20. Year B - Fifth Sunday of Easter

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VERSION: 29 April 2002

FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR B

In 2003: 18 May

In 2006: 14 May

In 2009: 10 May

In 2012: 6 May

In 2015: 3 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.

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God;

everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

(1 John 4:7 NRSV)

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

OR, use one of the general Sentences in the document 'General notes and resources', under 'Sentence', in the 'General and seasonal' folder.

LORD, HAVE MERCY

For variations to the 'Lord, have mercy', see the document 'Easter season' (under 'Liturgy', 'Lord, have mercy' and under 'Hymns and songs' 'Lord, have mercy'), in the 'General and seasonal' folder, or use the following for this Sunday (based on the German).

Let us call on the Lord, to whom we belong through our baptism.

Lord Jesus Christ, you are the true vine:

Lord, have mercy.

You give us growth as branches in you:

Christ, have mercy.

You make us produce fruit by remaining in you:

Lord, have mercy.

PRAYER OF THE DAY (COLLECT)

Traditional

O God,

since you make the minds of the faithful

to be of one will:

Grant that your people

may love what you command

and desire what you promise,

that among the many changes of this world

our hearts may there be fixed

where true joys are to be found;

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,

you make the minds of the faithful

to be of one will.

Lead us to love what you command

and desire what you promise,

so that, among the changes of this world,

our hearts may be fixed where true joys are found.

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, alternative

(Let us pray that we may remain in Christ. [silence])

Loving heavenly Father,

you sent your Son Jesus Christ

to reconcile the world to yourself.

Strengthen our faith,

so that we remain united with him

and bear the fruit of love.

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

(Let us pray that we love others. [silence])

Merciful Father,

you have reached out to all people

through your Son Jesus,

who died for us all.

Encourage us to live as your chosen people

and give of ourselves to others.

We ask this through Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.

Amen.

FIRST READING

Acts 8:26-40 Philip and the Ethiopian

PSALM

Psalm 22:25-31

Antiphon:

All the families of the nations shall worship before him.

(Ps 22:27b NRSV)

SECOND READING

1 John 4:7-21 Love one another, as God loved us

ALLELUIA VERSE

Alleluia.

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

death no longer has any power over him.

Alleluia.)

(Jesus said:) If you abide in me, and my words abide in you,

ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

(John 15:7 NRSV)

Alleluia.

GOSPEL

John 15:1-8 The true vine and the fruitful branches

(Begin with 'Jesus said:')

PRAYER AFTER THE GOSPEL

This is the gospel of the Lord.

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

Lord Jesus, thank you for being the true vine

and making us your branches.

Keep us united to you

and help us to bear much fruit.

Amen.

OFFERING PRAYER

Loving heavenly Father,

thank you for giving us new life through your Son.

Make us fruitful branches of the true vine.

Help us to keep trusting in him

and to show your love

by loving other people.

Lead us to live in harmony with one another

and to help others in need.

Amen.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

Call to prayer

Jesus said, 'If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.' Let us pray.

Response

Lord, in your mercy,

hear our prayer.

Suggested intercessions

Concluding prayer

Thank you, Father, that you hear us and care for us in all our needs. Open our eyes that we may see you in your Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Amen.

OR

The regular response, OR:

For your winning love,

we praise you, Lord.

Prayers

Lord Jesus, your Spirit grafted us lovingly into Jesus, the tree of life. Feed new life into us through your word, like healthy sap flowing into us from a spring of eternal waters.

Lord Jesus, you are the tree of life and we are the branches. By your Spirit, produce the fruit of love, joy, peace, and patience in our lives for others to enjoy, just as fruit on a healthy tree is there for people to taste and enjoy. Keep us from hanging on to love and keeping it for ourselves. Prune the selfish love from us and fill us with the new love from the Father.

Lord Jesus, your love wants to reach out and do something positive for strangers, for those who are lost, and for those whom we find unlovable. Give us your love, that we may share the good news about you with people who are confused about religion and are searching for the right answers to the mysteries of life and death. Give us your courage to take risks, just as you took a risk by dying so that your enemies could be adopted into your family.

Lord Jesus, you do not hold us selfishly to yourself and smother us with selfish love. Send us out into the world to minister to people who are dying spiritually, to those who love only themselves, and those who are driven by fear. Help us to show your winning love to other people because we have experienced it in our lives, and we know there is no human love like it.

Lord Jesus, by your Holy Spirit, focus our love on the people who have special needs:

Encourage and fill with new love the people who work in

Lord Jesus, you invite the undeserving people to your table and offer them the best wine you have, to refresh growing souls with the taste of your free forgiveness and eternal life. Fill us with your Spirit so that we go out into your world and share your love

so that they can experience your winning love.

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.

Loving heavenly Father,

you sent your Son Jesus Christ

to reconcile the world to yourself.

As we have received his body and blood,

keep us united with him

so that we may bear the fruit of love.

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.

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, and love one another.

