was a great event.
SPEAKER_02: And then we got in the checkout line, all ten of us as a group talking.
SPEAKER_02: There are 50 people in line waiting to pay for what they won at the auction.
SPEAKER_02: I don't want to sound overly harsh because this isn't about the person, it's frankly about the practice.
SPEAKER_02: Somebody saw me.
SPEAKER_02: I don't know what they were thinking.
SPEAKER_02: They walked right toward me.
SPEAKER_02: They said, Here, I've got a gift for you.
SPEAKER_02: And they kept on walking.
SPEAKER_02: I knew what it was before I looked at it.
SPEAKER_02: Now I'm actually grateful I didn't say anything to the guy.
SPEAKER_02: Let me tell you about the dead Jesus.
SPEAKER_02: That man cared so much for my eternal destination, he couldn't be bothered to learn my name.
SPEAKER_02: That man cared so much about my soul, he'd even stick around to answer my questions when I read the most damning piece of currency I've ever seen in my life.
SPEAKER_02: I don't question his intent.
SPEAKER_02: I question our impact.
SPEAKER_02: Is this good news?
SPEAKER_02: My children sometimes tell lies, but they're not liars.
SPEAKER_02: They sometimes tell lies.
SPEAKER_02: I do too.
SPEAKER_02: If I know the difference, don't you think God knows the difference?
SPEAKER_02: So why do we pass out literature from a tomb?
SPEAKER_02: Let me tell you how God sees you with every bit of faith I have as a priest.
SPEAKER_02: God sees you as a beautiful child of a family of God.
SPEAKER_02: Let me tell you about God's standards.
SPEAKER_02: They're really low.
SPEAKER_02: They're so low, there's nothing you can do to make God love you any less.
SPEAKER_02: And there is nothing you can do to make God love you anymore.
SPEAKER_02: Jewels in our heavenly crown, that's why I do good stuff.
SPEAKER_02: Put that in the tomb and seal the door.
SPEAKER_02: We do what's right because it's joyful, not for some reward we're trying to rack up after we die.
SPEAKER_02: We're gonna tell the story again next year because I'm gonna get it wrong, and so are you.
SPEAKER_02: God willing, though, we'll leave some more dead stuff from our faith in the tomb between now and then.
SPEAKER_02: God willing.
SPEAKER_02: Sometimes we come into these places with two minds.
SPEAKER_02: You ever heard God helps those who help themselves?
SPEAKER_02: You ever heard with great power comes great responsibility?
SPEAKER_02: You ever heard to whom much is given, much is required?
SPEAKER_02: Let me tell you what God requires.
SPEAKER_02: Do justly.
SPEAKER_02: Love mercy, walk humbly with God.
SPEAKER_02: All that other stuff about you being enough for God, put it in the tomb.
SPEAKER_02: You may not feel like you're enough.
SPEAKER_02: Sometimes I have strong feelings that aren't true.
SPEAKER_02: Admit to the feelings, but here's the truth.
SPEAKER_02: Whether you like it or not, you're enough because God says so.
SPEAKER_02: God says so.
SPEAKER_02: Sometimes we think, uh, God's given me so much.
SPEAKER_02: If I don't do enough, God will be disappointed.
SPEAKER_02: Wisdom from my father.
SPEAKER_02: The minute you think you're different from everybody else is the minute you're just like everybody else.
SPEAKER_02: My father, who was drafted to Vietnam against his will, came back and said, a communist is a man trying to feed his children.
SPEAKER_02: Does that make it harder to live with atrocities of war?
SPEAKER_02: Damn right it does.
SPEAKER_02: And is that the good news of Jesus Christ?
SPEAKER_02: Yes, it is.
SPEAKER_02: A communist is a person, a human being, trying to take care of their family.
SPEAKER_02: We don't forego our dignity when we operate in ignorance.
SPEAKER_02: We don't.
SPEAKER_02: Or at least better news than this.
SPEAKER_02: Now we got to hear this portion from Acts this morning.
SPEAKER_02: Talks about God showing no partiality to anybody, and it's a great speech.
