God of the Open Tomb,

We have walked through the valley of the shadow of death to see that You have kept Your promises. The evil that we had been taught to fear has not won. Love has and Love always will. For the Light has indeed shined in the darkness and the darkness has not and will not overcome it.  So that even when we surrender to the temporary illusions of separation or are led into temptation by the empty promises of an anxious culture, you still cradle us in the bosom of amazing grace. 

Sometimes when we remember the incomprehensible hope that we receive from the life and ministry of Jesus, the Christ, as we do on this Easter Sunday, we cannot help but wonder why or how His light continues to burn in the heart of humanity. We have been called stiff-necked and stubborn through the words of the prophets. Often, we choose the way of our own comfort over the Way that honors the lives of all our neighbors in Creation. But just as we might be sometimes stubborn in our pursuits of the treasures that can be corrupted by moths and dust, by Your grace, You have created within us a hunger for heavenly treasures as well—a hunger that can only be satisfied by Your love which is more steadfast than we are stubborn and by sharing that love with others.

So we thank you that You eternally abide as a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. And we thank You for all of our siblings of every persuasion who knowingly or unknowingly are of one body with us in this journey Christward. 

In the loving name of the resurrected and resurrecting One. Amen.