The 2nd Sunday of Easter

Like newborn infants, you must long for the pure, spiritual milk,
that in him you may grow to salvation, alleluia.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

Christ is risen, alleluia.
He is risen indeed, alleluia.

Dear friends,
this water will be sprinkled on us
as a memorial of our Baptism.
May the Lord our God help us by his grace
to remain faithful to the Spirit we have received.

Vidi Aquam (sung)

I saw water flowing from the Temple,
from its right-hand side, alleluia:
and all to whom this water came
were saved and shall say: alleluia, alleluia.

May almighty God cleanse us of our sins,
and through the celebration of this Eucharist
make us worthy to share at the table of his Kingdom.
Amen.

Let us pray.

Almighty and eternal God,
the strength of those who believe
and the hope of those who doubt:
may we, who have not seen, have faith
and receive the fullness of Christ’s blessing;
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

1. Preserve me, O God:
   for in you have I taken refuge.
2. I have said to the Lord, You are my lord:
   and all my good depends on you.
3. As for those who are held holy on the earth:
   the other gods in whom people delight,
4. Though the idols are many that they run after:
   their offerings of blood I will not offer, nor take their name upon my lips.
5. The Lord is my appointed portion and my cup:
   you hold my lot in your hands.
6. The share that has fallen to me is in pleasant places:
   and a fair land is my possession.
7. I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel:
   at night also he has instructed my heart.
8. I have set the Lord always be fore me:
   he is at my right hand, and I shall not fall.
9. Therefore my heart is glad and my spirit rejoices:
   my flesh also shall rest secure.
10. For you will not give me over to the power of death:
    nor suffer your faithful one to see the Pit.
11. You will show me the path of life:
    on your presence is the fulness of joy,
    and from your right hand flow delights for evermore.

A reading from the first letter of Peter.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith – being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire – may be found to result in praise and glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

For the word of the Lord,
thanks be to God.

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John.
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

When it was evening on 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.’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 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.’

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.’ 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.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ 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.’

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.

For the Gospel of the Lord,
praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Let us profess the faith of the church:

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father;
from there he will come to judge
the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

Jesus Appears to the Disciples  John 20:19-22 (NRSVA)

¹⁹ 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.

Risen One, Living God
in our own simple home-made sacred spaces we gather separately,
yet together,
to offer our prayers for our world, our nation and our community -

needing to create a space for hope
wanting to speak words of comfort
knowing that within you, our words will find their place of hearing
shared with the depths of love.

In the silence that deepens around us,
we become aware humanity feels vulnerable and fragile.
Now more than ever, we are aware that our choices are never individual
but have consequences for everyone.

So we join in prayer with those whose lives are linked with ours,
whose shared ground we stand on, whose common air we breathe -

We pray for our world as it experiences a great levelling that affects everyone,
but as is so often the case, affects the poorest and the least among us most of all.

We pray for our leaders – for wisdom in managing economies,
managing our health care systems and
managing our human desire to connect,
while encouraging in us the counter intuition not to.

Risen One - breathe comfort, breathe peace into our fragile world.

In the silence, we bring to mind
All who work in hospitals and nursing homes and doctors’ surgeries,
In schools and supermarkets,
logistics and supply.

We pray for curves to flatten,
for personal protective equipment to arrive,
and when it does, we pray that there will be enough and
that it will fit the faces of all who need it.

We pray for enough hospital beds, ventilators and oxygen tanks and medicines.

Risen One - breathe comfort, breathe peace into fragile communities

In the silence we become aware of the ease of our breathing,
and as we breathe we bring to mind -

those for whom breathing is a laboured agony, and
those who are breathing now, in critical care units around the world,
only with the help of a ventilator.

We bring to mind those whose need cancer treatment
but worry each time they enter a hospital,
those whose joints ache
whose surgery has been postponed,
those whose immune systems are compromised,
who dare not venture past their doorstep,
those who are anxious and afraid, isolated and sad,
those who grieve and all those who have a different suffering beyond headlines and statistics.

