Reuben's Theme: "The word of God"
(Easter 3) - EVENSONG 1830hrs. at Saint George's - Cullercoats.
Sunday, 14th. April 2002 Anno Domini.
Morning Mass: Acts: 2.14a, 36-41 Ps: 116.1-3,10-17 1Peter: 1.1-17 Luke: 24.13-35
Evensong: Psalm: 48. Haggai: 1.13 - 2.9 1Corrinthians: 3.10-17

February 14, 2002 Cycle A Easter 3.

Morning Mass:

FIRST READING (morning Mass) Acts 2.14a, 36-41

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.

On the day of Pentecost,
14 Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd,
36 'Let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.'
37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, 'Brothers, what should we do?'
38 Peter said to them, 'Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.'
40 And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, 'Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.'
41 So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added to their number.

PSALM Psalm 116.1-3, 10-17 (morning Mass)

RR Gracious is the Lord and righteous; [our God is full of compassion].

1 I love the Lord, because he has heard the voice of my supplication, because he has inclined his ear to me whenever I called upon him. R
2 The cords of death entangled me; the grip of the grave took hold of me; I came to grief and sorrow.
3 Then I called upon the name of the Lord: 'O Lord, I pray you, save my life.' RR
10 How shall I repay the Lord for all the good things he has done for me?
11 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord.
12 I will fulfil my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people. RR
13 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his servants.
14 O Lord, I am your servant; I am your servant and the child of your handmaid; you have freed me from my bonds. RR
15 I will offer you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call upon the name of the Lord.
16 I will fulfil my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.
17 In the courts of the Lord's house, in the midst of you, O Jerusalem. Alleluia! RR


SECOND READING (morning Mass) 1Peter 1.17-23

A reading from the first letter of Peter.

17 If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people impartially according to their deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of your exile.
18 You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold,
19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish.
20 He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake.
21 Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God.
22 Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart.
23 You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God.


GOSPEL (morning Mass) Luke 24.13-35

Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.

13 On that same day, two of the disciples were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem,
14 and talking with each other about all these things that had happened.
15 While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them,
16 but their eyes were kept from recognizing him.
17 And he said to them, 'What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?' They stood still, looking sad.
18 Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, 'Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?'
19 Jesus asked them, 'What things?' They replied, 'The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,
20 and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him.
21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place.
22 Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning,
23 and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive.
24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see Jesus.'
25 Then he said to them, 'Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared!
26 Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?'
27 Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.
28 As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on.
29 But they urged him strongly, saying, 'Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.' So he went in to stay with them.
30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.
31 Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized Jesus; and he vanished from their sight.
32 They said to each other, 'Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?'
33 That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together.
34 They were saying, 'The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!'
35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

Evensong:

Psalm 48

1 ¶ A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised in the city of our God! His holy mountain,
2 beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King.
3 Within her citadels God has shown himself a sure defense.
4 For lo, the kings assembled, they came on together.
5 As soon as they saw it, they were astounded, they were in panic, they took to flight;
6 trembling took hold of them there, anguish as of a woman in travail.
7 By the east wind thou didst shatter the ships of Tarshish.
8 ¶ As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God, which God establishes for ever. Selah
9 We have thought on thy steadfast love, O God, in the midst of thy temple.
10 As thy name, O God, so thy praise reaches to the ends of the earth. Thy right hand is filled with victory;
11 let Mount Zion be glad! Let the daughters of Judah rejoice because of thy judgments!
12 Walk about Zion, go round about her, number her towers,
13 consider well her ramparts, go through her citadels; that you may tell the next generation
14 that this is God, our God for ever and ever. He will be our guide for ever.


Old Testament. Hagai: 1.13 - 2.9 (RSV)

13 Then Haggai, the messenger of the LORD, spoke to the people with the LORD's message, "I am with you, says the LORD."
14 And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the LORD of hosts, their God,
15 on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month. In the second year of Darius the king,
1 ¶ in the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet,
2 "Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, and say,
3 'Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not in your sight as nothing?
4 Yet now take courage, O Zerubbabel, says the LORD; take courage, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; take courage, all you people of the land, says the LORD; work, for I am with you, says the LORD of hosts,
5 according to the promise that I made you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit abides among you; fear not.
6 For thus says the LORD of hosts: Once again, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land;
7 and I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with splendor, says the LORD of hosts.
8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the LORD of hosts.
9 The latter splendor of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts; and in this place I will give prosperity, says the LORD of hosts.'"

New Testament. 1Corrinthians: 3.10-17 (RSV)

10* According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and another man is building upon it. Let each man take care how he builds upon it.
11* ¶ For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12* Now if any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw--
13* each man's work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.
14* If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.
15* If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
16* ¶ Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?
17* If any one destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and that temple you are.

Reuben's Sermon:

Reuben's Theme: "The word of God"
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

I like preaching at Evensong.

At Evensong, we can look back over the day... ...and reflect.
Reflect on what we have done...
reflect on what we did not manage to do... ...and
reflect on the day's worship... ...and the readings.
Yes, all of them...
...well, we'll just stick to the Mass and Evensong, shall we?
Don't want to start mixing it with Morning and Midday Prayer as well, do we? Life's too complicated for that... ...or is it?
No, let's just stick to the five main readings today.

