5th Sunday of Easter: Acts 6:1-7; Psalm 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19; 1 Peter 2:4-9; John 14:1-12 ~ I am the way, the truth, and the life.

FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening sentence and prayer:

Lord Jesus – You are the Way, the Truth and the Life, the one in whom we can place all our trust. If we have seen You, we have seen the Father. If we have placed our trusted You, we have placed our trust in Him.
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We have beheld your glory, O God, in the face of Christ Jesus, your Son. Enliven our faith, that through Christ we may put our trust in you. Deepen our faith, that in Christ we may serve you. Complete what You have begun in us, that one day we may live with you in that place which Christ prepares for us, where he lives with you now and always in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen.

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A Reading from the Book of Acts: Acts 6:1-7 (NLT)

But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food.

So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.”

Everyone liked this idea, and they chose the following: Stephen (a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit), Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch (an earlier convert to the Jewish faith). These seven were presented to the apostles, who prayed for them as they laid their hands on them.

So God’s message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too.

A Reading from the Psalms: Psalm 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19 (NLT)

Let the godly sing for joy to the Lord; it is fitting for the pure to praise him. Praise the Lord with melodies on the lyre; make music for him on the ten-stringed harp.
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For the word of the Lord holds true, and we can trust everything he does. He loves whatever is just and good; the unfailing love of the Lord fills the earth.
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But the Lord watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love. He rescues them from death and keeps them alive in times of famine.
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A Reading from the Letters: 1 Peter 2:4-9 (NLT)

You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor.

And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. As the Scriptures say,

“I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honor, and anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.”

Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him. But for those who reject him,

“The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.”

And,

“He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that makes them fall.”

They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them.

But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

A Reading from the Gospels: John 14:1-12 (NLT)

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I am going.”

“No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”

Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”

Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do.

“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father….”

Intercessions:

Gracious and Merciful God – You look on those who worship You and praise Your name. Hear my prayers on behalf of Your people:

+ For all those who serve Your people as deacons — that they may be filled with the Holy Spirit and with wisdom….
Lord, hear my prayer.

+ For all who work in the caring professions — that You Lord may heal people through them….
Lord, hear my prayer.

+ For people at risk, especially the homeless and the poor — that Your people may look after them….
Lord, hear my prayer.

+ For all believing families and children — that their faith may keep on growing….
Lord, hear my prayer.

+ For people anxious about death and dying — that the Your words may comfort and console them….
Lord, hear my prayer.

+ For all who have died and those who mourn their loss — that they may be reunited where Christ is, eternally….
Lord, hear my prayer.

Father in heaven, I place all my hope in You, as I entrust these prayers to Your love, confident that You will grant them, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Spiritual Song: “None But Jesus”

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+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen

Morning Prayer: Psalm 78:3-8; Isaiah 62:1; Romans 11:26-29 ~ legacy of promise

Morning Prayer

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening sentence

One thing I have asked of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life; to behold the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple.

You will find the Lord your God, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Morning readings

Psalm 78:3-8 NLT:

Jewish Children with their Teacher in Samarkand. Early color photograph from Russia, created by Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii as part of his work to document the Russian Empire from 1909 to 1915.

… stories we have heard and known, stories our ancestors handed down to us. We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders.

For he issued his laws to Jacob; he gave his instructions to Israel. He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children, so the next generation might know them — even the children not yet born — and they in turn will teach their own children.

So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands. Then they will not be like their ancestors — stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful, refusing to give their hearts to God.

Isaiah 62:1 NLT:

Because I love Zion, I will not keep still. Because my heart yearns for Jerusalem, I cannot remain silent. I will not stop praying for her until her righteousness shines like the dawn, and her salvation blazes like a burning torch.

Romans 11:26-29 NLT:

And so all Israel will be saved. As the Scriptures say,

“The one who rescues will come from Jerusalem, and he will turn Israel away from ungodliness. And this is my covenant with them, that I will take away their sins.”

Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the Good News, and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet they are still the people he loves because he chose their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn.

Reflection/Prayer:

The atmosphere of the New Testament carried on the spirit of the Hebrew Scriptures pervasively and profoundly – but Rabbinic Judaism replaces revelation with human reason, and this development was well underway even before the coming of Jesus, and culminated in the rejection of Him and the witness of His Jewish apostles by the first-century Pharisees who added the prayer of condemnation against Jewish believers and Jesus to synagogue liturgy. This all took place long before the Church had become infiltrated by paganism and begun to reject its Jewish roots.

Sometimes in John’s Gospel and other places we are confused by the phrase ‘the Jews’ being used to condemn the religious establishment, Pharisees, Sadducees and religious leaders: were not John and the other writers also Jews? Americans abroad are called ‘Yanks’, but in the Southern United States ‘Yankee’ is used as a sectional term to refer to the North. Galilean Jews referred to Judeans as ‘the Jews’ since ‘Judean’ and ‘Jew’ in Greek are the same word.

