(tranquil music) (playful music) (playful music) (lively music) (lively band music) 

- Please rise. Oh, sing to God a new song. 

- For God has done marvelous things. 

- Because of God's steadfast love to Israel. 

- All the ends of the Earth have seen the victory of our God. 

- For now Christ is risen from the dead. 

- Make a joyful noise unto God, all the Earth. 

- Break forth into joyous songs and praises. 

- For God will move the Earth with righteousness. 

- Nothing in all creation separate us from the love of God, in Jesus our risen Christ, amen. (lively music) ♪ Christ the Lord is risen today ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Daughters, sons and angels say ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Raise your joys and triumphs high ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Sing, ye heavens, and Earth, reply ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Lives again our glorious King ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Where, O death, is now thy sting ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Once He ♪ ♪ Where's thy victory, bursting grave ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Love's redeeming work is done ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Fought the fight, the battle won ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Death in vain forbids him rise ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Christ hath opened paradise ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Soar we now where Christ has led ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Following our exalted head ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Made like Him, like Him we rise ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Ours the cross, the grave, the skies ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ 

- You may be seated. The Lord is with you. 

- And also with you. 

- Let us pray. God of our birth, God of joy, God of life, we come to you as a people hungry for good news. We have been so dead to miracles that we have missed the world's rebirth. We have preoccupied ourselves with pleasures and have overlooked the joy you offer us. We have been so concerned with making a living that we have missed the life you sent among us. Forgive us, gracious God, open our eyes and our hearts to receive your gift, open our lips and our hands to share it with all humanity, in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. 

- The first lesson is from Isaiah. "For behold, I create new Heavens and a new Earth "and the former things shall not be remembered "or come into mind "but be glad and rejoice forever "in that which I create "for behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing "and her people a joy. "I will rejoice in Jerusalem "and be glad in my people. "No more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping "and the cry of distress. "No more shall there be in it an infant that lives "but a few days "or an old man who does not fill out his days "for this child shall die 100 years old "and the sinner 100 years old shall be accursed. "They shall build houses and inhabit them. "They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. "They shall not build and another inhabit, "they shall not plant and another eat "for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be "and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. "They shall not labor in vain "or bear children for calamity "for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord "and their children with them. "Before they call, I will answer. "While they are yet speaking, I will hear. "The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, "the lion shall eat straw like the ox "and dust shall be the serpent's food. "They shall not hurt or destroy "in all my holy mountain, says the Lord." 

- Please rise. (lively music) ♪ Listen to the Lord ♪ ♪ Sing a new song ♪ ♪ Sing a new song ♪ ♪ Sing a new song to the Lord ♪ ♪ Sing a new song to the Lord ♪ ♪ For God has done marvelous things ♪ ♪ Through God's right hand and holy arm salvation comes ♪ ♪ Sing a new song to the Lord ♪ ♪ Sing a new song ♪ ♪ Sing a new song ♪ ♪ Sing a new song to the Lord ♪ ♪ The Lord has made known the victory ♪ ♪ God's justice has come to all ♪ ♪ Oh Israel, shout your praise ♪ ♪ Remember God's love and power ♪ ♪ Sing a new song to the Lord ♪ ♪ Sing a new song ♪ ♪ Sing a new song ♪ ♪ Sing a new song to the Lord ♪ ♪ Sing to the Lord with joy ♪ ♪ Break forth into songs of praise ♪ ♪ With trumpet and with sound of the horn ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord ♪ ♪ Sing a new song to the Lord ♪ ♪ Sing a new song ♪ ♪ Sing a new song ♪ ♪ Sing a new song to the Lord ♪ 

- The epistle lesson is from Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. "If, for this day, we have hoped in Christ, "we are all men most to be pitied "but in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, "the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. "For as a man came death, "by man has also come the resurrection of the dead. "For as in Adam all die, "so also in Christ shall all be made alive "but each in his own order. "Christ, the first fruits, "then at his coming, those who belong to Christ. "Then comes the end. "When he delivers the kingdom to God the Father "after destroying every rule "and every authority and power "for he must reign "until he has put all his enemies under his feet. "The last enemy to be destroyed is death." 

