Sunday Service — St Gabriel's

Welcome to our Service - 26 April

This service sheet can be used individually or with households.
We would encourage you to say (or even sing) hymns and songs out loud.
Prayers, other liturgy or readings can be said out loud or silently, corporately or individually.

To the right is Alistair’s talk. It can be watched separately or as part of the rest of the service.

If you are able, we would also like invite you to join us for our main Sunday service, 10am, live on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81730515016?pwd=dzYzT3V3M0VmMHlQWTArQ1h5SnY3Zz09

OPENING

SAY:

Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.

Alleluia.

He has defeated the powers of death.

Alleluia.

Jesus turns our sorrow into dancing.

Alleluia.

He has the words of eternal life.

Alleluia.

SONG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CTcICIS_XQ

All creatures of our God and King

lift up your voice and with us sing:

hallelujah, hallelujah!

Thou burning sun with golden beam,

thou silver moon with softer gleam:

O praise Him, O praise Him,

hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!

2. Thou rushing wind that art so strong,

ye clouds that sail in heav’n along,

O praise Him, hallelujah!

Thou rising morn, in praise rejoice,

ye lights of evening, find a voice:

O praise Him…

3. And all ye men of tender heart,

forgiving others, take your part,

O sing ye, hallelujah!

Ye who long pain and sorrow bear

praise God and on Him cast your care:

O praise Him…

4. Let all things their Creator bless

and worship Him in humbleness

O praise Him, hallelujah!

Praise, praise the Father,

praise the son,

and praise the Spirit, Three-in-One:

O praise Him…

Words: St Francis of Assisi (1182-1226)

tr W H Draper (1855-1933)

Music: from Geistliche Kirchengesang c.1623

arr R Vaugn Williams

SONG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GM4IVZuljEI

You put the stars in outer space

You popped the freckles on my face

And all the fish that swim

And all the birds that fly

Were made from your incredible imagination

Creator God we're singing to the

Creator God of all the world

Creator God we celebrate You

We celebrate You

2. You spread the ripples through the sea

You painted stripes on every bee

And all the grass that grows

And all the leaves that fall

Are part of Your amazing plans for this creation

Creator God...

3. You placed the heat into the sun

You placed a heart in everyone

And all the music played

And all the dancing done

Reminds us that we're made to be creative like

Creator God...

CCLI Song # 5100172

Becky Drake | Nick J. Drake

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 you 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.

ASOLUTION

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.

COLLECT

Risen Christ,

you filled your disciples with boldness and fresh hope:

strengthen us to proclaim your risen life

and fill us with your peace,

to the glory of God the Father. AMEN

READINGS

Reading: Acts 2.14a, 36-41

Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.’

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?’ 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. 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.’ And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.’ So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added.

Reading: John 20.19-end

Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, ‘What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?’ They stood still, looking sad. 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?’ 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, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. 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. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, 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. 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.’

Then he said to them, ‘Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?’ Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.

As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. 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. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight.

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?’ That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, ‘The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!’ Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

This the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

TALK written by Alistair Stevenson

This morning we are continuing to explore the extraordinary accounts of those who encounter the Risen Jesus. On Easter Sunday we focused on Mary’s encounter as the tomb, last week when Jesus met with the disciples in the locked room and declared his peace upon them. And today we are exploring this extraordinary encounter of the disciples on the road to Emmaus.

Tom Wright describes this passage wonderfully:

“It is both a wonderful, unique, spellbinding, tale and also a model... for a great deal of what being a Christian, from that day to this, is all about. The slow, sad dismay at the failure of human hopes; the turning to someone who might or might not help; the discovery that in scripture, all unexpected, there lay keys which might unlock the central mysteries and enable us to find the truth; the sudden realization of Jesus himself, present with us, warming our hearts with his truth, showing himself as bread is broken.”

I love this story - and a story I have reflected on many times as I have sat most weekdays for the last 8 years to pray in the Emmaus chapel at All Saints looking up at the wonderful stain glass window. Sadly I’m not able to do so at this time.

In the account we discover two of Jesus’ followers who had seemingly given up - they were going away from Jerusalem - away from the pain and hurt that they had experience, away from hopes shattered, away - but still carrying the complete sense of disappointment and let down.

It’s a narrative reflected by many who have struggled with church: ‘I’ve had enough - I just can’t believe anymore - I feel like God has let me down. So many hopes, expectations that seem to have come to nothing.’

BUT - in that place of walking away - Jesus appears in their midst. But, initially at least, they don’t recognise him - possible because, at that point, they had zero expectation of seeing him.

How often are we like those followers? How often do we ‘miss’ Jesus - miss Jesus at work, miss him speaking, miss his desire to transform situations because we have little or no expectation that he is present and at work.

