Readings, hymns and sermon ideas for Sunday 3 May 2020, Fourth Sunday of Easter

Christ as the Good Shepherd … a window in Saint Ailbe’s Church in Emly, Co Tipperary (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Patrick Comerford

Next Sunday, 3 May 2020, is the Fourth Sunday of Easter.

The Readings in the Revised Common Lectionary, as adapted for use in the Church of Ireland, are:

The Readings: Acts 2: 42-47 or Nehemiah 9: 6-15; Psalm 23; I Peter 2: 19-25; John 10: 1-10.

There is a link to the readings HERE.

Christ the Good Shepherd, depicted on the reredos in Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Limerick (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Introducing the readings:

A great conductor was once asked which instrument he thought the most difficult to play in the orchestra.

‘Second fiddle,’ he replied without hesitation.

He was a leader who knew how important ever individual player is, but how important it is to provide appropriate leadership so that all can play together and to their full potential.

Do you ever wonder which is more difficult: to be a leader or to be a follower?

Being a good shepherd is not an easy task. It means taking care of difficult and often dirty animals, that can be wayward and wilful, that are easy prey and that often fail to reach their potential value.

There is a paradox in Christ being both the Lamb of God and the Good Shepherd. He understands what it is to lead, yet he is obedient to his Father.

In following in his paths faithfully, the Psalm promises, we shall find that goodness and loving mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives, and dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

But what is it to dwell in the house of the Lord for ever? The reading from the Acts of the Apostles provides an image of how the Early Church tried to live this out in sacrament, word and in deed, in their prayer life and in their lifestyle.

Fabio Canal, ‘Communion of the Apostles’ … part of the ceiling paintings in the Church of San Apostoli in Venice (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Acts 2: 42-47:

On the first Pentecost morning, the disciples were at first full of fear and hiding, when suddenly, a sound came from heaven like a rushing wind, tongues of fire appeared, one on each one of Apostles, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2: 1-4). When the people in Jerusalem heard this and came to hear the Apostles speaking, each in their own language (Acts 2: 5-6), some even thought the Apostles were drunk (Acts 2: 7-13). But on that day, about 3,000 people were baptised.

Now, the story goes on to tell us, the newly-baptised continued daily to hear the Apostles’ teaching, joining in fellowship, the breaking of bread, and for prayer – just as we do at the Eucharist.

They live out that shared belief in their daily lives, sharing all things in common, and distributing their surplus wealth to all who are needy, ‘with glad and generous hearts.’ And the Lord added to new members to the Church each day.

‘You divided the sea before them, so that they passed through the sea on dry land, but you threw their pursuers into the depths, like a stone into mighty waters’ (Nehemiah 9: 11) … an illustration in the ‘Passover Haggadah’ by the Polish-American artists Arthur Szyk

Nehemiah 9: 6-15:

This is portion of solemn and impressive prayer, in which the people make a public confession of their sins, and ask not be judged for the transgressions of their ancestors. They begin with a profound adoration of God, whose supreme majesty and omnipotence is acknowledged in the creation, preservation, and government of all. This was then shown to them in the mercies and favours God showed to them as a nation, from the call of Abraham, through their deliverance from slavery in Egypt, which was a collective and not an individual experience, their miraculous crossing of the Red Sea, their triumphs over their enemies, and their settlement in the Promised Land.

All these blessings brought worldly prosperity and religious privilege, for they were favoured with God’s guidance and goodness.

Now, they confess their many acts of disobedience, which they see as causing their loss of independence and their long captivity in Babylon. They throw themselves on God’s mercy, and pledge themselves to obedience in the future.

Christ the Good Shepherd, with the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Baptist on each side … a stained-glass window in Saint Mary’s Church, Lichfield. The words below Christ read ‘Pastor Bonus’ … ‘The Good Shepherd’; the words on Saint John's scroll read ‘Ecce Agnus Dei’ … ‘This is the Lamb of God’ (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Psalm 23:

The most obvious and most likely connections to be made between the readings on Sunday is that between the Gospel reading and the Psalm (Psalm 23).

In the ancient Near East, the king was seen as shepherd (verse 1-4) and as host (verses 5-6). God faithfully provides for, and constantly cares for, his sheep. He revives our very lives, the ‘soul’ (verse 3), and guides us in godly ways or ‘right paths.’

Even when we are beset by evil or find ourselves in the ‘darkest valley’ (verse 4), we have nothing to fear. God’s ‘rod,’ the shepherd’s defence against wolves and lions, protects us. His ‘staff’ (verse 4), used for rescuing sheep from thickets, guides us.

The feast (verse 5) is even more impressive, for it is laid out for us, the table is set for us, in the presence of his foes. Kings were plenteously anointed with oil, a symbol of power and dedication to a holy purpose.

The psalmist trusts that God’s ‘goodness and mercy’ and God’s steadfast love (verse 6) will follow or pursue him, as do his enemies, throughout his life. He will continue to worship in the Temple or ‘dwell in the house of the Lord,’ as long as he lives.

‘The shepherd and guardian of your souls’ (I Peter 2: 25) … a stained glass window in All Saints’ Church, Mullingar, Co Westmeath (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

I Peter 2: 19-25:

The first Christians were often seen as socially inferior by their pagan neighbours, and they suffered regularly for their beliefs and how they put those beliefs into practice.

Yet, in their isolation, as they endured their sufferings, God notices them and cares for them in their endurances. The writer of this Epistle compares the sufferings of these early Christians with the sufferings of Christ, and he quotes from the ‘Servant Songs’ of Isaiah as predicting the events in Christ’s life.

Isaiah 53: 5-9, part of the fourth Servant Song, is quoted in part in verses 22-25. When he was abused, as he faced suffering and death, he entrusted himself to God, ‘the one who judges justly.’

The image of the Good Shepherd, found in Isaiah's Suffering Servant songs and in the Psalm and in the Gospel reading, is cited here too. Even though we have gone astray, we have returned to the Good Shepherd, the guardian of our souls.

‘Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep’ (John 10: 7) … the Good Shepherd depicted in a stained-glass in Kilmocomogue Church, Bantry, Co Cork (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

John 10: 1-10:

Most of us warm to this Gospel reading as we hear it and as we think about Christ as the Good Shepherd.

The image of Christ as the Good Shepherd is a popular image. So popular, perhaps, that this is one of the most popular images in stained-glass windows in churches of every tradition.

But sometimes I have problems with our cosy, comfortable image of the Good Shepherd. Christ is so often portrayed in clean, spick-and-span, neatly tailored, nicely dry-cleaned, red and white robes, complete with a golden clasp to hold all those robes together.

And the lost sheep is a huggable, lovable, white fluffy Little Lamb, a little pet, so like the Little Lamb that Mary might have had and that would follow her to school each day.

But shepherds and sheep, in real life, are not like that.

When I was a child on my grandmother’s farm in Cappoquin, Co Waterford, all the summer days, it now seems, were filled with sunshine, and there was endless time to go fishing in the brooks, and walking through the meadows.

