THE SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
" This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”
For the beauty of the earth,
For the beauty of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.
For the beauty of each hour
Of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale, and tree and flower,
Sun and moon and stars of light,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.
For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child,
Friends on earth, and friends above,
Pleasures pure and undefiled,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.
For each perfect gift of thine,
To our race so freely given,
Graces human and divine,
Flowers of earth and buds of heaven,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.
For thy Church which evermore
Lifteth holy hands above,
Offering up on every shore
Her pure sacrifice of love,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.
The collect for the Sixth Sunday of Easter
This Sunday is Rogation Sunday, the last Sunday before Ascension Day, when traditionally we pray for God’s blessing on our local area, its people and their welfare. This year we are very much aware of the strains being put on our farmers due to the exceptionally wet weather of the last few months. With Christian Aid Week starting very soon, we are also encouraged to take our thoughts to the wider world, to the peoples of many different nations and cultures and to their needs, many heavily reliant on the land for their food and well being.
The First Reading: Acts 10: 44-48
While Peter was speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, ‘Can anyone withhold the water for baptising these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?’ So he ordered them to be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.
Peter preaching: Masolino
In the first reading we continue to follow Peter as he spread the word about Jesus: how the Son of God underwent suffering and death and rose again to show the extent of God’s love for all humanity. The first people to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit after the Ascension were the disciples, together with the Jews who were gathered in Jerusalem at that time to celebrate Pentecost, the first of two annual harvest festivals. Now Peter and the early believers were discovering that the Holy Spirit was a gift not just for the Jews but for all: God’s loving purposes are not confined to any one nation or culture. Peter made it clear that the Gentiles, those who were not Jews, were equal members of God’s body here on earth and baptised them with water as an outward sign of their inner receiving of the Holy Spirit.
Psalm 98
Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvellous things.
With his right hand and his holy arm has he won for himself the victory.
The Lord has made known his victory; his righteousness has he openly shown in the sight of the nations.
He remembers his mercy and faithfulness to the house of Israel, and all the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.
Shout with joy to the Lord, all you lands; lift up your voice, rejoice, and sing.
Sing to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the voice of song.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn shout with joy before the King, the Lord.
Let the sea make a noise and all that is in it, the lands and those who dwell therein.
Let the rivers clap their hands, and let the hills ring out with joy before the Lord, when he comes to judge the earth.
In righteousness shall he judge the world and the peoples with equity. Botticini.
This joyful psalm is a reminder that, despite the troubles and anxieties of the current time, we have so much to be thankful for – and joy is one of the nine gifts of the Spirit.
The Epistle: 1 John 5: 1-6
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth.
Love is not just about feeling, but acting upon that feeling. We are commanded to love our neighbours as ourselves. Our own experience tells us that, if the truth be told, we find some of our neighbours easier to love than others. But if we believe that we are made in the image of God, we will find some point of common understanding and it is Love that will point us to it.
Gospel reading: John 15: 9-17
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.’
How do we show love for people living in very different circumstances to our own, some in drought stricken lands struggling to grow enough food for their survival while others are losing their homes as flood water sweeps them away in a torrent? Here we have to let other agencies step in on our behalf and support local networks on the ground. We can show love to our neighbour in these circumstances by enabling the work of others – and by including them and the recipients in our prayers. We can bear this in mind as we prepare for Christian Aid Week.
Heavenly Father, send your Spirit to quicken our imaginations that we may feel more deeply for the needs of others as we put ourselves in their place. May we be guided by you as we seek to be good neighbours to those both near and far, for the sake of him who taught us that it is more blessed to give than receive, even Jesus our Lord. Amen.
- On this Rogation Sunday we pray for our village, for all who live and work here and for those who provide for our wellbeing. We pray too for those who look after the land and the crops and ask you to bless their labours.
- We pray for people living in parts of the world where food is scarce and water is in short supply. We ask for your blessing on those who are seeking to find new ways of managing land and water in the face of climate change.
- We pray for our own country that we may learn to respect the natural world and steward the gift of Creation for the benefit of all.
- We pray for those living in countries where the health and education services that we take for granted are sparse and severely under-resourced.
- We continue to pray for those known to us who are in poor health, thinking especially of ................................................. May they know the healing presence of the Holy Spirit.
- We pray for the repose of the souls of those who have recently departed this life, thinking especially of .................
God our Father, whose Son Jesus Christ gives the water of eternal life: may we thirst for you, the spring of life and source of goodness, through him who is alive and reigns, now and for ever. Amen.
Prayer from Archbishop Hosam Naoum of Jerusalem
O God of all justice and peace we cry out to you in the midst of pain and trauma of violence and fear which prevails in the Holy Land.
Be with those who need you in these days of suffering; we pray for people of all faiths – Jews, Muslims and Christians and for all the people of the land.
While we pray to you, O Lord, for an end to violence and the establishment of peace, we also call for you to bring justice and equity to the peoples.
Guide us into your kingdom where all people are treated with dignity and honour as your children, for to all of us you are our Heavenly Father. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
A PRAYER FOR UKRAINE
Lord, you promise us a future in which the weapons of war will be transformed into instruments of peace.
Today is not such a day, as missiles rain down on Ukraine and innocent people take refuge underground..
You taught us to pray your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven,
and so we pray that you will restrain the aggressor, grant courage and wisdom to the resistance, and bring peace to this part of your world.
Look with mercy on the peoples of Ukraine and Russia, and grant our leaders wisdom and courage to seek a resolution that will allow truth and freedom to return to these lands.
Grant Lord, that through this conflict that we would have unimaginable two years ago, we may recognise anew our need for you, and live to thank you for answering our prayers.
Amen