Easter 5

Sunday, 18/05/2025

SENTENCE FROM SCRIPTURE:

Praise, O praise the name of the Lord. (Psalm 148)

HYMN

GREETING

Grace and peace to you from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen

COLLECT FOR PURITY

Almighty God,
to whom all hearts are open,
all desires known,
and from whom no secrets are hidden:
cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you,
and worthily magnify your holy name;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.

SUMMARY OF THE LAW

Our Lord Jesus Christ said: The first commandment is this:

Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is the only Lord. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.”

The second is this: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these. Amen. Lord, have mercy.

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION

God is love and we are God’s children. There is no room for fear in love. We love because God loved us first.

Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith.

SILENCE

God our Father,
we confess to you
and to our fellow members in the Body of Christ
that we have sinned in thought, word and deed,
and in what we have failed to do.
We are truly sorry.
Forgive us our sins,
and deliver us from the power of evil,
for the sake of your Son who died for us, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

ABSOLUTION

God, who is both power and love,
forgive you and free you from your sins,
heal and strengthen you by the Holy Spirit,
and raise you to new life in Christ our Lord. Amen.

GLORIA
sung by Sue St Joseph

COLLECT

O God,
who alone can bring harmony to the minds of your faithful people:
give us grace to love the things you command,
and to desire the things you promise;
that, amid the uncertain changes of this world,
our hearts may be firmly fixed where true joys are to be found;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, world without end. Amen

PROCLAIMING & RECEIVING GOD’S WORD

FIRST READING
Acts 11.1–18
read by Gill Swales

¹ The apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. ² So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, ³ saying, ‘Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?’ ⁴ Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, ⁵ ‘I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me. ⁶ As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. ⁷ I also heard a voice saying to me, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.” ⁸ But I replied, “By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.” ⁹ But a second time the voice answered from heaven, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” ¹⁰ This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven. ¹¹ At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. ¹² The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. ¹³ He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, “Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter; ¹⁴ he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.”

¹⁵ And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. ¹⁶ And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁷ If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?’ ¹⁸ When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, ‘Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.’

SILENCE

¹ I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ² And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; ⁴ he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.’

SECOND READING
Revelation 21.1–6
read by Andrew Ratnam

⁵ And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ ⁶ Then he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.’

GRADUAL HYMN

GOSPEL
John 13.31–35:
read by Rev Dr Steven Ballard

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John, Chapter 13, beginning at verse 31

Glory to Christ our Saviour

³¹ During the supper, when Judas had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. ³² If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. ³³ Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, “Where I am going, you cannot come.” ³⁴ I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. ³⁵ By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’

Give thanks to the Lord for his glorious Gospel
Praise to Christ our Lord.

SERMON

A New Commandment

Jesus said.” I give you a  new commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you”.

When you attend our Cathedral on Maundy Thursday you are invited to share in the washing of feet, sharing in the action of Jesus that accompanied his words. In our ministry we have always washed a representative number of twelve people’s feet but for the whole congregation to be invited is so very powerful.

The words of Jesus, and the sacramental washing of feet, inspire in us a new way of living, a life of service among the community in which we live.  Like on that first night, Jesus made no exceptions, he knelt washing feet including Peter who protested and Judas who would betray him. All were washed.

The bowl and towel have been to deacons everywhere, and across all denominations, the symbol and sign of their ministry of “Word and Service”. Earlier this month I was invited to the Methodist Convocation of the Diaconal Order (MDO) which is both an Order of Ministry and a dispersed Religious Community. I had the privilege of facilitating, with their Director of Training a ecumenical dialogue involving a panel representing their national and International guests.

The conversations were very powerful and were guided by three questions:

What passage of scripture has been the inspiration and companion on your journey of ministry?

Where to do you experience the prophetic in your ministry?

How do you exercise leadership as a deacon?

Following the reflections of the panel and additional questions from the floor, we sat, café style around tables, and everyone shared the same questions and wrote their reflections on the paper tablecloths. What would be your responses to these questions of your Christian calling?

Deacons usually exercise their ministry on the edges of the Church and Society; meeting the needs of those they meet; restoring people to live fully in their communities; transforming communities and building channels of reconciliation; being the “first footers” ; seeing the needs and discerning gifts both within  the gathered church and beyond;  leading them and shaping them to become responders and shapers of this new commandments of Jesus. The Deacon then moves on looking for the next need, building up “the Diaconate of all believers” The Root of all ministries is baptism.  In this Eucharist we pray together for the Spirit to be strengthened for service, so listen out for these words in the Eucharistic Prayer.

The Diaconal calling is reflected in the deacon’s liturgical role bringing their liminal ministry and witness to the heart of  the Church:  First, it is an equal and complementary role to that of Priest (Bishop) and that of the Laos (each of these ministries represented at the Table): then reflecting daily ministry, the Deacon invites people to join in the liturgy; proclaims the Good News;  receives the gits of people and prepares the Table; administers the Sacraments and the Ablutions; finally gives the Dismissal,(often inviting people to face the Door) “Go in peace to love and to serve the Lord” and the Congregation respond, ”In the name of Christ, AMEN”  In this way the worship service in church is ended and our diaconal service in the World begins for another week… Following the Servant Christ who goes before us…. and hearing Jesus’ words, “Love one another as I have loved you” and remember there are no exceptions, God’s love is for all people… this is prophetic.                         

The Rev’d Deacon Ann Wren (Vocational Deacon in SEC)

THE CREED

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
God from God,
Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one substance with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven;
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father.
With the Father and the Son,
he is worshipped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

PRAYERS

Lord Jesus, you have commanded us to love one another as you love us. Give us insight to understand the length, depth and height of that love expressed in your death on the cross and the will to obey so that in all we do you will be glorified

Lord, in your mercy

Hear our prayer

Lord Jesus, you criticised those in authority who showed no love for the people. We pray for the leaders of the world that they will see the power they have as the means to bring about peace and prosperity for all. We pray for those who live in war torn areas that somehow they will find an inner peace in the midst of the conflict

Lord, in your mercy

Hear our prayer

Lord Jesus, in the early days of the church the comment was made “see how these Christians love one another”. We pray for the church throughout the world that unnecessary divisions will be broken down, that there will be respect for differences and that it will obey your command to love

Lord, in your mercy

Hear our prayer

Lord Jesus, you extended your healing love to those who were sick and to those who grieved. We pray for those we know who need your healing touch and for all involved in their care. We remember those dear to us…… You promised that those who mourn will be comforted and we pray that they will know the truth of your promise

Lord, in your mercy

Hear our prayer

As we seek to obey Jesus’ command we pray for ourselves in the words of St Ignatius of Loyola

Teach us, good Lord, to serve you as you deserve; to give, and not to count the cost, to fight, and not to heed the wounds, to toil, and not to seek for rest, to labour, and not to ask for reward, except that of knowing that we are doing your will.

Amen

Merciful Father accept these prayers for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ who taught us to pray together

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those
who sin against us.
Do not bring us
to the time of trial
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power
and the glory are yours,
now and forever. Amen.

BLESSING

Christ the Son of God gladden your hearts with the good news of his kingdom; and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen.

HYMN

DISMISSAL

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord
In the name of Christ. Amen