But there were two tasks I hated.

One was trying to milk the cows: the adults seemed to think it was funny in some way that only adults understood to send us out to herd the cattle in at evening time for milking.

Inevitably, I ended up covered in something more odious than milk – and never even liked the smell of milk anyway.

The other task was one that came around, it seemed, every time I was around – the great sheep dip.

My city friends and cousins joked at the time about television ads about liver fluke and sheep dipping. But I knew all about it – and it was no joking matter.

Oh sheep are easy to call together, that was not the problem. And no, I did not have to milk them.

But, oh, the smell of the sheep dip! – now that smell was only surpassed by the smells I associate with milking the cows.

It was pungent … and there was always some fresh-faced younger uncle who thought it funny, seeing my face, to ensure that I ended up in the dipping area too.

So, when Jesus says he is the Good Shepherd and the Gate for the sheep, he has no romantic city delusions.

Lost sheep get torn by brambles, lose their wool, end up bleeding and messy. Any shepherd going down after lost sheep gets torn by brambles, covered in sheep droppings, slips on rocks, risks his life.

City people – removed from rural life by two or generations – have little idea of what it is to be a shepherd, to look after sheep, to keep them in a sheepfold, how sheep follow the voice of their shepherds, but also how easy it is to lead them astray.

The good news of the incarnation first came, not to kings in their bright palaces, nor to Roman governors surrounded by power and might, but to hard-working, humble shepherds in the middle of the night.

Yet they were among the poor, the exploited and the marginalised of their day. They had a hard life. They had to stay out at night in the cold and the dark, on the hostile hills as they herded their sheep. They faced all the dangers and difficulties the sheep faced, and were just as vulnerable. They shared the heat of the day, and they slept with their flocks at night, sharing the dangers of cold weather and threats of preying wolves.

They were poor and had no prospects as husbands or fathers – and their work meant they left their families alone and vulnerable at night too.

But that is the kind of life Christ lives for us and with us. And that is why it is worth working through all the tedium, and the reports, and the finance and the figures at General Synods and Select Vestries and school board annual general meetings each year. So that people can find Christ who journeys with the most vulnerable, and who takes on all our vulnerability. ‘The Lord is my shepherd … he guides me in the paths … for his name’s sake’ (Psalm 23: 3).

Christ knows what it is like to be out in the cold. He knows what he is asking when he calls on people to leave their homes and villages, and even their families, since he has done the same himself. As the appointed Psalm says, ‘The Lord is my shepherd … I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever’ (Psalm 23: 6).

He knows what it is to be homeless, helpless and hungry. The Lord is my shepherd … ‘he spreads a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me’ (Psalm 23: 5).

Christ knows the risks and hardships of life. The Lord is my shepherd … ‘though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil’ (Psalm 23: 4).

Christ, against all the prevailing wisdom, identifies with those who are lost, those who are socially on the margins, who are smelly and dirty, injured and broken, regarded by everyone else as worthless, as simply not worth the bother.

God sees us – all of us – in our human condition, with all our collective and individual faults and failings, and in Christ God totally identifies with us. He is the shepherd and the guardian of our souls (I Peter 2: 25).

And so, even though we get it wrong so often, we keep on trying, because we know it is worth it, and because Christ knows we – all of us, everyone – are worth it.

Christ as the Good Shepherd … a mosaic in the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2017)

John 10: 1-10 (NRSVA):

[Jesus said:] 1 ‘Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.’ 6 Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

7 So again Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.’

The Good Shepherd depicted in a stained-glass window in Charleville, Co Cork (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Liturgical Resources:

Liturgical Colour: White

The Greeting (from Easter Day until Pentecost):

Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!

Penitential Kyries:

Lord God,
you raised your Son from the dead.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Lord Jesus,
through you we are more than conquerors.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

Holy Spirit,
you help us in our weakness.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

The Collect of the Day:

Almighty God,
whose Son Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life:
Raise us, who trust in him,
from the death of sin to the life of righteousness,
that we may seek those things which are above,
where he reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

The Collect of the Word:

God of all power,
you called from death our Lord Jesus,
the great shepherd of the sheep:
send us as shepherds to rescue the lost, to heal the injured,
and to feed one another with understanding;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

Introduction to the Peace:

The risen Christ came and stood among his disciples and said,
Peace be with you.
Then were they glad when they saw the Lord. (John 20: 19, 20).

Preface:

Above all we praise you
for the glorious resurrection of your Son
Jesus Christ our Lord,
the true paschal lamb who was sacrificed for us;
by dying he destroyed our death;
by rising he restored our life:

The Post-Communion Prayer:

Merciful Father,
you gave your Son Jesus Christ to be the good shepherd,
and in his love for us to lay down his life and rise again.
Keep us always under his protection,
and give us grace to follow in his steps;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Blessing:

The God of peace,
who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus
that great shepherd of the sheep,
through the blood of the eternal covenant,
make you perfect in every good work to do his will,
working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight:

or:

God the Father,
by whose glory Christ was raised from the dead,
raise you up to walk with him in the newness of his risen life:

Dismissal: (from Easter Day to Pentecost):

Go in the peace of the Risen Christ. Alleluia! Alleluia!

Thanks be to God. Alleluia! Alleluia!

The Good Shepherd … the Hewson Memorial Window in Saint Mary’s Church, Askeaton, Co Limerick (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Suggested Hymns:

Acts 2: 42-47:

397, Alleluia! Alleluia! Opening our hearts to him
519, Come, all who look to Christ today
522, In Christ there is no east or west
336, Jesus, where’er thy people meet
301, Let every Christian pray
306, O Spirit of the living God
309, When God the Spirit came

Nehemiah 9: 6-15:

262, Come, ye faithful, raise the strain
353, Give to our God immortal praise
581, I, the Lord of sea and sky
6, Immortal, invisible, God only wise

Psalm 23:

644, Faithful Shepherd, feed me
645, Father, hear the prayer we offer
466, Here from all nations, all tongues, and all peoples
467, How bright those glorious spirits shine
655, Loving Shepherd of your sheep
433, My God, your table here is spread
235, O sacred head, sore wounded
365, Praise to the Lord, the almighty, the King of creation
20, The King of love my shepherd is
21, The Lord’s my shepherd; I’ll not want
448, The trumpets sound, the angels sing

I Peter 2: 19-25:

630, Blessed are the pure in heart
417, He gave his life in selfless love
224, How deep the Father’s love for us
229, My God, I love thee; not because
436, Now let us from this table rise
673, O Christ, our hope, our heart’s desire
593, O Jesus, I have promised
234, O Love divine, what hast thou done
235, O sacred head, sore wounded
239, See, Christ was wounded for our sake
241, Sing, my tongue, the glorious battle
285, The head that once was crowned with thorns
244, There is a green hill far away
9, There’s a wideness in God’s mercy
248, We sing the praise of him who died

John 10: 1-10:

215, Ah, holy Jesu, how hast thou offended
683, All people that on earth do dwell
690, Come, worship God who is worthy of honour
644, Faithful Shepherd, feed me
496, For the healing of the nations
330, God is here! As we his people
614, Great Shepherd of your people, hear
649, Happy are they, they that love God
92, How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
456, Lord, you give the great commission
655, Loving Shepherd of your sheep
438, O thou, who at thy Eucharist didst pray
244, There is a green hill far away

Christ the Good Shepherd … a window in Christ Church, Leamonsley, Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Material from the Book of Common Prayer is copyright © 2004, Representative Body of the Church of Ireland.

