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Morning Devotion for the Season of Easter
April 1, 2024
Invitatory
Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Collect for the Monday in Easter Week
Grant, we pray, Almighty God, that we who celebrate with awe the Paschal feast may be found worthy to attain to everlasting joys; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Psalm 16:8-11
8 I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand I shall not fall.
9 My heart, therefore, is glad, and my spirit rejoices;
my body also shall rest in hope.
10 For you will not abandon me to the grave,
nor let your holy one see the Pit.
11 You will show me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy,
and in your right hand are pleasures for evermore
Meditation - Winnie Smith
Happy Easter! Today is just day two of the Easter season, which lasts an entire seven weeks. The season ends on Pentecost, which this year is May 19. So please continue wishing one another a happy Easter, and remember that we should be celebrating and feasting for all of these fifty days.
The first line of the collect appointed for today surprises me: we pray “that we who celebrate with awe the Paschal feast may be found worthy to attain to everlasting joys.” Worthy? I thought the whole message of the Cross and Resurrection was that we are all worthy because, really, no one is worthy. Why are we praying to be made worthy if we believe Jesus died for every single one of us to be given the hope of everlasting life, regardless of who we are or what we have done?
The Psalm appointed for today helps. This is a psalm of praise and a declaration of loyalty to the God of Israel. The psalmist writes of God’s unfailing support and presence and the peace that brings. I think verse 11 connects to the collect: “you will show me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy, and in your right hand are pleasures for evermore.” Our worthiness is not so much about what we do as it is about recognizing God in our midst. It is about being open to and aware of the ways God is always trying to enter into our lives. “Fullness of joy” and “pleasures” are on constant offer, but we must know God to receive them.
In this season we celebrate the awesome and unbelievable event of the resurrection. If we can believe that, or at least be open enough to really consider it, then it isn’t such a stretch to believe in God and in God’s constant presence with us. The worthiness “to attain to everlasting joys” is ours if we can only recognize it. God has deemed us worthy; it is up to us to believe that and be open to it.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
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