Morning Prayer: Sunday 4 April 2021

Sunday 4 April 2021

EASTER DAY
New Life: the Lord

EASTER DAY

O Lord, open our lips:
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Glory to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever.

Amen.

PSALMODY

Antiphon: Christ has been raised from the dead: the first fruits of those who sleep. (1 Corinthians 15-20)

Opening

Easter Anthems

1 Christ our passover has been sacrificed for us;*
so let us celebrate the feast.
2 Not with the old leaven of corruption and wickedness,*
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
3 Christ once raised from the dead dies no more;*
death has no more dominion over him.
4 In dying, he died to sin once for all;*
in living, he lives to God.
5 See yourselves therefore as dead to sin,*
and alive to God in Jesus Christ our Lord.
6 Christ has been raised from the dead,*
the first fruits of those who sleep.
7 For as by man came death,*
by man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
8 For as in Adam all die,*
even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

Glory to the Father...
or a suitable hymn

Psalm 118
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;*
his mercy endures for ever.

2 Let Israel now proclaim,*
‘His mercy endures for ever.’

3 Let the house of Aaron now proclaim,*
‘His mercy endures for ever.’

4 Let those who fear the Lord now proclaim,*
‘His mercy endures for ever.’

5 I called to the Lord in my distress;*
the Lord answered by setting me free.

6 The Lord is at my side, therefore I will not fear;*
what can anyone do to me?

7 The Lord is at my side to help me;*
I will triumph over those who hate me.

8 It is better to rely on the Lord*
than to put any trust in flesh.

9 It is better to rely on the Lord*
than to put any trust in rulers.

10 All the ungodly encompass me;*
in the name of the Lord I will repel them.

11 They hem me in, they hem me in on every side;*
in the name of the Lord I will repel them.

12 They swarm about me like bees;
they blaze like a fire of thorns;*
in the name of the Lord I will repel them.

13 I was pressed so hard that I almost fell,*
but the Lord came to my help.

14 The Lord is my strength and my song,*
and he has become my salvation.

15 There is a sound of exultation and victory*
in the tents of the righteous:


16 ‘The right hand of the Lord has triumphed!*
the right hand of the Lord is exalted!
the right hand of the Lord has triumphed!’

17 I shall not die, but live,*
and declare the works of the Lord.

18 The Lord has punished me sorely,*
but he did not hand me over to death.

19 Open for me the gates of righteousness;*
I will enter them;
I will offer thanks to the Lord.

20 ‘This is the gate of the Lord;*
he who is righteous may enter.’

21 I will give thanks to you, for you answered me*
and have become my salvation.

22 The same stone which the builders rejected*
has become the chief cornerstone.

23 This is the Lord's doing,*
and it is marvellous in our eyes.

24 On this day the Lord has acted;*
we will rejoice and be glad in it.

25 Hosannah, Lord, hosannah!*
Lord, send us now success.

26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord;*
we bless you from the house of the Lord.

27 God is the Lord; he has shined upon us;*
form a procession with branches up to the horns of the altar.

28 ‘You are my God, and I will thank you;*
you are my God, and I will exalt you.’

29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;*
his mercy endures for ever.

Glory to the Father...

Holy and mighty God, your Son’s triumph over sin and death has opened to us the gate of eternal life. Purify our hearts that we may follow where he has gone and share in the radiance of his glory. We ask this for the sake of our risen Lord.



Conclusion

Wisdom 10

1 Wisdom freed a holy people and a blameless race,*
from a nation of oppressors.
2 She entered the soul of a servant of the Lord,*
and withstood fearsome rulers with wonders and signs.
3 To the saints she gave the reward of their labours,*
and led them by a marvellous road.
4 She was their shelter by day,*
and a blaze of stars by night.
5 She brought them across the Red Sea;*
she led them through mighty waters.
6 She swallowed their enemies in the waves,*
and spat them out from the depths of the sea.
7 Then, Lord, the righteous sang the glories of your name,*
and praised together your protecting hand.
8 For wisdom opened the mouths of the silent.*
and gave speech to the tongues of her children.

Glory to the Father...

Antiphon: Christ has been raised from the dead: the first fruits of those who sleep.


READING(S)

Song of Solomon 3.2-5;8.6-7

‘I will rise now and go about the city, in the streets and in the squares; I will seek him whom my soul loves.’ I sought him, but found him not. The sentinels found me, as they went about in the city. ‘Have you seen him whom my soul loves?’ Scarcely had I passed them, when I found him whom my soul loves. I held him, and would not let him go until I brought him into my mother’s house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me. I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or the wild does: do not stir up or awaken love until it is ready! Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is strong as death, passion fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, a raging flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If one offered for love all the wealth of one’s house, it would be utterly scorned.


Revelation 1.12-18

Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands I saw one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash across his chest. His head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining with full force. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he placed his right hand on me, saying, ‘Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive for ever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and of Hades.

Silence

Response Psalm (Psalm 96.4)

Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised, alleluia, alleluia.
Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised, alleluia, alleluia.
He is more to be feared than all gods.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised, alleluia, alleluia.


BENEDICTUS

Benedictus antiphon: The Lord is risen indeed alleluia!

1 Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel,* for he has come to his people and set them free.
2 He has raised up for us a mighty saviour,* born of the house of his servant David.
3 Through his holy prophets he promised of old* that he would save us from our enemies, from the hands of all that hate us.
4 He promised to show mercy to our forebears,* and to remember his holy covenant.
5 This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:* to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
6 free to worship him without fear,* holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.
7 You my child shall be called the prophet of the Most High,* for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
8 to give his people knowledge of salvation* by the forgiveness of all their sins.
9 In the tender compassion of our God* the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
10 to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,* and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Glory to the Father... (may be said by all)

Benedictus antiphon: The Lord is risen indeed alleluia!

PRAYERS


Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Do not bring us to the time of trial,
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and for ever.

Amen



Collect of the Day

Almighty God,
who, through your Son, Jesus Christ,
have overcome death and opened the gates of eternal life:
grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of his resurrection,
may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit;
through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, world without end.
Amen

God most holy, we give you thanks for bringing us out of the shadow of night into the light of morning; and we ask you for the joy of spending this day in your service, so that when evening comes, we may once more give you thanks, through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord.
Amen

Let us bless the Lord:
Thanks be to God!

The Lord bless us and preserve us from all evil;
and bring us to life eternal.
Amen.