Sunday, April 24, 2022

The Holy Communion on the Second Sunday of Easter, 10:30 a.m.

 The livestream may be found here.

 


 The Incredulity of Saint Thomas

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio

THE SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER

 

The season of Easter is 50 days long, as the season of rejoicing will last far longer than our season of penitence. The paschal candle, sign among us of the presence of the risen Christ, is lit during all services in Eastertide. The ‘Alleluia’ is used abundantly in our worship. We stand to receive Holy Communion as an expression of resurrection joy.

 

FIRST READING: Peter, who had denied knowing the Lord Jesus three times while Jesus was being questioned before the high priest, now boldly confesses the Lord in the presence of the high priest. The apostles witness to the Gospel, despite danger, by the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in them according to Jesus’ promise.

 

SECOND READING: This year, our second readings are from Revelation. In the light of Resurrection, St. John the Divine looks forward to the day when Christ will come to judge the living and the dead. In a time of persecution, these visions were visions of hope. Despite the difficulties involved in reading Revelation (many of which are caused by the dispensationalist understanding popularized by the 1909 Scofield Reference Bible) it is a book which proclaims the total triumph of Jesus over his enemies, sin, death and evil, for the sake of his people.

 

GOSPEL: This Gospel reading from John is read each Second Sunday of Easter. John’s Easter evening scene, with its commission to the apostles, is followed by a second resurrection appearance seven days later. We are reminded that each Sunday is ‘a little Easter;’ each first day of the week the Church gathers and Christ makes himself present to us in Word and Sacrament. Thomas’s absence from the community on Easter Sunday evening prevented him from seeing the risen Christ; it is not incidental that he is ‘in church’ the next week when he finally believes.




 

 OPENING MUSIC       

                         We Walk by Faith and Not by Sight - J. M. Strobel

Thine Is the Glory - Donald Johns

Stand

WHymn                            

Thine Is the Glory                  Green LBW 145

                                               

1      Thine is the glory,

        risen, conqu'ring Son;

        endless is the vict'ry

        thou o'er death hast won!

        Angels in bright raiment

        rolled the stone away,

        kept the folded grave-clothes

        where thy body lay.

 

Refrain

        Thine is the glory,

        risen, conqu'ring Son;

        endless is the vict'ry

        thou o'er death hast won!

 

2      Lo, Jesus meets thee,

        risen from the tomb!

        Lovingly he greets thee,

        scatters fear and gloom;

        let his church with gladness

        hymns of triumph sing,

        for the Lord now liveth;

        death hath lost its sting!  Refrain

 

3      No more we doubt thee,

        glorious Prince of life;

        life is naught without thee;

        aid us in our strife;

        make us more than conqu'rors,

        through thy deathless love;

        bring us safe through Jordan

        to thy home above.  Refrain

 

Text: Edmond Budry, 1854-1932; tr. R. Birch Hoyle, 1875-1939


APOSTOLIC GREETING

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

  He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God,

and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

  And also with you.

 

 

KYRIE

 A             In peace, let us pray to the Lord.

C             Lord, have mercy.

A             For the peace from above, and for our salvation,

                let us pray to the Lord.

C             Lord, have mercy.

A             For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the Church of God,

                and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord.

C             Lord, have mercy.

A             For this holy house, and for all who offer here their worship and praise,

                let us pray to the Lord.

C             Lord, have mercy.

A             Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.

C             Amen

 

 

HYMN OF PRAISE

 

 

 

 

PRAYER OF THE DAY


 

Almighty God, with joy we celebrate the festival of our Lord’s resurrection. Graciously help us to show the power of the resurrection in all that we say and do; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Amen

 

CALL TO THE WORD

 

The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus…

that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.

  Let us hear the Word of the Lord.

 


Sit

FIRST READING        Acts 5:27-32

 

27When they had brought [the apostles,] they had them stand before the council. The high priest questioned them, 28saying, “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you are determined to bring this man’s blood on us.” 29But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than any human authority. 30The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. 31God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.”

 

The Word of the Lord.                  

  Thanks be to God.

 

PSALM 118:14-17, 22-23                              Setting by Peter Hallock

 

Antiphon: On this day the Lord has acted; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

 

14 The Lord is my strength and my song, and has become my salvation.

15 There is a sound of exultation and victory in the tents of the righteous.

Antiphon

 

16 “The right hand of the Lord has triumphed! The right hand of the Lord is exalted! The right hand of the Lord has triumphed!”

 17 I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.     Antiphon

 

22 The same stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.

23 This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.          Antiphon

 

 

SECOND READING    Revelation 1:4-8

 

4John to the seven churches that are in Asia:
  Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
  To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, 6and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
7Look! He is coming with the clouds;
  every eye will see him,
 even those who pierced him;
  and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail.
So it is to be. Amen.
8“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

 

The Word of the Lord.  

  Thanks be to God.