SPEAKER_02: If you continue reading the book, turns out three or four chapters later, Peter goes back on his own work.
SPEAKER_02: That's why we'll tell the story again next year.
SPEAKER_02: I want to talk about another thing that needs to go in the tomb.
SPEAKER_02: Maybe you've seen this bumper sticker that takes religious iconography and spills out the word coexist.
SPEAKER_02: You've seen it before.
SPEAKER_02: It's kind of a lovely sentiment.
SPEAKER_02: It's just only partially correct.
SPEAKER_02: Coexistence sounds a lot like tolerance to me.
SPEAKER_02: Tolerance means I'll put up with you even though we both know you're wrong.
SPEAKER_02: If I were creative enough, I'd like a bumper sticker that says respect.
SPEAKER_02: Tolerance can go in the tomb, friends.
SPEAKER_02: The Lord doesn't need it from you this year.
SPEAKER_02: God invites us to come out of those tombs and practice respect.
SPEAKER_02: For our Jewish brothers and sisters, for people who choose to vote well in ways we don't.
SPEAKER_02: For Lutherans.
SPEAKER_02: You fill in the blank.
SPEAKER_02: Make it as ridiculous as possible.
SPEAKER_02: And pray for them until you leave tolerance behind and embrace them with respect.
SPEAKER_02: Now we're going to do something really lovely in just a minute.
SPEAKER_02: We have at least three people who would like to be baptized.
SPEAKER_02: And look, this is a holy mystery, but here's what I tell our kids at our day school.
SPEAKER_02: Ordinary water, we use that to hydrate, to be refreshed.
SPEAKER_02: We use it for growth, and of course, we use it to wash away things we don't need to carry around.
SPEAKER_02: So this is what we ask God to do.
SPEAKER_02: Take this regular old water and do something extraordinary with it.
SPEAKER_02: Refresh and nourish and grow those parts of ourselves that are not always visible to our eye.
SPEAKER_02: We call those parts faith, emotion, thoughts, virtue, not always visible, but very real.
SPEAKER_02: God take this ordinary water and don't just wash away the things we've done wrong.
SPEAKER_02: Wash away our anxieties.
SPEAKER_02: Wash away our regret.
SPEAKER_02: So we can lay that down, which means we can carry more life than we're used to.
SPEAKER_02: Unencumbered, we can carry more than we're used to.
SPEAKER_02: This is what we're going to do.
SPEAKER_02: Really easy to be impartial to a baby.
SPEAKER_02: It's a product of our human evolution that we naturally care for babies, unless you're a sociopath.
SPEAKER_02: When a baby cries, we don't say, you better quit your crying.
SPEAKER_02: You change your diaper, you nasty baby.
SPEAKER_02: Why are you always asking for help?
SPEAKER_02: Why don't you do something for me?
SPEAKER_02: We don't do that.
SPEAKER_02: We know that's nuts.
SPEAKER_02: The Episcopal Church does not believe in original sin.
SPEAKER_02: We don't believe there's anything inherently wrong with any child of God.
SPEAKER_02: But here's where I find that word has traction.
SPEAKER_02: At what point in our lives do we stop extending affirmation and generosity to our brothers and sisters in Christ?
SPEAKER_02: Ah.
SPEAKER_02: By the time you're 10, you should know better.
SPEAKER_02: But what if you don't know better?
SPEAKER_02: By the time you're 30, surely you ought to know.
SPEAKER_02: But what if your brother and sister just doesn't know?
SPEAKER_02: Or what if they do know?
SPEAKER_02: Just like you and I often know what we ought to do to live more joyful lives.
SPEAKER_02: And it isn't that we won't do it, it's that sometimes we can't.
SPEAKER_02: When did we decide that you are too old or too knowledgeable to be loved by God?
SPEAKER_02: That's original sin.
SPEAKER_02: Leave it in the tomb.
SPEAKER_02: Maybe the person at work that's driving you crazy just needs to be burnt.
SPEAKER_02: Maybe they can do it themselves.
SPEAKER_02: Don't make them.
SPEAKER_02: If you see a way you can give life to somebody, don't shame them.
SPEAKER_02: Give them some good news.