The hymn suggestions are provided in Sing to the Word (2000), edited by Bishop Edward Darling. The hymn numbers refer to the Church of Ireland’s Church Hymnal (5th edition, Oxford: OUP, 2000).

The Good Shepherd Window in Saint Mary’s Church, Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2016)

Readings, hymns and sermon ideas for Sunday 26 April 2020, Third Sunday of Easter

The Supper at Emmaus … a mosaic in the Church of the Holy Name on Beechwood Avenue, Ranelagh, Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2017)

Patrick Comerford

Next Sunday, 26 April 2020, is the Third Sunday of Easter.

The Readings in the Revised Common Lectionary, as adapted for use in the Church of Ireland, are:

The readings: Acts 2: 14a, 36-41 or Isaiah 43: 1-12; Psalm 116: 1-3, 10-17; I Peter 1: 17-23; Luke 24: 13-35.

There is a link to the readings HERE. But please note the advice about the cautious use of translations of Psalm 116 in the notes under that reading.

‘The Road to Emmaus’ … an icon by Sister Marie Paul OSB of the Mount of Olives Monastery, Jerusalem (1990), commissioned by the Canadian theologian Father Thomas Rosica

Introducing the readings:

Our Easter readings continue with the Gospel story of the Supper at Emmaus, and readings from the post-Pentecost sermon of Saint Peter and from I Peter.

These three readings challenge us to think about what faith in the Risen Christ means for us today. Instead of turning on Saint Peter when he tells them about the Crucifixion, the people in Jerusalem ask him what they should do. In the epistle reading, Saint Peter tells his readers that being children of God means we should be living a new life in Christ, marked by our mutual love which is genuine and comes from the heart. Instead of being transfixed in the room in Emmaus after their encounter with the Risen Christ, the two disciples return immediately to Jerusalem that night to share the good news.

Both the reading from Isaiah and the Psalm are timely reminders that we should not be living in fear, but that we must continue to trust in God.

The Saint Peter Windows in Glenstal Abbey by Patrick Pye depicts the Call of Peter, the Commissioning of Peter, and Peter and Paul in Jerusalem (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Acts 2: 14a, 36-41:

This first reading continues Saint Peter’s Pentecost address, part of which we heard the previous Sunday. As Saint Peter comes to the end of his address in Jerusalem, he interprets the experience of the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

His words, telling the crowd they are responsible for Jesus’ death, shocks the people, who are ‘cut to the heart.’ But, instead of turning on him, they ask what they should do. He urges them to repent, to be baptised, to receive forgiveness and to receive the Holy Spirit. This is a promise open to everyone God calls and everyone who calls on God.

Many people responded that day in Jerusalem and welcomed Saint Peter’s message, so that about 3,000 people were baptised and joined the disciples.

Later we read how they devoted themselves to learning from the apostles, to fellowship, to taking part in the Eucharist, and to prayer, which is a continuing, lived Emmaus experience.

‘Bring forth the people who are blind, yet have eyes’ (Isaiah 43: 8) … eyes and ears in street art in Brick Lane in the East End of London (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2020)

Isaiah 43: 1-12:

God tells the people through Isaiah that are not to fear for the future: he has and will rescue and save them. They are his, his people and he will be with them even when in times of grave danger, even dangers posed by waters and rivers, fire and flame.

They remain precious in God’s sight, so precious that God will gather them back together from the ends of the earth. They will be known as God’s people, he will be their Saviour and they will be his witnesses.

‘For all the benefits he has given to me’ … Psalm 116 quoted on the coat of arms of Belfast City

Psalm 116: 1-3, 10-17:

In Hebrew, Psalm 116 is an acrostic poem. This psalm also provides the motto of the City of Belfast: Pro Tanto Quid Retribuamus is the Vulgate translation of Psalm 116: 12 (NRSV and NRSVA): ‘[What shall I return to the Lord] for all his bounty to me?’ (see Psalm 116: 10 in the Book of Common Prayer, p 729, ‘How shall I repay the Lord for all the benefits he has given to me’).

It should be noted that caution is needed in preparing this Psalm for use in worship or in a Bible study group because of the numbering of the verses. The Lectionary the Book of Common Prayer and the Church of Ireland Directory presume the Lectionary translation and the version of this Psalm in the Book of Common Prayer (see pp 728-729). However, the equivalent verses have different numbering in the NRSV and NRSVA, where they are verses 1-4 and verses 12-19. It is always advisable to check the numbering of Psalm verses in any translation of the Bible we are using.

The psalmist tells the congregation God has heard his voice and has helped him in his time of distress and anguish. Now he will call on God for the rest of his life. Once he was near death, but when he called on God, God delivered him from death.

Despite the troubles he faced, he kept his faith in God. How can he repay God for saving him? He will make an offering in the Temple pray to the Lord in thanksgiving, in the presence of God’s people, the worshipping community.

God is now like a child or lowly servant in God’s presence, but God has freed him and brought him into his presence.

‘You were ransomed from the futile ways … not with perishable things like silver or gold’ (I Peter 1: 19) … (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2016)

I Peter 1: 17-23:

The author of this epistle has urged his readers to discipline themselves and to prepare themselves for Christ’s second coming. They are not to fall back into the pagan ways of their ancestors or their own lives before becoming Christians, but they are to separate themselves from these ways.

Now, in verses 17-23, Saint Peter explains what being a child of God requires. We must hold God in reverent fear and worship him, not by making offerings in worldly ways but by living this new life in Christ, who was perfect, just as the lamb sacrificed at Passover was without blemish (see Leviticus 22: 21).

We are to live lives that are marked by genuine, mutual love, in which we love one another deeply from the heart. In Christ, we have been born anew – for a discussion of this concept see my notes on the meeting between Nicodemus and Christ HERE – and our new, living relationship with God lasts for ever.

He was made ‘known to them in the breaking of the bread’ (Luke 24: 35) … bread baked for the Easter Eucharist at Mount Athos (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Luke 24: 13-35:

The readings from Saint Matthew’s Gospel, which continue through Year A in the lectionary cycle, have been interrupted in recent weeks for some of the key Resurrection narratives in Saint John’s Gospel.

This morning, they are interrupted yet again, this time by a Resurrection story in Saint Luke’s Gospel that is well-known and well-loved.

It is later on Easter Day, the day on which Mary Magdalene and the other women visited the tomb and found it the empty tomb. That evening, as two of Christ’s followers are walking to Emmaus, they talk about the startling events that day.

