Run to Tell: Loving God Most This Easter

A family presents a newborn for baptism and the church greets the child with joy, prayer, and the sign of the cross. The liturgy frames baptism as entry into Christ’s life, a communal responsibility that asks parents and godparents to raise the child in faith, to renounce sin, and to profess the creed. Ritual actions—anointing with oil, the white garment, and the candle—mark new birth by water and the Holy Spirit and entrust the child to a community called to keep the light of Christ burning.

A reflective interlude contrasts the ancient, earth-moving reality of the resurrection with the fragmentation of modern attention. A vivid satire imagines technology interpreting the empty tomb—voice assistants, social media, viral hot takes—showing how cultural noise can absorb and silence the most world-altering news. That contrast presses a question about priorities: will the victory over death reorder daily life, or will Easter become one event among many?

The liturgy insists that love for God must rank above other loves if discipleship will hold. Actions and speech reveal what people love most; when Easter shapes life, believers show authentic hope, joy, courage, and charity. The narrative urges a practical spirituality: let baptismal identity inform conversation, time, and commitments so that the resurrection produces sustained witness rather than a weekend curiosity.

Intercessions call saints to pray and name the dangers from which God saves, asking God to free the child from sin and make her a temple of the Spirit. The Eucharistic prayer celebrates Christ’s paschal mystery, offers the memorial of his death and rising, and prays that the assembly become one body in him. The rites close with communion, final blessings, and a charge to live the Paschal joy daily, so that baptismal baptismal rebirth and Easter’s triumph remain central to a life ordered by love.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Resurrection requires enduring urgency The resurrection calls for a lasting reorientation, not a weekend headline. When Easter becomes the center of affection and conversation, it reshapes daily decisions, priorities, and the courage to witness. Let the resurrection’s victory propel constant hope and sacrificial love rather than occasional nostalgia. [33:10]
• 2. Love orders speech and action What people talk about and do reveals their deepest attachments. When God ranks first, relationships, time, and service fall into a coherent moral order that resists distraction and fear. Cultivate practices that test and reveal the hierarchy of love in everyday life. [35:42]
• 3. Baptism births new spiritual life Baptism does more than mark identity; it effects a real change by water and the Spirit and calls for a faithful upbringing. Parents, godparents, and community must guard and nurture that divine life so it resists sin’s contagion and grows daily. Remember baptism as the date that shapes a lifetime of discipleship. [41:44]
• 4. Worship binds community to hope Eucharistic prayer and communal intercession locate personal faith within a redeemed people and a cosmic story. Regular participation in sacrament and prayer reinforces belonging, fuels hope, and trains the heart to live toward resurrection promises. Let liturgy form the memory that steadies action amid cultural noise. [51:11]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [12:10] - Church welcomes the child
• [16:09] - Prayer and Sign of the Cross
• [28:31] - Satire: resurrection in modern life
• [33:10] - The urgency of the resurrection
• [35:18] - Love God most: ordering life
• [38:57] - Intercessions and saints' prayers
• [41:44] - Baptismal promises and creed renewal
• [43:36] - Baptism, anointing, and light
• [51:11] - Eucharist: memorial and offering
• [60:40] - Communion and closing prayer
• [73:32] - Final blessing and dismissal

Bible reading
Matthew 22:37-38 (ESV)
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.”

John 20:1-4 (ESV)
Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.

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Observation questions

1. According to the sermon, what do our daily actions and conversations reveal about what we love most? [35:42]
2. What contrast does the sermon draw between how the first disciples responded to the resurrection and how modern society might respond today? [33:10]
3. What three responsibilities do parents and godparents take on during a baptism? [41:44]
4. What does the liturgy say baptism does for a child, beyond just marking their identity? [41:44]

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Interpretation questions

1. The sermon suggests that the resurrection should reorder our daily lives and priorities. Why is it so difficult for this single event to maintain that kind of lasting impact? [33:10]
2. The first disciples ran to tell others about the empty tomb. What does their physical urgency communicate about the value and nature of the news they were sharing?
3. The baptismal rite includes renouncing sin, Satan, and professing faith. Why are both the rejection of evil and the affirmation of belief necessary for new life in Christ?
4. The sermon claims that loving God most brings coherence to our moral choices and protects us from fear and distraction. How does putting God first practically reorder other relationships and commitments?

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Application questions

1. What does your calendar or your bank statement from the last month reveal about what you love most? What would need to change for those things to show that God is your first love?
2. The resurrection is described as an event that should create enduring urgency, not just a weekend celebration. [33:10] What is one practical way you can keep the joy and truth of Easter central in your daily routine this week?
3. Baptism is a communal event where the church family promises to help raise a child in the faith. [41:44] How can you more actively support the parents and children in your church community, even if you are not a godparent?
4. The sermon noted that our speech reveals our deepest attachments. [35:42] What topics most frequently dominate your conversations with friends? What would it look like to more naturally speak about what God is doing in your life?
5. The liturgy calls the baptized to "walk always as a child of the light." What is one area of your life that feels more like darkness than light? How can you actively "clothe yourself in Christ" there?
6. The first disciples ran to share the news. Who is one person in your life that you feel a sense of urgency to pray for or share the hope of Christ with? What is stopping you from starting that conversation?