Exodus 14.10-31

A reading from the book of Exodus

As Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites looked back,
and there were the Egyptians advancing on them.
In great fear the Israelites cried out to the Lord.

They said to Moses,
"Was it because there were no graves in Egypt
that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?
What have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt?

Is this not the very thing we told you in Egypt,
"Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians'?
For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians
than to die in the wilderness."

But Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid, stand firm,
and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today;
for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again.

The Lord will fight for you,
and you have only to keep still."

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Why do you cry out to me?
Tell the Israelites to go forward.

But you lift up your staff,
and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it,
that the Israelites may go into the sea on dry ground.

Then I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians
so that they will go in after them;
and so I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army,
his chariots, and his chariot drivers.

And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord,
when I have gained glory for myself over Pharaoh,
his chariots, and his chariot drivers."

The angel of God who was going before the Israelite army
moved and went behind them;
and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them
and took its place behind them.

It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel.
And so the cloud was there with the darkness,
and it lit up the night;
one did not come near the other all night.

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea.
The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night,
and turned the sea into dry land;
and the waters were divided.

The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground,
 the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.

The Egyptians pursued, and went into the sea after them,
all of Pharaoh's horses, chariots, and chariot drivers.

At the morning watch
the Lord in the pillar of fire and cloud
looked down upon the Egyptian army,
and threw the Egyptian army into panic.

He clogged their chariot wheels so that they turned with difficulty.
The Egyptians said,
"Let us flee from the Israelites,
for the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt."

Then the Lord said to Moses,
"Stretch out your hand over the sea,
so that the water may come back upon the Egyptians,
 upon their chariots and chariot drivers."

So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea,
and at dawn the sea returned to its normal depth.
As the Egyptians fled before it,
the Lord tossed the Egyptians into the sea.

The waters returned
and covered the chariots and the chariot drivers,
the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea;
not one of them remained.

But the Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea,
the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.

Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the Egyptians;
and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.

Israel saw the great work that the Lord did against the Egyptians.
So the people feared the Lord and believed in the Lord
and in his servant Moses.

Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron's sister,
took a tambourine in her hand;
and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing.

And Miriam sang to them
"Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
horse and rider he has thrown into the sea."


Ezekiel 36.24-28

A reading from the book of the prophet Ezekiel

The word of the Lord came to me:

I will take you from the nations,
and gather you from all the countries,
and bring you into your own land.

I will sprinkle clean water upon you,
and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses,
and from all your idols I will cleanse you.

A new heart I will give you,
and a new spirit I will put within you;
and I will remove from your body the heart of stone
and give you a heart of flesh.

I will put my spirit within you,
 and make you follow my statutes
and be careful to observe my ordinances.

Then you shall live in the land that I gave to your ancestors;
and you shall be my people,
and I will be your God.


Romans 6.3-11

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans

Do you not know
that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus
were baptized into his death?

Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death,
so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead
by the glory of the Father,
so we too might walk in newness of life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his,
we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

We know that our old self was crucified with him

so that the body of sin might be destroyed,
and we might no longer be enslaved to sin.

For whoever has died is freed from sin.

But if we have died with Christ,
we believe that we will also live with him.

We know that Christ, being raised from the dead,
will never die again;
death no longer has dominion over him.

The death he died, he died to sin, once for all;
but the life he lives, he lives to God.

So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin
and alive to God in Christ Jesus.


Matthew 28.1-10

Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew

After the sabbath,
as the first day of the week was dawning,
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.

And suddenly there was a great earthquake;
for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven,
came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.

His appearance was like lightning,
and his clothing white as snow.

For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men.

But the angel said to the women,
"Do not be afraid;
I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified.

He is not here;
for he has been raised, as he said.
Come, see the place where he lay.

Then go quickly and tell his disciples,
"He has been raised from the dead,
and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee;
there you will see him.'
This is my message for you."

So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy,
and ran to tell his disciples.

Suddenly Jesus met them and said, "Greetings!"
And they came to him,
took hold of his feet, and worshipped him.

Then Jesus said to them,
"Do not be afraid;
go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee;
there they will see me."


Collect

Lord of all life and power
who through the mighty resurrection of your Son
overcame the old order of sin and death
to make all things new in him:
grant that we, being dead to sin
and alive to you in Jesus Christ,
to who with you and the Holy Spirit
to praise and honour, glory and might,
now and in all eternity.
Amen.