- Please stand for the reading of the Gospel. A reading from the Gospel according to Saint John. "Now, on the first day of the week, "Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early "while it was still dark "and saw that the stone had been taken away "from the tomb. "So she ran and went to tell Simon Peter "and the other disciple, the whom Jesus loved "and said to him, "they have taken the Lord out of the tomb "and we do not know where they have laid him. "Peter them came out with the other disciple "and they went toward the tomb. "They both ran but the other disciple out ran Peter "and reached the tomb first "and stooping to look in, "he saw the linen cloths lying there "but he did not go in. "Then Simon Peter came following him "and went into the tomb. "He saw the linen cloths lying "and the napkin which had been on his head "not lying with the linen cloths "but rolled up in a place by itself. "Then the other disciple who reached the tomb first "also went in and he saw and believed "for as yet they did not know the scripture "that he must rise from the dead. "Then the disciples went back to their homes "but Mary stood weeping outside the tomb "and as she wept, she stooped to look into the tomb "and she saw two angels in white sitting "where the body of Jesus had lain, "one at the head and one at the feet. "They said to her, woman, why are you weeping? "She said to them, because they have taken away my Lord "and I do not know where they have laid him. "Saying this she turned around and saw Jesus standing "but she did not know that it was Jesus. "Jesus said to her, woman, "why are you weeping? "Whom do you seek? "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. "And Jesus said to her, Mary. "She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabboni!" "which means teacher. "Jesus said to her, do not hold me "for I have not yet ascended to the Father "but go to my brethren and say to them, "I am ascending to my Father "and your Father, to my God and your God. "Mary Magdalene went "and said to the disciples, I have seen the Lord "and she told them that he had said these things to her." Here ends the reading of the lesson. You may be seated. As tradition would have it, we've once again gathered ourselves along these well-groomed terraces at Duke Garden to celebrate this glorious Easter morning. The bells of the carol ring out, Christ the Lord is risen today lest any bleary-eyed residents of West Campus try to forget what occasion the church celebrates. The brass choir leads us in triumphant singing of hymns while nature affirms its own belief in resurrection through the signs of spring which abound all around us. Let us not hesitate in proclaiming Christ is arisen. All that separates and injures and destroys has been overcome by what unites and heals and creates. Death has been swallowed up by life. What a magnificently compelling vision. Obviously powerful enough to motivate all of us to be at worship by 6:30 a.m. We feel fully alive, all is right with the world but how long will this resurrection vision sustain itself within us? Perhaps for some, it lasts all the time and they are the true saints in our midst. Others get a high from singing the Easter hymns but soon afterwards pick up the morning paper to find that they're the same people as before and life is as treacherous as ever. Others find an Easter celebration a sort of ecclesiastical enthusiasm in which they think they ought to join but while remaining basically unmoved by it. While for others, Easter means nothing more than a public holiday. They may have heard of resurrection but assume that it lies completely outside their experience, their interest or concern. If the vision of Easter is soon lost or by most people has never been found, that may be because resurrection has always seemed like something in the distance or out there on the horizon. We can be told about it but we have no personal experience of it. When it is therefore proclaimed that all that injures and separates and destroys has been overcome by what units and heals and creates, it may sound a little like a dream, some distant tale of a place where once upon a time, good overcame evil but we know in the midst of our chaotic lives and problematic relationships, that we are fallible creatures who are just as likely to have an evil thought as a good one, just as apt to injure as to heal. What could such a vision of wholeness ever have to do with mortal creatures like us? Consider for a moment the person to whom Jesus first revealed himself after the resurrection, Mary Magdalene. Perhaps the most misunderstood of any New Testament character. Claiming to know little else about her, people are quick to identify Mary Magdalene as a prostitute. In the Middle Ages, she became the patron saint of the cosmetic industry, that makers of perfume and blenders of unguents might count themselves under her protection. This tradition is not supported by evidence, however, so much as by the confusion that surround the identities of the various Marys in scripture. Biblical references indicate that Mary Magdalene was one of several women who accompanied Jesus as he went preaching throughout the villages and cities. She first became known to Jesus when he healed her of a mental illness by driving seven demons out of her. As one who formally lived under black veils, suffering from mental disturbances, attacks and depressions, Mary Magdalene soon became a leader among Jesus's followers and according to Luke, she contributed wealth to Jesus's ministry. We hear nothing of her between her healing and the crucifixion of Jesus. Perhaps her weakened body gained strength during her travels. Certainly she must have grown in her conviction that the time of salvation had begun, having experienced it through her own healing. Surely we can say that she was constant in her love and loyalty to Jesus even to the end, present both at his crucifixion and his burial and as the first to go to the tomb on the third day. And it is here that the miracle is first revealed. Having endured the trauma of the preceding days' events, Mary stood all alone in the garden shedding bitter tears of grief, anger and despair. Having given her whole life to this man, what reason was left for living? There was no longer even a corpse to attend to. Just then she hears a voice asking why she is weeping and believing that it's the gardener, she complains that the body of her Lord has been taken away. Then he calls her by name. Mary. And only then does she recognize him. Crying out in disbelief, my master, she attempts to throw her arms around him, delirious with joy over such an appearance as this. But she is stopped short. Do not touch me. I have not yet returned to my Father. This is a troubling turn in the story. Did Jesus have a change in character? Many theologians have toned this verse down or even made references to the sexual dangers of such an encounter yet it seems to me that in a flash of recognition, here, Mary Magdalene, confronts the true nature of resurrection, where she sought permanence, there was only death. Where she was willing to let go, there was life. Only in submitting to the pain of parting could Mary's faith grow mature. Jesus gave her a task which would not do away with the distance now between them but would make it comprehensible. His God is also the God of them all. Thus the apparently unbearable change becomes bearable. In what must have been only a few fleeting moments, Mary Magdalene is transformed forever by the power of this man. She