One of these two is named Cleopas, the other remains anonymous. Eusebius, the first church historian, says Cleopas was a relative of Jesus; there is no reason whatever to believe that his companion was another man; in many cultures, this might he read as a woman.

While they are walking, these two are joined by Jesus on the road, but they do not recognise him. When he asks, ‘what things?’ their reply shows the limitations of their understanding of who Jesus is. They realise that he is a prophet, ‘mighty in deed and word,’ perhaps like Moses. But they have not yet realised that he is more than this. They have been disappointed; they expected Jesus to deliver Israel from Roman domination, and to see the kingdom of God on earth.

Three days have passed, but despite Jesus’s statement that he would be raised from death, nothing has happened. Although the women told them that he is alive, when Peter and John went to the tomb, they saw only an empty tomb.

Jesus then tells explains to them how the Biblical prophecies and God’s plans have been fulfilled.

The meal may be compared to the three visitors having their meal with Abraham and Sarah at Mamre. This is also a post-Resurrection Eucharist, for Christ ‘took bread, blessed and broke it’ (verse 30). Then ‘their eyes were opened’ and the Risen Christ is ‘made known to them in the breaking of the bread.’ Faith comes to them not through the Bible study they have had, the logic in their arguments and discussions, or even in the offer and acceptance of hospitality, but in the sharing of the Eucharistic meal.

Instead of staying overnight in Emmaus, the two immediately rush back to Jerusalem, ‘that same hour,’ and there they share the good news with the 11 remaining disciples and their companions.

He was made ‘known to them in the breaking of the bread’ (Luke 24: 35) … a ‘Miner’s Loaf’ with a Cornish Cross on a market stall in Truro (Photograph Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Reflecting on the Readings:

Some years ago, this Gospel story was, by a huge margin, the Bible story quoted most often during at the Synod of Bishops on the Bible, according to Father Thomas Rosica, who briefed English-speaking journalists on the synod speeches.

It is said the story kept coming up at the synod because so many bishops and other synod members saw it as the perfect example of what the Church must do with the Scriptures: discuss them with people, explain them and let them lead people to recognise Jesus.

The Superior General of the Salesians, Father Pasual Chavez Villanueva, told the synod that the story gives precise instructions for how to evangelise the young, emphasising that it is Jesus who evangelises through his word and that evangelisation takes place by walking alongside people, listening to their sorrows, and then giving them a word of hope and a community in which to live it.

Father Chavez told the synod that young people today definitely share with the disciples ‘the frustration of their dreams, the tiredness of their faith and being disenchanted with discipleship.’ They ‘need a church that walks alongside them where they are.’

The story of Jesus and the Disciples on the Road to Emmaus is a very rich one and one that offers a model for Christian life and mission.

After seeing all their hopes shattered on Good Friday, two disciples – Cleopas and another unnamed disciple – head out of Jerusalem, and are walking and talking on the road as their make their way together.

Emmaus was about seven miles from Jerusalem, so it would have taken them two hours, perhaps, to get there, maybe more if they were my age.

Somewhere along the way, they are joined by a third person, ‘but their eyes were kept from recognising him’ (verse 16, NRSVA), or to be more precise, as the Greek text says, ‘but their eyes were being held so that they did not recognise him.’

They cannot make sense of what has happened over the last few days, and they cannot make sense of the questions their new companion puts to them. When Jesus asks them a straight question, they look sad and downcast.

I get the feeling that Cleopas is a bit cynical, treating Jesus as one of the visitors to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover, and asking him if he really does not know what has happened in the city. In his cynicism, Cleopas almost sounds like Simon the Pharisee asking his visitor Jesus whether he really knows who the woman with the alabaster jar is.

Like Simon, Cleopas and his friend thought Jesus was a Prophet. But now they doubt it. And the sort of Messiah they hoped for is not the sort of Messiah Jesus had been preparing them for, is he?

And they have heard the report of the women visiting the tomb, and finding it empty. Hearing is not believing. Seeing is not believing. And believing is not the same as faith.

When I find myself disagreeing fundamentally with people, I wonder whether I listen even half as patiently as Jesus did with these two.

There are no interruptions, no corrections, no upbraidings. Jesus listens passively and patiently, like all good counsellors should, and only speaks when they have finished speaking.

And then, despite their cynicism, despite their failure to understand, despite their lack of faith, these two disciples do something extraordinary. They press the stranger in their company not to continue on his journey. It is late in the evening, and they invite him to join them.

On re-reading this story, I found myself comparing their action and their hospitality with the Good Samaritan who comes across the bruised and battered stranger on the side of the road, and offers him healing hospitality, offering to pay for his meals and his accommodation in the inn.

These two have also come across a bruised and battered stranger on the road, and they offer him healing and hospitality, the offer him a meal and accommodation in the inn.

Jesus had once imposed himself on Zacchaeus and presumed on his hospitality. Now Cleopas and his companion insist on imposing their hospitality on Jesus. The guest becomes the host and the host becomes the guest, once again.

He goes in to stay with them. And it is not just a matter of finding him a room for the night. They dine together.

And so, in a manner that is typical of the way Saint Luke tells his stories, the story of the road to Emmaus ends with a meal with Jesus.

And at the meal – as he did with the multitude on the hillside, and with the disciples in the Upper Room – Jesus takes the bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to those at the table with him (verse 30).

Their time in the wilderness is over, the Lenten preparation has been completed. The one who has received their hospitality now invites them to receive the hospitality of God, and to join him at the Heavenly Banquet.

The panel on the High Altar in Saint Flannan’s Church, Killaloe, Co Clare, depicts the Supper at Emmaus (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Luke 24: 13-35 (NRSVA):

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 recognizing 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.

28 As 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.

The Supper at Emmaus (above) and the road to Emmaus (below) in a window in Saint Bartholomew’s Church, Ballsbridge, Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Liturgical Resources:

Liturgical Colour: White

The Greeting (from Easter Day until Pentecost):

Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!

Penitential Kyries:

Lord God,
you raised your Son from the dead.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Lord Jesus,
through you we are more than conquerors.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

Holy Spirit,
you help us in our weakness.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

The Collect:

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 our Lord.

The Collect of the Word:

O God, your Son made himself known in the breaking of bread:
open the eyes of our faith,
that we may see him in his redeeming work:
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

Introduction to the Peace:

The risen Christ came and stood among his disciples and said, Peace be with you. Then were they glad when they saw the Lord. (John 20: 19, 20).

Preface:

Above all we praise you
for the glorious resurrection of your Son
Jesus Christ our Lord,
the true paschal lamb who was sacrificed for us;
by dying he destroyed our death;
by rising he restored our life:

The Post-Communion Prayer:

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 with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

Blessing:

The God of peace,
who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus
that great shepherd of the sheep,
through the blood of the eternal covenant,
make you perfect in every good work to do his will,
working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight:

or:

God the Father,
by whose glory Christ was raised from the dead,
raise you up to walk with him in the newness of his risen life:

Dismissal: (from Easter Day to Pentecost):

Go in the peace of the Risen Christ. Alleluia! Alleluia!

