Reflection and Prayers for April 11th with Gwen Simmonds
Call to Worship
Christ is Risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
God, whose light shines in the darkness,
shine on us today.
God, made known to those who met Jesus,
touch us through the experiences of our lives.
God, who gave Thomas what he asked,
give us what we need – that we too may come to believe.
Amen.
Weekly Review a time to reflect in silence
- Give Thanks:
Think about good things you have enjoyed in the last week. How might we show gratitude for it? - Review the week:
Where have we glimpsed or particularly needed God’s presence this week? - Face our shortcomings:
what areas of our lives might we invite God to Inform, reform or transform? - Look forward to the coming week:
Where do we need God’s Touch in the week to come?
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Hello Thomas – Reflection by Pat Cross
I remember, I’d bolted the doors myself,
Fastened them, from the inside
To make sure we were safe:
We lived in fear of the authorities in those days.
I was with them and not with them, if you see what I mean:
Alone with the private thoughts inside my head,
Their lively conversations, making little impact on me.
I sensed him first rather than saw him;
Could feel the wonderful peace flood through the room,
And I looked up, and he was there
Standing right in front of me,
Looking into my eyes: mine.
“Peace, be with you”
He said in an echo of that last night with us
“Peace, be with you.”
And it was.
Peace rippled right through my being,
The tensions of grief and joy just fell away,
The heaviness lifted and all I could think of was joy;
Pure delicious, unadulterated joy:
This was really him, as real and alive and fully human
As it was possible to be
Just he and I, in the most important moment in my life.
“Hello Thomas.
Put your finger here, in the hole in my hand,
Put your hand into the wound in my side
If that’s what takes for you to believe.
Do it now”
He’d come back, just for me
Thant’s all I could think of,
He’d reappeared, just for me
Because he cared enough about me
To want me to believe
And then I knew, I didn’t need to touch him
I knew that I was looking
Into the face of God.
Reading: John 20.19-31
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Reflection
As we focus on Thomas and the rest of the disciples this morning I want us to consider:
In the age of social media and fake news, what helps us to believe in something? Is it knowing where it comes from, personal experience, physical evidence?
Today is often known as low Sunday- for a couple of reasons, traditionally it is a Sunday where the attendance at church is dramatically decreased from the previous week- Easter Sunday the day we celebrate the resurrection of Christ, the fundamental cornerstone to our faith.
It earnt the name Low Sunday, as it is the second Sunday in what is also known as the Octave of Easter (My catholic connections coming out here). The Octave of Easter is where every day is treated as another Easter day and they override other feast days that may occur during this time. It was given this name to distinguish it from Easter Sunday as not as important as that (quite)- It is the final Sunday of the Octave but the church continues to celebrate the season of Easter until Pentecost.
However Low Sunday can have negative connotations so there is a move to re-designate it especially in the States as Laughter or Humour Sunday, and to continue to promote the fact that it should still be a time of joy and celebration of resurrection of Christ.
So here is my attempt to inject some joy and laughter into today and leading into the exploring today’s bible texts:
Someone said to Joseph of Arimathea
“That was such a beautiful costly hand-hewn tomb. Why did you give it to someone else to be interred in?”
“Oh” said Joseph, “he only needed it for the weekend.”
Henry Augustus Rowland, professor of physics at John Hopkins University, was once called as an expert witness at a trial. During cross- examination a lawyer demanded “What are your qualifications as an expert witness in this case?”
The normally modest and retiring professor replied quietly.
“I am the greatest living expert on the subject under discussion.”
Later a friend well acquainted with Rowland’s disposition expressed surprise at the professor’s uncharacteristic answer. Rowland answered. “Well, what did you expect me to do? I was under oath”
In the Gospel John reveals to us the struggles the disciples of have, and those he has with his audiences and the community that Jesus lived amongst. There were probably strained relationships – we meet the Gospel with the disciples meeting in a locked room, secured due to fear for their own safety. The claims that Jesus was the Son of God and that he reveals God’s truth, dismissed, shameful even, as a result of the way Jesus died.
The truth here is open to being tested- was there integrity in the claim that the disciples had seen the risen Christ?You see with Thomas we are presented a reality- perhaps one we can all relate to that suggests that believers weren’t likely to accept claims without question. Thomas wants to know for himself so that he can really trust what the rest have said and believe it to be true.
Perhaps in a world where we are bombarded with information the example of Thomas sets is one we may need to consider as we sift through fact and fiction trying to determine which is which.
There is also the purity in the honesty of Thomas and his doubts. Thomas is eventually convinced, he is convinced when he encounters Jesus himself- He didn’t then need to touch those wounds to believe.