must go out and speak of this new distance and nearness. This new glimpse of reality which she has seen. Her pain and her terror, her joy and her newfound hope go with her. The tomb which only two days earlier had represented the death of all that Mary had lived for had now become a womb giving birth to the true Messiah, the hope of the world. A task and a new community now depended on her to proclaim this good news. We can all be envious of Mary's encounter with the risen Christ in the garden for the glimpse of the miracle of eternal life that it offered her for on this side of paradise, glimpses of eternal life are very hard to come by. They are so remote and spotty in the words of Frederick Buechner that they are best compared to the experience you get of a place while approaching it on a fast train at night. Even the saints like Mary Magdalene herself, see only an occasional light go whipping by, hear only a sound or two over the clatter of the rails. The rest of us aren't usually awake enough to see even as much as that or we're mumbling over our night caps in the club car. Let these appearances of resurrection of brushes with the eternal be relegated to the past or the future, we say thereby ensuring that resurrection will remain on the margins of our existence. Such as the making of fairy tales, one might say. But have you ever thought about how much truth a fairy tale can reveal? J.R. Tolkien has written, "The fairy tale does not deny the existence "of sorrow and failure." The possibility of these is necessary to the joy of the deliverance. The fairy tale denies universal final defeat giving a fleeting glimpse of joy, joy beyond the walls of the world, poignant as grief. It is the mark of the good fairy story that however wild its events, it can give the one who hears it a catch of the breath, a beat and lifting of the heart, near to or indeed, accompanied by tears. Thus we are willing to allow ourselves to become immersed in the dark and dangerous quest of the scarecrow, the tin man and the lion who search for a wizard to make them whole figuring that since we're only talking make believe what can a little imagination hurt? In every good fairy tale, we await the moment of transformation where all creatures are revealed as they truly are in the end. The ugly duckling becomes a great, white swan. The frog is revealed to be a prince and the beautiful but wicked queen is unmasked at last in all of her ugliness. Fantasy for sure but where did that lump in the throat come from? In "The Happy Hypocrite," the story is told of a rake named Lord George Hell, debauched and pretentious who falls in love with a saintly girl. In order to win her love, he covers his bloated features with the mask of a saint. The girl is deceived and becomes his bride and they live together happily until a wicked lady from Lord George Hell's wicked past turns up. She exposes him for the scoundrel she knows him to be and challenges him to take off his mask. So sadly, having no choice, he takes it off and behold, beneath the saint's mask is the face of the saint he has become by wearing it in love. To moralize or allegorize these tales is not so much to go too far with them as not to go far enough for beneath theses extraordinary tales which are entered into by such ordinary means, what gives them their real power is the world they evoke where we somehow allow impossibilities miraculously to become possibilities. It is a world where goodness is pitted against evil, love against hate, order against chaos in a great struggle where it's often hard to be sure who belongs to which side because appearances are so deceptive. Yet for all its confusion and wildness, it is a world where the battle goes ultimately to the good where transformations are completed and where in the long run, everybody becomes known by his or her true name. One thinks of the angel in the book of Revelation who gives to each a white stone with a new name written on it which is the true and hidden name known from the foundations of the world. It is the mark of the good fairy story that it can give to the one who hears it, a lifting of the heart, near to or accompanied by tears, poignant as grief. How easily joy might not have happened, we think. What about the wicked ones to whom it does not happen and what about the darkness that persists even around though to whom it does? Yet our tears are joyous ones because we have caught a glimpse of, however fleeting, it is joy itself, the triumph of hope even in the face of darkness and perhaps it is not entirely fanciful to say that there are places besides fairy tales where we can glimpse joy in the world. We wake up on a winter's morning to discover that what lay there the evening before is no longer there. The sodden gray yard, the dog droppings, the tire tracks and the frozen mud, the broken lawn chair left out since last fall. All the ugliness has been overtaken by the pristine beauty of a new-fallen snow. We gaze upon a painting which sensitively depicts a street corner in a bustling city with vivid blues and reds and yellows and suddenly, feel less separated than usual from the external world. We even entertain the glorious possibility of being in communion with total strangers. Two people fall in love and discover that rather than being diminished by what they give away, they increase. The stars in the sky seem to belong to them as they reach out to embrace the entire world trusting that love will sustain them through all things. Even the death-dealing blows of suffering afford an opportunity for hope to spring forth. Beethoven was only 30 years old when he became deaf. He wrote to his brother, "I am compelled to live in exile. "If I approach near to people, "a feeling of hot anxiety comes over me "lest my condition should be noticed." He seriously considered suicide yet could eventually write, "You will see me as happy as my lot can be here below, "not unhappy, no, that I could never endure, "how beautiful life is." And he went on to lay the foundations for a whole new era in music composition. Mary Magdalene, through her own life story reveals the truth about resurrection and the triumph of hope. In her transformation from a mad women to the first apostle, she discovers an enduring hope that sustains her through pain, grief, despair, the trials of change and the challenges of ministry. Her encounter with the risen Christ in the garden verified once and for all what she must have already suspected, that indeed, miracles do happen for nothing less than a miracle can give life to the dead. She had already experienced one herself. The good news for you and for me is that we don't have to travel to the land of Oz or even back to the first century to find a miracle of resurrection. It is through the sacrament of everyday living that God's creative hand continues to fashion us into the people who would image God's own creative self when we seek to hear God's voice, and to have faith enough to recognize her eternal presence, even when we only get a glimpse of it. Like a fairy tale, the Gospel represents the meeting of darkness and light, proclaiming light the winner but with one crucial difference, the Gospel is true. It not only happened once upon a time but has kept on happening ever since and is happening still. All that separates and injures and destroys is still being overcome by what unites and heals and creates. Some people say it's too good to be believed. Wouldn't you say it's too good not to be believed? Thanks be to God. (lively music) (choir singing) 