SPEAKER_02: You can take care of this yourself, but I'd like to give it to you.
SPEAKER_02: Wouldn't the world be brighter if we tried it even just once this year?
SPEAKER_02: So you're going to see three beautiful children of God in whom there is nothing lacking.
SPEAKER_02: They range from age under one to age over ten.
SPEAKER_02: Nothing wrong with a single one of them.
SPEAKER_02: Nothing wrong with you either.
SPEAKER_02: We're going to say a covenant together.
SPEAKER_02: I don't know you kids, but if you ever ask me, and if I ever see you in need, I won't shame you.
SPEAKER_02: I'll step up and I'll help you.
SPEAKER_02: We do it when it's easy.
SPEAKER_02: It's easy for kids.
SPEAKER_02: Take the practice out, follow the risen Christ, and do it when it's really hard.
SPEAKER_02: Now I'm going to invite our families up.
SPEAKER_02: Parents, grandparents, godparents, please come on back.
SPEAKER_02: If you're in the larger group of family, if you're a kid, if you want a front row view, you come right up to the rail.
SPEAKER_02: There's plenty of room up here in the chancel.
SPEAKER_02: You might be 75, you've never been up here before.
SPEAKER_02: Come on.
SPEAKER_02: You might be saying, hey, I didn't know it was a baptism day.
SPEAKER_02: I'd like to get baptized.
SPEAKER_02: Come on.
SPEAKER_02: I'll print you a certificate later.
SPEAKER_02: Parents, godparents, friends of the family.
SPEAKER_02: I'm going to ask you all to say this line in your bulletin who we're presenting for the sacrament of baptism.
SPEAKER_02: The candidates of holy baptism will now be presented.
SPEAKER_04: I present Evelyn Joy Hillis and Aidan Theodore Hillis to receive the sacrament of baptism.
SPEAKER_02: And I'm going to ask you to present E.J.
SPEAKER_04: present.
SPEAKER_02: E.J., would you like to be baptized?
unknown: Yes.
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
SPEAKER_02: This is for everybody up here, but you know, even if you don't know these people, it's all right to join in saying we're going to take care of these little ones in the Lord.
SPEAKER_02: Will you be responsible for seeing that these children that you present are brought up in the Christian faith and life?
SPEAKER_02: Will you, by your prayers and witness, help these children to grow into the full stature of Christ?
SPEAKER_02: Don't get hung up on the language.
SPEAKER_02: Hear that there are forces in the work in the world that strip the children of God from dignity.
SPEAKER_02: So do you renounce Satan and all the spiritual forces of wickedness that rebel against God?
SPEAKER_02: Do you renounce the evil powers of this world which corrupt and destroy the creatures of God?
SPEAKER_02: Do you renounce all sinful desires that draw you from the love of God?
unknown: I renounce them.
SPEAKER_02: Do you turn to Jesus Christ and accept him as your Savior?
SPEAKER_04: I do.
SPEAKER_02: Will you, with God's help, put your whole trust in God's grace and love?
SPEAKER_08: I do.
SPEAKER_02: Do you promise to follow and obey him to your ability as your Lord?
SPEAKER_02: I do.
SPEAKER_02: This is for everybody here.
SPEAKER_02: Will you who witness these vows do all in your power to support Evelyn, Aiden, and EJ in their life with Christ?
SPEAKER_02: I'm going to invite you to stand as you're able and let us join with these who are committing themselves to Christ and renew our own baptismal covenant.
SPEAKER_02: Do you believe in God the Father?
SPEAKER_05: I believe in God the Father.
SPEAKER_02: Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?
SPEAKER_05: I believe in Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_02: Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit?
SPEAKER_05: I believe in the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_05: The Holy Catholic Church, for the communion of saints, for the forgiveness of sins, for the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
SPEAKER_02: Will you continue in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in the prayers?
SPEAKER_05: I will with myself.
SPEAKER_02: Will you persevere in resisting evil?
SPEAKER_02: And whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord.
SPEAKER_04: I will with thyself.
SPEAKER_02: Will you proclaim by word and example the good news of God in Christ?
unknown: I will without self.
