Celebrating Eastertide from Home: 4th Sunday of Easter
In these worship resources,
we continue our journey in Eastertide.
To this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example,
so that you should follow in his steps.
Reflection on Eastertide and ideas for celebrating this season from home
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life.Et misericordia tua subsequetur me
omnibus diebus vitae meae.
Psalm 22 (23):6
The Liturgy of the Word
Short Reflection
In our first reading we hear that
Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people.
And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.
In these strange times, when our church doors are locked, we are unable to spend any time in our physical building the church.
But, painful as it is, this is perhaps a reminder that we are still Church, no matter where we are.
Although our buildings are important, vitally important, as they express so much of our common life on the way, our being Church is more than this.
Our homeland is in heaven.
Philippians 3:20-21
And, as we will sing in our hymn:
Saints by the power of God are kept,
till that salvation come;
we walk by faith as strangers here,
till Christ shall call us home.
—
On this Sunday, when we recall Christ the Good Shepherd, pray for all of God’s flock (known and unknown).
Pray for those who bring light into others’ lives.
Pray for politicians and other leaders, that they may learn to be truthful.
Pray for essential workers, especially those we seldom think about.
Pray for us all.
Music for reflection *
An Eastertide hymn
1 Blest be the everlasting God,
the Father of our Lord!
Be God’s abounding mercy praised,
and majesty adored!
2 When from the dead he raised his Son,
and called him to the sky,
God gave our souls a lively hope
that they should never die.
3 There’s an inheritance divine
reserved against that day;
’tis uncorrupted, undefiled,
and cannot fade away
4 Saints by the power of God are kept,
till that salvation come;
we walk by faith as strangers here,
till Christ shall call us home.
Isaac Watts, alt.
The Lord’s Prayer
You can say this in any language you choose.
Here it is, in English, Latin and French.
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.
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom,
the power and the glory are yours.
Now and for ever. Amen.
Pater noster, qui es in cælis;
sanctificatur nomen tuum:
adveniat regnum tuum;
fiat voluntas tua,
sicut in cælo, et in terra.
Panem nostrum cotidianum da nobis hodie:
et dimitte nobis debita nostra,
sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris:
et ne nos inducas in tentationem:
sed libera nos a malo.
Quia tuum est regnum,
et potestas, et gloria, in saecula.
Amen.
Notre Père qui es aux cieux,
que ton nom soit sanctifié.
Que ton règne vienne.
Que ta volonté soit faite sur la terre comme au ciel.
Donne-nous aujourd’hui notre pain de ce jour.
Pardonne-nous nos offences
comme nous pardonnons aussi
à ceux qui nous ont offensés.
Et ne nous soumets pas à la tentation,
mais délivre-nous du mal.
Car c’est à toi qu’appartiennent le règne,
la puissance et la gloire
pour les siècles des siècles. Amen.
Concluding prayer
O God,
whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people:
grant that when we hear his voice
we may know him who calls us each by name,
and follow where he leads;
who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Alleluia!
In these strange times, we are called to trust
Other resources
Acknowledgements
The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel lessons are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Collects are from the Scottish Episcopal Church, 1982.
Images, unless otherwise stated, are by Alistair Warwick.
Music engraved by The Art of Music.
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* You can find more organ music from Holy Trinity Church, Stirling
on Alistair Warwick‘s website and on SoundCloud
