forgive my parochialism on this Easter Sunday, and feel free to add prayers from your own tradition.
Crucified and risen Lord,
we pray for the Church.
Save us from dawdling by an empty tomb.
Save us from bondage to the past.
Save us from the hypnotic fascination of decay and death
and make your Church to know your resurrection life.
May we follow where you lead
and live for you in today’s world.
The Lord is risen.
He is risen indeed.
Savior Christ, we pray for the whole human family.
Hanging on the cross,
you gave hope to a rebel at your side
and prayed for those who condemned you to that violent death.
We too live amid violence,
the violence of subversion, of repressive government,
and all the subtle violence by which the powerful seek to impose their will on the weak.
None of us is free from its taint.
You alone can give victory over the violence of the world and of our hearts.
Save us, Lord.
Give us the will and the power to share your victory.
The Lord is risen.
He is risen indeed.
Living Lord, we pray for our society,
entombed in material possessions
and oppressed with ever-changing fears.
Many know no better hope than that things may get no worse
and that they may enjoy a few years of quiet retirement before the end.
Release us from this living death.
Cause us to live with the life you alone can give.
The Lord is risen.
He is risen indeed.
Lord, you know what it is to suffer pain, degradation, and rejection and to die an outcast.
We pray for all who suffer: Terri and Michael Schiavo and their families, the people of Iraq and all war-torn countries, the poor of the world, all those who have been tortured, those who who are sick or in chronic pain.
May they know you as one who shares their agony and enables them to share your triumph.
The Lord is risen.
He is risen indeed.
With thanksgiving for the life that was given
and joyous hope of the life that is yet to be,
we remember those who have died, or who stand at death’s door.
As in Adam all die,
so in Christ will all be brought to life.
The Lord is risen.
He is risen indeed.
Amen.
