Third Sunday of Easter – 18th April 2021
ORDER OF SERVICE
You can click to expand or minimise the order of service below.
All are requested to join in wherever text is GREEN
Where the ✝ is shown, all are encouraged to make the sign of the cross.
Where the ✊ is shown all are encouraged to strike their breast with a closed hand following the actions of Fr. David.
Where the ✋ is shown all are encouraged to tap their breast with an open hand following the actions of Fr. David.
HYMN: Christ the Lord is risen again! Christ hath broken every chain!
Christ the Lord is risen again!
Christ hath broken every chain!
Hark, the angels shout for joy,
Singing evermore on high,
Alleluia!
He who bore all pain and loss
Comfortless upon the Cross,
Lives in glory now on high,
Pleads for us, and hears our cry.
Alleluia!
Now he bids us tell abroad
How the lost may be restored,
How the penitent forgiven,
How we too may enter heaven.
Alleluia!
Thou, our Pascal Lamb indeed,
Christ, today thy people feed;
Take our sin and guilt away,
That we all may sing for ay,
Alleluia!
BLESSED BE GOD: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit:
Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. ✝
And blessed be his kingdom, now and forever. Amen
From Easter to Pentecost:
Allelulia. Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia
In Lent and other penitential occasions:
Bless the Lord who forgives all our sins;
His mercy endures for ever.
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray:
Almighty God, to whom all hearts be open, all desires known and from whom no secrets are hidden: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy name, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
This prayer is omitted during Lent and Advent:
Glory to God in the highest, and peace to God’s people on earth. Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory. Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us; you are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer. For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
Holy God, holy and mighty ✝, holy and immortal, have mercy on us.
THE COLLECT OF THE DAY
O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
THE FIRST READING
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles:
Peter 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? 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. But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer given to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. 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.
“And now, friends, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. In this way God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer. 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 RESPONSE
Psalm 4
Cum invocarem
1 Answer me when I call, O God, defender of my cause; *
you set me free when I am hard-pressed;
have mercy on me and hear my prayer.
2 “You mortals, how long will you dishonor my glory; *
how long will you worship dumb idols
and run after false gods?”
3 Know that the Lord does wonders for the faithful; *
when I call upon the Lord, he will hear me.
4 Tremble, then, and do not sin; *
speak to your heart in silence upon your bed.
5 Offer the appointed sacrifices *
and put your trust in the Lord.
6 Many are saying, “Oh, that we might see better times!” *
Lift up the light of your countenance upon us, O Lord.
7 You have put gladness in my heart, *
more than when grain and wine and oil increase.
8 I lie down in peace; at once I fall asleep; *
for only you, Lord, make me dwell in safety.
THE SECOND READING
A reading from the book of 1 John
See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.
Thanks be to God
All stand for the Acclamation and Gospel reading.
ACCLAMATION
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Lord Jesus, explain the scriptures to us.
Make our hearts burn within us as you talk to us.
Alleluia!
THE GOSPEL
The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to:
Luke
✝✝✝
Jesus himself stood among the disciples and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 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.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence.
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.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 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, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.
After the Gospel reading
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ
THE HOMILY
Have you noticed just how many of the post-Easter stories about the resurrected Jesus are centred on meals? The disciples knew the Lord in the breaking of the bread at Emmaus, as we recall in today’s collect; and Jesus comes among the disciples and shows his risen humanity by eating a piece of broiled fish in the gospel reading today.
Meals are a very central part of the ministry of Jesus. Some meals get him into trouble, as when he chooses to eat with sinners, and those outside the faith. Other meals are acts of abundance, as when Jesus feeds the five thousand by taking what is available, and then blesses, breaks, and distributes it, until all are fed. His last evening of fellowship with his disciples is focused on a meal, during which he institutes the Holy Eucharist. Eating together is a sign of celebration of relationships being lived out!
Most congregations, including ourselves, like having meals together, because they like being witheach other, eating good food, and enjoying one another’s company. So do families. There are sacred and holy things that underlie the common meal. We know they are signs of Christ’s risen presence among us. Jesus’s use of the Passover meal to institute the Eucharist, ties the ritual meal – a meal recalling God’s deliverance of the Israelites out of the hands of the Egyptians, to a newrelationship with Christ and with one another. It becomes the spiritual meal that brings us all to a common table, in a right relationship with both God and with each other. That is why it has become central to our common life as Christians. Healing is part of the experience of eating with the risen Lord.
