Self-Guided Easter Morning Labyrinth Walk

Self-Guided Easter Morning Labyrinth Walk

Based on a service by Rev. Dawn Vaneyk and Amy Hallman Grout

BLESSING OF THE FIRElight a candle and put it in the middle of your labyrinth.

Eternal Lord of Life, through your Son you have bestowed the light of life upon the world.  Sanctify this new fire and grant that our hearts and minds also might be kindled with holy desire to shine forth with the brightness of Christ’s rising, and to feast at the heavenly banquet; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

READING Matthew 28: 1-10 – the story of the resurrection

REFLECTION:  WALKING TO RESURRECTION

This Biblical passage highlights the fear that comes with the idea of resurrection along with the eventual joy. Even though the journey to the tomb would have been full of sadness, the goal was to complete the rituals around death and allow it to be finished. To find the body gone and these rituals impossible to complete would have been terrifying at first.

If we think of resurrection in our own lives, it can be scary. The idea that something we have previously ‘dealt with’, possibly with some difficulty, might come back to teach us something new is scary, even if the eventual outcome could lead to joy or liberation.

As you walk or trace your finger towards the centre of the labyrinth, making your own journey towards the empty tomb, you might like to ponder something in your life – an event, a relationship, a conversation – that you had previously put to rest in your mind (or to put it in seasonal terms, something lying dormant under the snow). And look to see whether the spirit may be nudging you to bring this element to life again through further thought, prayer or action.

When you reach the centre, we invite you to take the candle and hold it with you on your way out, or simply ponder it as you trace your finger back out again. Then, as you leave the centre of the labyrinth with your candle, you may want to think of your walk as the more joyful journey from the empty tomb into Galilee. The journey that goes from death to life, from darkness to light, from loneliness back into community with others on the same path. You could think of your chosen event, relationship or conversation in need of resurrection as an element that links you deeply with all the other walkers through our human experience.

HYMN #167 “Christ Is Risen from the Dead” – sing or say these words after your journey

Christ is risen from the dead, glory, hallelujah! X 2                                                                                            

Jesus Christ is risen, glory, hallelujah! X 2

BLESSING

May God, the giver of light and peace, renew our hearts in God’s love.            

Amen.                                                                                                                               

May God bless us this day and forever.                                                                                                          

Amen Alleluia.                                                                                                                                                                   

Let us go forth in peace.                                                                                                                                      

Thanks be to God!  Alleluia!