18. Year A - Third Sunday of Easter

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VERSION: 29 April 2002

THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR A

In 2002: 14 Apr

In 2005: 10 Apr

In 2008: 6 Apr

In 2011: 8 May

In 2014: 4 May

- - -

Note: For explanations and suggestions on the various resources provided, see the documents 'General notes and resources' and 'Easter season' in the 'General and seasonal' folder.

LITURGY

SENTENCE

See the document 'General notes and resources', under 'Sentence', in the 'General and seasonal' folder for suggestions on using a Sentence.

You have been born anew; Alleluia;

through the living and enduring word of God. Alleluia!

(1 Pet 1:23 NRSV)

OR, use one of the standard Easter Sentences in the document 'Easter season', under 'Sentence', in the 'General and seasonal' folder.

PRAYER OF THE DAY (COLLECT)

Traditional

O God,

since you have raised the fallen world

by the humiliation of your Son:

Grant continual gladness to your faithful people,

that those whom you have delivered

from the dangers of everlasting death

may receive from you eternal joy;

through your Son,

Jesus Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.

Amen.

OR, modernised traditional

Lord God, your own Son was humiliated

to lift up fallen humanity

and to rescue us

from the dangers of everlasting death.

Give eternal joy to your faithful people.

We ask this through your Son,

Jesus Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.

Amen.

OR, new (revised alternative)

(Let us pray for the assurance of Christ's presence. [silence])

Almighty and merciful God,

you made the disciples glad

by the sight of the risen Lord.

Remind us that he is always with us,

and that we now share in his resurrection.

For he lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.

Amen.

FIRST READING

Acts 2:14a,36-41 Three thousand people repent and are baptised

PSALM

Psalm 116:1-4,12-19

Antiphon:

How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me? (Ps 116:12 NIV)

SECOND READING

1 Peter 1:17-23 Set free by the sacrifice of Christ

ALLELUIA VERSE

Alleluia.

(Since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again;

death no longer has any power over him.

Alleluia.)

Were not our hearts burning within us

while the Lord was opening the scriptures to us?

(Luke 24:32 NRSV alt)

Alleluia.

GOSPEL

Luke 24:13-35 Jesus made known in the breaking of the bread

PRAYER AFTER THE GOSPEL

This is the gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ (, raised to live forever).

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for revealing yourself in the Scriptures

and the breaking of the bread.

Strengthen our faith through your word and sacraments.

Amen.

OFFERTORY

Consider using the offertory 'What can I offer to the Lord' (from the Service without Communion, LHS p 29) because it comes from the Psalm for today. See also below under 'Hymns and songs'.

OFFERING PRAYER

Thank you, eternal Father,

for setting us free through the sacrifice of your Son.

Help us, through your great love for us,

to love and serve one another

and all people.

Amen.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

Call to prayer

Our risen Lord Jesus revealed himself in the breaking of the bread. Here at this meal, let us pray that we may be fed with the bread of life.

The regular response, OR:

Father, feed us with the bread of life,

that we may hunger no more.

Suggested intercessions

Concluding prayer

Father, in the resurrection of your Son, Jesus Christ, you have swallowed up death for ever, and opened up the way for all people to sit with you at the feast of eternal life. Feed us now and always with the bread of life, our Lord Jesus Christ, for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Amen.

SEASONAL PREFACE

It is indeed right and good,

Lord God, holy Father,

that we should at all times and in all places

give thanks to you,

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

But most of all we praise you

for the glorious resurrection of your Son,

the true Passover Lamb,

who has taken away the sin of the world.

By his death he has destroyed death,

and by his rising again he has restored life.

And so, with Mary Magdalene and Peter

and all the other witnesses of the resurrection,

with earth and sea and all their creatures,

and with angels and archangels,

cherubim and seraphim,

we adore and praise your glorious name:

COMMUNION INVITATION

Jesus says: 'Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day.'

(Thanks be to God.)

Come, everything is ready.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

For an Easter post-communion prayer, see the document 'Easter season', under 'Prayer after communion', in the 'General and seasonal' folder. Alternatively, use the third prayer of the day (as listed above) at this point. It may be modified as follows.

Almighty and merciful God,

you made the disciples glad

by the sight of the risen Lord.

As he has come to us in this meal,

remind us that he is always with us,

and that we now share in his reurrection.

For he lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.

Amen.

SEASONAL BLESSING

This seasonal blessing is used together with (ie before) the usual blessing in the order of service.

(May) the God of peace,

who raised from the dead our Lord Jesus,

provide you with every good thing you need

in order to do his will; . . .

DISMISSAL

Go in peace. You have been born anew through the living word of God.

Thanks be to God. OR In the name of Christ. Amen.

HYMNS AND SONGS

FOR THE READINGS

Please note:        * =        Modernised version available

      G3, G4 . . . =        Guitar chords available in the Music Package 3, 4 . . .