Several years ago, a woman moved back to a small town, followed shortly by her son, who was dying of AIDS. The community accepted them both, but after his death, she had a difficult time with church and God. She was often angry and short-tempered. However, she continued to stay involved with the community, and then one weekend she attended a Bible study workshop, followed by a fellowship meal. The next day she came to her pastor in tears and said, “You know, after the study yesterday, the meal last night, and the Eucharist this morning, I’m not angry anymore. The power of the communal and spiritual meals was a significant element in her inner healing.
Righteousness is also part of the meal experience – ’righteousness’ meaning right relationships, based on the just treatment of all people. Scholars tell us that one fundamental difference between our world and that of the early church is that the early church existed in a world with a clearly defined ruling class, and then ‘the rest’! So, there were people with whom you ate, and people with whom you did not eat! Slaves, the poor, Samaritans, and gentiles were kept separate from those with wealth and privilege. Jesus re-wrote the rules by associating with, and eating with people of all categories; they were all God’s people to him!
Recently a small church, after many conversations, decided to host a meal for people in the neighbourhood, most of who were of different ethnic and social backgrounds. With the assistance of the local mayor, they invited people to come€-“and they came! The evening was centred on a meal prepared by the church members. The children played with a soccer ball while the adults sat at the table and talked. The mayor awarded door prizes to everyone, and afterwards, people remarked how much fun it had been. They are considering doing it again!
This is the kind of meal to which the risen Jesus invites us – a table for others as well as ourselves – a righteous meal, to which all are welcome. Finally, the meal becomes a source of our hope. In today’s psalm, which incidentally is also included as part of the service of Compline in the Book of Common Prayer, the psalmist says: œMany are saying, ‘O, that we might see better times’. All of us live with some fear and anxiety over our current economic and pandemic situation. As more and more of us feel the strains and stress of the moment, our prayers for stability, for jobs for all, for honesty and fairness in our economic system, bring us to utter the psalmist’s words as our own: O that we might see better times. The psalmist continues with these great words of praise, even in the midst of such troubling times of pandemic, and economic distress: ‘You have put gladness in my heart, more than when grain and wine and oil increase’. And so the Eucharistic meal becomes the source of our comfort, and the hope that we might see better times, and take our rest in peace. At the centre of the Resurrection is the meal of celebration: the bread and the cup. Christians understand other meals in relationship to the Eucharist, and when they include all who are hungry or thirsty, they are a foretaste of that heavenly banquet where we will all one day feast with Our Lord in paradise. The disciples knew the Lord Jesus in the breaking of the bread. May each of us meet the risen Lord, and know him, both at the altar today, and for ever! Amen
THE NICENE CREED
Please stand for the Nicene Creed.
Let us together affirm the faith of the Church. ✝
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary,
and became truly human.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
✝ and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Let us pray for the world and for the Church:
At the conclusion of the prayers the priest says:
Almighty God, who has promised to hear our prayers.
Grant that what we have asked in faith we may by your grace receive, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
or
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
THE CONFESSION:
THE CONFESSION:
God is steadfast in love and infinite in mercy, welcoming sinners and inviting them to the Lord’s table.
Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith, confident in God’s forgiveness.
Merciful God, our maker and our judge, we have sinned against you in thought, word and deed, and in what we have failed to do: we have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbours as ourselves; we repent and are sorry ✊ for all ✊ our sins ✊, Father forgive us, strengthen us to love and obey you in newness of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
**(Note: all are encouraged to strike their breast 3 times following the lead of Fr. David as he utters the words: ‘sorry for all our sins’)**
THE ABSOLUTION:
Almighty God, who has promised forgiveness to all who turn to him in faith, pardon you ✝ and set you free from all your sins, strengthen you in all goodness and keep you in eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
THE PEACE:
THE PEACE:
The congregation stands.
We are the Body of Christ.
His Spirit is with us.
The peace of the Lord be always with you.
And also with you.
Please greet each other with a sign of peace.
HYMN: Now is eternal life, If risen with Christ we stand,
Now is eternal life,
If risen with Christ we stand,
In him to life reborn,
And holden in his hand;
No more we fear death’s ancient dread,
In Christ arisen from the dead.
For God, the living God,
Stooped down to man’s estate;
By death destroying death,
Christ opened wide life’s gate:
He lives, who dies; he reigns on high;
Who lives in him shall never die.
Unfathomed love divine,
Reign thou within my heart;
From thee nor depth nor height,
Nor life nor death can part;
Our life is hid with God in thee,
Now and through all eternity.
