EASTER Morning, and we gather quietly in early morning darkness.
We cautiously enter the darkened church, carrying the Light of Christ, lit from a brazier.
The Exultet rings out from the pulpit: ‘Rejoice, you heavenly powers; Sing, choirs of angels!’
The spell is broken: Easter is here.
The lights are on, bells chime, and the rising sun pierces the East window.
It never loses its dramatic impact.
‘Alleluia, Christ is Risen!’ is repeated countless times, almost as if we need to remind ourselves Jesus has risen from the dead, after the sad intensity of Holy Week and the pain of the Crucifixion.
John’s Biblical account is perhaps the most moving.
Mary Magdelene comes to the tomb in the dark, early morning, but finds it empty.
Standing weeping and distraught, she suddenly sees Jesus, and thinking he is the gardener, she asks where he has laid the body.
Jesus just says: ‘Mary,’ and asks her not to touch him.
Last month in Spain I saw a painting of this moment:
Mary reaches out to Jesus, her unused ointment pot on the ground.
Jesus holds a spade, and on the ground in front of him lie marrows and cauliflowers.
Great art tells the Resurrection story in different ways, as do the Gospel accounts, but the central truth of the Resurrection runs through all of them.
David Ruddock is a church warden at St Paul’s.
Easter Day services will take place there at 6am and at 9:30am.
For information, visit: spauls.co.uk