Jesus then has this wonderful exchange with them as they talked about all that had happened over the last three days. ‘What things’ he says at one point - as if he didn’t know. He of course knows, but he wants to hear the response of these two followers and their response expresses their crushed hopes but also their misunderstanding: they have crucified Jesus; they say: verse 21:

“we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.”

What’s more they say: some of the women - they came back from the tomb with this crazy talk about seeing angels and saying Jesus was alive. But the disciples went - and didn’t see anything - so it can’t be true.

Of course I paraphrase - but you can understand why Jesus’ rebuke seems so harsh: ‘how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe’.

I often feel I need that rebuke from Jesus. How foolish you are he says to me. How slow to believe!

‘Can’t you see - can’t you perceive. Don’t you known your scripture? Can you not remember the words I have spoken for you and over you? The sacrifice that I made for you.’

It’s a rebuke - although gentle - that I often need to hear and maybe you may need to hear today.

And Jesus - in probably one of the best bible studies of all time - just lays it out for them - step by step.

These followers - and likely many of the others - were still waiting for the wrong thing. They had been reading the scriptures through the wrong telescope. As Tom Wright again says:

‘They had been seeing it as the long story of how God would redeem Israel from suffering, but it was instead the story of how God would redeem Israel through suffering.’ The suffering of the Messiah.

It wasn’t simply then that they didn’t recognise Jesus - it seems like their lack of recognition of Jesus exemplified their lack of understanding of the events that had just taken place and how they were part of - in fact central to - God’s story redemption.

In the second half of the story they now come to the village and they invite Jesus to stay with him. The bible says - urged him strongly - it’s probably an understatement. They were desperate. They see something in this traveler that they long for and want to spend more time with - they had experienced a glimmer of hope in the midst of their pain and they wanted more.

And so they come to the meal - and it’s in the meal that they recognise Jesus. Meals have been critical for Luke throughout his gospel. Jesus is always eating with people and Luke uses meals as a means for a deeper revelation of Jesus’ identity. It is so often the context for his teaching - for his demonstrating of who is in and who is out. And so those first listeners must have been so excited to hear how this meal would conclude. And Jesus, through these meals. is both the one hosted and the one who is the host. The who who is invited and the one who invites.

And it’s both these roles that he plays in this passage - he is both invited and then becomes the host as he breaks the bread. Jesus had likely done the same many times with his followers - blessed bread, broken and given. It is at that point that the cloud seems to lift that they recognise him.

Luke is of course, pointing us towards the breaking of the bread which was quickly to become the central symbolic action of Jesus’ people. But it also, for me, a reminder that Jesus is made known - he is present, real, in our midst - in the everyday. When we sit for a meal with others. And I think this is significant - particularly at this time when we can’t gather together in church and come before God’s table to break bread together.

But we can invite Jesus into the midst of our everyday. We can invite him into our gathered meals - whether physically with others - or with others over the internet. Whether we eat on our own. We can take those moments to remember when Jesus sat with his friends the night before he died and shared bread and wine with them as a symbol of all that was to happen. Jesus asks us to invite him into those moments - and then turns to become the host. To serve us. To nourish us. To feed us with his Spirit.

This story is about journey - sometimes the journey is as important as the destination. In the journey we shaped and moulded. And the wonder of the journey in this story is that we are invited to live in it ourselves. To allow it to speak to the journey of our own faith. To be ready to acknowledge our sadness - our lack of hope - our despair - when we feel let-down. To come to Jesus with those feelings.

To be open to the voice of Jesus - yes - speakings words of hope, and peace and love. But sometimes a soft rebuke if we are sometimes slow at heart to believe or maybe are ‘missing’ Jesus at work because our spiritual eyes are not open.

To be ready to go back to the scriptures in the midst of our lack of understanding. To see the big picture of God at work. To trust that He is sovereign - that He is at work in extraordinary ways. And then to invite him in. To follow that compelling spirit and then allow him to be in our midst. The one who is invited, invites us to be transformed by him and his ultimate sacrifice for us.

SONG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACHPwx7EGQA

Behold the Lamb who bears our sins away,

slain for us, and we remember

the promise made that all who come in faith

find forgiveness at the cross.

So we share in this Bread of Life

and we drink of His sacrifice

as a sign of our bonds of peace

around the table of the King.

The body of our Saviour Jesus Christ,

torn for you; eat and remember

the wounds that heal,

the death that brings us life

paid the price to make us one.

So we share in this Bread of Life

and we drink of His sacrifice

as a sign of our bonds of love

around the table of the King.

The blood that cleanses every stain of sin,

shed for you; drink and remember

He drained death's cup

that all may enter in

to receive the life of God.

So we share in this Bread of Life

and we drink of His sacrifice

as a sign of our bonds of grace

around the table of the King.

