25th April 2021 – 4th Sunday of Easter

Posted on April 25, 2021April 24, 2021 by St Mary's

The Readings

Acts 4.5-12

The next day their rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. When they had made the prisoners stand in their midst, they inquired, ‘By what power or by what name did you do this?’ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders, if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. This Jesus is

“the stone that was rejected by you, the builders;
it has become the cornerstone.”

There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.’

John 10.11-18

‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.’

New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

The Prayers
Prepared by Oli Giles

Risen Jesus, in this Eastertide, as we continue to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection, help us to appreciate the beauty of Spring, and of new life bursting around us. Help us to be open to the colours and smells of the wild flowers, the orchestra of birdsong, and the longer, lighter days that give us the energy for new ideas.
Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Risen Jesus, As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to bring an enormous burden of disease globally, as well as thousands of deaths every day, help us to hold in our thoughts and our hearts the countries around the world who have poorly resourced healthcare systems, and help us to be with those who are grieving the loss of loved ones.
Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Risen Jesus, with the easing of national restrictions, keep us thankful when restarting forgotten activities, and seeing our loved ones again after so long. Help us to be kind to our planet, being mindful of how we can reduce our carbon footprint with these renewed freedoms.
Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Risen Jesus, as the May Elections draw closer, help us work in partnership with those who are elected. Be with the new councillors as they make important decisions, discerning your wisdom and listening to their ward’s residents.
Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Risen Jesus, your resurrection brought hope to early Christians in dark and difficult times. Help us to be hopeful in responding to the challenges in our lives, as well as bringing the joy and hope of your resurrection to all those we meet.
Merciful Father,
accept these prayers
for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.

‘Resurrection’ – 18th April 2021 – 3rd Sunday of Easter

Posted on April 18, 2021April 17, 2021 by St Mary's

The Readings

Acts 3.12-19

When Peter saw it, he addressed the people, ‘You Israelites, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release him. But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer given to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you.

‘And now, friends, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. In this way God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer. Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out.

Luke 24.36b-48

While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, ‘Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.’ And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence.

Then he said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.

The Sermon
By the Revd Canon Dr Matthew Rhodes, Assistant Priest at St Mary's.

I don’t suppose I’m the only one who has been reflecting a bit on the death of Prince Philip in the past week. It’s been interesting to observe the very varied reactions among people in this country and around the world. From those who were angry at having their television schedules disrupted to the people of Tanna in Vanuatu who worshipped him as a divine figure. From older members of the population who might remember when Prince Philip married young Princess Elizabeth, to our younger people who probably knew him only as a sometimes politically incorrect elderly man. Prince Philip lived a long and active life. Like Her Majesty the Queen he was a committed Christian. So I find it hard to see his death as a tragedy. But I have come to appreciate what an extraordinary person he was and how much there is in his life that we should thank God for, and not least his support for the Queen.

When preparing services in the past eight days, it has been a challenge to find the right balance between official mourning and the celebration of Easter. Working out how many alleluias I should put in or leave out. People seem to be in such a wide variety of places. And I suppose that was also true in the days after the resurrection. For the vast majority of people, the resurrection passed them by. Many were hostile or at least indifferent to the carpenter who had been executed on a cross. Rumours of his resurrection probably meant very little to them. For those on the inside, to his disciples and followers, there was sadness, guilt, grief, doubt and then elation, joy and peace. But the rollercoaster of emotion continued as Jesus kept appearing unexpectedly. To Simon, and to Cleopas and his companion on the road to Emmaus. And in today’s Gospel we are told that the eleven were startled and terrified, full of wonder and disbelief. The risen Jesus comes to the disciples where they are but the good news of the resurrection is not simple or easy to digest. It disturbs and challenges. And that is probably important. The resurrection should challenge us. Upset old certainties. Make us see the world in new ways.

One of the great legacies that Prince Philip leaves behind is a movement to modernise the monarchy. He understood the power of television and it was because of him that the coronation was televised. He tried to show that the Royal Family was made up of real human beings and he wasn’t afraid to reveal his own humanity. In our Gospel today, the risen Jesus also demonstrates that he is human. Although he can pass through walls and locked doors he is not a ghost. He shows the disciples his hands and feet and invites them to touch him. At the same time though, the risen Jesus seems to be slightly out of focus. Hard to pin down. And perhaps we just need to be open to that ambiguity.

To prove that he is not a ghost, Jesus asks the disciples for something to eat. They give him a piece of broiled fish and he eats it in front of them. I don’t suppose that the risen Jesus really needed to eat but by doing so he showed the disciples that it was his body that had risen, not just his spirit. And for me that is a reminder that the resurrection is about this world. Not just about forgiveness or what happens to us when we die. Not just about the promise of heaven. It’s about the redemption of all that is.

