The Second Sunday of Easter
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Prelude, Welcome, and Information n Hymn #635 We Walk by Faith |
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The grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you
all. And also with
you. Alleluia! Christ is risen! He
is risen indeed! Alleluia! He has
conquered death! Alleluia! He has
triumphed over the grave! Alleluia! He has
defeated hell! Alleluia! He has
risen again! Alleluia! Christ is
alive! Alleluia! This is
the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia. Power, riches, wisdom and strength, Sing with all the people of God For the Lamb who was slain This is the feast of victory for our God, |
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The Lord be with you. And
also with you. Let us pray together. Almighty God, with joy we
celebrate the day of our Lord’s resurrection. By the grace of Christ among
us, enable us to show the power of the resurrection in all we say and do,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and
the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever.
Amen. |
Reading:
Acts 4:32—35
A reading from the book of the Act of the Apostles
32Now 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. 33With great power the apostles gave their
testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them
all. 34There 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. 35They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was
distributed to each as any had need.
The Word of the Lord
Reading:
1 John 1:1-2:2
A reading from the first letter of John
1We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what
we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands,
concerning the word of life— 2this life was revealed, and we
have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was
with the Father and was revealed to us— 3we declare to you what
we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly
our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4We
are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
5This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God
is light and in him there is no darkness at all. 6If we say
that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and
do not do what is true; 7but if we walk in the light as he
himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of
Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
8If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not
in us. 9If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just
will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10If
we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
2My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not
sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ
the righteous; 2and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins,
and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
The Word of the Lord.
Gospel
Verse:
Alleluia! Blessed are those
who have not seen and yet have come to believe. Alleluia! (John
20:29)
Gospel Reading: John 20:19-31
19When 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.” 20After
he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples
rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again,
“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22When
he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy
Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven
them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” 24But
Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when
Jesus came. 25So 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.”
26A 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.” 27Then 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.” 28Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my
God!” 29Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have
seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to
believe.” 30Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of
his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31But these
are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son
of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
Sermon
(added at the end of the document)
Hymn #815 I
Want to Walk as a Child of the Light
Thanks and Offertory
Prayers
of the Church: (edited and shortened by a bit)
Alive in the
Risen Christ, let us pray in faith.
(Silent prayer.)(Response: Your mercy is great.)
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Unite your
church so that it testifies to the resurrection of Jesus with power and love.
Hear us, O God…
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Refresh all
creation with the promise of new life. Hear us, O God…
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Guide all in
authority and lead us to peace. Hear us, O God…
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Give us the
power of a generous spirit. Hear us, O God…
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Shine the
light of the risen Christ on our congregation. Hear us, O God…
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Fill our
bishops, Susan and Michael, with your wisdom. Bless the people of Trinity
Church, Windsor and their pastor, Pr. Mike Lees. Hear us, O God…
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In
Thanksgiving and remembrance, we call the live and gifts of those who live with
you in eternal joy. Hear us, O God…
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In the hope
of new life in Christ, we raise our prayers to you, trusting in your
never-ending goodness and mercy, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hymn #376 Thine
Is The Glory
The
Lord’s Prayer
Finally let us pray for all things as
our Lord would have us ask:
Our
Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done, on earth as it is in
heaven.
Give
us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against
us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For
thine is the kingdom, and the power,
and the
glory, forever and ever. Amen.
The
Nunc Dimittis
Now, Lord, you let your servant go in peace:
your word has been fulfilled.
My own eyes have seen the salvation
which you have prepared in the
sight of every people:
a light to reveal you to the
nations
and the glory of your people Israel.
Benediction and Sending
The God of hope, who brought again from the dead
that great shepherd of the sheep, Jesus Christ,
fill us with all joy and peace in believing!
Amen.
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!
Go in peace. Serve the Lord. Thanks
be to God!
God of eternal life and love
We give thanks today for the life and witness of Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,
For his service in pursuit of peace as a naval officer,
For his service to the Queen as a wise counsellor and companion,
For his commitment in marriage for over seventy years in witness to mutual
respect and love,
For his commitment to nurturing family and guiding with wisdom their growth and
development,
For his encouragement of young people around the world to skill
development, physical health, adventure, and service through the Duke of
Edinburgh Award,
For his care and advocacy for all of creation
For a life lived selflessly in service to others.
We remember with thanksgiving and commit him into Your keeping this day in the
sure and certain hope of resurrection to eternal life.
May he rest in peace and rise in glory.
these
are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son
of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
v A lot of breath has been wasted on the situation
Thomas the Apostle finds himself in. He’s often called “Doubting Thomas” as a
way of picking him out in the crowd. The real story is that he doubted and
finally came to believe. All the other disciples got to see Jesus; why not him?
So he says he won’t believe unless he can put his fingers or hand in the wounds
of Jesus from the nails and the spear. Finally he becomes “Believing Thomas”
and that might be the better way to remember him.
v As important as the story of Thomas is – and
considering how the Gospel’s chapter concludes (these are written so that you may come to believe) – it
is important, we might miss all the other important points on what Jesus says
and does in this passage.
v In this passage, that takes place on the evening of
the day of resurrection, shows Jesus doing a number of important things with
his disciples:
v Both times, he appears bodily among them, not as a
spirit or ghost or a dream, but a physical body that can somehow do more than
the usual physical body. He has the marks of the nails in his hands and of the
spear in his side, so his friends see it is him.
v Both times, he greets them with peace. His peace is that
important.
v He breathes on the disciples and gives them the
commission to forgive sins. His breath is the breath of life; it is his life he
gives his disciples. His breath is the Holy Spirit. The Father created with a
word and Jesus give life with his breath.
v When Thomas is with them, Jesus is willing to have
Thomas test him. (Put your finger
here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side.)
He does this so Thomas might believe… which he does without placing his fingers
or hand in the marks of the Crucifixion.
v He goes on to say Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.
As blessed as the disciples have been in seeing the resurrected Jesus, those
believers who come after those who knew Jesus are not any less blessed. Theirs’
is different blessing.
v Thomas doubted. However Thomas believed and he came
to believe in the presence of the fellowship of the church. He did not do this
by himself. It is in the church that Jesus’ presence may be found. Christian
legend says Thomas went on to preach the Gospel in what we now call India. His
faith endures there in the churches that bear his name.
v If we find ourselves in the situation of Thomas (Unless I see … I will not believe.),
it is not the end of our faith. Jesus was willing to go to rather great lengths
to have Thomas believe. As one who constantly cares for us, he will do the
same, although probably not in the way we’d expect. What that would be like is
something I couldn’t guess at, but we know that Jesus has faith in us even when
our faith is less strong. After all, we are saved by grace and faith is a gift
of grace.
v There are quite a few stories of the resurrection of
Jesus – the women at the tomb, Mary Magdalene telling the apostles (Women are
the first to believe and the first to tell of the resurrection; it’s the men
who are cranky and hard-hearted), the disciples on the road to Emmaus, Thomas’
encounter with Jesus. I don’t think we’ll ever understand the resurrection of
Jesus and we don’t have to understand it to experience it, even in the littlest
ways. The Gospels were not written for profit or sales or fame; they were
written so Christians could experience Jesus’ teaching, presence, and
ultimately his resurrection and life.
They were written for us.
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
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