Thanks be to God. Alleluia! Alleluia!

‘The Appearance of the Lord at Emmaus’ … a modern icon

Suggested Hymns:

Acts 2: 14a, 36-41:

11, Can we by searching find out God
259, Christ triumphant, ever reigning
478, Go forth and tell! O Church of God, awake!
277, Love’s redeeming work is done
102, Name of all majesty
104, O for a thousand tongues to sing
306, O Spirit of the living God

Isaiah 43: 1-12:

642, Amazing grace (how sweet the sound!)
12, God is our strength and refuge
128, Hills of the north, rejoice
557, Rock of ages, cleft for me
595, Safe in the shadow of the Lord
22, You shall cross the barren desert

Psalm 116: 1-3, 10-17:

362, O God, beyond all praising
363, O Lord of heaven and earth and sea

I Peter 1: 17-23:

84, Alleluia! raise the anthem
95, Jesu, priceless treasure
525, Let there be love showed among us
432, Love is his word, love is his way
232, Nature with open volume stands
591, O happy day that fixed my choice
371, Thank you, O Lord, of earth and heaven

Luke 24: 13-35:

629, Abide among us with thy grace
62, Abide with me, fast falls the eventide
253, As we walked home at close of day
260, Christ is alive! Let Christians sing
408, Come, risen Lord, and deign to be our guest
319, Father, of heaven, whose love profound
415, For the bread which you have broken
92, How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
338, Jesus, stand among us
424, Jesus, stand among us at the meeting of our lives
272, Jesus lives: thy terrors now
425, Jesus, thou joy of loving hearts
588, Light of the minds that know him
81, Lord, for the years your love has kept and guided
437, Now, my tongue, the mystery telling
106, O Jesus, King most wonderful
109, Sing alleluia to the Lord
72, Sun of my soul, thou Saviour dear
450, Upon thy table, Lord, we place

‘Rock of ages, cleft for me’ (Hymn 557) … a rock-top monastery in Meteora in northern Greece (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Material from the Book of Common Prayer is copyright © 2004, Representative Body of the Church of Ireland.

The hymn suggestions are provided in Sing to the Word (2000), edited by Bishop Edward Darling. The hymn numbers refer to the Church of Ireland’s Church Hymnal (5th edition, Oxford: OUP, 2000).

The Supper at Emmaus (left) and the Apostle Thomas (right) in a window in Christ Church, Leomansley, Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Readings, hymns and sermon ideas for Sunday 19 April 2020, Second Sunday of Easter

‘The Incredulity of Saint Thomas’ (1601-1602), Caravaggio, in the Sanssouci Picture Gallery, Potsdam

Patrick Comerford

Next Sunday, 19 April 2020, is the Second Sunday of Easter (Easter II).

The readings in the Revised Common Lectionary, as adapted for us in the Church of Ireland are:

The Readings: Acts 2: 14a, 22-32 or Genesis 8: 6-16, 9: 8–16; Psalm 16; I Peter 1: 3-9; John 20: 19-31.

There is a link to the readings HERE

There is a separate link to the alternative reading from the Book of Genesis HERE

The font from Saint Thomas Church in Newcastle West Co Limerick … the font is inscribed ‘One Baptism For Remission of Sins’ … the church, within the Rathkeale Group of Parishes, was deconsecrated in 1958 and demolished in 1962 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Introducing the readings:

The Second Sunday of Easter is traditionally known as Low Sunday. In the past this Sunday has also been known as Saint Thomas Sunday, because the Gospel reading recalls the story of ‘Doubting Thomas,’ and also as ‘Quasimodo Sunday’ or Quasimodogeniti.

The name Quasimodo comes from the Latin, quasi modo (‘as if in [this] manner’) and the text of the traditional Introit for this day, which begins: Quasi modo geniti infantes, rationabile, sine dolo lac concupiscite, ut in eo crescatis in salutem si gustastis quoniam dulcis Dominus, ‘As newborn babes desire the rational milk without guile, Rejoice to God our helper. Sing aloud to the God of Jacob’ (see I Peter 2: 2).

In other words, the Resurrection has given us the gift and the promise of new birth.

In the Eastern Churches, this day is known as Thomas Sunday, because of the dramatic story about the Apostle Thomas in our Gospel reading on this Sunday.

In many places, this Sunday is known as Low Sunday. Some say it was called ‘Low Sunday’ because today’s liturgy is something of an anti-climax after the solemn Easter liturgy and celebrations a week earlier. Some even joke that today is known as Low Sunday because this is the Sunday choirs take off after their hard work during Holy Week and Easter.

In these difficult times, many people are feeling low, feeling isolated and looking for hope. Like the disciples in the Gospel reading, they may feel they are living locked away in fear. But the Gospel reading is not just a reminder, but a triple reminder, that the primary message of the Risen Christ is ‘Peace be with you.’ In Saint John’s Gospel, this phrase has the same impact as the message of the Risen Christ in Saint Matthew’s Gospel, ‘Be not afraid.’

This posting looks at the Lectionary readings, and offers both a reflection in this time of fear and an alternative reflection, built around the theme that next Sunday is also known as Quasimodo Sunday.

‘Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them’ (Acts 2: 14) … Saint Peter preaching, depicted in a window in memory of Dean Herbert Mortimer Lucock in Lichfield Cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Acts 2: 14a, 22-32:

The disciples have received the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and are no longer living in fear. Newly emboldened and no longer living in fear, the Apostle Peter now stands up and speaks on behalf of the Twelve, telling of this new experience to ‘devout Jews from every nation’ who are in Jerusalem for the feast.

In the intervening verses, in the portion missing from this reading, he recalls the prophecy made by Joel about ‘the last days,’ when God ‘will pour out my Spirit,’ the people will prophesy, and salvation will be offered to all who call on the name of the Lord.

These last days could be interpreted as the time of the Church. Certainly, is at hand for all.

Saint Peter then shows that Jesus is the Messiah, quoting from Psalm 16, the psalm appointed for this Sunday. He recalls how Jesus was empowered by God but was handed over to the Romans and executed, but was raised from the dead.

Saint Peter says the resurrection as the fulfilment of King David’s prophecy that ‘your Holy One’ would not experience death. David was not speaking about himself because his tomb can be seen in Jerusalem to this day. So, Saint Peter argues, David must have been speaking about Jesus. He goes on to say that Christ offers the gift of salvation to all who repent and are baptised in his name (verse 38).

‘I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth’ (Genesis 9: 13) … a rainbow over the ruins of the Augustinian Friary in Callan, Co Kilkenny (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Genesis 8: 6-16, 9: 8-16:

There is a link to this alternative first reading HERE.

For forty days, without seeing land, Noah has kept his faith in God’s promises. He sends out a raven, and although he can still see no sign of hope, Noah keeps his faith in God’s promises. He then sends out a dove three times, and comes to know that he is safe and that God's promises are true. A new creation is dawning.

