 Welcome, Cheviot churches and also those joining us from elsewhere. We worship together on this 3rd Sunday of Easter.
Notices:
Call to Worship We gather with joy, for Easter brings us new life. The Risen Christ is with us wherever we go. Love breaks all bonds and unites us in hope. Christ has defeated death. Let us rejoice and be glad! Hymn 427 – Alleluia, Alleluia Prayers of Adoration and Confession Loving God, we rejoice in new life around us. For daffodils and tulips in the garden, for lambs and calves in our fields. The whole world rejoices in Spring. We praise you for the Easter message of Jesus rising from the dead, a glorious new beginning for the world. We can never be the same. Help us to show forth the new life you give us and greet each new day as an occasion to discover Christ in our midst, making all things new with the springtime of your Spirit. Loving Creator, as your children we are given a place within Your heart. You know our inner workings, and are able to name what is right and wrong in the lives we lead. Lord have mercy, As Your children, we recognise the upset and hurt we cause to those we love the most, with the harsh words we use and our selfish ambition Christ have mercy, As Your children, we are invited to share in the stewardship of creation, and sometimes we fail to care. Tempted by what is easy to use and readily available, we ignore the need to sustain all of life. Lord have mercy upon us and forgive us. Hear the words of the risen Christ: Peace be with you. Receive the peace and forgiveness of Christ, and rejoice in his gift of new life this day and every day. Thanks be to God. Lord’s Prayer Readings – Acts 3:12–19 Luke 24:36b–48 Hymn 405 – We sing the praise Weekly Prayer Creator God, you gave us a beautiful world to live in and to care for especially here in the parish of our Cheviot Churches. We pray that you will open our minds so that we may understand the scriptures, and that by faith in the name of Jesus, times of refreshing may come to us again. In faith we hear the Lord's voice speaking to us over the ages " Peace be with you". Amen Reflection What are you looking forward to do, once we fully come out of lockdown? For many people it will be visiting family or even going a holiday. Some people may be looking forward to going out for a coffee or to shop. I actually quite miss going to museums. In Cairo I was lucky, because the Egyptian Museum was nearby with mummies and the wonderful treasure found in the tomb of Tutankhamen. When it is taken on tour, there are queues a mile long to see it, but in Cairo you just walk in and there are cases of the most wonderful exhibitions, with only one security guard looking at their mobile phone. You feel you can reach out and touch the mask, but of course there is glass in the way. Quite flimsy glass, if truth be told, but they are opening a new museum soon, and maybe the security will be better. We are still in the aftermath of Easter and still looking at the resurrection stories, and today we are looking at Luke. The two disciples, Cleopas and most probably his wife, have walked to Emmaus and have been accompanied by a stranger, who shares a meal with them. In breaking bread, they recognise that it is the Risen Lord, who has been accompanying them, setting their hearts on fire with his words. They hurry back to Jerusalem to share the good news with the other disciples, and that is when we start our reading today. They are in the process in recounting what had happened, when Jesus appears to them all. The risen Jesus stands among them and says Peace be with you. It is almost like a rerun of the story we read last week about Thomas from John’s gospel. The disciples seem at first confused and anxious, taking him to be a ghost and treating him like an exhibit. But there was no glass to separate him from them, and here in Luke they are able to touch him. Indeed, he invites them to do so. What’s more, he asks for something to eat and eats some fish. The Road to Emmaus story is one of my favourite in Scripture, but I always feel what we read today has been tacked on. Luke is trying to address concerns over whether Jesus actually rose from the dead or whether the disciples had visions. In this story Luke is stressing the physicality of the resurrection, for ghosts can’t be touched, ghosts cannot eat. Maybe it would have helped if Jesus came down a glitzy staircase from heaven and dazzled the disciples with resurrection power, but that wasn’t his way. He came still bearing the wounds from the cross. That is something that comes across so strongly. Jesus came to the disciples. They didn’t search out him. He came to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus; he came to the disciples on the lakeshore; he came to them in the Upper room, as in our reading today. He came to them in familiar places, and he offered peace and forgiveness. He came to a group of bewildered people and offered new hope and new life. But then God comes to us in our familiar places, and embraces us as we are, loves us as we are and redeems us as we are. The disciples were made witnesses to say what they had heard and what they had seen and what they had experienced, and they testified to the flesh and blood Christ who rose from the dead, about how he had changed their lives. They went from that Upper Room and turned the world upside down, that group of ordinary people. We too are witnesses to Christ and empowered by the Spirit, we too have to share the wonders of God and the new life offered and so be an Easter people in our world. Hymn SGP 51 – On the hill of Calvary Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession God our Maker, Source of Easter power and hope, You have walked with your faithful people through many generations, people facing challenge and uncertainty, people seeking your purpose and promise. We still face challenges and uncertainty, even with Easter in our hearts. Walk with us and with those for whom we pray for this day, so that your resurrecting power may lead us in lives of faithfulness. In the name of Christ our Risen Lord, All: Hear our prayer. We pray for children and young people who must think about the future in these uncertain times, facing threats new to this generation like the pandemic and climate change. Give them hope rooted in the knowledge that their lives matter to you. Show them how to make a difference in the world, whatever threats they face as they grow. In the name of Christ our Risen Lord, All: Hear our prayer. We pray for people for whom age or experience, illness or disability create barriers to full participation in your world. Surround each one in pain or despair with your comfort and renew in each one a sense of dignity and purpose. Show them how much they matter to you and to us. In the name of Christ our Risen Lord, All: Hear our prayer. We pray for all those facing grief and loss in these difficult days when it is still so hard to gather for support. Stay with those who must rearrange their lives without their beloved. Give them strength and comfort through your promise of resurrection. We continue to remember the Queen and the royal family at this time and all others who are mourning. We pray for communities challenged by forces beyond their control-- natural disaster, volcano eruption, political strife and the economic consequence of the pandemic. Give courage to those facing challenges, and wisdom to those who lead, so that well-being may be restored soon and hope for the future prevail. In the name of Christ our Risen Lord, All: Hear our prayer. As Earth Day approaches this week, we remember before you the struggles within your creation, creatures losing habitat, unique species dying out, oceans filled with plastic, the climate warming and the havoc that results for all of us. Jesus, you are the firstborn of all creation; Help us to honour you by caring for the earth and its fragile balances in the ways we live and the priorities we set. Amen Hymn 409 – Jesus is risen. Alleluia Benediction May God who is light shine in your darkness May God who is love be the love among you May God who is life be your life everlasting And may the blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit be with you all, now and always. Amen
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