This week’s Prayers and Readings :
The Collect for the 3rd Sunday after Easter
Almighty Father, who in your great mercy gladdened the disciples with the sight of the risen Lord: give us such knowledge of his presence with us, that we may be strengthened and sustained by his risen life and serve you continually in righteousness and truth; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen
The Post Communion Prayer for this Sunday
The Psalm for this Sunday is Psalm 4
Answer me when I call, O God of my right! You gave me room when I was in distress. Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer. 2 How long, you people, shall my honour suffer shame? How long will you love vain words, and seek after lies? 3 But know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him. 4 When you are disturbed, do not sin; ponder it on your beds, and be silent. 5 Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the Lord. 6 There are many who say, ‘O that we might see some good! Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord!’ 7 You have put gladness in my heart more than when their grain and wine abound. 8 I will both lie down and sleep in peace; for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning is now and shall be forever. Amen
The First reading for this Sunday is taken from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 3, verses 12 - 19
When Peter saw it, he addressed the people, ‘You Israelites, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk? 13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release him. 14 But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer given to you, 15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. 16 And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you. 17 ‘And now, friends, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 In this way God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer. 19 Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out,
This is the Word of the Lord Thanks be to God
The Gospel reading for this Sunday is taken from the Gospel according to to St Luke, Chapter 24, verses 36 - 48
Hear the Gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ, according to Luke Praise to You, o Lord !
36 While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ 37 They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. 38 He said to them, ‘Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.’ 40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41 While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate in their presence. 44 Then he said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.’ 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46 and he said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.
This is the Gospel of the Lord Praise to You, o Christ
There is no sermon this week to allow time for the APCM
Last week’s readings and sermon
The Collect for last Sunday, The Second Sunday Of Easter
Almighty Father, you have given your only Son to die for our sins and to rise again for our justification: grant us so to put away the leaven of malice and wickedness that we may always serve you in pureness of living and truth; through the merits of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen
The Post Communion Prayer
Lord God our Father, through our Saviour Jesus Christ you have assured your children of eternal life and in baptism have made us one with him: deliver us from the death of sin and raise us to new life in your love, in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen
The Psalm for last Sunday is Psalm 133
How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! 2 It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes. 3 It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there the Lord ordained his blessing, life for evermore.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning is now and shall be forever. Amen
The First Lesson for last Sunday is taken from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 4, verses 32 - 35
Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. 33 With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. 35 They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.
This is the Word of the Lord Thanks be to God
The Gospel reading for last Sunday is taken from the Gospel according to to St John, Chapter 20, verses 19 - 31
Hear the Gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ, according to John Praise to You, O Lord !
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’
24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’
26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ 27 Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ 28 Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ 29 Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may come to believethat Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
This is the Gospel of the Lord Praise to You, O Christ
The sermon last week was delivered by Pam Bateman
Try to imagine what it was like for the ten disciples. How would you and I feel together in a country where we were considered to be different, very different and the one who was our leader, suddenly unjustly taken, arrested and killed! It's quite hard for us to imagine, isn't it! But try. It's so unreal to us today, even though in many ways, we are living in a foreign country, a country whose laws, ethics and morals are perhaps different. Perhaps it would be easier if we tried to imagine our country had been conquered by Germany in WW2. and we were Jewish and the Chief Rabbi had been killed. It's so hard to imagine how alone and vulnerable the disciples felt.
How the ten must have been questioning what was real, dependable, and what they should do, if they could do anything!
Then suddenly Jesus was there, they could see Him, hear Him! And what does Jesus say to them?
He says 'Peace be with you'. And suddenly they were filled with Joy. And then
He repeats that and says 'Peace be with you'. And goes on to say 'As the Father has sent me, so I send you.' Then He breathed on them and said to them ' Receive the Holy Spirit.' This harks back to John 14:16-17 Where Jesus told the disciples 'I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever – the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you'. ... and 16:7 where Jesus said 'It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.' The word used here for Helper is Parakletos and refers to the Holy Spirit. It also means Comforter, Counselor, and Advocate.
But why did He breathe on them and tell them to receive the Holy Spirit? The only way I can think about it is, a bit like having to learn the alphabet and to be able to start to read. You can't read without knowing the alphabet. Jesus had been teaching them over His three years of ministry. He had been teaching them and living out to them the equivalent of the basic alphabet. It was a necessary tool for them to change their way of living but now they had the reality of life that existed after death before their very eyes. The Spirit that He breathed into them was the Spirit that led and empowered Jesus to do all that He did during His ministry. The Holy Spirit was breathed into them to live their new empowered lives.
It wasn't a big dramatic event like Pentecost. Jesus breathed into them the breath of Life. What do we say in the Creed; 'We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life'. The 18th century Saint Seraphim of Sarov said 'Acquire a peaceful spirit and around you thousands will be saved'. 'It is necessary that the Holy Spirit enter our heart. Everything good that we do, that we do for Christ, is given to us by the Holy Spirit, but prayer most of all, which is always available to us'. 'The true aim of our Christian life consists in the acquisition of the Holy Spirit'.
For many years I was very apprehensive about the Holy Spirit movement and what happens. After all, Pentecost was a massive event! There were tongues of fire over their heads, They spoke in many different languages that they couldn't possibly have known before! I didn't like the loudness, the extravagence of it. It wasn't quite British and very public. But the first giving and receiving was a very quiet event. Yes there was Joy. Yes, there was a change in their whole demeanour, that became manifested in the following days that developed until finally Jesus was able to leave them and ascend. Until that time Jesus had some specific tasks still to do, not least to help Thomas and Peter and show the disciples that His power was still there. Breathing the Holy Spirit into them was to give them the power that He had. He told them 'If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained'. Do you remember the indignation of the priests when Jesus forgave the sins of a paralytic and His response was to ask them in Matthew 9:5, Mark 2:9 and Luke 5:23 'Which is easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven you,” or to say, “Stand up and Walk?”' The Holy Spirit gave them that power.
When the Holy Spirit comes in you are changed. It is an every day renewing experience available to you. The proof of the pudding is in the eating, isn't it? Basically I failed at school. The Holy Spirit changed me. It was like a switch had been turned on and enabled God to change me bit by bit. Gradually we become the person we were created to be. It starts with the breathing in of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit acts differently in each of us, moving us as we make ourselves available. Thanks be to God.