Invitation to the Table
As we go into the world on this Easter Day,
we first stop here at the table of our risen Lord.
We were just here a few nights ago,
remembering how Jesus shared a meal with his disciples before he was arrested,
but he promises to meet us here again and again and again.
This is the table of our risen Lord,
the table where we remember how he gave of himself for us,
the table where we share the great feast of earth and heaven even now,
the table where we can expect to meet Jesus.
Where is Jesus?
He is here,
waiting for us,
inviting us to share this holy feast once again
so that we might be strengthened to meet him again and again along the way.
So whoever you are,
wherever you have been,
come and celebrate this holy feast on this Easter day,
because Jesus is here
and invites us to join him in this feast which he has prepared.
Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
On this Easter Day, O God,
we can do nothing but sing your praise.
Just three days ago we thought that the story was over,
and we never could have imagined what we see today.
While you gave up your Son to death,
you did not let death have the last word.
In Christ you overcame the power of death,
raising him to new life
and destroying death once and for all.
All that you have said and all that you have done
lead us to this place,
to this celebration of new life
and this promise that there is still more yet in store for us.
We can do nothing but give you thanks and praise for the life you have given us and the life that lies ahead.
So with grateful hearts, we join with the choirs of earth and heaven to sing your praise:
(a sung “Alleluia” or “Sanctus”)
Awesome God, on this Easter Day, come among us by the power of your Spirit.
Show us the presence of the risen Christ as we celebrate this meal.
Receive the gifts we bring to this place,
and use them to make all things new even now, even here, even at this table.
Make this bread and this cup for us the body and blood of our resurrected Lord.
By your Spirit, unite us with the risen Jesus,
that we might see him here and everywhere we go
as we embody the gift of his resurrection in our lives and in our world.
Send your Spirit among us to renew all things.
(insert prayer petitions here if desired)
Loving God,
help us to glimpse the risen Christ at work in our world.
Show us how to see and serve him in all those we meet,
and guide us in finding your new life along our journey each and every day.
Keep us faithful in your service
until the new life we see in him is real for all the world
as we feast together once and for all in the joy of your eternal realm.
Through our risen Christ,
we give you all praise and thanks and glory,
eternal God,
now and forever. Alleluia! Amen.
Prayer After Communion
Risen Christ,
we have glimpsed you here as we have shared bread and cup.
So help us to see you risen, present, and at work in our world
and to join you in making all things new
until you come again in glory
and we feast again with you for all eternity.
Alleluia! Amen.
Submitted by Andy James, First Presbyterian Church, Whitestone, Queens, New York.
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