 

Stand                                                                                  

VERSE 

Romans 6:9, John 20:29                       Setting by Walter L. Pelz

Alleluia. Christ being raised from the dead will die no more; death has no more dominion over him. Alleluia. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe. Alleluia.

 

Gospel             John 20:19-31

 

The Holy Gospel according to St. John.



19When it was evening on that day, 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. 21Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
24But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So 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.”
26A 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.” 27Then 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.” 28Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”
30Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31But 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.

 

The Gospel of the Lord.



Sit

Sermon                                                                                           Pastor Frontz                                

Stand

W Hymn of the DaY                             

                                We Walk by Faith and Not by Sight           Blue WOV 675

Stanza 3: Choir

 1      We walk by faith and not by sight;

        with gracious words draw near,

        O Christ, who spoke as none e’er spoke:

        “My peace be with you here.”

 

2      We may not touch your hands and side,

        nor follow where you trod;

        but in your promise we rejoice,

        and cry, “My Lord and God!”

 

3      Help then, O Lord, our unbelief;

        and may our faith abound

        to call on you when you are near

        and seek where you are found:

 

4     That, when our life of faith is done,

        in realms of clearer light

        we may behold you as you are,

        with full and endless sight.

 

Text: Henry Alford, 1810-1871, alt.

 

CONFESSION OF FAITH

The pastor and people confess the faith of the Church in the words of the Nicene Creed.

 

X At the words ‘For us and for our salvation,’ and continuing through ‘and was made man,’ a solemn bow is appropriate to praise the incarnation of our Lord.

 

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,

                eternally begotten of the Father,

                God from God, Light from Light,

                true God from true God,

                begotten, not made,

                of one Being with the Father.

                Through him all things were made.

X For us and for our salvation

                                he came down from heaven;

                                by the power of the Holy Spirit

                                he became incarnate from the virgin Mary, and was made man. X

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 and the Son.

                With the Father and the Son he is worshiped 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 OF THE CHURCH

 

Rejoicing in the resurrection of our Lord, let us pray for the whole people of God in Christ Jesus, and for all people according to their needs.

 

Silence is kept.

 

Father, your Son revealed himself to his disciples in the Upper Room, and reveals himself today in our presence in his Word and Sacrament. By your Spirit, open the eyes of our hearts to behold him in faith and acknowledge him as Lord and God. Lord, in your mercy,

  hear our prayer.

 

The Church bears witness to your Son’s resurrection and is empowered by the Spirit to forgive sins in his name. Enliven the Spirit’s activity in the Church. Help us to build your Church and make our confession of Jesus before others. Lord, in your mercy,

  hear our prayer.

 

Your Son blessed Thomas with the knowledge of the resurrection. Bring all those who doubt into the community of your Church to encounter him in Word and Sacrament and joyfully confess their faith. Lord, in your mercy,

  hear our prayer.

 

We make our prayer for the peoples of the world, especially those afflicted by violence, hunger, pollution, and disease. Come to their assistance, and bless governments and rulers, that they may serve the people with wisdom and integrity. Hear now our prayers for nations and peoples in turmoil or distress.

 

The pastor names the countries and situations brought for prayer.

 

Lord, in your mercy,                                         

  hear our prayer.

 

We pray for all those whose days are taken up with the labor of obtaining water, and for those who have no access to clean water. We ask your blessing upon the ministry of Water Mission, as we look forward to our Water Sunday on May 15. Help us all to offer service in your name to others, as your Son has served us in his passion and resurrection. Lord, in your mercy,

  hear our prayer.

 

We ask you to show your mercy upon those we name before you, for whom we have been called to pray.

 

The pastor reads the names brought for prayer.

The people may offer spoken or silent petitions and prayers.

 

Lord, in your mercy,

  hear our prayer.            

 

We give you thanks, O God, for after his Resurrection you exalted Jesus at your right hand, and we look for the day when he is revealed to all people. May we stand in that day to greet him with shouts of joy, and take our places with those who have gone before us confessing him as Lord and God. Lord, in your mercy,

  hear our prayer.

 

Into your hands, Father, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in your steadfast love; through your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ.

  Amen

 

Peace

On the first day of the week,

Jesus came and stood among the disciples

and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’

The peace of the Lord be with you always.                  John 20:19, 20

  And also with you.

 

The people exchange a sign of peace with the simple words, Peace be with you.

 

Sit

The Lord’s Table is prepared.

 

Stand 

OFFERTORY 1 Peter 2:1-3                                  Setting by Walter L. Pelz

Alleluia. Put away all malice and all guile and insincerity and envy and all slander. Like newborn babes, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation; for you have tasted the kindness of the Lord. Alleluia.

 

OFFERTORY PRAYER

Merciful Father,

  we offer with joy and thanksgiving what you have first given us—

  our selves, our time, and our possessions, signs of your gracious

  love. Receive them for the sake of him who offered himself for us,

  Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen


GREAT THANKSGIVING

 




It is indeed right and salutary that we should at all times and in all places offer thanks and praise to you, O Lord, holy Father, almighty and ever-living God.

