Easter Day B

As We Gather

Today, we once again hear the story of Christ’s victory over death. We believe the glorious news that “He has risen! He is not here.” The women at Jesus’ tomb and the disciples heard this and were afraid and confused. It’s no wonder: Isaiah tells us that the entire fallen world is veiled in a shroud—as for a funeral—“spread over all nations” and “cast over all peoples.”

But Christ’s crucified and risen body and blood are given and poured out for all people as “a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine”—a feast we enter through Holy Baptism. In this sacrament we were buried with Jesus and raised up with Him dressed in a white robe of His perfect righteousness. The Lord of hosts, the incarnate Son, Jesus Christ, has defeated death, removing its terrible pall and swallowing it up forever. Now He wipes away the tears from our faces, and He invites us to “be glad and rejoice in His salvation.” “So we preach,” writes Paul, “and so you believed.” On this good news we stand, and by this gospel we are saved!

—www.LCMS.org

Introit (Exodus 15:2a, 6, 13, 17–18; antiphon: Exodus 15:1b)

P:
I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed | gloriously;* the horse and his rider he has thrown in- | to the sea.
C:
The Lord is my strength | and my song,* and he has become my sal- | vation;

P:
Your right hand, O Lord, glorious | in power,* your right hand, O Lord, shatters the | enemy.
C:
You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you | have redeemed;* you have guided them by your strength to your ho- | ly abode.

P:
You will bring them in and plant them on your own | mountain,* the place, O Lord, which you have made for | your abode,
C:
The sanctuary O Lord, which your hands have es- | tablished.* The Lord will reign forever and | ever.

C:
Glory be to the Father and | to the Son* and to the Holy | Spirit; as it was in the be- | ginning,* is now and will be forever. | Amen.

Collect of the Day

O God, for our redemption You gave Your only-begotten son to the death of the cross and, by His glorious resurrection, delivered us from the power of the enemy. Grant that all our sin may be drowned through daily repentance and that day by day we may arise to live before You in righteousness and purity forever; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Isaiah 25:6–9

The Old Testament reading is from Isaiah, chapter 25.

On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

This is the word of the Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:1–11

The Epistle is from First Corinthians, chapter fifteen.

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

This is the word of the Lord.

Mark 16:1–8

The Holy Gospel according to St. Mark, the sixteenth chapter.

When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Psalm 16

P:
Preserve me, | O God,* for in you I take | refuge.
C:
I say to the Lord, “You | are my Lord;* I have no good a- | part from you.”

P:
As for the saints | in the land,* they are the excellent ones, in whom is all | my delight.
C:
The sorrows of those who run after another god shall | multiply;* their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names | on my lips.

P:
The Lord is my chosen portion | and my cup;* you | hold my lot.
C:
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant | places;* indeed, I have a beautiful in- | heritance.

P:
I bless the Lord who gives me | counsel;* in the night also my heart in- | structs me.
C:
I have set the Lord always be- | fore me;* because he is at my right hand, I shall not be | shaken.

P:
Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being re- | joices;* my flesh also | dwells secure.
C:
For you will not abandon my soul | to Sheol,* or let your holy one see cor- | ruption.

P:
You make known to me the | path of life;* in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures for- | evermore.
C:
Glory be to the Father and | to the Son* and to the Holy | Spirit; as it was in the be- | ginning,* is now and will be forever. | Amen.