St Clement Church Community Easter Season Service

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St Clement Church Community Easter Season Service

Good morning to you all as we celebrate the second Sunday of Easter, either in our church building with a Eucharist service, or this Service of the Word for those worshipping with us at home.

As we hear God’s word and reflect on the gospel message, may we find the love of God sustaining us, His Son Jesus Christ walking with us, and may the power of the Holy Spirit strengthen us this day and always.

Much love to you all,

Rev Di and family xx

Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

Let us pray: Lord Jesus Christ, risen from death to life in the father’s love, raise us to share in new life, that we may know your presence among us, and serve you in the power of the Spirit. Amen.

Hymn: ‘Christ is made the sure Foundation’

Our prayers of Penitence

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.”

This Easter season we bring our fears and failings to the risen Christ:

When, like Mary at the empty tomb, we fail to grasp the wonder of your presence.

Lord, have mercy.

When, like the disciples behind locked doors, we are afraid to be seen as your followers.

Christ, have mercy.

When, like Thomas in the upper room, we are slow to believe.

Lord, have mercy

When we face these difficult times but fail to trust in your loving purposes.

Christ, have mercy.

When we are agents of gloom rather than messengers of hope.

Lord, have mercy.

May Almighty God have mercy upon us, forgive us our sins and failings, and bring us to everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Let us pray our Collect for the second Sunday of Easter

Risen Christ, for whom no door is locked, no entrance barred: open our hearts, that we may seek the good of others and honour you with joyful lives of sacrifice and peace, to the praise of God the Father. Amen.

Readings

Acts 5. 27-32

Revelation 1. 4-8

Hymn: ‘Breathe on Me Breath of God’

Gospel John 20. 19-end

(Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.

Response: ‘Glory to you O Lord.’)

The Gospel According to

John

The Word Became Flesh

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.” 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.

Reflection

I think at some point in our lives we’ve all been like doubting Thomas. Most of us would admit of harbouring doubts in our faith, especially when certain days in our lives have seemed dark and hopeless. But we shouldn’t beat ourselves up about it, because the reality is we’re not alone in having those thoughts.

In today’s Gospel, the disciples are bereft and face an unknown future without their leader and guide. For the last three years or so, Jesus had been with them, providing strength and courage, they’d felt safe and secure, they’d experienced his peace. But now Jesus has died, and it seems that all their courage and faith died along with him. So now, they’d given up their dreams, and most of them were getting ready to pack up and head back to Galilee.
The scene is three days after the death of Jesus - the disciples are in hiding behind locked doors because they know that if the authorities find them they’ll be killed too.

Then John says that somehow Jesus enters that room, stands among them and says the words: “Peace be with you”

We’re told Thomas missed seeing Jesus that first night, perhaps he was trying to rebuild his life in another way, and didn’t bother meeting up with his friends.

But we shouldn’t be too hard on him, because I bet poor old doubting Thomas is getting a pretty rough time in sermons all around the world today. And perhaps in those same sermons people are being told that they shouldn’t have doubts like Thomas did, and that if they do have doubts then there’s something wrong with their faith.

But, if that is said, what are those people going to do? They’re going repress those doubts and keep them hidden from the supposed saints sitting in the next pew, or sit and stew about such thoughts at home. And then those doubts will grow and grow and cause isolation from the fear of being thought badly of.

But one of the many blessings of being part of our church family is that hopefully, we’re honest, there’s no shame in admitting we’re not saints, we can gather together with our fears and doubts, acknowledging and sharing them in conversation.

I’ve had doubts, believe you me. 20 years or so ago when I first experienced the call to ministry, I had plenty of them. I can remember asking; ‘Why me?’ and receiving the answer ‘Why not?’ Ken’s cancer diagnosis caused huge doubts in our faith, but then we remembered Thomas had doubt too, and took comfort from it, because his story makes doubt ok.

Perhaps then, that’s why the story of Thomas is repeated every year after Easter, to remind us that in one way or another, at some time, we all have doubt.

After all, it is difficult to live our lives on the basis of faith – let’s be honest, we’d much rather know for sure! But the only way for us to know for sure is to take that leap of faith, trusting in the Lord.

Thomas however, isn’t quite ready to trust and to risk taking that plunge, but there’s something important we might notice here – and that’s Jesus doesn’t blame Thomas for his not believing.

Jesus isn’t into blame, he never was, and he isn’t now, but instead sees that Thomas doubts, and so offers the proof of the wounds from the cross.

When our faith is weak, we need to stop thinking, and questioning, and doubting, and beating ourselves up.

We need to remember that Faith is a gift, and all we can do is receive that gift. We can’t think or reason our way to faith, but we can trust in it.

So, the next time our faith is weakened, or even seems non-existent, when we are doubting like Thomas, we should remember once again the words of Jesus; ‘Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’

That’s us folks, we are the blessed ones, we have come to believe, and we can trust that Jesus is alongside us, every step of the way through the fear and doubt of our lives. Amen

Hymn: ‘Lord, enthroned in heavenly splendour’

Affirmation of our faith

Let us declare our faith in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ:

Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures; he was buried; he was raised to life on the third day and afterwards he appeared to his followers and to all the apostles: this we have received, and this we believe.

This is the faith of the Church.

This is our faith. We believe and trust in one God,

Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Our Intercessions this week are written by Liz Davies

Let us Pray:

Everlasting God, as Jesus appeared in the locked room to show his disciples the beginning of a new world, draw us closer so that we, like Thomas, can examine the wounded hands and feet of Jesus so that we may know and understand the depth of His love for us. Let us therefore approach the throne of God in confidence as we pray for the whole people of God in Christ Jesus, and for all people according to their needs.