THE OFFERTORY
THE OFFERTORY
Blessed are you, God of all creation. Through your goodness we have these gifts to share. Accept and use our offerings for your glory and the service of your kingdom.
Blessed be God forever.
Let us pray
We do not presume to come to your table, merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in your manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under your table, but you are the same Lord whose nature is always to have mercy. Grant us, therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of your dear son Jesus Christ, and to drink his blood, that we may evermore dwell in him and he in us. Amen.
EUCHARISTIC PRAYER C
CLICK HERE FOR EUCHARISTIC PRAYER
The Lord be with you.
and also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give thanks and praise.
Father, we give you thanks and praise through your beloved Son Jesus Christ, your living Word, through whom you have created all things; who was sent by you in your great goodness to be our Saviour.
By the power of the Holy Spirit he took flesh; as your Son, born of the blessed Virgin, he lived on earth and went about among us; he opened wide his arms for us on the cross; he put an end to death by dying for us; and revealed the resurrection by rising to new life; so he fulfilled your will and won for you a holy people.
Proper Preface
Therefore with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we proclaim your great and glorious name, for ever praising you and saying:
Holy, holy, holy Lord God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest. ✝ Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
Lord, you are holy indeed, the source of all holiness; grant that by the power of your Holy Spirit, and according to your holy will, these gifts of bread and wine may be to us the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ; who, in the same night that he was betrayed, took bread and gave you thanks; he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take, eat; this is my body ✝ which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.
In the same way, after supper he took the cup and gave you thanks; he gave it to them, saying: Drink this, all of you; this is my blood ✝ of the new covenant,
which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, as often as you drink it,
in remembrance of me.
Great is the mystery of faith:
Christ has died:
Christ is risen:
Christ will come again.
And so, Father, calling to mind his death on the cross, his perfect sacrifice, made once for the sins of the whole world; rejoicing in his mighty resurrection and glorious ascension, and looking for his coming in glory, we celebrate this memorial of our redemption.
As we offer you this our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, we bring before you this bread and this cup and we thank you for counting us worthy to stand in your presence and serve you. Send the Holy Spirit on your people and gather into one in your kingdom all who share this one bread and one cup, so that we, in the company of [N and] all the saints, may praise and glorify you for ever, through Jesus Christ our Lord; by whom, and with whom, and in whom, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all honour and glory be yours, almighty Father, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Let us pray with confidence to the Father, as our Saviour has taught us:
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, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
O Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. ✋
O Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.✋
O Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant us peace.✋
**(Note: All are encouraged to tap their breast three times following the example of Fr. David as he utters the words ‘…have mercy, …have mercy and …grant us peace’)**
We break this bread to share in the body of Christ.
Though we are many, we are one body, because we all share in one bread.
This is the Lamb of God ✝, who takes away the sins of the world;
Happy are those who are called to his supper.
Lord, I am not worthy ✊ to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.
**(Note: All are encouraged to strike breast following the example of Fr. David as all utter the words ‘not worthy’)**
After Communion the celebrant and the congregation say
Let us pray.
Father of all we give you thanks and praise that when we were still far off you met us in your Son and brought us home. Dying and living, he declared your love, gave us grace, and opened the gate of glory. May we who share Christ’s body live his risen life; we who drink his cup bring life to others; we whom the Spirit lights give light to the world.
Keep us in this hope that we have grasped; so we and all your children shall be free, and the whole earth live to praise your name.
Father, we offer ourselves to you as a living sacrifice through Jesus Christ our Lord. Send us out in the power of your Spirit to live and work to your praise and glory.
The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord: and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit ✝, be amongst you and remain with you always.
Amen.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord:
In the name of Christ. Amen.
HYMN: The strife is o’er, the battle done; Now is the Victor’s triumph won;
The strife is o’er, the battle done;
Now is the Victor’s triumph won;
O let the song of praise be sung.
Alleluia!
Death’s mightiest powers have done their worst,
And Jesus hath his foes dispersed;
Let shouts of praise and joy outburst.
Alleluia!
On the third morn he rose again
Glorious in majesty to reign;
O let us swell the joyful strain.
Alleluia!
Lord, by the stripes which wounded thee
From death’s dread sting thy servants free,
That we may live, and sing to thee.
Alleluia!
NOTE: The introductory music is Chorale Prelude ‘ Christ ist erstanden (BWV 627) – Bach
Music
Here is the music for this week’s hymns, if you would like to practice beforehand.
Performed by Fr. David Price