Noah goes out into the world, and God makes a covenant not just with Noah and humanity, but with every living creature. God’s promise is for all creation, and is worth remembering in these difficult days. We need to be reminded about this, even when we can see no sign of hope, for God pledges to remind himself about this promise too.

‘The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places ...’ (Psalm 16: 6, NRSVA) … the former Cold War border separating Italy and Slovenia and dividing the town of Gorizia or Gorica (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Psalm 16:

Psalm 16 is described as ‘a mitkam of David’ or ‘a song of trust and security in God.’ This psalm may have been written the Persian period, after 539 BCE, and for phrases and concepts the author may have drawn on Jeremiah 23: 6, 33: 16; Deuteronomy 33: 12; and the Book of Ezra.

This is the psalm that is quoted throughout Saint Peter’s speech reported in the reading from the Acts of the Apostles. However, the verses in the NRSV and NRSVA translations of this psalm are significantly different from Saint Peter’s quotations from it in the Acts of the Apostles.

Why is this so?

Saint Peter is quoting from the Septuagint (LXX) or Greek translation of the Bible, which was then used throughout Greek-speaking Jewish communities in the Mediterranean world. This translation could be said to take liberties with the original Hebrew text.

In addition, we can imagine Saint Peter citing the psalm loosely, quoting it from memory when it would not be possible to read from a standard, printed version.

Verses 1-2 summarise the psalm, as the speaker seeks refuge in worship in the Temple, where he sees God as the supreme good.

He sees the members of the faithful community, ‘the holy ones,’ as models for living, and refuses to worship with those who choose pagan gods, and will not even associate with them. His fate and his future are in God’s hands.

The author compares his lot to that of a Levite. For the other 11 tribes, there were boundary lines between the tribal territories in Israel, but the Levites received no land. In a similar way, the psalmist’s chosen portion is God himself.

God gives him counsel, teaches him, guides him and gladdens his heart. Because God guides him, he will stray, but continue to follow godly ways. For these reasons, he does not fear death but can be filled with joy for evermore.

Saint Peter depicted in a window in the north nave in Saint Flannan's Cathedral, Killaloe, Co Clare (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

I Peter 1: 3-9:

The author of the First Letter of Peter tells his readers that they have been chosen and destined by the Father and sanctified by the Holy Spirit so that they may be obedient to Jesus Christ and share in the forgiveness available through Christ’s death.

Now he tells them that the Father, in his mercy, has given us new birth into a living because of Christ’s resurrection, and into an inheritance that can never be lost, soiled or fade away, until the end of time.

Even though we may be suffering in our present circumstances, what we have in our faith is more precious than all we may possess. These sufferings refine our faith, as gold is refined in heat. We can have faith in Christ, even though we cannot see him now, and in the end we will rejoice with him.

Patristic relics … Saint Thomas (centre), with two raised fingers, with Saint Onuphorius, covered with a fig leaf (left), and Saint Basil (right) in a cave church in Göreme in Cappadocia (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

John 20: 19-31:

In life, how often do we fail to make the vital connection between appearances and deceptions on the one hand, and, on the other hand, between seeing and believing?

Sometimes, this comes down to our different styles of learning and approaches to integrating information. How do you learn?

Think of how you go about learning yourself. Can you remember the latest gadget you bought? When you get a new car, or a new computer, do you first open the manual and read through the instructions carefully? Once you have read the handbook thoroughly and understand how all it works, you then get to work on your own.

Or perhaps you love buying flat-pack furniture, taking it home, and without ever looking at the instructions, figure out how to assemble it. Others, like me, get frustrated and end up with odd bits and pieces, but you see it as a challenge. Like a game of chess, you know that once all the pieces are placed correctly you are ready to move in and to win. The prize is that new coffee table or that new wardrobe.

And then there are those who prefer to have someone sit down beside them, show them how to do things, from switching on the new computer, to setting up passwords, folders and email accounts.

What sort of learners are Mary in the previous Sunday’s Resurrection story for Easter Day, Saint Thomas in this Gospel reading, and the other disciples in those readings?

For Mary, appearances could be deceiving. When she first saw the Risen Lord on Easter morning, she did not recognise him. She thought he was the gardener. But when he spoke to her she recognised his voice, and then wanted to hold on to him. From that moment of seeing and believing, she rushes off to tell the Disciples: ‘I have seen the Lord.’

Two of them, John the Beloved and Simon Peter, had already seen the empty tomb, but they failed to make the vital connection between seeing and believing. When they heard Mary’s testimony, they still failed to believe fully. They only believe when they see the Risen Lord standing among them, when he greets them, ‘Peace be with you,’ and when he shows them his pierced hands and side.

They had to see and to hear, they had to have the Master stand over them in their presence, before they could believe.

But Thomas the Twin, or Thomas Didymus, is missing from the group on that occasion. He has not seen and so he refuses to believe.

We can never be quite sure about Saint Thomas in this Gospel. After the death of Lazarus, he shows that he has no idea of the real meaning of death and resurrection when he suggests that the disciples should go to Bethany with Jesus: ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him’ (John 11: 16). And while Saint Thomas saw the raising of Lazarus, what did he believe in? Could seeing ever be enough for a doubting Thomas to believe?

At the Last Supper, despite assurances from Christ, Thomas protests that he does not know what is happening (John 14: 5). He has been with Christ for three years, and still he does not believe or understand. Seeing and explanations are not enough for him.

On the first Easter Day, the Disciples locked themselves away out of fear. But where is Thomas? Is he fearless? Or is he foolish?

For a full week, Thomas is absent and does not join in the Easter experience of the remaining disciples. When they tell him what has happened, Thomas refuses to accept their stories of the resurrection. For him hearing, even seeing, are not enough.

Thomas wants to see, hear and touch. He wants to use all his learning faculties before he can believe this story. See, hear and touch – if they had manuals then as we now have, I am sure Thomas would have demanded a manual on the resurrection too.

His method of learning is to use all the different available approaches. He has heard, but he wants to see. When he sees, he wants to touch … he demands not only to touch the Risen Jesus, but to touch his wounds too before being convinced.

And so, for a second time within eight days, Christ came and stood among his disciples, and said: ‘Peace be with you.’

Do you recall how Mary was asked in the garden on Easter morning not to cling on to Christ? So why then is Thomas invited to touch him in the most intimate way? He is told to place his finger in Christ’s wounded hands and his hand in Christ’s pierced side.

Caravaggio has depicted this scene in his painting, The Incredulity of Saint Thomas. Yet we are never told whether Thomas actually touched those wounds. All we are told is that once he has seen the Risen Christ, Thomas simply professes his faith in Jesus: ‘My Lord and my God!’

In that moment, we hear the first expression of faith in the two natures of Christ, that he is both divine and human. For all his doubts, Thomas provides us with an exquisite summary of the apostolic faith.

