Acts 2:42-47 Psalm 23 1 Peter 2:19-25 John 10:1-10
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Let us pray:
Glory to you O God: you raised Jesus from the grave,
bringing us victory over death and giving us eternal life.
Glory to you , O Christ: for us and for our salvation you overcame death
and opened the gate to everlasting life.
Glory to you, O Holy Spirit: you lead us into the truth and breathe new life into us.
Glory to you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen
Following the theme of post-resurrection appearances, please read:
John 10:1-10 followed by John 21:1-19
Barbecue on the beach
In the news this week was the delightful scene of surfers rushing to the waves at the newly opened Bondi beach, Australia (28.04.20). Well, the UK is not quite there yet, and so the idea of a barbeque on the beach can only be an invitation to go somewhere metaphorically, because it is impossible to go physically at present. Nevertheless, imagine the scene. It is that crepuscular, obscure and gloomy time just before the dawn. A twilight-time, when it would be more than difficult to see anything clearly. Except the fire on the beach.
There may be a gentle sound of the water lapping the shore, the crackling of the kindling wood, and sizzling as the juices from the fish cause the flames to lead. And the smell of the fish cooking mingling with the scents of the seashore.
Imagine coming home on the boat with little to show for the night’s work, when the stranger on the shore offers a simple suggestion. Are you seriously going to try again?
When Peter and his companions paid attention to this crazy suggestion, and the nest were full, it seemed as though there could be only one real explanation, and at that Peter rushes to greet the Lord!
It is to be an encounter of exquisite and transformative pain. But Jesus understands that in order to leave the past behind, it needs to be confronted and excised.
At that very moment, Peter was back at the fishing boat, just as he had been before the whirlwind adventure of the past few years. Peter, the strong man, famously bragging that he would lay down his life for Jesus and yet quick to deny in the heat of the moment (John 13:37, 18:25ff). That must hurt. So maybe his heart wasn’t on the task that night, and for these experienced fishermen, there were no rewards to show for the night’s labour. (Ever had days like that?)
And now Peter rushes to meet Jesus. Here is an invitation to breakfast before the next stage of getting the fish ready for market, and the boats and nets cleaned and repaired for the next trip. And in that gentle lull in the proceedings as everyone savours the last morsel, the strangest of questions: Simon, do you love me? Not just once, but three times the question is put to him. The threefold questioning corresponding to threefold denial is really important.
As a student, I stayed with my grandparents on the Isle of Man, and decided to spend one long summer working in the kipper yards. A very interesting task, but notably one that left the ingrained smell of kippers on skin and clothing, and no amount of washing and scrubbing ever seemed to lift it.
There are events in life that can produce a similar indelible taint, which, without getting to the root of the problem can leave deep psychological scars. The kind of experience that Simon Peter had lived through may have left him embarrassed at the very least, but may well have left its own deep anguish; who knows how a person might own up to and work through this sense of disloyalty and failure?
Each time Jesus gently poses the question with an uncanny ability to bring Peter face to face with the denial; gradually rebuilding the man and imbuing a new consciousness of wholeness and wellbeing. Understandably, by the third time of asking, Peter was deeply saddened: Lord, you know that I love you.
Howard Davies took that aggrieved statement and skilfully woven a prayer with it. In doing so, he provides a way for us to stand on the seashore with Peter, to deal with the memory of painful relationships and denial; to offer acknowledgement of failure.
Lord, you know that we love you; you know our thoughts and intentions, know the depth of devotion found in our lives today. If our love has weakened, if our fervour has waned, turn us, Lord, by your Spirit, let us love with love unfeigned.
Lord, you know that we love you! Help that love to be true; fill our lives with your Spirit’s power, Lord of love, make us strong – we who to Christ belong.
Lord, you know that we fail you; our sins, how sorely they grieve you! Many times have we fallen; Lord, lift us up again. May we walk to be worthy of the call that is ours; may your will and your purpose claim our undivided powers!
It is a powerful moment where failure is stripped of its power to harm, where potential is demonstrated and where true healing is given. That is the depth of grace. God’s vision of the future is not dependent upon our past mistakes, but upon the transforming power of divine love.
To return to the Isle of Man for one moment, the Manx have a phrase which is used to promote the use of the national language:
“Seyrsnys dy vishaghey“
It translates into English as ‘freedom to flourish’. It is a beautiful phrase in any context, but especially so within the Gospel context when considering our home within the love of God. And according to the book of Acts, St Peter did indeed go on to flourish and grow within the love of God, as he began to discover more of what it meant to follow the good shepherd and to do the work of God. In doing so, many of those early disciples faced no end of difficulties and dangers on the way.
So, pandemic or no pandemic, we are called and commissioned to live to God’s praise and glory; to walk with the good shepherd all the days of our lives, so that we may dwell within God’s house forever. Amen
A prayer for ourselves
Good Shepherd of the sheep, by whom the lost are sought and guided into the fold; feed us and we shall be satisfied; heal us and we shall be made whole; and lead us, that we may be with you; for you are alive and reign with the Father and Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen
A prayer for others
Prayers of intercession
Beatitudes for a Global Pandemic
The Lord’s Prayer
Benediction
Now may the God of peace, who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, make you complete in everything good so that you may do his will, working among us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
(Hebrews 13:20-21)
Opening prayer from Holy Communion for Easter Season, Methodist Worship Bookp 160
Worship at home 