SPEAKER_02: Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?
SPEAKER_02: I will without self.
SPEAKER_02: Will you strive for justice and peace among all people?
SPEAKER_02: And respect the dignity of every human being.
SPEAKER_02: I will without self.
SPEAKER_02: So now let us pray for Evelyn, for Aiden, for E.J., who are to receive the sacrament of new birth.
SPEAKER_02: Sometimes change is painful.
SPEAKER_02: We get deliver them, O Lord, from the ways of sin and death.
SPEAKER_04: Lord, hear our prayer.
SPEAKER_02: Open their hearts to your grace and truth.
SPEAKER_02: Fill them with your holy and life-giving spirit.
SPEAKER_04: Lord, hear our prayers.
SPEAKER_02: Keep them in the faith and communion of your holy church.
unknown: Lord, hear our prayers.
SPEAKER_02: Teach them to love others in the power of the Spirit.
SPEAKER_06: Lord, hear our prayers.
SPEAKER_02: Send them into the world in witness to your love.
SPEAKER_04: Lord, hear our prayers.
SPEAKER_02: Bring them to the fullness of your peace and glory.
SPEAKER_04: Lord, hear our prayers.
SPEAKER_02: Grant, O Lord, that all who are baptized into the death of Jesus Christ, your Son, may live in the power of his resurrection and look for him to come again in glory, who lives and reigns with you now and forever.
unknown: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: We thank you, Almighty God, for the gift of water.
SPEAKER_02: Over it, the Holy Spirit moved in the beginning of creation.
SPEAKER_02: Through it, you led the children of Israel out of their bondage in Egypt into the land of promise.
SPEAKER_02: In it, your Son Jesus received the baptism of John and was anointed by the Holy Spirit as the Messiah, the Christ, to lead us through his death and resurrection from the bondage of sin into everlasting life.
SPEAKER_02: We thank you, Father, for the water of baptism.
SPEAKER_02: In it, we are buried with Christ in his death.
SPEAKER_02: By it, we share in his resurrection.
SPEAKER_02: Through it, we are reborn by the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: Therefore, in joyful obedience to your Son, we bring into his fellowship those who come to him in faith, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: So now sanctify this water, we pray you by the power of your Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: That those who are here cleansed from sin and born again may continue forever in the risen life of Christ our Savior.
SPEAKER_02: To him, to you and to the Holy Spirit be all honor and glory, now and forever.
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: In the name of the Son.
SPEAKER_02: And in the name of the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: And mark this Christ very on forever and ever.
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: Let's sing Eevee into the family of God.
SPEAKER_02: Siblings in Christ.
SPEAKER_02: Siblings at the front.
SPEAKER_02: Aiden, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: Aiden, you are sealed by the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: And marked as Christ's very own forever and ever.
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: Let's sing Aiden into the family of God.
SPEAKER_04: Amen with you.
SPEAKER_02: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: EJ, you are sealed by the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: And mark this cry sound forever and ever.
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: Let's sing EJ into the family of God.
SPEAKER_02: Let us pray.
SPEAKER_02: Heavenly Father, we thank you that by water and the Holy Spirit you've bestowed upon these your children the forgiveness of sin and have raised them to the new life of grace.
SPEAKER_02: Sustain them, O Lord, in your Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: Give them inquiring and discerning hearts, the courage to will and persevere, a spirit to know and love you, and the gift of joy and wonder in all your works.
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: Let us welcome the newly baptized.
SPEAKER_02: We receive you into the house of God.
SPEAKER_02: Confess the faith of Christ crucified.
SPEAKER_07: Proclaim his resurrection and share with us in his eternal priesthood.
SPEAKER_02: The peace of the Lord be always with you.
SPEAKER_04: And also with you.
SPEAKER_02: Look, I'm not going to call you unless you say that's what you want.
SPEAKER_02: There's a box you can check, or there's an email, or you can leave it blank.
SPEAKER_02: But we would be so grateful if you'd fill one of those out and said we have a record of your visit.
SPEAKER_02: And thank you for worshiping with us today.
SPEAKER_02: We're about to celebrate Eucharist, one of those fancy Greek words which means thanksgiving.