Such condemnations were after all in-house criticisms and not intended as ammunition for generations of Anti-Semites.

Anti-Semites never quote any of the following:

John 4:22 ‘Salvation is of the Jews’,
that Jesus was, is and forever will be a Jew descended from Jacob!
that ‘the common people (Jews) heard Him gladly,’
that many wept openly at His death and
that the priestly establishment feared all of Jerusalem following Him (Luke 20:19; 22:2)
that myriads of Jews did follow Him (Acts 21:20)
that Jewish apostles spread the good news of Yeshua throughout the world.

The proper scriptural response is gratitude and love. Paul says, “It is not you who support the root, but the root supports you.’ (Romans 11:18)

Canticle

Christ, as a light… illumine and guide me. Christ, as a shield… overshadow me. Christ under me; Christ over me; Christ beside me on my left and my right.

This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful. Be in the heart of each to whom I speak; in the mouth of each who speaks unto me. This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.

Christ as a light; Christ as a shield; Christ beside me on my left and my right.

Blessing

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you, wherever He may send you. May He guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm. May He bring you home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown you. May He bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
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Peanut Gallery: The Morning Prayer readings are from the Daily Office of the Northumbrian Community as available online here… and in the book form, Celtic Daily Prayer available on Amazon.com.

The website and prayer book are rich in prayer resources and I commend them to you. For our purpose here, I will limit my selections to the Morning Prayer resources.

Morning Prayer: Psalm 39:2; Isaiah 61:1-3; John 20:1-6 ~ beauty for ashes

Morning Prayer

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening sentence

One thing I have asked of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life; to behold the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple.

You will find the Lord your God, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Morning readings

Psalm 39:2 NLT:

But as I stood there in silence — not even speaking of good things — the turmoil within me grew worse.

Johanna Ruth Dobschiner Holocaust Survivor — Johanna Ruth Dobschiner
Holocaust Survivor
click on photo for YouTube interview

Isaiah 61:1-3 NLT:

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies.

To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory.

John 20:1-6 NLT:

Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there…

Reflection/Prayer:

As a young Dutch-Jewish refugee Johanna-Ruth Dobschiner found an illustrated children’s Bible in the home she was evacuated to, and re-read the familiar stories of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses and Pharoah, Joshua, Saul, David, Solomon, Haman, Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Malachi…

Almost unconsciouly I entered a part of history previously unknown to me, yet strangely familiar. It still delt with the people of Israel but new characters had entered the scene, names I had never been taught, names which had never been mentioned at home or in school lessons. Scenes which took place in Synagogue and Temple, according to this Bible, registered a blank when searching my memory. Yet all the stories were so obviously Jewish… One person outshone all others in these stories – a prophet born in Israel. As the weeks and months passed by, His life became part of mine. The readings about Him and the incidents concerning Him became more important to me than anything else in my own environment. I found I could tolerate my isolation without frustration, always longing for the next opportunity to learn more about Him for He had become my hero.

Then the cross:

While still reading of His agonies, in myself I wished for Him to show the power that was His, and free Himself from that cross. I knew He would do it, and as I read on I waited eagerly for the moment when this would be described… Instead, ‘It is finished.’ I had lost the one I loved dearly, although I had never met Him, except within the pages of this book. Now all was lost to me.

According to the custom of my people I mourned for Him seven days. My thoughts were wholly centered on my loss and a deep sense of depression settled upon me. I was weepy, edgy, moody and unhappy. True, I had suffered disappointment, but why not act as an adult and read the remaining pages of the book?

The first day of the week, and Mary finds His grave empty, the body stolen. What next! Having fought back her tears for so long, Mary now gave way to her grief. She felt as I had done during these past ten days, and again I joined her in her sorrow.

… and then continued reading…

J.R Dobschiner, Selected to Live

Beauty for ashes
A garment of praise for my heaviness
Beauty for ashes
Take this heart of stone and make it Yours, Yours

I delight myself in the Richest of Fare
Trading all that I’ve had for all that is better
A garment of praise for my heaviness
You are the greatest taste
You’re the richest of fare

(Psalm 63, Isaiah 61)

Canticle

Christ, as a light… illumine and guide me. Christ, as a shield… overshadow me. Christ under me; Christ over me; Christ beside me on my left and my right.

Christ as a light; Christ as a shield; Christ beside me on my left and my right.

Blessing

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
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The website and prayer book are rich in prayer resources and I commend them to you. For our purpose here, I will limit my selections to the Morning Prayer resources.

Morning Prayer: Psalm 107:43; Deuteronomy 33:3; John15:15b-16 ~ best friends forever

Morning Prayer

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening sentence

One thing I have asked of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life; to behold the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple.

You will find the Lord your God, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Morning readings

Psalm 107:43 NLT:

Those who are wise will take all this to heart; they will see in our history the faithful love of the Lord.

