The Collect
Almighty God, by the hand of Mark the evangelist you have given to your Church the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God: We thank you for this witness, and pray that we may be firmly grounded in its truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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The Readings
Isaiah 52:7-10 + Ephesians 4:7-16 + Mark 1:1-15
who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns."
~Isaiah 52:7
Rejoice! It is Easter! It is no mistake that the season of Easter, "the Great Fifty Days," is longer than the forty-day season of Lent. This is the season of life and victory toward which every Sunday eucharist calls us. This is the feast of victory for our God, who has comforted his people and bared his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, that all the ends of the earth might see the salvation of our God. This is the time to give ourselves over to rejoicing.
It is also a time to share the joy. The good news we have received, given by the hand of Mark the evangelist and so many other faithful saints of God, is always for us to proclaim and pass on to others. And that word of good news is always in season, but perhaps never more so than in Easter season. The world needs good news--how beautiful are all who announce it!
Closing Prayer
Almighty God, we thank you for this time of joy and resurrection, and for the eternal life that is ours by your gracious gift and mighty victory; give us grace to share the joyful tidings with the people in our lives, that they may see and know in us the life we have in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
