Morning Service for Sunday 26th April

INTRODUCTION

What shall I return to the Lord
for all his bounty to me?
I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the Lord,
I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people.Psalm 116: 12-14

HYMN: Singing the Faith 311

The day of resurrection,
earth, tell it out abroad!
The Passover of gladness,

The Passover of God!
From death to life eternal,
from earth unto the sky,

our Christ has brought us over
with hymns of victory.

Our hearts be pure from evil,
that we may see aright
the Lord in rays eternal
of resurrection light;
and, listening to his accents,
may hear, so calm and plain,
his own ‘All hail’ and, hearing,
may rise the victor strain.

Now let the heavens be joyful,
let earth her song begin,
the round world keep high triumph,
and all that is therein;
let all things seen and unseen
their notes of gladness blend,
for Christ the Lord is risen,
our joy that has no end.St John of Damascus (c. 675-750)
translated by John Mason Neale (1811-1866)

https://youtu.be/MgIx_0jhW1Y

PRAYERS

Adoration

Holy God,
to you alone belong glory, honour and praise.
We join with each other and the hosts of heaven as we worship.
You alone are worthy of adoration from every mouth,
and every tongue shall sing your praise.
You create the earth by your power;
you save the human race in your mercy,
and renew it through your grace.

And we praise you
because you raised Christ to life,
triumphant over death,
and exalted him in glory.
By his victory over death,
the reign of sin is ended,
a new age has dawned,
a broken world is restored
and we are made whole once more.

To you, loving God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
be all glory, honour and praise
now and for ever.  Amen.

Confession

Let us confess our sins to God.

For our foolishness
and our thoughtless use of the gifts of your creation,
Lord, have mercy.

For our neglect of you,
and our failure to care for others,
Christ have mercy.

For our selfishness in prayer
and carelessness in worship,
Lord have mercy.

Here is good news for all who put their trust in Christ.
Jesus says, “Your sins are forgiven.”

Amen.  Thanks be to God.

Collect for the Third Sunday of Easter

God of life and love,
your Son made himself know to his disciples
in the breaking of the bread.
Open our eyes that we may see him
in his redeeming work;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.  Amen.

READING

Luke 24: 13-35

Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened.  While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognising him.  And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?”

They stood still, looking sad.  Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him. “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place in these days?”

He asked them, “What things?”

“The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in word and deed before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him.  But we had hoped he would be the one to redeem Israel.  Moreover, some women of our group astounded us.  They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive.  Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.”

Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared!  Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them all the things about himself in all the scriptures.

As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on.  But they urged him strongly, saying, Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.”

So he went in to stay with them.  When he was at table with them, he took bread, blessed it and broke it, and gave it to them.  Then their eyes were opened, and they recognised him; and he vanished from their sight.  They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, whilst he was opening the scriptures to us?”

That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together.  They were saying, “The Lord has risen, and he has appeared to Simon!”  The they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.  

HYMN: Jesus is Lord!  Creation’s voice proclaims it,

https://youtu.be/csjkP4X0Veo

REFLECTION

Over the last two Sundays I’ve reflected about how our current circumstances match those of the first disciples after Jesus crucifixion, unable to meet together but shut in at home.

Many of us are allowed to go out for one form of exercise a day, which I am assured isn’t compulsory.  Some are calling this their ‘Boris Walk’ because for the vast majority walking is their exercise of choice.

The two companions on the road to Emmaus were walking, though not from choice but simply to get back to their home village, about 7 miles from Jerusalem.  One of them is Cleopas, a man’s name and though his travelling companion is unidentified I personally think it may have been his wife since they shared a home and the companion is unnamed. 

As they walked along they were talking about Jesus and his death and the story that he’d risen from the dead; something its clear they didn’t really believe.

Then Jesus joined them but, as the passage tells us, “their eyes were kept from recognising him.”  Other translations have: “they were kept from recognising him” or “something kept them from recognising him.”

I have often puzzled over those words.  What was it kept the two travellers from recognising Jesus?  Why didn’t they know him straight away?

Some scholars have suggested that perhaps God prevented them from recognising Jesus because it wasn’t the right time.  You might like that suggestion, but it just doesn’t feel right to me.  Why would God prevent anybody from recognising the risen Jesus?  He is a God of truth!

I think it was the travellers’ own lack of faith prevented them from recognising Jesus.  They had either witnessed the crucifixion or been told that Jesus had been crucified.  Jesus was, as far as they were concerned, dead!  They may have thought that the man walking with them looked a lot like Jesus, but they had no reason, as far as they could see, to suppose that he was Jesus.

Jesus had repeatedly told his followers that he would be crucified.  He had also told them repeatedly that three days later he would rise from the dead.  Cleopas and his companion obviously had no faith in Jesus’ words.  This is clear from what Cleopas said, “We had hoped that he would be the one who was going to set Israel free.”

