26 April 2020
Dear Brothers and
Sisters,
Grace and peace to
you from God.
Today is the 3rd
Sunday of Easter.
The 5th (Last)
Sunday of Pandemic Level 4.
The feast day of St
Mark.
Readings:
Acts 2:14a, 36-41
1 Peter 1:17-23
The Gospel lesson
is Luke 24: 13-35.
“the word of
the Lord endures forever.”
Acts 2:14a, 36-41
¹⁴ But Peter,
standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, ³⁶
Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God
has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
³⁷ Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said
to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”
³⁸ Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of
you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven;
and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ For the
promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away,
everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.” ⁴⁰ And he
testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, “Save
yourselves from this corrupt generation.” ⁴¹ So those who
welcomed his message were baptised, and that day about three thousand
persons were added.
1 Peter 1:17-23
¹⁷ If you invoke
as Father the one who judges all people impartially according to
their deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of your exile. ¹⁸
You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from
your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, ¹⁹
but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without
defect or blemish. ²⁰ He was destined before the foundation of
the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake. ²¹
Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the
dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God.
²² Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the
truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply
from the heart. ²³ You have been born anew, not of perishable but
of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God.
²⁴ For “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the
flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, ²⁵ but
the word of the Lord endures forever.” That word is the good news
that was announced to you.
Luke 24:13-35
¹³ Now on that
same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about
seven miles from Jerusalem, ¹⁴ and talking with each other about
all these things that had happened. ¹⁵ While they were talking
and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, ¹⁶
but their eyes were kept from recognising him. ¹⁷ And he said to
them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk
along?” They stood still, looking sad. ¹⁸ Then one of them,
whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in
Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in
these days?” ¹⁹
He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about
Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before
God and all the people, ²⁰ and how our chief priests and leaders
handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. ²¹ But
we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides
all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. ²²
Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the
tomb early this morning, ²³ and when they did not find his body
there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision
of angels who said that he was alive. ²⁴ Some of those who were
with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but
they did not see him.” ²⁵ Then he said to them, “Oh, how
foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the
prophets have declared! ²⁶ Was it not necessary that the Messiah
should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” ²⁷
Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to
them the things about himself in all the scriptures. ²⁸As they
came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if
he were going on. ²⁹ But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay
with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly
over.” So he went in to stay with them. ³⁰ When he was at the
table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to
them. ³¹ Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and
he vanished from their sight. ³² They said to each other, “Were
not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the
road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” ³³ That same
hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven
and their companions gathered together. ³⁴ They were saying,
“The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” ³⁵
Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been
made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
I’ve changed my
mind. I’ve no idea if it was a good trade or not. Might just be a
fancy which came to me at Morning Prayer today. Of course, if I
wasn’t so lackadaisical I’d have printed Sunday’s material
before now & it would have just been a fancy I could use another
day. The lectionary offers 2 sets of readings for today and I had
chosen those for the celebration of St Mark. This was because the
Gospel is a warning from Jesus to the disciples not to be distracted
from God’s message by the bad things that happen in this world.
That just seemed very apt for our troubled times. That set of
readings is, to the preacher, a mixed bag. For Mark’s feast day we
have the bit from Acts where Paul drops Mark from the missionary team
because he is unreliable, has a row with Barnabas, and Barnabas and
Mark go off on a separate journey. They could have had the passage
from, say Colossians where Paul writes from prison in Rome and says
that Mark is there with him. It’s good to keep your saints humble
by reminding them of the weaknesses of their youth. There is a
different set of readings for those who will celebrate Mark tomorrow.
And the Gospel is the famous story of the road to Emmaus. So I have
dropped the theology of faith in the face of the evils and
afflictions of the world, in favour of a good story. Well, what
better narrative than the risen Lord walking with us? This walk with
Jesus is not the only trek that we have been following during
Lockdown. Many of you, like me, will have been fascinated by Capt.
Tom Moore and his fundraising walk. Tom’s first claim to fame is
he shares a birthday with the Priest in Charge of St Barnabas. (Ha!