I’ve been wondering how the two events would have played out if they’d happened today- No doubt there would be someone having whipped out their mobile phone to record the encounter-which would then be shared widely on Social media. What would Jesus have made of that? Or if it happened this year or last- maybe he’d only have appeared to Thomas (rules of households etc)
Would there be need for Thomas to have then touched the wounds of Jesus? Would we even have had a Doubting Thomas?
Or if it happened this year or last- maybe he’d only have appeared to Thomas the (rules of households etc), how then would the rest of the disciples have reacted.
But then I sat there and wondered if we would need Jesus to appear to even more people- thinking that how easily it would be for the resurrected Jesus to denounced as fake news, photo-shopped edited etc? Would Thomas have been able to decipher for himself the truth, would he have been able to see the wood for the trees and do the necessary fact finding that we often have to do today to ensure that we have reached the truth.
And then I think about us- if Jesus’ resurrection and well documented post resurrection appearances had happened today- how quick and easily would it take us to reach a truthful conclusion. Would we be any different from Thomas? Would we perhaps not ourselves needed to see and touch Jesus’ wounds, and be told by him “Peace be with you”?
We’re not very good at just accepting things and having faith today to the point of making me wonder, if we’d had our faith cross examined under oath, would we be able to say with the certainty of not having seen for ourselves the risen Lord, that we truly believed? Now I’m not suggesting that we don’t but I am suggesting that at times our faith can waiver- I think that it is our human frailty that shows in the answer. It makes us no less faithful, but makes us exactly what we our- human with all our failings- the very reason that we have a crucified and resurrected Jesus.
As apostles of Christ, Christ bestowed upon us the power of forgiveness. If we forgive the sins then they are forgiven, if we choose not to, they are not. Before we can forgive others, at times, we need to forgive ourselves for our own failings, and love ourselves in the way that Christ loves us, but also at times we can be quite slow to forgive.
And so let us forgive ourselves for being like Thomas – doubting, questioning, and wanting to see proof for ourselves, before accepting it- perhaps today those are qualities that we need to have about us to be able to determine the truths.
By acknowledging our failings, we are being true to ourselves as human beings – imperfect, sinful and whilst we may ever strive – and we must not stop striving, to be Christ like ourselves, the reality is that we will fall far short. By accepting this, it makes it easier for us to go out and spread the Good News of Christ, his love for us as shown by his death and resurrection.
We don’t need to be saying to others look at me, I’m Christian, I’m perfect and God loves me because of this – we perhaps need to be more real and honest, shouting out that yes, I’m a Christian, but I’m not perfect, but God loves me anyway and that’s why he sent his son Jesus Christ, to die on the cross, and to become alive again so that our failings may be forgiven, and to offer us peace- peace for ourselves and each other.
So let us finish by being Joyful in Christ’s resurrection, and let the joy and celebration of Easter continue throughout today and the coming weeks and also by offering each other Peace. – Peace be with you all.
Reading 1 John 1:v1 – 2:v2
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Prayers of Intercession
Through others eyes we too denied you, betrayed you and shouted crucify.
Let us think today of those who are struggling to see your love within the world,
Those who still want to deny your death and resurrection and continue to hurt the world
By being destructive to the Christian faith and the faith of others.
In the resurrected Christ
We pray that they may know your peace.
Through others eyes we watched you condemned to death by the authorities.
We pray for those who have authority, whether on an International, national or local level.
We ask that you grant them wisdom in their decision making,
And understanding to see consequences of their actions,
And the strength to own their mistakes
In the resurrected Christ
We pray that they may know your peace.
Through others eyes we watched you die and mourned your death.
We pray for those who a mourning the death of their loved ones,
Those who are struggling as they watch someone else suffer with their health.
For those who are in ill health themselves.
We give thanks and offer prayers for those who care for the ill and those in pain.
In the resurrected Christ
We pray that they may know your peace.
Through others eyes we celebrate your resurrection.
We pray for our church communities, wherever we may find them,
So that we are strong in our witness to the ever-secular world,
May we offer each other the strength of numbers,
So that where one of us may fail, others are ready to take up the yoke.
In the resurrected Christ
We pray that they may know your peace.
Through others eyes we too doubt,
Let us pray for ourselves and those whom we love
We offer up to you our troubles and joys at this time.
That when we are facing times of trial, or doubt, or complete un-belief,
That your peace falls on us and gives us the strength we need for our daily lives
In the resurrected Christ
We pray that they may know your peace.
Through others eyes we celebrate the Risen Christ,
The Gift of the Holy Spirit and the Glory of the Lord
Freely given so that we may know peace.
Amen
Hymn Christ be our light