Worship for Sunday 4th May 2025, by Rev. Catharine Hughes

When flowers bloom in the desert,

Christ is risen.

Alleluia, Alleluia!

When enemies sit around tables and talk about peace,

Christ is risen.

Alleluia, Alleluia!

When people stand up for what is right in the face of great evil,

Christ is risen.

Alleluia, Alleluia!

When, despite hardship and struggle, people sing and dance,

Christ is risen.

Alleluia, Alleluia!

When prison bars are shattered

by the cry of

‘Freedom!’,

Christ is risen.

Alleluia, Alleluia!

When in our wounded and broken world,

life triumphs over death,

peace over war,

hope over fear,

freedom over captivity,

love over hate,

Christ is risen.

He is risen indeed.

Alleluia, Alleluia!

Hymn: STF 313 – Thine be the glory

Thine be the glory, risen, conquering Son,
endless is the victory thou o’er death hast won;
angels in bright raiment rolled the stone away,
kept the folded grave-clothes where thy body lay.
Thine be the glory, risen, conquering Son,
endless is the victory thou o’er death hast won.

Lo! Jesus meets us, risen from the tomb;
lovingly he greets us, scatters fear and gloom;
let the Church with gladness songs of triumph sing,
for her Lord now liveth; death hath lost its sting.

No more we doubt thee, glorious Prince of life;
life is nought without thee: aid us in our strife;
make us more than conquerors, through thy deathless love:
bring us safe through Jordan to thy home above.

Edmond Budry (1854-1932), translated by Richard Birch Hoyle (1875-1939)

Prayers of worship & adoration

Come, share our Easter joy that death could not imprison,

nor any power destroy, our Christ, who is arisen!

Father God, creator of all things, you existed before the world began.

You are with us today. You are the future.

We worship and adore you.

Jesus, all powerful king, you won the battle of the cross

and swapped your crown of thorns for heaven’s throne.

Now you are exalted and reign in victory.

All glory and power are yours.

We worship and adore you.

Holy Spirit, breath of God, you are with us,

stirring hearts and opening truth.

We worship and adore you.

Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

present in the ordinary, yet always extraordinary.

Through you we have life with a capital L.

We worship and adore you.

Amen.

Reading: Revelation 5.11-14 [NIVUK]

Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they were saying:

‘Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honour and glory and praise!’

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:

‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honour and glory and power,
for ever and ever!’

The four living creatures said, ‘Amen’, and the elders fell down and worshipped.

Hymn: STF 337 – There is a higher throne

There is a higher throne than all this world has known,

where faithful ones from every tongue will one day come.

Before our God we’ll stand, made faltless through the Lamb;

believe it hearts find promised grace: salvation comes.

Hear heaven’s voices sing, their thunderous anthem rings

through emerald courts and sapphire skies, their praises rise.

All glory, wisdom, power, strength, thanks and honour are

to God our King who reigns on high for evermore.

And there we’ll find our home, our life before the throne;

we’ll honour him in perfect song where we belong.

He’ll wipe each tear-stained eye, as thirst and hunger die;

the Lamb becomes our Shepherd King: we’ll reign with him.

Keith Getty (b.1974) & Kristyn Lennox

Reading: John 21.1-19 [NIVUK]

Jesus and the miraculous catch of fish

Afterwards Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. ‘I’m going out to fish,’ Simon Peter told them, and they said, ‘We’ll go with you.’ So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realise that it was Jesus.

He called out to them, ‘Friends, haven’t you any fish?’

‘No,’ they answered.

He said, ‘Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.’ When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!’ As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, ‘It is the Lord,’ he wrapped his outer garment round him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred metres. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.

Jesus said to them, ‘Bring some of the fish you have just caught.’ So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, ‘Come and have breakfast.’ None of the disciples dared ask him, ‘Who are you?’ They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Jesus reinstates Peter

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’

‘Yes, Lord,’ he said, ‘you know that I love you.’

Jesus said, ‘Feed my lambs.’

Again Jesus said, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’

He answered, ‘Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.’

Jesus said, ‘Take care of my sheep.’

The third time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ He said, ‘Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.’

Jesus said, ‘Feed my sheep. Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.’ Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, ‘Follow me!’

Prayer of confession

Lord Jesus,

You opened the eyes of the blind,

healed the sick,

forgave the sinful woman,

and after Peter’s denial confirmed him in your love.

Listen to my prayer:

forgive all my sins,

renew your love in my heart,

help me to live in perfect unity

with my fellow Christians

that I may proclaim your saving power

to all the world.