Too often, perhaps, we talk about ‘Doubting Thomas.’ Instead, we might better call him ‘Believing Thomas.’ His doubting led him to question. But his questioning led to listening. And when he heard, he saw, perhaps he even touched. Whatever he did, he learned in his own way, and he came not only to faith but faith that for this first time was expressed in that eloquent yet succinct acknowledgment of Christ as both ‘My Lord and My God.’

Too often, in this world, we are deceived easily by the words of others and deceived by what they want us to see. Seeing is not always believing today. Hearing does not always mean we have heard the truth, as we know in Irish life and politics today. It is easy to deceive and to be deceived by a good presentation and by clever words.

Too often, we accept or judge people by their appearances, and we are easily deceived by the words of others because of their office or their privilege. But there are times when our faith, however simple or sophisticated, must lead us to ask appropriate questions, not to take everything for granted, and not to confuse what looks like being in our own interests with real beauty and truth.

If we are Disciples of the Risen Lord, then we cannot stay locked away in the Upper Room waiting for God to put everything right at the end of days. We must take courage from the Risen Christ, we must have an Easter faith that allows us to take to heart that message ‘Be not afraid,’ and go out with the message, ‘Peace be with you,’ a message that must be made real in the lives of our own section of the Church, throughout the wider Church, and that must have the power to transform the world we live in today.

Saint Thomas the Apostle in a stained-glass window

A reflection on the Gospel reading:

‘Peace be with you.’

‘Peace be with you.’

‘Peace be with you.’

We find this phrase three times in this Gospel reading. It is a phrase spoken by the Risen Christ three times, with a Trinitarian resonance that is also a reminder of the three times God says to Moses, ‘I am …,’ or the three visitors who receive hospitality from Abraham and who remind him of God’s commitment to fulfilling his plan for all creation.

This phrase ‘peace be with you’ is a saying in the post-Easter story in Saint John’s Gospel that identifies the Risen Christ, now living in the Glory of the Trinity, in the same way that the phrase ‘Be not afraid’ is phrase that identifies the Risen Christ in the post-Resurrection narrative in Saint Matthew’s Gospel.

That phrase, ‘Be not afraid,’ keeps on being repeated by many people in this time of crisis shaped by the Coronavirus or Covid-19 pandemic. But this other phrase of the Risen Christ, ‘Peace be with you,’ is equally significant as we try to cope with our own angst at this time, and the angst we share with our families, our parishioners and our neighbours.

We suspended sharing the peace as this crisis began to unfold, weeks before we decided to also shut our churches. But even before that, in some churches, we may have been guilty of being a little too glib about that phrase, ‘Peace be with you,’ when it comes to exchanging the sign of peace. We may have been be a little glib, not just with our handshake, but with what we are actually wishing each other, in our hearts.

The peace that Christ wishes for his disciples is not the usual sort of peace that we often wish one another on Sunday mornings: Sometimes, on Sunday mornings, it has become yet another saying robbed of its real significance, with no more heart-filled meaning than the shop assistant who says, ‘Have a nice day, missing you already.’

The peace Christ is bringing to his disciples this morning is not a cheap way of saying ‘Good morning lads.’ It is a peace that the Disciples sorely need. It is a pace that a traumatised society needs to hear being offered by the Church today.

The Disciples have been sorely hurt by the dramatic and traumatic events of the previous week or so. They know they are a deeply flawed body of believers. One of them has betrayed Christ, perhaps sold him for a pocket full of coins. Why, there are even rumours that he has now run off and killed himself, or that he is speculating in property with the money. Another, a most trusted disciple indeed, has denied Christ, openly, not once, but three times, in public.

He and another disciple went to the grave on Sunday morning, but were not quite sure of the significance of the open, empty tomb. Indeed, it took a woman to wake them up to the reality of what was taking place.

And yet another disciple is refusing to believe any of this at all. Was he calling us liars? Was he ever a true believer? Was he thinking of quitting? After all, he had not turned up for a few of the last meetings.

It is to this deeply divided, hurt and self-isolating body of Disciples that Christ comes, breaking through all the barriers, physical barriers and barriers of faith, and says to them, not once but three times, ‘Peace be with you.’ It is not a mere greeting. It is a wish, a prayer and a blessing for those Disciples. And it is a wish, a prayer, a blessing that Christ still has for his Church today.

We are like those Disciples: mutually suspicious, feeling isolated, thinking others may not have realised the full significance of the message of the Risen Christ; perhaps making demanding on others that we would not demand of ourselves.

If we keep our eyes on the Risen Christ, rather than nurturing our fears and our phobias, then we might allow ourselves to see that the same Risen Christ breaks through all barriers, physical, geographical, spiritual, the barriers of time and space, and the barriers that separate us one from another.

The Risen Christ breaks through all those barriers and sees a future when we are gathered together into one, healed and whole body.

Let us pray that we may be true witnesses to the Risen Christ, that as the Body of Christ we reflect not the broken body on the Cross, but the Risen Christ, and that we are not afraid to rejoice in the message of the Risen Christ, ‘Peace be with you!’ … ‘Be not afraid.’

As the Disciples of the Risen Lord, we cannot stay locked away in the Upper Room waiting for God to put everything right at the end of days. We must take courage from the Risen Christ, we must have an Easter faith that allows us to take to heart that message ‘Be not afraid,’ and look forward to going out with his message, ‘Peace be with you.’

The Second Sunday of Easter is traditionally called ‘Low Sunday.’ But we need not be low in spirit; instead, we can be in high spirits because of the Risen Christ. ‘Peace be with you!’

‘Quasimodo Sunday’ takes its name from the Latin introit ‘Quasi modo geniti infantes …,’ ‘Like new-born infants …’

An alternative reflection on Quasimodo Sunday:

If you did not preach on Easter Day [21 April 2019] on the fire that destroyed Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris last week, you may appreciate an opportunity next Sunday to introduce this topic through a theme that is relevant to the traditions surrounding this ‘Low Sunday.’

In some places, including parts of France and Germany, the day is called ‘Quasimodo Sunday.’ The Latin introit for the day begins: ‘Quasi modo geniti infantes …,’ ‘Like new-born infants …,’ words from I Peter 2: 2 reminding newly-baptised Christians and all baptised members of the Church that we have been renewed, like new-born infants, in the waters of Baptism.

Victor Hugo’s novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame was originally published in French under the title Notre-Dame de Paris in 1831, and was translated into English by Frederic Shoberl in 1833 as The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Notre Dame’s bellringer, Quasimodo, the sad hero in Victor Hugo’s novel, was abandoned as a new-born baby in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on this Sunday, and so was given the name Quasimodo by Archdeacon Claude Frollo who found him.

Perhaps Quasimodo and his love for Esméralda would make a wonderful sermon topic for some, seeking to take a light touch to Sunday’s readings/

It is a story of how people are often judged, and judged wrongly, because of their looks, their clothes and their social status. Quasimodo is despised because of the large, ugly wart on his face and his disfigured body, and he is ridiculed for his inarticulate speech and for his deafness. And Esméralda fails to appreciate the true beauty and undying nature of the love Quasimodo offers her.