Risen One - breathe comfort, breathe peace into fragile lives

Risen One,
You are in the space between us,
in the breath we breathe, the hope we live by and the love we share,
we trust your love holds us
and so we fold those for whom we have prayed into your love,
we lift them in compassion, we name them in your presence,
knowing your presence is greater than our distancing,
your love
greater than all our fears.

Risen One
Hear our prayers
Amen

God of grace,
you have freed us from our sins
and made us a kingdom in your Son
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Accept all we offer you this day,
and strengthen us in the new life you have given us,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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 him thanks and praise.

It is right to praise you, faithful God,
always and everywhere,
for with your only begotten Son and life-giving Spirit,
you are the one true God
from everlasting to everlasting.

At the dawn of time you wrought from nothing
a universe of beauty and splendour,
bringing light from darkness
and order from chaos.

You formed us, male and female, in your image,
and endowed us with creative power.

We turned away from you but you did not abandon us.
You called us by name and searched us out,
making a covenant of mercy,
giving the law, and teaching justice by the prophets.

And so we praise you,
joining with your faithful people of every time and place,
singing the eternal song:

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.

When the fullness of time was come,
you sent your Son to be born of Mary.

Bright image of your glory,
he learnt obedience to you in all things,
even to death on a cross,
breaking the power of evil,
freeing us from sin, and putting death to flight.

You raised him from death,
exalting him to glory,
and the new day dawned.

On the night he was betrayed
your Son Jesus Christ shared food with his friends,
his companions on the way.

While at table he took bread,
blessed, and broke it,
and giving it to them, said:
'Take, eat; this is my body.'

He took a cup of wine,
and, giving thanks, he gave it to them, and said,
'This is my blood of the covenant
which is poured out for many.
Do this in remembrance of me.'

Therefore, living God, as we obey his command,
we remember his life of obedience to you,
his suffering and death,
his resurrection and exaltation,
and his promise to be with us for ever.
With this bread and this cup
we celebrate his saving death until he comes.

Let us proclaim the mystery of faith:

Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.

Accept, we pray, our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving,
and send your Holy Spirit
upon us and our celebration
that all who eat and drink at this table
may be strengthened by Christ's body and blood
to serve you in the world.

As one body and one holy people,
may we proclaim the everlasting gospel
of Jesus Christ our Lord,
through whom, with whom, and in whom,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all glory is yours, eternal God, now and for ever. Amen.

We break this bread to share in the body of Christ.
We who are many are one body,
for we all share in the one bread.

Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, grant us peace.

Behold the Lamb of God,
behold him who takes away the sins of the world.
Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb.
Lord, I am not worthy to receive you,
but only say the word, and I shall be healed.

My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the most Blessed Sacrament. I love You above all things and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there, and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.

Father,
we have seen with our eyes
and touched with our hands
the bread of life.
Strengthen our faith
that we may grow in love for you and for each other;
through Jesus Christ the risen Lord. Amen.

The God of peace,
who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus,
the great shepherd of the sheep,
through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
make you perfect in every good work to do his will,
working in you what is pleasing in his sight;
and the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always. Amen.

Go in peace, alleluia, alleluia.
Thanks be to God, alleluia, alleluia.

1. Thine be the glory, risen, conqu'ring Son:
   endless is the vict'ry thou o’er death hast won;
   angels in bright raiment rolled the stone away,
   kept the folded grave-clothes where thy body lay.

Thine be the glory, risen, conqu'ring Son;
endless is the vict'ry thou o’er death hast won.

1. Lo! Jesus meets us, risen from the tomb;
   lovingly he greets us, scatters fear and gloom;
   let the church with gladness, hymns of triumph sing,
   for her Lord now liveth, death hath lost its sting.

3. No more we doubt thee, glorious Prince of life;
   life is naught without thee: aid us in our strife;
   make us more than conqu'rors, thro' thy deathless love:
   bring us safe thro' Jordan to thy home above.