23. Year B - Seventh Sunday of Easter

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VERSION: 29 April 2002

SEVENTH SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR B

In 2003: 1 Jun

In 2006: 28 May

In 2009: 24 May

In 2012: 20 May

In 2015: 17 May

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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.

God gave us eternal life,

and this life is in his Son.

Whoever has the Son has life;

whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

(1 John 5:11,12 NRSV)

OR

Now I am no longer in the world,

but they are in the world.

They do not belong to the world,

just as I do not belong to the world.

As you have sent me into the world,

so I have sent them into the world. (John 17:11a, 16, 18 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.

PRAYER OF THE DAY (COLLECT)

Traditional

Almighty and eternal God,

grant that we may always have a will devoted to you,

and serve you as our king with a pure heart;

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

Almighty and eternal God,

help us always

willingly to serve you as our king,

with a pure heart.

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 unity of the Holy Spirit. [silence)]

Holy Father,

your Son prayed for his disciples

that they would be one,

as you and he are one.

Keep your whole church harmoniously together

in faith and love,

united by the one Spirit.

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.

FIRST READING

Acts 1:15-17,21-26 Matthias chosen to replace Judas

PSALM

Psalm 1

Antiphon:

The Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.  (Ps 1:6 NRSV)

SECOND READING

1 John 5:9-13 God's testimony about his Son

ALLELUIA VERSE

Alleluia.

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

death no longer has any power over him.

Alleluia.)

Sanctify us in your truth;

your word is truth. (based on John 17:17 NRSV)

Alleluia.

GOSPEL

John 17:6-19 Jesus prays for his disciples

(Begin: 'Jesus prayed to his Father:')

PRAYER AFTER THE GOSPEL

This is the gospel of the Lord.

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

Lord Jesus Christ,

thank you for making the Father known to us.

May we and all believers be one,

as you and the Father are one.

Amen.

OFFERING PRAYER

God of comfort,

your Son prayed for his followers in the world,

that they might be one.

Use us and what you have given us

to serve you and one another.

Amen.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

Call to prayer

As we wait with longing for the gift of the Spirit of God, let us pray that God would make himself known to the world through the good news of his Son, Jesus Christ.

The regular response, OR:

Lord, make yourself known to us,

that we may be one.

Suggested intercessions

Concluding prayer

Lord our God, you have brought the good news of Jesus Christ to us through your Spirit-filled messengers. Move us, by your Spirit, to bring the good news to those with whom we live. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Amen.

OR

God of all ages, the success of your kingdom does not depend on any one of us, but on Jesus Christ. Help us hold firmly on to Jesus so that neither death, nor the evil one, nor our own sin, nor love of the world can separate us from him. Cleanse us of all that would stain our lives, including the sins of which we are not even aware.

Your Son stands at your right hand to pray for each one of us personally, and not only for us but for all your followers still living here on earth. Give us patience as we wait for your word to control us and lead us. Bless those who spread the good news about Christ to people whose hearts are hardened and cold, so that they can respond to the warmth of your love and care.

Comfort the sick and those who are shaken by the loss of a loved one. Bless the elected leaders of our country and help them to care for all the people with special needs, including the mentally ill, those out of work and those who live in broken families.

Fill our hearts with your Spirit of mysteries and miracles, and give us joy in the mystery of the bread and wine, where we experience the miracle of forgiveness and receive the body and blood of the risen Christ to lift our spirits. May we go on our way rejoicing that Jesus has visited us today! We ask this in his name.

Amen

SEASONAL PREFACE

The preface for the days between Ascension and Pentecost is the preface for the Ascension.

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.

After his resurrection he appeared openly to his disciples,

and before their very eyes was taken up into heaven,

so that by your grace we may share in his divine nature.

And so, with angels and archangels,

and with all the company of heaven,

we adore and praise your glorious name:

COMMUNION INVITATION

Jesus says: 'When I am lifted up from the earth,

I will draw everyone to me.'

(Thanks be to God.)

Come, everything is ready.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

For a 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.

Holy Father,

your Son prayed for his disciples

that they would be one,

as you and he are one.

As we have eaten of the one bread,

and drunk from the one cup,

keep your whole church harmoniously together

in faith and love,

united by the one Spirit.

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.

RESPONSES BEFORE THE BLESSING

These sentences may be used before the blessing:

Now I am no longer in the world,

but they are in the world.

They do not belong to the world,

just as I do not belong to the world.

