Alleluia! Christ is risen.
He is risen indeed. Alleluia!
Theme Prayer
Risen Christ, by the lakeside you renewed your call to your disciples: strengthen your Church in your service, that all peoples may be drawn to the fire of your love, to the glory of God the Father. Amen.
Confession
As God’s wayward children, forgetful of his love, we turn back to confess our sins, and to seek his forgiveness and grace.
Father, you enfold us with wings of love, as a bird protects her young. Forgive us when we fail to love. Lord, have mercy:
Lord, have mercy.
Jesus, you gather us around you, that we may learn your ways. Forgive us when we fail to listen and to follow. Christ, have mercy:
Christ, have mercy.
Holy Spirit, you feed us with the seed of your holy word. Forgive us when we fail to nurture that seed into growth. Lord, have mercy:
Lord, have mercy.
May almighty God cleanse us from our sins, and make us worthy of the kingdom of his glory. Amen.
God’s Word -
Acts, chapter 10, verses 44 to the end :-
Peter was still speaking to the household of Cornelius when the Holy Spirit came upon all who were listening to the message. The believers who had come with Peter, men of Jewish birth, were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit should have been poured out even on Gentiles, for they could hear them speaking in tongues of ecstasy and acclaiming the greatness of God. Then Peter spoke: ‘Is anyone prepared to withhold the water of baptism from these persons, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?’ Then he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. After that they asked him to stay on with them for a time.
John, chapter 15, verses 9 to 17 :-
Jesus said to his disciples, ‘As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Dwell in my love. If you heed my commands, you will dwell in my love, as I have heeded my Father’s commands and dwell in his love.
‘I have spoken thus to you, so that my joy may be in you, and your joy complete. This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved you. There is no greater love than this, that someone should lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends, if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is about. I have called you friends, because I have disclosed to you everything that I heard from my Father. You did not choose me: I chose you. I appointed you to go on and bear fruit, fruit that will last; so that the Father may give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my commandment to you: love one another.’
Thanks be to God, for this his holy word. Amen.
A Reflection on the Readings
Tomorrow, Tuesday and Wednesday are called “Rogation Days” - the three days before Ascension Day traditionally kept as days of prayer, which is what the word “Rogation” means. The word comes from the Latin rogare, meaning to ask, and the prayers at Rogation-tide are prayers of supplication, asking God to keep us safe and to protect us from calamity. Their origin actually goes back further than Christianity, to the Roman practice of praying out in the fields for the growing crops at this time, which is why Rogation Sunday, today, has become a day when we think about the land around us, and all that makes for life and growth.
Those who came with Peter to the household of the non-Jew Cornelius were surprised to find the gift of the Holy Spirit poured out upon people who were not of their faith. But they shouldn’t have been, I think. The ancient history of Rogation Sunday reminds us - of we needed reminding - that the instinct to pray, and to be aware of God’s presence and power seems to be universal: it’s part of how we are made - we might say, part of what it means to be “made in God’s image”. A recent survey found that most people pray, at least now and again, and a surprising number pray regularly - more than regularly attend a church or any other place of worship. The survey even seemed to suggest that more people pray than claim to believe in God.
Again, that shouldn’t entirely be a surprise, I think, for two reasons - firstly, that when the chips are down even a fairly confirmed agnostic might pray to the God of his or her childhood; and secondly, that there’s something about prayer that’s comforting, reassuring and maybe also that crystallises things in your mind, even if you think there’s no-one but yourself listening. But there does also seem to be something basic within us that yearns for more than “just this”. Paul writes about the Spirit “groaning within us” - and I think there is more to each of us than just flesh and blood, or mind and body.
Jesus said to his friends, “Love one another,” and, “Dwell in my love.” In every great religion there is a connection made between “spirit” and “love” - but the Gospels explicitly place love at the heart of all that we are about as Christians, and insist on a practical connection between love and service, and insist also that there are no boundaries to God’s love for his people, and therefore no boundaries to the great command laid upon us by our Lord, “Love one another, as I have loved you.”
All my Easter reflections have centred on the Church in mission. And one thing that keeps me mission-minded is my awareness than in everyone out there, whether or not they’re really aware of it, there is a God-given yearning for more than “just this”. Nicky Gumbel, one of the leaders of the Alpha Course, speaks about there being a God-shaped space in people.
There are I think two great models of the Church in mission. One is the lifeboat model, in which we do mission by plucking people out of the water when we can, and bringing them on board with us, so that, like us, they can be carried to safety. The other model is the servant model, where the Church shares the love of Christ by being an agent of beneficial change as widely as it can be in the world, whether or not those we help, encourage or bless get into the boat with us. I suppose I am naturally a “servant model” person, myself.
But of course, in reality the two models are not mutually exclusive. They’re not either/or, but both/and. If we do only the lifeboat stuff, then the Church tends towards the exclusive and sectarian; if we do only the servant stuff, then maybe we pass up on that decisive moment when - as with Peter and Cornelius - the Spirit changes the lives and hearts of those to whom we minister. Our mission needs to be both broad and personal, both for the good of all and for the conversion of the individual soul. But all of it begins with prayer, with the prayer that allows us to “dwell in the love” of our Lord; and when we take seriously that great command: “Love one another, as I have loved you.”
Statement of faith
We believe in God the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. We believe in God the Son, who lives in our hearts through faith, and fills us with his love. We believe in God the Holy Spirit, who strengthens us with power from on high. We believe in one God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Prayers - Pray that the mark of the Church in every place may be a Christlike love and an openness to his Spirit. We pray today for the Anglican Church in Kenya, and for the ecumenical, interfaith and world Church links that help inform our mission and ministry and define us as a diocese.
Pray we may use the earth’s resources with care, generosity and a respect for their Creator, and that we may value and protect the environment and the other living things with which we share it. Pray for those countries severely impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic at this time, and that supplies of equipment and vaccines will be made available wherever they are needed. Pray for those newly elected to office in local and devolved government after last week’s elections.
Pray for all who face illness, anxiety and pain; for those in hospital and other places of care - for the care they receive, and for those who give it. Pray for those who live with ME, and also for understanding of “Long Covid” symptoms and for treatment and therapy.
Pray for our farmers and growers at Rogationtide, and for all who work the land. Pray for our churches and for our families and friends. May we continue to act with care, looking out for one another and keeping safe.
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.
May the light of Christ, rising in glory, banish all darkness from our hearts and minds. Amen.
May God our Father, by whose glory Christ was raised from the dead, strengthen us to walk with him in his risen life. And may almighty God bless us, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.
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