And so with thankfulness and faith we rise

to respond, and to remember

our call to follow in the steps of Christ

as His body here on earth.

As we share in His suffering

we proclaim Christ will come again

and we'll join in the feast of heaven

around the table of the King.

Keith Getty, Kristyn Getty, and Stuart Townend

CCLI Song # 5003372

THE APOSTLES’ CREED

I believe in God, the Father almighty,

creator of heaven and earth

I believe in Jesus Christ,

his 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,

he is seated at the right hand

of the Father,

and he will come 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

O LORD, HEAR MY PRAYER,

O Lord, hear my prayer:

When I call answer me.

O Lord, hear my prayer,

O Lord, hear my prayer:

Come and listen to me.

Jacques Berthier/Taizé.

PRAYERS - written by Christine Carney

Heavenly Father, we thank you for the beautiful, sunny weather we have had recently. We thank you for the beauty of your creation: the Spring flowers, the new green leaves and buds coming on trees and shrubs, the wonderful birdsong – which we can hear so much more clearly now there is less traffic.

Thank you for the two disciples who met with Jesus on the road to Emmaus. Lord Jesus, we confess that we too are foolish and slow to believe. We pray that you will open our eyes too, that we may see you at work and recognise you as our Lord and Saviour. Thank you for the joy of those two disciples as they rushed back to Jerusalem to tell the others they had seen Jesus. Please fill us, Lord, with a joy which is infectious and which will overflow to those around us.

Heavenly Father, in these uncertain times, we put our trust in you, knowing that you are in ultimate control, not fallible human beings. We pray, Father, for Dominic Raab (standing in for Boris Johnson) and our government, for the leaders of all the political parties and the scientific advisers that you will give them wisdom that comes from you in all the difficult decisions that have to be made.

We pray, Father, for your protection from coronavirus particularly for the elderly and vulnerable – and for safety and courage for all the NHS workers, social care workers and other key workers. We pray that the right protective equipment will get to all those who need it. We pray for your healing power, Lord Jesus, in all who have coronavirus and we pray for a full recovery. We commit to you families who are grieving for those who have died, and we pray that you will comfort and provide for them.

We commit to you those who are struggling with the ‘lockdown’: those who live alone, those who live in small flats, those suffering domestic abuse, those struggling with anxiety, the many working from home and also having to home educate their children, those who have lost jobs and those worried about their businesses. We pray that you will use others in the community to reach out in love to those who are needy, and we thank you for the many community support groups that have already been established.

Heavenly Father, we lift to you all the countries across the world struggling with coronavirus: Ecuador, Iran, USA, India and especially we pray for countries where medical facilities are inadequate that richer nations will be generous with their support and aid. We pray for wisdom for national leaders and your protection on their people. We commit to you, Lord, the plight of the refugees stranded at sea and pray that a country will be willing to take them in.

We continue to pray for wisdom for our politicians in all the discussions about the relationship between the UK and the European Union.

Finally, Lord, we lift to you the Greystones community around St. Gabriel’s and we pray that you will be at work in people’s lives drawing them into an awareness of your presence and their need for a relationship with you.

We pray in the name of Jesus.

Amen

LORD’S PRAYER

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.

Lead us not into temptation

but deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power,

and the glory are yours

now and for ever.

Amen

OFFERTORY - Take a moment to consider how you continuing to give to the life of the church and support other aid agencies and mission organisations.

SAY:

Yours, Lord, is the greatness, the power,

the glory, the splendour, and the majesty;

for everything in heaven and on earth is yours.

All things come from you,

and of your own do we give you.

SING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hmfqe_8SEI

Love divine all loves excelling

Joy of heaven to earth come down

Fix in us Thy humble dwelling

All Thy faithful mercies crown

Jesus Thou art all compassion

Pure unbounded love Thou art

Visit us with Thy salvation

Enter every trembling heart

Breathe O breathe Thy loving Spirit

Into every troubled breast

Let us all in Thee inherit

Let us find Thy promised rest

Take away the love of sinning

Alpha and Omega be

End of faith as its beginning

Set our hearts at liberty

Come Almighty to deliver

Let us all Thy grace receive

Suddenly return and never

Never more Thy temples leave

Thee we would be always blessing

Serve Thee as Thy hosts above

Pray and praise Thee without ceasing

Glory in Thy perfect love

Finish then Thy new creation

Pure and spotless let us be

Let us see Thy great salvation

Perfectly restored in Thee

Changed from glory into glory

Till in heaven we take our place

Till we cast our crowns before Thee

Lost in wonder love and praise

CCLI Song # 1461324

CCLI Licence No. 5119

BLESSING

God, who through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ has given us the victory, give you joy and peace in your faith; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be among you and remain with you always. Amen