I expect Prince Philip has touched the lives of quite a few of us in one way or another. I was lucky enough to meet him when I got my Duke of Edinburgh Award 34 years ago and even then he seemed quite old. He had had to stop shaking hands with people. As a curate, I helped out a reception at St James’ Palace for the Council of Christians and Jews and I was impressed at how knowledgeable Prince Philip was and by how much interest he took in people. I’m also very thankful for the leadership programme that Prince helped establish at Windsor. In the past week we have been reminded of the extraordinary range of interests that the Prince had. From the Royal Navy to engineering. From carriage riding to painting. And from the environment to interfaith matters. Prince Philip read voraciously and widely and many of his books were on matters of religion.

We don’t often see that range of interests in one person. As I’ve been reflecting on them this week, I’ve been challenged to expand my ideas about what resurrection might mean. Forgiveness of sins and life everlasting are fundamental of course. But resurrection is so much bigger than these things. It is about the whole of our lives. The whole of creation. We are used to seeing resurrection in terms of the arrival of spring. Flowers opening and new leaves budding. And this year we have a strong sense of resurrection as another lockdown ends. As the vaccination programme is rolled out. As shops and pubs and businesses reopen. As a Church, resurrection involves the reopening of our buildings. The resumption of public worship.

But of course, resurrection is much bigger than all these things. Surely it means things like an end to inequality. An end to things like foodbanks. An end to racism. An end to totalitarian regimes. Resurrection is not always comfortable. It unsettles, challenges the status quo. In recent years we have become increasingly aware of our impact on the climate and biodiversity. Resurrection surely means the reversal of global warming and the restoration of creation. And that involves change. Sometimes costly change. But it is something the Church of England has committed itself to and we can all play a part in helping make it happen.

I wonder then what resurrection means to you. What does might it look like in your life? Or in the lives of those around you? How might you help to bring about resurrection in your family life, in the lives of friends or of your local community? What might resurrection mean for the church on the street? Of course, it’s not just about the resumption of public worship but how we go out into the community and share good news with others. Resurrection is not something we can keep to ourselves behind closed doors. Part of our calling as Christians is to share it with others. Jesus sends us, as he sent the disciples, to proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem, from Walkley, and to the ends of the earth. We are witnesses of these things. Amen.

The Prayers
Prepared by Veronica.

In the power of the Spirit and in union with Christ, let us pray to the Father.

O God, the creator and preserver of us all, we pray for all your people throughout the world at this time of mutating pandemic. Guide those in authority to work in partnership with all, especially the poorer parts of the world, to use the inventiveness of our geneticists and virologists to share the vaccines that are being developed. Guide them also to seek peace where there is war, and to bring aid to all who are suffering where there is conflict or natural disaster.
Lord in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

We pray for our Queen and all the members of the Royal Family as they mourn Philip Duke of Edinburgh whose funeral took place yesterday. We give thanks for his life of service to this country and the Commonwealth, remembering how millions of young people’s lives have been enriched by participating in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme, in addition to his many royal duties.
Lord in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

We pray for the Church worldwide, especially for the Queen, the supreme governor of the Church of England, that her faith will give her strength at this sad time. As we continue to celebrate our risen Lord, may all Christians seek to live according to the promises made by Christ, and work together for the good of all the peoples of the world.
Lord in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

We pray for our city and community and for the elections due in the next few weeks. We pray that you will inspire successful candidates to work for the good of all constituents in their community. We give thanks for all the volunteers who give their time to provide services, and keep our streets and green open spaces clean and beautiful.
Lord in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

We pray for all who are ill at this time, whether from corona virus or other conditions and have to wait longer for treatment than normal. Be with them all, and all who work in the NHS at this time of great strain, that they may know your care and healing grace. In a moment of quiet we remember by name those known to us who are suffering at this time.
Lord in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

We remember those who have gone before us in the peace of Christ, especially your servant Philip and others known to us, including Patricia Browning and her family. Grant us with them a share in your eternal kingdom. Rejoicing in the fellowship of Mary and all your saints we commend ourselves and all creation to your unfailing love.
Merciful Father,
accept these prayers
for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ.

‘Death and Resurrection’ – 11th April 2021 – 2nd Sunday of Easter

Posted on April 11, 2021April 15, 2021 by St Mary's

The Readings

Acts 4.32-35

Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.

John 20.19-end

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

The Sermon
By Reverend Alan Billings

What is the Easter faith that will sustain the head of our church, the Queen, this Sunday?

