Worship & Prayers for The Fourth Sunday of Easter

Opening Rite

If you’re at home you might wish to light a candle, make sure you are sitting comfortably and take a few deep breaths to still yourself. 

Alleluia! Christ is risen!   He is risen indeed! Alleluia.

Prayers of Penitence

Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed for us.  Let us therefore rejoice by putting away all malice and evil and confessing our sins with a sincere and true heart.                                                                                1 Corinthians 5.7,8

Silence for reflection

Lord Jesus, you raise us to new life. Lord, have mercy.  Lord, have mercy.

Lord Jesus, you forgive us our sins. Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.

Lord Jesus, you feed us with the living bread. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

May the God of love and power forgive us and free us from our sins, heal and strengthen us by his Spirit, and raise us to new life in Christ our Lord. Amen

The Collect  

You might like to keep a few moments of silence

Almighty God, whose Son Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life: raise us, who trust in him, from the death of sin to the life of righteousness, that we may seek those things which are above, where he reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen

Acts 2.42-end

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.  Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

Psalm 23

/R: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want

The Lord is my shepherd; therefore can I lack nothing. He makes me lie dowṇ in green pastures and leads me beside stiḻl waters. /R:

He shall refresh my soul, and guide me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. /R: 

You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me; you have anointed my head with oil and my cup shall be full. Surely goodness and loving mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. /R:

1 Peter 2.19-end

For it is to your credit if, being aware of God, you endure pain while suffering unjustly. If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, where is the credit in that? But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God’s approval. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.  ‘He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.’ When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.

The Gospel according to John                                           Chapter 10:1-10

‘Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.’ Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.  So again Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

This is the Gospel of the Lord   Praise to you O Christ

Reflection

A typical sheepfold in Jesus’ day was a pen with a rock-built wall that often surrounded the mouth of a cave to provide shelter from inclement weather. Thorny plants grew over the wall to deter wolves and other predators. A gate in the wall provided access to the fold, which could be used by more than one shepherd and his flock. A group of shepherds might hire a gatekeeper to guard the sheep overnight. Sometimes a shepherd lay across the gate to act as a door to the fold. Sheep recognised their shepherd by the sound of his voice or his tuneful whistle. Some shepherds knew their sheep so well that they named them and called them out of the fold to follow them to pasture. So, the parable paints an evocative picture of a shepherd’s care for his flock, in the face of the risks and dangers from predators, thieves and bad weather.  This Gospel provides two interpretations of the parable. Verses 7-10 compare Jesus to the gate of the fold, and verses 11-18 to the shepherd. The gate controls access into and out of the sheepfold, ensuring that the sheep are safe (this seems to be the meaning of ‘saved’ in verse 9) and well fed. So, the gate enables the flock to flourish (v.10). Jesus achieves this by knowing his sheep so well that they are prepared to listen to him and by distinguishing himself from ‘thieves and bandits’, who see the sheep only as commodities rather than living creatures who need nurturing. Jesus rejects their destructive self-interest. Instead, he is utterly other-centred in his care. A shepherd lying across the gate is a gateway to life, who lies down and stands up regularly, a movement that in this Gospel symbolises the flow of heavenly grace in the Word made flesh, who is now close to the Father’s heart.  Shepherding is an image of pastoral care in which ‘knowing’ means healing, sustaining, and keeping safe, and ‘being known’ means feeling confident and secure enough to follow Jesus into the wider world, trusting that he is able to bring out the best in life. This dynamic lies at the heart of the continuing ministry of the risen Jesus, and the well-being of the community that follows him.

Linking the readings

The readings are connected by the theme of shepherding, which is celebrated in Psalm 23. In Acts 2, the apostles’ leadership shepherds the church in Jerusalem in ways that extend the risen life of Jesus to the wider community of Jerusalem. 1 Peter 2 pictures Jesus as the shepherd-like protector of his followers who suffer unjustly. And the parable of the good shepherd in John 10 likens Jesus to a shepherd who acts as the gateway to abundant life for his sheep.

Reproduced with permission www.rootsontheweb.com 2002-2021  

Prayers

Spend a few moments praying for the people you know and love, for the world, for peace and for the relief of refugees everywhere. 

On The Fourth Sunday of Easter      

Risen Christ, faithful shepherd of your Father’s sheep: teach us to hear your voice and to follow your command, that all your people may be gathered into one flock, to  the glory of God the Father. Amen

Praying for the Earth                                                                   Biodiversity

Through the process of evolution you have created a rich diversity of life on earth. Help us to recognize and appreciate the intricacy and variety of life in all its fullness. Bless all the teachers and scientists as they reveal to others, young and old alike, the wonders of creation.  Amen

From the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer for the Church

Porvoo Communion: Diocese of Gothenburg (Church of Sweden) and the Diocese of Glasgow and Galloway (Scottish Episcopal Church)

Anglican Communion: The Church of Nigeria Primate: The Most Reverend Henry C Ndukuba

Diocese of Botswana: Parish of St John the Baptist, Tsabong: Fr Andrew Seitshiro and Revd Onicah Lentshikang

Corbridge Deanery: St John’s Church, Healey and St Philip and St James’ Church, Whittonstall

From our Parish Prayer Cycle this week 

pray for all residents of Westlands, Eastlands and Jesmond Park West

For the sick and those being cared for in hospital or at home      

For those in residential care    

For those whose year’s minds are this week 

Michael McClen, Ann Murray, Dorothy Lowe, Elizabeth Howe, Robert Waugh, Robert Lister, Douglas Graham, Leslie Cuthbertson, Julia Robinson, Margaret Smith, John James Frederick Cook and Patricia Brown

You might like to end your prayers with The Lord's Prayer  

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.

The Conclusion

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen

Let us bless the Lord! Alleluia! Alleluia!  Thanks be to God! Alleluia! Alleluia!