- Let us affirm our faith together. 

- We worship you, God because you have shown your power in Jesus Christ, raising him from the dead, exalting him above all powers and giving him a name which is above every name. We ask you that we who believe in him may be of his mind as well that we may be a sign of his life today and every day of our lives, acknowledging the power of the risen Lord in our lives, let us tell the world these things. There is a name beyond our names, there is a strength beyond our power, there is a love beyond our patience, there is a hope beyond our dreams. We have seen the Lord. 

- Let us pray. 

- Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name, they kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven, give us this day our daily bread and forgive 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 forever. Amen. (lively music) ♪ Thine is the glory ♪ ♪ Risen, conquering Son ♪ ♪ Endless is the victory Thou over death hast won ♪ ♪ Angels in bright raiment rolled the stone away ♪ ♪ Kept the folded grave-clothes where Thy body lay ♪ ♪ Thine is the glory, risen, conquering Son ♪ ♪ Endless is the victory Thou over death hast won ♪ ♪ Lo, Jesus meets thee, risen from the tomb ♪ ♪ Lovingly He greets thee, scatters fear and gloom ♪ ♪ Let His church with gladness ♪ ♪ Hymns of triumph sing ♪ ♪ For the Lord now liveth ♪ ♪ Death hath lost its sting ♪ ♪ Thine is the glory, risen, conquering Son ♪ ♪ Endless is the victory Thou over death hast won ♪ ♪ No more we doubt Thee, glorious Prince of life ♪ ♪ Life is nought without Thee, aid us in our strife ♪ ♪ Make us more than conquerors ♪ ♪ Through Thy deathless love ♪ ♪ Bring us safe through Jordan to Thy home above ♪ ♪ Thine is the glory, risen, conquering Son ♪ ♪ Endless is the victory Thou over death hast won ♪ 

- Go in peace to love and serve the Lord. 

- We are sent in the power of Christ's resurrection. Hallelujah. 

- And the blessing of God Almighty, creator, Son and Holy Spirit is with you always. Amen. 

- Amen, hallelujah, hallelujah.