What Easter does, or should do, is make us think first about what comes before Christ's resurrection, namely his death. Not so much the manner of his death, which was horrible, but the fact of it. Christ died.

We live at a time when the society around us has largely lost its hold on Christian faith. It is secular. We don't always appreciate what that means. But one thing it means is that people now struggle to give death any kind of positive meaning.

For the secular person, the death of a human being is no different from the death of any other living thing – whether a flower, a bird, an animal. Or for that matter, a virus.

Human death is about annihilation. Everlasting unconsciousness and an end of all that we thought important for our life, especially our relationships and the love between us. The love between us and our partner, our children, our grandchildren, our friends, our God. Death sweeps it all away.

This is hard to think about; and most of the time we don't, until we have to. Even then we find ways of not doing it.

So those diagnosed with a terminal illness will often put themselves through every kind of medical intervention possible, however grim, in order to prolong life by a little more and put off thinking about the inevitable end of all our lives.

And those who arrange non-religious funerals will avoid drawing attention to the awful truth that the one we love and the relationship we had with them is no more. They do that by only looking back over the life – because there can be no looking forward – and trying to make the mood of mourners as upbeat as possible.

I went to such a funeral a few years ago. We were told not to wear black but vibrant colours. It was to be a celebration of the person's life. So we looked back. There were a few serious moments but mainly a lot of amusing stories. We almost forgot there was a coffin in the room.

Some one did say that this person will live on in our memories – another evasion. But as Woody Allen said, ‘I don’t want to live on in your memory. I want to live on in my apartment.’

In funerals of that kind it's almost impossible to express the kind of deep sorrow and sadness, the pain, the loneliness, some may be feeling. Sadness is almost out of place.

At no point did anyone break the spell by saying – as the principal mourner does in the film 4 weddings and a funeral:

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone...*

The last place for any profound thinking about death is the modern secular funeral. And that is serious because it leaves us unprepared for our own death.

This is not to say we shouldn't be able to remember good times and funny moments at a funeral. But it shouldn't become a complete substitute for thinking about the reality – that this person is gone from our life for ever.

Unless, that is, there is more to be said.

At Eastertide the church says, there is more to be said. And the gospel passages we hear read Sunday by Sunday tell us about that more, taking us gently through the experiences of the first followers of Jesus as they slowly, slowly come to change their perspective and realise that although Christ died there can be a looking forward as well as a looking back.

God did not leave Jesus in death but brought him through it – which is what we mean by resurrection.

The promise for us is that as we, or our loved ones, come to die we do not just look back, we can look forward, even if we cannot know or hardly begin to imagine, what that resurrection life might be like.

In the light of the resurrection of Jesus, we think about death and respond to it differently. We can acknowledge those deep feelings of loss and loneliness. We don't have to pretend that death is anything other than a disaster, a time when we lose one another. But we can also light a candle and say a prayer. For a human death is not the equivalent of the death of a flower or a bird.

For Christ has been raised and we shall be raised. In God's nearer presence we shall know ourselves again and we shall know one another. Christ is risen. Death has no more dominion over him. Or us.

This is the Easter faith we share with The Queen.

*The full quotation from the WH Auden poem used in the film has been omitted here for copyright reasons

The Prayers
Prepared by David C, Lay Reader

We pray to Jesus who is present with us to eternity.

Most merciful God,
whose wisdom is beyond our understanding,
surround the Queen and the Royal Family with your love,
that they may not be overwhelmed by their loss,
but have confidence in your goodness,
and strength to meet the days to come.
Jesus, Lord of life,
in your mercy, hear us.

Jesus, light of the world,
bring the light and peace of your gospel to the nations
Jesus, Lord of life,
in your mercy, hear us.

Jesus, bread of life,
give food to the hungry
and nourish us all with your word.
Jesus, Lord of life,
in your mercy, hear us.

Jesus, our way, our truth, our life,
be with us and all who follow you in the way
Deepen our appreciation of your truth
and fill us with your life.
Jesus, Lord of life,
in your mercy, hear us.

Jesus, Good Shepherd who gave your life for the sheep,
recover the straggler,
bind up the injured,
strengthen the sick
and lead the healthy and strong to new pastures.
Jesus, Lord of life,
in your mercy, hear us.

Jesus, the resurrection and the life,
we give you thanks for all who have lived and believed in you
We remember your servant Philip
who has gone before us with the sign of faith
and now rests in the sleep of peace.
According to your promises,
grant to him and to all who rest in Christ,
refreshment, light and peace;
through the same Christ our Lord.
Jesus, Lord of life,
in your mercy, hear us,
accept our prayers, and be with us always.
Amen.