Esméralda, for her part, despite her beauty, her compassion and her talents, is despised because of her ethnic background, her manners and her clothes: those who see her first see her as a gypsy, and so is side-lined and objectified. You might expect an anchorite to be a holy woman, but even Sister Gudele, figuratively representing the Church, curses the gypsy girl who is her true daughter, while Archdeacon Frollo’s all-consuming lust and desire for Esméralda run contrary to the ideals of his ministry and the mission of the Church.

Yet, there is a hint at the Easter theme in this story: Phoebus is not dead, Esméralda is put on trial and sentenced to death unjustly, and is saved from death by Quasimodo. In the end, despite its sadness, it is love and not death that has the final triumph in The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Victor Hugo may be a little old-fashioned today, but Quasimodo and Esméralda have important lessons and values for us today. Beauty is not merely in the eye of the beholder, and seeing is not always believing. Quasimodo may appear to be ugly, but his love is pure and has an eternal quality. Esméralda appears to be beautiful, but those who are stirred to passion on seeing her put little value on love, respect and inner integrity.

In our society today, are we easily deceived by appearances?

Do we confuse what pleases me with beauty and with truth?

Do we allow those who have power to define the boundaries of trust and integrity merely to serve their own interests?

Are we are happy to live in a society where a fiscal lack of accountability on the part of politicians, and where obvious obfuscation are accepted instead of honest explanation or confession, as long as my future continues to look prosperous and I continue to be guaranteed a slice of the economic cake?

But appearances often deceive. Those who appear to be ugly are not so due to any fault or sinfulness, and they are often gentle and good-at-heart. Those who appear to be beautiful may threaten our personal confidence and security. And those who appear to guarantee economic, social or political stability may simply be serving their own needs and interests – as Esméralda finds out with Captain Phoebus and the jealous Archdeacon Frollo.

As I ask in the reflection on the Gospel reading, how often in life do we fail to make the vital connection between appearances and deceptions on the one hand, and, on the other hand, between seeing and believing?

Saint Thomas … an icon in the chapel of Saint Columba House retreat centre in Woking (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

John 20: 19-31 (NRSVA):

19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’

24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’

26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ 27 Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ 28 Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ 29 Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’

30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

The ruins of Saint Thomas Church, the former Church of Ireland parish church at Kilronan on Inishmore in the Aran Islands, Galway Bay (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Liturgical Resources:

Liturgical Colour: White

The Greeting (from Easter Day until Pentecost):

Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!

Penitential Kyries:

Lord God,
you raised your Son from the dead.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Lord Jesus,
through you we are more than conquerors.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

Holy Spirit,
you help us in our weakness.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

The Collect of the Day (Easter II):

Almighty Father,
you have given your only Son to die for our sins
and to rise again for our justification:
Grant us so to put away the leaven
of malice and wickedness
that we may always serve you in pureness of living and truth;
through the merits of your Son
Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Collect of the Word:

Almighty and eternal God,
the strength of those who believe
and the hope of those who doubt:
may we, who have not seen, have faith
and receive the fulness of Christ's blessing;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Introduction to the Peace:

The risen Christ came and stood among his disciples and said, Peace be with you. Then were they glad when they saw the Lord. (John 20: 19, 20).

Preface:

Above all we praise you
for the glorious resurrection of your Son
Jesus Christ our Lord,
the true paschal lamb who was sacrificed for us;
by dying he destroyed our death;
by rising he restored our life:

Post Communion Prayer:

Lord God our Father,
through our Saviour Jesus Christ
you have assured your children of eternal life
and in baptism have made us one with him.
Deliver us from the death of sin
and raise us to new life in your love,
in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Blessing:

The God of peace,
who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus
that great shepherd of the sheep,
through the blood of the eternal covenant,
make you perfect in every good work to do his will,
working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight:

or:

God the Father,
by whose glory Christ was raised from the dead,
raise you up to walk with him in the newness of his risen life:

Dismissal: (from Easter Day to Pentecost):

Go in the peace of the Risen Christ. Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thanks be to God. Alleluia! Alleluia!

‘I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth’ (Genesis 9: 13) … a double rainbow over the Burrow Beach at Portrane, Co Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Suggested hymns:

Acts 2: 14a, 22-32:

252, Alleluia, alleluia, give thanks to the risen Lord
254, At the Lamb’s high feast we sing
262, Come, ye faithful, raise the strain
567, Forth in thy name, O Lord, I go
341, Spirit divine, attend our prayers
289, This joyful Eastertide

Genesis 8: 6-16, 9: 8-16:

295, Come, gracious Spirit, heavenly Dove
80, Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father
637, O for a closer walk with God
592, O Love that wilt not let me go

Psalm 16:

567, Forth in thy name, O Lord, I go
300, Holy Spirit, truth divine
553, Jesu, lover of my soul
652, Lead us, heavenly Father, lead us
392, Now is eternal life
289, This joyful Eastertide

I Peter 1: 3-9:

667, Blessed be the everlasting God
613, Eternal light, shine in my heart
646, Glorious things of thee are spoken
425, Jesus, thou joy of loving hearts
106, O Jesus, King most wonderful
640, Purify my heart
599, ‘Take up thy cross’, the Saviour said
283, The day of Resurrection
681, There is a land of pure delight
373, To God be the glory! Great things he has done!

John 20: 19-31:

293, Breathe on me, Breath of God
255, Christ is risen, alleluia!
263, Crown him with many crowns
460 For all your saints in glory, for all your saints at rest (verses 1, 2k, 3)
415, For the bread which you have broken
454, Forth in the peace of Christ we go
219, From heav’n you came, helpless babe
268, Hail, thou once-despisèd Jesus
583, Jesu, my Lord, my God, my all
338, Jesus, stand among us
424, Jesus, stand among us at the meeting of our lives
652, Lead us, heavenly Father, lead us
305, O Breath of life, come sweeping through us
104, O for a thousand tongues to sing
279, O sons and daughters, let us sing (verses 1, 4-9)
307, Our great Redeemer, as he breathed
505, Peace be to this congregation
675, Peace, perfect peace, in this dark world of sin?
71, Saviour, again to thy dear name we raise
288, Thine be the glory, risen, conquering Son

In addition, these hymns are appropriate for reflections on the doubts and faith of Saint Thomas:

372, Through all the changing scenes of life
661, Through the night of doubt and sorrow

Saint Thomas’s Church, Dugort, Achill Island (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Material from the Book of Common Prayer is copyright © 2004, Representative Body of the Church of Ireland.

The hymn suggestions are provided in Sing to the Word (2000), edited by Bishop Edward Darling. The hymn numbers refer to the Church of Ireland’s Church Hymnal (5th edition, Oxford: OUP, 2000).

‘The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places …’ (Psalm 16: 6, NRSVA) … the Greenwich Mean Line on the River Lea, between Hoddesdon and Broxbourne, where East is East and West is West, and Essex and Hertfordshire are divided (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)