Weekly Bible Notes

Third Sunday of Easter - Year B

Liturgical Colour - White

Introduction

Opening Verses of Scripture  Psalm 118

I will exalt you, O LORD, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me. O LORD my God, I called to you for help and you healed me. O LORD, you brought me up from the grave; you spared me from going down into the pit. Sing to the LORD, you saints of his; praise his holy name.

Collect Prayer for the Day — Before we read we pray

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 forever. Amen

First Bible Reading   Acts 3:12-18

When Peter saw this, he said to them: "Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.
"Now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer. Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you--even Jesus. He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. For Moses said, 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from among his people.'"
“Indeed, all the prophets from Samuel on, as many as have spoken, have foretold these days. And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, 'Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.' When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways."

(This is the word of the Lord. All: Thanks be to God)

Second Reading  1 John 3:1-7

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.

(This is the word of the Lord. All: Thanks be to God)

Gospel Reading   Luke 24:36b-48 

While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost.
He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, "Do you have anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence.
He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms." Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."

(This is the word of the Lord. All: Thanks be to God)

Post Communion Sentence

Living God, your Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: open the eyes of our faith, that we may see him in all his redeeming work; who is alive and reigns, now and for ever. Amen
 

Commentary

" Then He opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures….”
The story of the appearance of Jesus to His friends in the locked room is full of details which affirm the reality of the event. Jesus invited them to touch Him, to prove that He wasn’t a ghost or some sort of vision. Jesus with His typical practicality ate with His friends, as He had so often done.
There is a lack of theatricality, of high drama about the event, which confirms for me that it really did happen exactly as the writer of the Gospels recounts. A writer, setting out to imagine the reappearance of a dead man, would have invented all kinds of spooky signs or high flown sayings. A writer would never have invented Jesus doing anything so mundane as eating a bit of fish!
Jesus had come to His friends to reassure them that all that He had predicted had come to pass. It was His very physical presence among them that was the key which unlocked the true meaning of his earlier sayings. The things that Jesus had told them, about His death and Resurrection made sense to them and gave them a new light in which to see the whole of His teachings and ministry. Armed with this certain knowledge of His Resurrection, those few individuals would go out and change the world.
Jesus’ resurrection changes everything for us, as it did for the disciples. Without belief that Jesus died and rose for us, we would be very odd Christians indeed. Those who seek to argue away the Resurrection are missing profound truths about the fact that Jesus was willing to be human and die for us, and to come back to assure us of His triumph over death.
When Jesus finally left His friends, He sent the animating power of the Holy Spirit, which jet-propelled these ordinary men and women to do extraordinarily brave things, inspired them to preach and teach and heal far beyond their normal capacities.
So we too can be transformed by the knowledge of Jesus’ undying love for us and the power of the Holy Spirit. Our lives can be turned around in ways that we have never dreamed possible. We have to pray for this wonderful power to enter our lives and trust in Jesus’ loving, practical oversight to give it meaningful direction. Revd Dr Joan Crossley

Meditation

Prayers of Petition

Many of our prayers are prayers of petition, and people seem to think that petition is the lowest level of prayer; then comes gratitude, then praise. But in fact it is gratitude and praise that are expressions of a lower relationship. On our level of half-belief it is easier to sing hymns of praise or to thank God than to trust him enough to ask something with faith. Even people who believe half-heartedly can turn to thank God when something nice comes their way; and there are moments of elation when everyone can sing to God. But it is much more difficult to have such undivided faith as to ask with one's whole heart and whole mind with complete confidence. No one should look askance at petition, because the ability to say prayers of petition is a test of the reality of our faith. (Anthony Bloom, The Essence of Prayer)
 

Hymns

1. Jesus the name high over all 264 (Tune: Lydia)

2. For I am building a people of power (words on Partnership News)

3. Jesus Lives! 198

4. The head that once was crowned with thorns 209

5. I cannot tell why he whom angels worship 238

Prayers for Sunday and the week ahead

Prayer is a plant, the seed of which is sown in the heart of every Christian,

if it is well cultivated and nourished it will produce fruit, but if it is neglected, it will wither and die

Be light to my eyes, O Lord, and music to my ears. Be to me sweetness of taste and contentment of heart. Be sunshine to me in the day, food at my table and repose in the night. I give to you, O Lord, my body and my soul, all that I have and all that I am; my fame, my friends, my liberty and my life. Dispose of me according to your gracious will and the glory of your holy name; through Christ our Lord. Amen. John Cosin, 1594-1672

Risen Lord Jesus, who came to Your friends when all their hope was gone: come to us in the dark times. Come to those who despair, that they may feel your Easter presence in their hearts. Amen
 

Pray for me and I shall pray for you and all your friends that we may merrily meet in heaven. Amen (Thomas Moore)

 

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