Easter 2 Sunday, 12/04/2026
SENTENCE FROM SCRIPTURE:
O Lord, you are my portion and cup. (Psalm 16)
HYMN-
GREETING
Grace and peace to you from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen
COLLECT FOR PURITY
Almighty God,
to whom all hearts are open,
all desires known,
and from whom no secrets are hidden:
cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you,
and worthily magnify your holy name;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
SUMMARY OF THE LAW
Our Lord Jesus Christ said: The first commandment is this:
Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is the only Lord. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.”
The second is this: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these. Amen. Lord, have mercy.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
God is love and we are God’s children. There is no room for fear in love. We love because God loved us first.
Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith.
SILENCE
God our Father,
we confess to you
and to our fellow members in the Body of Christ
that we have sinned in thought, word and deed,
and in what we have failed to do.
We are truly sorry.
Forgive us our sins,
and deliver us from the power of evil,
for the sake of your Son who died for us, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
ABSOLUTION
God, who is both power and love,
forgive you and free you from your sins,
heal and strengthen you by the Holy Spirit,
and raise you to new life in Christ our Lord. Amen.
GLORIA
sung by Sue St Joseph
COLLECT
Almighty God:
in your great goodness,
grant that we, as pilgrims through the Easter mysteries,
may hold them fast in our lives;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, world without end.
Amen
PROCLAIMING & RECEIVING GOD’S WORD
FIRST READING
Acts 2. 14a, 22–32,
read by Margaret Morton
On the day of Pentecost
14Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd, 22‘You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know – 23this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law.
24 But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power. 25 For David says concerning him, “I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken; 26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; moreover my flesh will live in hope. 27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One experience corruption. 28 You have made known to me the ways of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.” 29 Fellow Israelites, I may say to you confidently of our ancestor David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would put one of his descendants on his throne.
31 Foreseeing this, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying, “He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh experience corruption.” 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses.’
SECOND READING
1 Peter 1.3–9,
read by Peter Boreham
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, 7 so that the genuineness of your faith – being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire – may be found to result in praise and glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
GRADUAL HYMN
GOSPEL
John 20.19–31,
read by Rev Chris Wren
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to St John, chapter 20 beginning at verse 19
Glory to Christ our Saviour
19When it was evening on 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.’ 20After 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
Give thanks to the Lord for his glorious Gospel
Praise to Christ our Lord.
SERMON
All through his life, Jesus has reached out to people who have been ostracised by their local community feel unloved or unwanted, afraid, guilty, or unaccepted. He has touched their lives and turned them around enabling them to re-enter their community knowing that they have a purpose.
Today’s gospel is one of four very memorable resurrection stories, perhaps for some the most memorable and certainly the most quoted outside church. The others of course are the story of Mary in the garden meeting the gardener, so disciples on the road to Emmaus, and Jesus with Peter by the lakeside.
Whilst walking with the confused and distraught disciples on the Emmaus road, Jesus is at pains to emphasised as he talks about the Old Testament prophecies, a journey and the importance of that journey in faith. In doing so he reinstates their belief in his teaching and turns around there confusion into an amazing vision of the future with him.
Similarly by the lakeside with Peter who is wallowing in a world of failure because of his denial Jesus reaches out to him and gives him a task for the future which emphasises his trust in him and his importance to the mission.
Equally with Mary in the garden, who is overtaken by grief and can see no further than wanting to anoint the body of Jesus and to be his servant, She too has her life turned round and given a vision of their continual love in Jesus presence as well as her importance for the mission before they move. I have seen the Lord! And everything changes from that point.
All of these stories including the one we’ve heard this morning are riddled with ambiguities and contradictions. The leavers asking questions about the reality of resurrection life; walking through doors that are closed; vanishing meals; eating fish when you have just walked through a closed door. What does resurrection life mean? Resurrection life with Jesus simply means not being frightened of being exposed or feeling naked before the people who criticise you, not worrying about your fears and your guilts or your vulnerability of failures but reaching out to the future in the power of the faith that Jesus walked with us. Faith gives us the possibility and the joy are facing the contradictory extremes of our own lives and hearts. Jesus asks us to walk with him on the road, in the garden, by the lake side and even in the dark parts of our closed lives.
Alleluia!, He is risen! Let us walk with him wherever he takes us. Alleluia!
THE CREED
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
God from God,
Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one substance with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven;
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father.
With the Father and the Son,
he is worshipped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
PRAYERS
Risen Lord, you stand among your people and bring life and peace. We turn to you in prayer for the world you love.
For your Church across the world, that we may live as witnesses to the resurrection, faithful, joyful, and full of hope
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
For the world you have made, for places of conflict
and division, and for all who long for justice and peace
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
For those in need of care and compassion, the sick, the anxious, the grieving, and the weary, that they may know your healing presence
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
For our communities and those close to us,for family, friends, and neighbours, that your love may be seen in our life together
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
For ourselves, that we may be people of peace, carrying the life of the risen Christ into each day
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Risen Lord, receive these prayers, and fill us with your Spirit, that we may serve you with joy, now and always.
Amen
Merciful Father accept these prayers for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ who taught us to pray together
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those
who sin against us.
Do not bring us
to the time of trial
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power
and the glory are yours,
now and forever. Amen.
BLESSING
Christ the Son of God gladden your hearts with the good news of his kingdom; and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen.
HYMN –
DISMISSAL
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord
In the name of Christ. Amen