SPEAKER_02: And of course, as much as we're invited to be thankful for God, the reason we do it is because God's thankful for you.
SPEAKER_02: And so am I.
SPEAKER_02: Thank you for spending this morning here together.
SPEAKER_02: We're about to be offered nourishment from God's table.
SPEAKER_02: Again, regular bread and wine is for our bodies, but this is to nourish those parts that our eye doesn't always see.
SPEAKER_02: So the ushers will invite you to the rail.
SPEAKER_02: If you'd like to receive bread, just open your hands.
SPEAKER_02: You can dip the bread in the chalice.
SPEAKER_02: You can choose to drink directly from the chalice, or you can skip either by crossing your hands and receive a blessing.
SPEAKER_02: I do have gluten-free wafers, just let me know, and I'm happy to provide you with one of those.
SPEAKER_02: I don't want to spoil a surprise.
SPEAKER_02: Normally we use port wine.
SPEAKER_02: Today we're using sparkling red wine.
SPEAKER_02: Of course, the reason we're doing that is because there is life in the sparkling wine.
SPEAKER_02: I hope you will find new life.
SPEAKER_02: Easter is not one day in the church, it's 50.
SPEAKER_02: It's 50 days.
SPEAKER_02: And I hope you will spend the next 50 days closing the door on things that just should be buried so that you can follow the risen life of Christ at home, at work, and especially behind the wheel of a car.
SPEAKER_02: One announcement I call to your attention is that this Friday we have a Archway Gallery artist who's going to be exhibiting her work here in our hallway.
SPEAKER_02: She'll be offering an open house this night and an artist statement from six to seven.
SPEAKER_02: So this is a great opportunity to see Barbara Abel's work, but also to hear her process and what it means to her, and enjoy a glass of wine.
SPEAKER_02: So we'll do that this Friday night in our hallway from six to seven.
SPEAKER_02: Walk in love.
SPEAKER_04: See the score on the side, Christopher is risen, bursting from his rise.
SPEAKER_02: This is the table not of the church, but of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_02: It is made ready for those who love him and those who want to love him more, so come.
SPEAKER_02: You who have much faith and you who have little.
SPEAKER_02: You who have been here often, and you who have not been for a long time or ever before.
SPEAKER_02: You who have tried to follow and you who have failed, come.
SPEAKER_02: Not because the church invites you, it is Christ, and he invites you to meet him here.
SPEAKER_10: The Lord be with you, and also with you.
SPEAKER_10: And beholding the glory of your presence, they offer you who unceasing praise, joining with them and giving voice to every creature under heaven.
SPEAKER_10: We acclaim you and glorify your whole name as we sing.
SPEAKER_02: Your mighty works reveal your wisdom in love.
SPEAKER_02: You formed us in your own image, giving the whole world into our stewardship, so that in obedience to you, our Creator, we might shepherd and serve all your creatures.
SPEAKER_02: When our disobedience took us far from you, you did not abandon us to the power of death.
SPEAKER_02: In your mercy, you came to our help, so that in seeking you we might find you.
SPEAKER_02: Again and again you've called us into covenant with you, and through the prophets, you taught us to hope for salvation.
SPEAKER_02: Father, you love the world so much that in the fullness of time you sent your only Son to be our Savior.
SPEAKER_02: Incarnate by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, he lived as one of us, yet without sin.
SPEAKER_02: To the poor we proclaimed the good news of salvation, to prisoners freedom, to the sorrowful joy.
SPEAKER_02: To fulfill your purpose, he gave himself up to death, rising from the grave, destroyed death, and made the whole creation new.
SPEAKER_02: And that we might live no longer for ourselves, but for the one who died and rose for us, God sent the Holy Spirit, God's own first gift for those who believe, to complete Jesus' work in the world, to bring to fulfillment the sanctification of all.
SPEAKER_02: When the hour had come for him to be glorified by you, his heavenly Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
SPEAKER_02: Supper with them, he took bread.
SPEAKER_02: And when he given thanks to you, he broke it and gave it to his disciples and said, Take, eat.
