Virtual Worship - 19 April 2020

My Lord and my God!

Service sheet (pdf)

Call to worship:

Call out together, you who are separated:
My Lord and my God!
Let your voices join as one as we come to worship:
My Lord and my God!
Let your praise be joyful and fill the place where you are:
My Lord and my God!

Prayers

Father God,
We praise you, as we gaze up into heaven, that you are a God who is just and fair,
A restorer,
You can bring good from bad.
Already in Spring we see your verdant growth,
And green shoots in this pandemic.
Thank you Father for being our perfect God, a God of resurrection and hope as we were reminded on Good Friday, our sins nailed to Jesus’ cross once and for all and on Easter Sunday Your glorious power of resurrection.
We are sorry for the things we have done or not done, that have not moved us, nor others closer to your love.

Silence.......

But the resurrection reminds us of your blood, and only your blood that can forgive, bringing reassurance of sins forgiven,
Victory over the frail flesh of our humanity.
But today is a new day to start afresh.
We see the faces of those that wronged us, lifting them up to you. We forgive them Father as You have forgiven us.
We thank you Father for all that we have, Your promise to meet our needs, your right arm over us,
Your Word and creation, a glimpse of Your coming glory.
We thank you in Jesus name, Amen!

Read or sing StF 247 The Lord of the Dance

Readings:

1 Peter 1:3-9
John 20:19-31
Perhaps you could use a Bible version you don’t often use, to help bring new depth to the passages.

Reflection

“What we call the beginning is often the end
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
The end is where we start from.”
(T. S. Eliot, ‘Little Gidding’)

Here in what was likely the original end to John’s Gospel, John brings us back to the beginning. He started by telling his readers: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Now he brings us to Thomas’ moment of recognition: “My Lord and my God!”
Thomas was not there on what we know as Easter Sunday when Jesus appeared to his disciples. We don’t know why; but we do know that Thomas had been prepared to go with Jesus into impending trouble and even to die with him (John 11:16), so it is not likely to be lack of faith or love or commitment that kept him away. And having heard what happened when he wasn’t there, Thomas cannot let himself believe for fear of being down again; and so he asks for proof: to see the nail marks in Jesus’ hands and to touch his wounds.

He gets all he asked for. Just as last time, Jesus appears in a locked room. Just as last time, he greets those who left him to face arrest, trial and death alone, with a blessing of peace. Then he turns to Thomas and tells him there is no need to doubt. He can touch the wounds and know that it is Jesus who died and who is alive again.

And Thomas responds with his whole heart, knowing that something has happened that is beyond anything he can imagine. He calls Jesus God, and fulfils what Jesus told the disciples: “If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:7)
And then comes what we have sometimes seen as a rebuke; but each one of the disciples needed to see in order to believe. Instead it is though Jesus turns and sees beyond the locked room to us who read the Gospel, and tells us that we are blessed, because we have not seen and yet we believe.

This is reflected in the passage from Peter’s first letter, where he recognises the faith of his readers who have not seen Jesus for themselves, yet they love him and have put their faith in him.
This passage also speaks of the trials that we go through, and the promise of an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for us.

In our current situation we know about trials. Perhaps you know someone who has been lost to Covid-19; or a medic who is exhausted in the daily battle to care for people; or a worker in a shop or supermarket going above and beyond to keep people supplied with what they need. When we clap on Thursday evenings for all these people we thank them for what they have given, and look beyond the now into the future they are keeping for us. How much more beautiful is the future that Jesus has for us, where “Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more.” (Rev 21:4)

Prayers of intercession

Prepare for your prayers by singing Taizé Oh Lord hear my prayer:

Pray for those below, that the Holy Spirit brings to mind.

• World leaders, nations with Covid, nations that are poor.
• Boris Johnson, Matt Hancock, Chris Whitty, The Queen, Cabinet.
• Barbara Glasson, Clive Marsh, Justin Welby, Vincent Nichols, persecuted Christians. New ways of being ‘church’.
• Key workers that you know, especially nurses for patients as no visitors.
• West Yorkshire: Kerry, Nick, Christine, Phil, services, local supermarket.
• Those whom you know that struggle, grief, illness, debt, brokenness etc.
• For health and protection on friends and family, shalom for the isolating; for those who are ill and those who have died.
  
• For your own diary, shalom, Holy Spirit filling you anew
  

I know that You are the Lord my God who takes hold of my right hand and helps me, hear my prayers in Jesus’ Name Amen

Let us join with all God’s people in the Lord’s Prayer.

Read or sing StF 206/HP 204 Now the green blade rises

As we bring our time of worship to a close, the Risen Lord is with us and remains with us and with all whom we love. May he bless us and keep us, and give us peace. Amen.