Had hoped!  Past tense!  In their understanding their hope was gone.  They didn’t have the faith that Jesus would be raised from the dead, just as he said he would.

So, how did Jesus convince them he was alive?  Did he say, “Hey, look!  It’s me, Jesus!  I’m alive!”  No, he didn’t; Jesus pointed them towards the scriptures.  Luke tells us that “Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them all the things about himself in all the scriptures.”  Cleopas and his companion had a Bible study with Jesus!  The best Bible study there has ever been.

Jesus took scripture seriously and saw it as a means to convince people of the truth about himself.  He recognised the authority of the scriptures.  We are told that when two listened to Jesus explaining the scriptures it was like a fire burning inside them.

The scriptures the author of Luke was referring to were the books of the Old Testament.  We have those scriptures too; but we also have the books of the New Testament.  Do we treat the scriptures as seriously as Jesus did?  Do we recognise the God inspired nature of our Christian Scripture that makes it unique, or do we just see it as the work of men?  Do we look through the scriptures and try to understand them; praying that God will give us understanding through the power of the Holy Spirit?

Still, they didn’t quite get it.

When they arrived at the village of Emmaus the travellers invited Jesus to stay with them for the night.  Jesus sat down to supper with Cleopas and his companion and broke the bread.  As he did this, Cleopas and his companion suddenly realised who Jesus was, and as they realised, he vanished from their sight.  On the brink of understanding, it is the breaking of bread by Jesus that brings the final certainty of faith; they know that Jesus is their travelling companion and that he has indeed been raised from the dead, just as they had been told.

Commenting on this, Biblical commentator William Barclay wrote, “This always sounds a little as if it meant the sacrament, but it doesn’t.  It was at an ordinary meal, in an ordinary house, when an ordinary loaf was being divided, that these men recognised Jesus.”

This is important, especially in the present circumstances, because at the moment we cannot share together in Holy Communion as sisters and brothers in Christ.  Both the Church of England and the Methodist Church have made it clear that online Holy Communion, where we each have a bit of bread and wine at home, cannot take place.

Many people wish it was otherwise but, as Rev Dr Jonathan Hustler, the Secretary of the Methodist Conference said, “We are conscious at this time that many people are not only isolated at home but are also excluded from accessing services online.  Many of our sisters and brothers in Christ are deprived of the opportunity to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, so we stand with them at this difficult time.  Many Christians around the world have no opportunity to worship or practice their faith freely and again we are mindful of their struggle while we navigate our own ways through this crisis.  A recognition of what we are missing is itself a reminder of the privilege of being members of Christ’s body.”

The fact that it wasn’t Holy Communion Jesus shared with Cleopas and his companion is a comfort to us at this present time.  It reminds us that Jesus isn’t just present with us in the Lord’s Supper, he is at the table with us every time we sit down to eat.  Jesus isn’t just the host at his supper table in church, he is the guest at every meal in every home where he is welcome.

  

May we meet and know the risen Lord Jesus again and again throughout our lives; and may we meet him in our homes today as we share in a meal with him as the guest at our table.

PRAYERS

Loving God, who raised Jesus from the grave to glorious resurrection life we pray to you now, in his name, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

We pray for those who are feeling lonely because they are shut in at home and for our sisters and brothers who are missing gathering together in our church buildings to worship you and share in Holy Communion.

We pray for those who are caring for victims of the coronavirus; for doctors a nurses and carers and for all others bringing aid to those who are sick.

We pray for those who are suffering from the coronavirus, especially for those who ae seriously ill and those in intensive care.  We pray too for those suffering in any other way in body, mind or spirit.

We give you thanks for the lives of those who have passed into glory and offer our prayers for those who grieve them.

We bring all our prayers to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who taught us when we pray to say the Lord’s Prayer….

HYMN: Singing the Faith 443

Come, let us sing of a wonderful love,

tender and true;

out of the heart of the Father above,
streaming to me and to you:
wonderful love
dwells in the heart of the Father above.

Jesus, the Saviour, this gospel to tell,
joyfully came;
came with the helpless and hopeless to dwell,
sharing their sorrow and shame;
seeking the lost,
saving, redeeming at measureless cost.

Jesus is seeking the wanderers yet;
why do they roam?
Love only waits to forgive and forget;
home, weary wanderer, home!

Wonderful love
dwells in the heart of the Father above

Come to my heart, O thou wonderful love,
come and abide,
lifting my life, till it rises above
envy and falsehood and pride;
seeking to be
lowly and humble, a learner of thee.
Robert Walmsley (1831-1905)

https://youtu.be/3BZfXTCUbr8

BLESSING

Deep peace of the running wave to you.
Deep peace of the shining stars to you.
Deep peace of the flowing air to you.
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.
And the deep, deep peace of Jesus,
the Prince of Peace, to you,
this day and forever more.
Amen.