Deuteronomy 33:3 NLT:

Indeed, he loves his people; all his holy ones are in his hands. They follow in his steps and accept his teaching.

John15:15b-16 NLT:

Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.

Reflection/Prayer:

Rabbinic disciples were people who were attached to a particular person and who then themselves decided to follow and accept the teachings of that person. To become a disciple was entirely up to the individual: they chose to follow a rabbi and accept his teachings until they felt able to leave and establish independent status as teachers themselves. Jesus was different. He chose his disciples.
Keith Whitehead, Emmaus Community

When Jesus disputed with other teachers he often argued from the rabbinical principle. ‘From the minor case to the major’, or as Arthur Burt would say, ‘the greater includes the lesser’. So if circumcision could be performed on the Sabbath to make a minor member of the body whole before God, then miraculous power could be used on the Sabbath to make a whole body whole. Or if the commandment said to not commit adultery, the greater which included this would say ‘not even in your heart’. The greater includes the lesser, but the small things mattered, too.

I have a friend you can go to with
your small problems.
My friend’s name is
GOD.
Dave Berg

Canticle

Christ, as a light… illumine and guide me. Christ, as a shield… overshadow me. Christ under me; Christ over me; Christ beside me on my left and my right.

Christ as a light; Christ as a shield; Christ beside me on my left and my right.

Blessing

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
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The website and prayer book are rich in prayer resources and I commend them to you. For our purpose here, I will limit my selections to the Morning Prayer resources.

Morning Prayer: Psalm 119:96-106; Jeremiah 31:33-34; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:3 ~ wholesome teaching

Morning Prayer

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening sentence

One thing I have asked of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life; to behold the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple.

You will find the Lord your God, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Morning readings

Psalm 119:96-106 NLT:

Ultra Orthodox Jewish men holding a Torah scroll as they dance and celebrate Simhat Torah at the close of the Succot holiday in Mea Shearim in Jerusalem on 08 October 2012. Simchat Torah celebrates the ending of one cycle and the beginning of the new cycle of reading the Torah, the Jewish holdy scrolls used in every synagogue. — Ultra Orthodox Jewish men holding Torah scrolls as they dance and celebrate Simhat Torah at the close of the Succot holiday in Mea Shearim in Jerusalem on 08 October 2012. Simchat Torah celebrates the ending of one cycle and the beginning of the new cycle of reading the Torah, the Jewish holy scrolls used in every synagogue.

Even perfection has its limits, but your commands have no limit.

Oh, how I love your instructions! I think about them all day long. Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are my constant guide. Yes, I have more insight than my teachers, for I am always thinking of your laws. I am even wiser than my elders, for I have kept your commandments. I have refused to walk on any evil path, so that I may remain obedient to your word. I haven’t turned away from your regulations, for you have taught me well.

How sweet your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey. Your commandments give me understanding; no wonder I hate every false way of life. Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. I’ve promised it once, and I’ll promise it again: I will obey your righteous regulations.

Jeremiah 31:33-34 NLT:

“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the Lord. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”

2 Timothy 3:14-4:3 NLT:

But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when he appears to set up his Kingdom: Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.

For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear.

Reflection/Prayer:

Simchat Torah, the Rejoicing of the Law, is not a biblically prescribed feast, but occurs immediately after Succot.

The Scrolls of the Law are taken out of the Holy Ark and carried in men’s arms. Father’s dance with their children, and women throw sweets on them. According to tradition, the synagogue must be encircled seven times or more. The festival is celebrated on the day on which the reading of the Torah is completed and begun again from Genesis. The Torah is read in an annual cycle, so the Jewish community created a festival of joy on a day that could have been only a day of tedious re-rolling of the community’s scrolls from the end to the beginning. We might also ask, is it not a great cause for rejoicing to complete a reading of the Scriptures by the community and to have the opportunity to begin reading again!

Daniel Juster in his study Jewish Roots asks whether the early Messianic Jews would have had an ark:

I believe they did. We historically know that they read the Torah (ie Genesis to Deuteronomy). In the first century Torahs were kept in an ark! Did they keep the New Testament Scriptures in the Ark? We do not know. However, we do know that ancient eastern churches that stem back to the Syrian church have ark-like structures in which they keep the Scriptures.

This song ‘Maoz Tzur’ is a traditional one sung after the candles are lit:

Rock of Ages, let our song
praise Thy saving power:
Thou, amidst the raging foes
wast our shelt’ring tower.
Furious they assailed us
but Thine arm availed us,
and Thy word broke their sword
when our own streength failed us.

Canticle

Christ, as a light… illumine and guide me. Christ, as a shield… overshadow me. Christ under me; Christ over me; Christ beside me on my left and my right.

Christ as a light; Christ as a shield; Christ beside me on my left and my right.

Blessing

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
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The website and prayer book are rich in prayer resources and I commend them to you. For our purpose here, I will limit my selections to the Morning Prayer resources.

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