As you have sent me into the world,

so I have sent them into the world. (John 17:11a, 16, 18 NRSV)

SEASONAL BLESSING

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

(May) Christ our exalted king

pour on you his abundant gifts

and bring you to reign with him in glory; . . .

DISMISSAL

Go in peace. God has given you eternal life in his Son.

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 1:15-17,21-26

LHS

AT

TIS

Second reading: 1 John 5:9-13

LHS

AT

TIS

Gospel: John 17:6-19

LHS

AT

TIS

PSALM 1

For musical settings of Psalm 1, see Music Packages 3, 5, 6, 7 and 9. For a hymn version, see TIS 1 Happy are they who walk in God's wise way.

The Iona collection Psalms of Patience, Protest and Praise contains a metrical version of Psalm 1 (p 4).

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.

The following metrical paraphrase of Psalm 1 by David Sch¸tz may be sung to the tune Ellers (LH 514). If reproducing this version, please put 'Words (c) David Sch¸tz' at the beginning or the end of the psalm.

Happy are they whose love is in God's law,

those who do not walk in ungodly ways,

those who don't stand among the sinful crowd,

those who refuse to sit with those who scoff.

They meditate on God's law day and night.

They are like trees that grow beside a stream;

they will bear fruit at every harvest time,

they will not die, but thrive in all they do.

But the ungodly - they are not like this!

They are like chaff that scatters in the wind.

They cannot stand before the Lord their judge

in the assembly of God's righteous ones.

All those will perish who walk in the path

of the ungodly, following their way.

But the Lord knows the way of all his saints,

who love his law and live in righteousness.

CLOSING SONG

Consider using 'Sent by the Lord am I' (ATO 412) as a closing song.

NOTES ON THE READINGS

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

ACTS 1:15-17,21-26: The suicide of Judas necessitated restoring the number of apostles to twelve (symbolising the twelve tribes of Israel, and that the church was God's new Israel). The necessary qualifications for the new apostle included having witnessed the whole ministry of Jesus and the resurrection. The latter established the truth of Jesus' divinity and therefore also the truth of his message. There were two such men from whom to choose. As the Lord had ascended and the promised Spirit had not yet come, the disciples employed prayer and the Old Testament drawing of lots to choose the candidate God had in mind. The apostles were to be the authoritative keystone to keep the early church well founded on the authority of the truth of Jesus' teaching.

1 JOHN 5:9-13: There is an inner testimony within a believer in Jesus which makes one sure of Christ's reality, and of the salvation which he both gives and works into our lives. Many people want to believe only in a god who fits in with their own personal demands of what God should be like. God rather reveals himself when someone has simply believed. In verse 12 we have an echo of John 3, namely that whoever believes is saved, and those who do not believe are condemned because they have not believed.

JOHN 17:6-19: This section is from what is often called the high-priestly prayer of Jesus. It commends the disciples into the Father's keeping in view of Jesus' coming death upon the completion of his earthly mission. He prays firstly for their preservation and also for their sanctification. As they have learnt the truth from him concerning the true nature of the Father and his own full authority to reveal the Father, they truly belong to God. Jesus is glorified thereby, and they are separated from the evil world. They will need continued protection, however. This will come about if the unity existing among the Persons of the triune Godhead is established also among them. The joy Jesus has experienced in his own mission will similarly strengthen them as it is given. They will need further to be kept from the attacks of Satan and the evil world because Christ's work will be continued by their presence in the world. Therefore the Father will consecrate them (sanctify them) for the task as Jesus himself was. The power of the word will effect this. He prays for all these things.

VISUAL

VISUALS FOR THE READINGS

Pictures or symbols could be displayed on banners or the overhead projector during the readings. For instance, the gospel could be accompanied by an illustration like that in the TEV Bible for John17:1.

ASCENSION BANNER

If a banner has been used for the Ascension, continue to display it this Sunday.

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 from Acts could be read by three readers: narrator, Peter, another disciple (for the prayer in vv 14,15).

CHILDREN

TALKING WITH THE CHILDREN

Using a picture of Jesus praying, talk about how Jesus prays for us.

OR

Talk about the Lord's Prayer. It is a prayer that Jesus used to pray to his Father. It is a prayer that we also pray to our Father. So when we pray, we are not praying alone, but we are praying with Jesus, and Jesus is praying for us.

'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 Seventh Sunday of Easter year B is: for Lower and Middle Levels: Jesus goes home to heaven; for Upper Level: Jesus prays (to be found in both the original edition and the RCL edition in Series B for 7 Easter).