      GS =        Guitar chords in the Supplement to LH

First reading: Acts 2:14a, 36-41

LHS

AT

TIS

Second reading: 1 Peter 1:17-23

LHS

AT

TIS

Gospel: Luke 24:13-35

LHS

AT

TIS

SONGS FROM PRAISE FOR ALL SEASONS

Praise for All Seasons (Acorn Press, 1985), edited by Ellaine Downie and Digby Hannah, is a collection of 100 songs for worship by Australian songwriters. It contains two songs that are appropriate for today's gospel:

PSALM 116:1-4,12-19

For musical settings of Psalm 116:1-4,12-19, see Music Packages 2 and 5. Other settings of Psalm 116:1,2,12-19 are in Music Packages 2, 3, 5 and 8. TIS 71, I love the Lord who has heard my prayer, is a version of Psalm 116:1-5,12-20.

The following paraphrase of Psalm 116:1-4,12-19 by David Sch¸tz may be sung either to the tune Melita (LH 400, TIS 138) or to the tune of the Song of Mary in the Modern Vespers of Worship Today. If reproducing this version, please put 'Words (c) David Sch¸tz' at the beginning or the end of the psalm.

I love the Lord! He hears my prayers,

so all I my life I'll call on him.

When snares of death entangled me,

and pangs of hell laid hold of me,

I called upon God's holy name:

'I beg you, Lord, to save my life!'

What shall I offer to the Lord

for all his goodness shown to me?

I will lift up salvation's cup

and call upon God's holy name,

I'll keep my promises to him

among his people gathered here.

O Lord, how dearly you are pained

when one of your true people dies!

I am your slave, your slavegirl's child,

so, Lord, I'll serve you all my days.

For you have freed me from the chains

that made me captive to the grave.

I pay my sacrifice of thanks,

and call upon God's holy name.

I pay my vows unto the Lord

among his people gathered here,

here in the holy house of God,

here in your midst, Jerusalem.

OFFERTORY

The hymns 'What shall I give to God, my Saviour' (LH 362 - *modernised) or 'O fount of good, for all your love' (LHS 816) both reflect the verses from Psalm 116 for the day, and are very appropriate for offertory songs or for singing while the offering is collected.

NOTES ON THE READINGS

See the document 'General notes and resources', under 'Notes on the readings', in the 'General and seasonal' folder.

ACTS 2:14a,36-41: Peter in this Pentecost day sermon had already hammered home the people’s part in rejecting Christ and crucifying him. Now he makes clear the enormous sinfulness of that act. The Jesus who rose from the dead and ascended to the right hand of God is none less than God's appointed Messiah. Upon the people’s expression of guilt and remorse, Peter immediately gives the direction to go, ie repentance. Entry into the kingdom of God is freely given to all who repent and believe the message of forgiveness. Baptism confers, seals and guarantees God's acceptance of the sinner.

1 PETER 1:17-23: Having spoken about the wonderful teaching of free salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, Peter goes on to enumerate reasons for building a life of obedient holiness on that foundation. He reminds his readers that God is an utterly fair and impartial judge; that redemption from their soul-destroying former pagan ways is by the personal sacrifice that God made through his own Son; that God himself has engendered their faith in his risen Son, and that the living word of God has worked new life in them. Therefore Christians love for one another is to be from the heart.

LUKE 24:13-35: St Luke gives us this warm and detailed description of a post-resurrection appearance of our Lord to show how the word of God makes Christ known. The two disciples walking from Jerusalem to the village of Emmaus were utterly engrossed in their depressed disappointment over dashed hopes in Jesus' messiaship. The risen Lord himself joined them, unrecognised, explaining the necessity of both the death and resurrection in terms of the many prophecies recorded in the Scriptures. On reaching Emmaus, the two disciples invited the 'stranger' to join them. When he blessed the bread they recognised him. Their joy took them straight back to Jerusalem to spread the news among their fellow disciples.

VISUAL

DECORATION

Easter symbols and decorations can continue to be used.

VISUALS FOR THE READINGS

Pictures or symbols could be displayed on banners or the overhead screen during the readings.

DRAMA

'MEGA DRAMA'

See a drama for the day in Mega Drama resources (Openbook Publishers), originally included in these worship resources when they were released on disks.

DRAMATISING THE READINGS

The readings can be read by more than one person to make the dramatic meaning of the text clearer. For instance, the first reading could be read by three readers: narrator, Peter, one of the people; and the gospel could be read by three readers: narrator (the pastor), Jesus, and one other who could read the parts of Cleopas and the other disciples. The gospel could also be mimed or acted as appropriate.

CHILDREN

'COME AND SEE JESUS'

The Come and See Jesus curriculum published by Openbook Publishers has a wealth of material and ideas that may be adapted for use in worship. Please note that a new edition of this material is now available for the Revised Common Lectionary.

The story for the Third Sunday of Easter in year C is: On the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35) (to be found in both the original edition and the RCL edition Series A for 3 Easter).