An Easter prayer

O Lord God, our Father.  You are the light that can never be put out; and now you give us a light that shall drive away all darkness.  You are love without coldness, and you have given us such warmth in our hearts that we can love all when we meet.  You are the life that defies death, and you have opened for us the way that leads to eternal life.

None of us is a great Christian; we are all humble and ordinary.  But your grace is enough for us.  Arouse in us that small degree of joy and thankfulness of which we are capable, to the timid faith which we can muster, to the cautious obedience which we cannot refuse, and thus to the wholeness of life which you have prepared for all of us through the death and resurrection of your Son.  Do not allow any of us to remain apathetic or indifferent to the wondrous glory or Easter, but let the light of our risen Lord reach every corner of our dull hearts. 

Karl Barth, 1886 – 1968