SPEAKER_02: This is my body.
SPEAKER_02: All that I am, which is given to build you up.
SPEAKER_02: Remember me every time you eat bread.
SPEAKER_02: After supper, Jesus took a cup of wine.
SPEAKER_02: And when he gave it thanks to God, he gave it to them and said, Drink this, all of you.
SPEAKER_02: This is my blood, my life force given to nourish your own.
SPEAKER_02: Remember me every time you drink wine.
SPEAKER_02: Father, we now celebrate this memorial of our redemption.
SPEAKER_02: Recalling Christ's death and his descent among the dead, proclaiming his resurrection and ascension to your right hand, awaiting his coming in glory and offering to you from the gifts you've given us this bread and this cup.
SPEAKER_02: We praise you and we bless you.
SPEAKER_08: We praise you, and we bless you, we give thanks to you, and we pray to you, Lord our God.
SPEAKER_02: Lord, we pray that in your goodness and mercy your Holy Spirit may descend upon us and upon these gifts, sanctifying and ensure them to be holy gifts for your holy people, the bread of life and the cup of salvation, the body and blood of your Son Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_02: Grant that all who share this bread and this cup may become one body and one spirit, a living sacrifice in Christ to the praise of your name.
SPEAKER_02: Remember, Lord, your one holy Catholic and apostolic church, redeemed by the love of your Christ.
SPEAKER_02: Reveal its unity, guard its faith and preserve it in peace.
SPEAKER_02: Remember Michael, our presiding bishop, Andy, Hector, Jeff, and Kay, our bishops.
SPEAKER_02: The priests in our community, Jim, Craig, and Mike, and all who minister in your church.
SPEAKER_02: Remember all your people and those who seek your truth, and you are invited to share your own celebrations or petitions silently or aloud.
SPEAKER_02: Remember all who have died in the peace of Christ, especially Lunan, Janet, and David.
SPEAKER_02: Those whose faith is known to you alone.
SPEAKER_02: Bring them into the place of eternal joy and light.
SPEAKER_02: And grant that we may find our inheritance with all your saints who have found favor with you in ages past.
SPEAKER_02: We praise you in union with them and give you glory through your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord.
SPEAKER_10: Through Christ and with Christ and in Christ, all honor and glory are yours, Almighty God and Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, forever and ever.
SPEAKER_02: And now, as our Savior Christ has taught us, we are bold to pray.
SPEAKER_06: Our Father, who is in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
SPEAKER_06: Give us this day our day.
SPEAKER_08: And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
SPEAKER_05: For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.
SPEAKER_05: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: Christ, our Passover is resurrected for us.
SPEAKER_02: Therefore, let us keep the feast.
SPEAKER_02: So the prayer of Thanksgiving.
SPEAKER_02: It's not in your bulletin.
SPEAKER_02: It's on page three hundred and sixty-six of your red prayer book.
SPEAKER_02: Page three hundred and sixty-six.
SPEAKER_07: Almighty and ever-living God, we thank you for the spiritual food, of the most precious body and blood of your time, our Savior Jesus Christ, and for aduring us in these holy stories, for we are the members of the body of your tongue, and heirs of your eternal kingdom.
SPEAKER_08: And now, Father, send us out to do the work you have given us to do.
SPEAKER_08: For the love and serve you as faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord.
SPEAKER_08: To Him, to you, and to the Holy Spirit, the honor and glory now and forever.
SPEAKER_08: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: Keep your eyes wide open and your hands willing, your hearts generous, your ears attentive, your senses awake, your feet light, your hope alive, and your faith visibly alight.
SPEAKER_02: Go and shine wherever you may be.
SPEAKER_02: Go and embrace with tenderness all of life with its sorrows and joys.
SPEAKER_02: Go and know what divinity expects, what your sisters and brothers seek.
SPEAKER_02: And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be upon you this day and remain with you forever.
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: No need to fight.
SPEAKER_02: We do have limited quantities, but please before you take a lily and plant it home so that you can celebrate the next 50 days of Easter with the flowers.
SPEAKER_02: So hallelujah, alleluia.
SPEAKER_02: Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.