Amen.

Reflection

Is that it? Is it all done and dusted?

I was challenged this week to avoid saying that ‘Easter is over’, for while I might not have any chocolate eggs left, others do… Furthermore, Easter Day celebrations may be finished, but celebrating the risen Christ carries on, particularly during this season of Easter. Forty days of Lent, and forty days until the ascension: we have as long to celebrate with joy as we had to reflect penitentially.

You could also ask whether everything was done and dusted in John’s gospel at the end of chapter 20: ‘But these [signs] are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.’ (John 20.31) It is a one-sentence summary of the purpose of the book, and would be an admirable end to anyone’s story or essay.

But chapter 21 follows, most of which is our lectionary reading today. It is referred to as the epilogue to John’s gospel, though I think it could be described as the encore after the main play, when the cast have taken their bows. There is much debate as to who wrote it, with many thinking it was someone other than John, but as a final summary it has some wonderful flashbacks and truths. Does the story of Jesus’ life belong in the past? Certainly not! This reading echoes stories past, but in each case points them to the future with the risen Christ.

Let’s start with the casting of the net on the other side. In Luke’s gospel, this miracle precedes the calling of the twelve disciples; and in both Matthew and Mark’s versions, the calling includes Jesus saying, ‘I will send you out to fish for people’. They immediately left their nets and followed Jesus. Here, at the end of John’s gospel, the disciples have returned to their nets, to the fishing trade that had supported them, and found that they could catch nothing – at least, not until Jesus intervened. Following our calling leads to bountiful provision, but it is nothing without the presence of the risen Christ. We can retreat into what we know and are comfortable with, or boldly trust Jesus to fill our nets with fish.

In this post-Easter period, not recognising the risen Christ is what we now come to expect. Mary thought he was a gardener. The disciples on the road to Emmaus only recognised him when he broke bread at dinner. Thomas required Christ’s physical presence in order to believe. Now it is the disciples in the boat who are blind to Christ until he is revealed through a miracle. Are we any better? The risen Christ continues to come and meet us in our daily lives and places of work, and continues to offer miraculous signs, but we are slow to attribute it to him rather than to coincidence.

Breakfast is the meal that follows supper, and in this case the last meal shared with Jesus was the Last Supper. Eating with Christ is no longer a final sacrifice but a living meal that welcomes the dawn of a new day.

Even the basic setting of being fed fish and bread by the lakeside reminds us of the story of the feeding of the 5000. In John’s gospel this is also set at the Lake of Tiberius (see John 6.1-14). Our post-resurrection story shows how the risen Christ continues to feed us abundantly.

And of course there is Peter. The ‘foot-first, think later’ disciple who Jesus had said would be the rock on which his church was built, but who had denied knowing his friend three times after Jesus’ arrest. Only when the cock crowed did he remember. The story could end there, with Peter weeping, or with him running to the tomb and finding it empty, but it doesn’t. The risen Christ comes and speaks to him directly.

‘Do you love me?’

Three questions: three commands: three denials forgiven. The grace of the risen Christ overcomes the most painful of rejections, and entrusts the future ministry of the church and God’s people to this flawed human being.

And one final command. “Follow me!”

Easter Day is over, but Easter is not. The resurrected Christ is with us today and every day, and asks us too, ‘Do you love me?’

Then do one thing. “Follow me!”

153 fish

‘Come follow me, and I will send you out to fish for people.’ (Matthew 4.20)

Who do you know who needs to be transformed by the grace of the risen Christ? Here is a fish to be caught in the net. Write their name(s) on it and pray that they may come to know the risen Christ for themselves.

Hymn: STF 250 – Jesus calls us! O’er the tumult

Jesus calls us! O’er the tumult

of our life’s wild restless sea;

day by day his voice is sounding,

saying, ‘Christian, follow me.’

As of old apostles heard it

by the Galilean lake,

turned from home and work and kindred,

leaving all for his dear sake.

Jesus calls us from the worship

of the vain world’s golden store,

from each idol that would keep us,

saying, ‘Christian, love me more.’

In our joys and in our sorrows,

days of toil and hours of ease,

Jesus calls, in cares and pleasures:

‘Christian, love me more than these.’

Jesus calls us! By your mercies,

Saviour, may we hear your call,

give our hearts in glad obedience,

serve and love you best of all.

Cecil Frances Alexander (1818-1895)

Prayers for others

We pray for change in our world.

We pray for the poor, the homeless, the sick and the hungry.