Easter
Let us pray (in silence) [for our growth into Christ’s resurrection]
pause
Almighty God,
by the glorious resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ,
you have broken the power of death
and brought life and immortality to light;
grant that we who have been raised with him
may triumph over all temptation
and rejoice in the hope of eternal glory;
through him who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit,
one God now and for ever.
Amen.
NZPB p.595c
Sometimes Christ’s resurrection is confused with resuscitation. As if Christ’s resurrection undoes the crucifixion. The affirmation of the bodily resurrection can, in the context of this confusion, lead to the naïve question about when did Jesus die again. But Christ’s resurrection is nor merely resuscitation. Christ’s resurrection is the claim that he went through death, and, as it were, out the other side to a new type of existence. For Jesus, the resurrection is not merely the next stage in his life, it is God’s giving back the whole of his human life, so that in his resurrection the whole of his life, including his death is present.
Science is the study of cause and effect that can be verified and repeated experimentally. The resurrection of Christ is outside of Science precisely because of the claim that this never occurred previously and there is no subsequent example. It has not and cannot be repeated. It is unique.
The collect highlights that we share in, we participate in Christ’s resurrection. We do this in our baptism, renewed in communion, lived out in our lives, focused in the liturgy. The collect prays for two benefits: our overcoming temptations against our growth into this fullness of life, and our holding to the hope that this fullness of life will be fulfilled.
The collect is drawn from Frank Colquhoun’s Parish Prayers (no 320) – with clear reference to 2 Tim 1:10 - and is found in BCP (USA) for Tuesday of Easter Week (and in the funeral rite of that book) as:
O God,
who by the glorious resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light:
Grant that we, who have been raised with him, may abide in his presence and rejoice in the hope of eternal glory;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be dominion and praise for ever and ever. Amen.
Restated by the Sisters of St Helena as:
O God,
who by the glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ destroyed death, and brought life and immortality to light:
Grant that we, who now share in the resurrection, may abide in Christ’s presence and rejoice in the hope of eternal glory;
through Jesus Christ our Savior, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be dominion and praise for ever and ever. Amen.