You fell for the idea that some deep message was coming). Tom is an
old soldier, who is very appreciative of a recent hip replacement in
a public hospital. Having served in WW2 he recognised where the
front line is in Britain now and wanted to make a gesture of thanks
to the NHS. Tom conceived the idea of doing a lap of his garden
(25m) for each year of his life while seeking sponsorship through a
JustGiving webpage. I think he’s a bit wily; combining the physio
he had to do with some fundraising. He set out on 6 April, hoping
for 10 laps a day but allowing for delays to make sure he reached his
target before this Thursday. He thought he might raise £1000. Last
I saw, he’d passed £30 million.
Tom is a little
older than me and this will be his 100th birthday. I’d say he’s
lucky to have made it considering he served in tanks in Burma during
the 2nd World War and then took up motorbike racing when he got home
to Britain. He has acquired another curious record (no pun intended)
having recorded a cover version of “You’ll never walk alone”
he’s the first person to be at the top of the hit parade on their
100th birthday. He reached his 100 lap on 16 April, but has kept
going for the next 100. It appeals to us that an old soldier is out
doing his bit on ANZAC day, even if it’s really a coincidence
because of his birthday. Tom’s message is simple, and quite like
our PM’s. Service is needed, in the present time, as it was in
his, and Tom applauds those who put themselves in harm’s way for
the greater good, for the care of those peril.
Amen. So be it.
I realize I forget
to include anything interesting last week. For those following the
Nicoll domestic drama, Jack has been back at work for over a week now
and is really appreciating having something to do. The refit is
really over and they will have to move out the flat soon and live on
the boat. They also will have to go to sea (they can’t remain in
the dock once the work is done) so we’re on tenterhooks to find
where they will go. Most likely place is Minorca, as they probably
won’t be allowed anywhere else.
The Quiz.
For those of you who
tried the quiz, here are the answers.
1. Joseph of
Arimethea
2. Hilda
3. Edmund. (He was
finally laid to rest in Bury St Edmunds).
4. The Venerable
Bede
5. St Ninian.
6. Cuthbert.
7. Alban.
8. 7th Sept.: King
James the VI/I wasn’t nice and quite vindictive. He didn’t like
to be reminded of his debt to Elisabeth I, so the date of her
ascension to the throne was recorded in the Prayer Book under the
name of a non-existent saint, or possibly by mis-spelling one no one
had ever heard of.
For those of you who
care about Saint’s days, all my books say Mark’s day is 25th
April (except in Venice where they keep 31st January: the day they
stole his bones for their cathedral) but the Lectionary definitely
says 26th but can be deferred to the 27th. Covid Level 2.
As those of you who
followed the Diocesan email that Louise passed on, will know, when
the nation moves to level 2, we will need to obtain permission to
reopen the St Barnabas. I have downloaded the form and will fill it
in and pass it on when I have done so. Many of us carry a ‘high
risk’ label so I expect early services to be quite small. We’ll
keep everyone informed.
For a prayer this
week I have used a confession, in case you are getting behind. Also
the Nicene Creed, in case you haven’t reminded yourself of where we
stand as Christians.
Blessings
Jeremy Rev Dr JJ
Nicoll, 0274 361 481
Priest-in-Charge,
St Barnabas, Warrington, NZ
Collect 3rd
Sunday of Easter.
Almighty Father,
who in your great
mercy gladdened the disciples
with the sight of
the risen Lord:
give us such
knowledge of his presence with us,
that we may be
strengthened and sustained by his risen life
and serve you
continually in righteousness and truth;
through Jesus Christ
your Son our Lord,
who is alive and
reigns with you,
in the unity of the
Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for
ever. Amen.
Confession.
Jesus Christ, risen
Master and triumphant Lord,
we come to you in
sorrow for our sins,
and confess to you
our weakness and unbelief.
We have lived by our
own strength,
and not by the power
of your resurrection.
In your mercy,
forgive us.
Lord, hear us and
help us.
We have lived by the
light of our own eyes,
as faithless and not
believing.
In your mercy,
forgive us.
Lord, hear us and
help us.
We have lived for
this world alone,
and doubted our home
in heaven.
In your mercy,
forgive us.
Lord, hear us and
help us.
Nicene Creed.
I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
creator of heaven
and earth.
I believe in Jesus
Christ, God's only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by
the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin
Mary,
suffered under
Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died,
and was buried;
he descended to the
dead.
On the third day he
rose again;
he ascended into
heaven,
is seated at the
right hand of the Father,
and will come again
to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the
Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic
Church,
the communion of
saints,
the forgiveness of
sins,
the resurrection of
the body,
and the life
everlasting. Amen
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