Our first reading?
Well, this was a dramatically edited account of the first Christian Sermon.
It was Pentecost, and filled with the Holy Spirit Peter comes out of hiding with the other disciples, stands up and addresses the crowds.
A Christian preaching to Jews!
...and not just ordinary Jews.
We're talking about the hard line, fundamentalist, 'get to Jerusalem for Pentecost' Jews.
Peter preaches Christianity to them...
...a very dangerous thing to do.
Peter preaches the word of God...
...about as dangerous as it would be to do it in Jerusalem today.
and what happens?
About 3,000 Jews turn to Jesus.
Peter preaches the word of God...
...and about 3,000 Jews become Christians.
Peter preaches the word of God...
...and about 3,000 Jews are Baptized that very day.
Peter preaches the word of God!

Our second reading this morning was from the first letter of Peter. A letter to scattered groups of Christians in the five Roman provinces which covered the greater part of modern Turkey.
Peter writes of how they (and we) should live our lives.
Peter writes of the importance of our redemption through the Blood of Christ and not through material or perishable things.
Peter goes on to write about Jesus Christ, chosen before the creation of the world, but revealed to us (in these last times) for our sake.
Through Him we believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorify Him, and so our faith and hope are in God.
Peter says we have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of the imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
We are born again... ...through the word of God.
We are saved... ...through the word of God.
The word of God endures for ever!

This morning's Gospel is one of the most dramatic and moving Gospel accounts of the Resurrection of our Lord and Saviour.
The encounter on the road to Emmaus.
At first, the two disciples fail to recognise the stranger who has engaged them in conversation.
But there's something about Him that draws them out.
It's only when they sit down to eat, that Jesus is revealed to them.
Meals play an important role in the Gospel story.
When Jesus eats with anyone - even the poor, the outcast, the despised or the rejected - He announces that; by what He is doing, all people are called to the kingdom of God.
So when disciples have invited this stranger to share their meal and he takes the bread, says the blessing and gives it to them, they recognise who He is.
The phrase "the breaking of the bread" was widely used by early Christians to refer to the Eucharist.
The Emmaus story announces that the risen Jesus can be encountered in the ritual re-enactment of the last supper.
Having recognised Jesus, the two disciples reflect back on their experience and realise how deeply they had already been touched as He interpreted the scriptures for them. They sensed something special in what was happening.
The risen Christ remains among us in the sacrament...
...but also in the word of God.

So this morning we had...
The word of God being preached in the first Christian sermon.
Peter telling us we have been born again through the living and enduring word of God.
The risen Christ remaining among us in the sacrament but also in the word of God.

I think we're beginning to hit on a theme here!

So, what did we hear in our two readings tonight?
Our first reading was from the book of Haggai set about 520 BC.
Four times Haggai came to the people with a message from God.
Four times Haggai delivered his 'word from the Lord'.
Tonight we heard the second.
Solomon's famous temple had been demolished 70 years before. Few, if any, of those building the new temple would have seen it - but all had heard of it.
The glory had lost nothing in the telling.
The glory may have even increased in the telling.
The new temple seems feeble in comparison.
But let the builders take heart!
The present building is just a foretaste of the splendour and glory of the end-time, the era of peace and prosperity to which the prophets all looked forward.
The foundation is sure - trust in the word of God.

In our last reading tonight, Paul tells the Corinthians (and us) how, with the help of God, he has laid a foundation.
In spreading the word of God, the foundation he has laid is now being built upon by those who follow him.
Every Christian must take care how they build upon this foundation. "For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ."
Once the basic foundation of 'faith in Christ' is laid, every Christian is responsible for what they do with the new life they have been given.

The word of God is preached by Peter in the first Christian sermon.

In his first letter Peter tells us we have been born again through the living and enduring word of God.

On the road to Emmaus the risen Christ remains among us in the sacrament but also in the word of God.

Haggai tells us; The foundation is sure, we must trust in the word of God.

Once the basic foundation of 'faith in Christ' is laid (by accepting of the word of God) every Christian is responsible for what they do with the new life they have been given.

We must see to it that we build well and build to last.
The Christian faith is the only way to salvation.
We must spread the word of God.
Build the Church in the world.
We must go back to our Christian beginnings.
Back to where the foundation of our Faith started.
Back... ...to the City of David.
Back to Bethlehem.
The Christian Church must build.
We have the foundation, and many builders have gone before.
Filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter preached in Jerusalem under very dangerous circumstances.
Pray for the Christians in Bethlehem tonight.
Pray that the Holy Spirit may guide them.
Pray that God will protect them.
The day will come when all in Bethlehem today can turn to Jesus Christ.
Pray for the Christians in the Holy Land.
The day will come when all in the Holy Land will be united through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.
Pray for all Christians throughout the world... ...and...
be prepared for some hard work.
God is calling all of us to rebuild the Church.
But when you pray... ...remember to listen...
God may answer you!
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

© Reuben Condie April 2002
©Bible texts: Morning Mass - NRSV and Evensong - RSV