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 8:26-40

LHS

AT

TIS

Second reading: 1 John 4:7-21

LHS

AT

TIS

Gospel: John 15: 1-8

LHS

AT

TIS

SONG BASED ON GOSPEL

This song is related to the gospel reading. It is by Claire Kleinig, based on 'Be still and know' (AT0 311) ©1988 the Iona Community. By permission from Willow Connection.

I am the Vine; in me there is life,

and there is none beside me. (Repeat)

I am the Vine; I keep you alive,

and there is none beside me. (Repeat)

I am the Vine; in me you bear fruit,

and there is none beside me. (Repeat)

I am the Vine; remain in my love,

for there is none beside me. (Repeat)

IONA COMMUNITY SONG

From John L Bell & Graham Maule, Wild Goose Songs vol. 3 Love from below

Note that the Iona Community is willing to allow a church or worship assembly to reproduce the words only of a song from these publications on a service sheet or overhead transparency that is to be used once only on a non-commercial basis, provided that the title of the song and the name of the copyright holder is clearly shown.

FROM PRAISE FOR ALL SEASONS

PSALM 22:25-31

For musical settings of Psalm 22:25-31, see Music Package 5.

The following paraphrase of Psalm 22:25-31 by David Sch¸tz may be sung to the tune 'Vine and fig tree', ATN 36 (note that in the second last bar the second crochet must be played as two quavers). If reproducing this version, please put 'Words (c) David Sch¸tz' at the beginning or the end of the psalm.

Now when I stand in the congregation,

there all my praise will come from God.

And in the presence of those who fear him,

there I will pay my vows to him.

Then there will be food for the poor,

then they will all be satisfied.

Praise him, all those who seek the Lord,

and may your spirit never die.

Then shall the ends of the earth remember

and ev'ry land turn to the Lord,

and all the fam'lies of ev'ry nation

shall worship him and hear his word.

For all dominion is the Lord's,

power and might belong to him.

He rules the nations as their king,

he brings his love and grace to them.

Then even those who have died will worship,

and I will always live for him.

And generations to come will serve him,

for they will all be told of him.

They will proclaim his saving love

to those who have not yet been born.

They will be told what we have learnt

that, by the Lord, it has been done.

NOTES ON THE READINGS

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

ACTS 8:26-40: The Lord had indicated before his ascension that the gospel would be preached in Jerusalem, then in Judea and Samaria; and thence into all the world. The Jerusalem persecution dispersed Christians into the surrounding regions. Philip was involved in consolidating the work in Samaria. At its completion the Spirit directed him to seek out the Ethiopian emissary on the Gaza road on his return to his homeland. Having obtained a Greek language scroll of the Scriptures, the man was reading from Isaiah, chapter 53 vv 7,8. These verses in prophecy sum up Jesus' ministry very nicely. Philip took the opportunity to expound the gospel to the eunuch on their basis. The conviction of faith was followed immediately by baptism upon the eunuch's request. Notice that the new-found faith produced a transparent joy in this new believer. The gospel is seen to be starting to reach now into remoter regions of 'the world'.

1 JOHN 4:7-21: God loves not because people are worthy of his love, but because that is the kind of God he is. To see that love means that we need to see ourselves as the objects of God's wrath, and yet as people for whom Christ died. It is only in seeing his anger averted that we see what real love is. Seeing a God like that means we in turn recognise that we in the same way ought to love one another. Christians need to be growing in this love, for when love is perfected the fear of God disappears. It is in this that the Spirit uses the new life as an inner witness that our lives are changed, that we are the children of God (vv 13-16). Faith and love combine to breed a confidence in God's goodwill over against judgment; which again reinforces the eradication of hatred (vv 19-21).

JOHN 15:1-8: The utter dependence of the Christian on Jesus for all spiritual life with God is brought out here. The picture of the vine brings to mind various Old Testament passages in which Israel is depicted as God's vine. Jesus is productive for the Father as Israel was meant to be but never was. Believers are part of Jesus, as branches are to the vine, in such a way that all nourishment and life flow from him as sap does in the vine. Therefore nourishment ceases when that contact ceases. God, the vinedresser prunes (purifies) the vine in order to maximise production. While the disciples were already cleansed by Jesus' teaching, yet continued pruning would continue to improve the fruit-bearing process. Prayer is both a sign of and an instrument in the energising process, the fruit-bearing being a proof of that discipleship.

VISUAL

DECORATION

Decorate the church with vine branches and leaves to enhance the message of the gospel.

VISUALS FOR THE READINGS

Pictures or symbols could be displayed on banners or the overhead screen during the readings. For instance, the gospel could be accompanied by a symbol of a vine. The name JESUS could be inscribed on the trunk. Perhaps names or pictures of members of the congregation, eg a baptism group or confirmation class, could be put on the branches.

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 five readers: narrator, angel/Spirit, Philip, Ethiopian, the prophet.

CHILDREN

CHILDREN AND THE READINGS

Talk about a vine, and show a picture. Explain how we are branches on the vine that is Jesus (see above under 'Visuals for the readings').

'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 Fifth Sunday of Easter in year B is: Jesus baptises an Ethiopian (to be found in both the original edition and the RCL edition Series B for 5 Easter).