But chiefly are we bound to praise you for the glorious resurrection of our Lord; for he is the true Passover lamb who gave himself to take away our sin, who by his death has destroyed death, and by his rising has brought us to eternal life.

And so, with John the Evangelist and Thomas, and all the witnesses of the resurrection; with earth and sea and all their creatures, and with angels and archangels, cherubim and seraphim, we praise your name and join their unending hymn:



The pastor leads the people in praying the Eucharistic canon.

 

You are indeed holy, O God, the fountain of all holiness;

  you bring light from darkness, life from death,

  speech from silence.

We worship you for our lives and for the world you give us.

We thank you for the new world to come

  and for the love that will rule all in all.

 

We praise you for the grace shown to Israel, your chosen,

  the people of your promise:

  the rescue from Egypt, the gift of the promised land,

  the memory of the fathers, the homecoming from exile,

  and the prophets' words that will not be in vain.

In all this we bless you for your only-begotten Son,

  who fulfilled and will fulfill all your promises.

 

In the night in which he was betrayed,

  our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks;

  broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying:

  Take and eat; this is my body, given for you.

  Do this for the remembrance of me.

 

Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks,

  and gave it for all to drink, saying:

  This cup is the new covenant in my blood,

  shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin.

  Do this for the remembrance of me.

 

For as often as we eat of this bread and drink from this cup,

  we proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

  Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.

 

Therefore, O God, with this bread and cup

  we remember the incarnation of your Son:

  his human birth and the covenant he made with us.

We remember the sacrifice of his life:

  his eating with outcasts and sinners,

  and his acceptance of death.

 

 But chiefly we remember his rising from the tomb,

  his ascension to the seat of power,

  and his sending of the holy and life-giving Spirit.

We cry out for the resurrection of our lives,

  when Christ will come again in beauty and power

  to share with us the great and promised feast.

  Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

 

Send now, we pray, your Holy Spirit,

  that we and all who share in this bread and cup

  may be united in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,

  may enter the fullness of the kingdom of heaven,

  and may receive our inheritance with all your saints in light.

  Amen. Come, Holy Spirit.

 

Join our prayers with those of your servants

  of every time and every place,

  and unite them with the ceaseless petitions

  of our great high priest until he comes as victorious Lord of all.

 

 


 

In the presence of Christ, we pray to his Father using the words he gave us.

 

Christ is in our midst.

  By the power of the Spirit,

  we pray to his Father, saying:

 

Our Father, who art in heaven,

  hallowed be thy name,

  thy kingdom come,

  thy will be done,

     on earth as it is in heaven.

  Give us this day our daily bread;

  and forgive us our trespasses,

     as we forgive those who trespass against us;

  and lead us not into temptation,

  but deliver us from evil.

  For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,

    forever and ever. Amen                                    Matthew 6:9-15

 

Although the doors are shut,

Jesus comes and stands among us.

  In Easter joy we cry out:          

  ‘Our Lord and our God!’                                                 (John 20:26b, 28b)

           

We adore Christ, present in bread and wine.

 


 

 Sit

DISTRIBUTION

 

Admission to the Sacrament is by invitation of the Lord, presented through the Church to those who are baptized.

 

They may receive the Lord’s Body and Blood who are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, who commune in their home churches, and who believe that Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, is truly present in, with, and under the forms of bread and wine for the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.

 

Please come forward, take a communion cup from the tray, and kneel at the altar rail on your ‘side’ of the worship space. Please make an effort to leave some distance between your family unit and the next family unit. When your side has finished communing, please place your empty cup in the tray provided.

 

 

During the Easter season, the people stand to receive the Holy Communion as a sign of resurrection rejoicing.

 

WDISTRIBUTION HYMN

Choir:   Our Paschal Lamb, That Sets Us Free

Text/Martin A. Franzmann;

Music/ Richard Proulx

The text of this hymn may not be reproduced here.

 

When all have received, the congregation stands at the direction of the pastor.

 

The body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ

strengthen you and keep you in his grace.             

  Amen

 

 


 

POST-COMMUNION PRAYER

Pour out upon us the spirit of your love, O Lord,

and unite the wills of those whom you have fed with one heavenly food; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

  Amen

 

SENDING

 

Acclamation

Alleluia. Christ is risen.

  He is risen indeed. Alleluia.

Blessed 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.

Though we do not see him, we love him;

  We believe in him

  and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy.     1 Peter 1:3, 8

Alleluia. Christ is risen.

  He is risen indeed. Alleluia.

 


Dismissal Gospel: John 11:25, 26

The Holy Gospel according to St. John.

  Glory to you, O Lord.

 

[Jesus said:] ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.’                                                                          

 

The Gospel of the Lord.

  Praise to you, O Christ.

 

Benediction

The God of peace – who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant – make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. 

  Amen                                                                                                  Hebrews 13:20-21

 

Almighty God, Father, X Son, and Holy Spirit,

bless you now and forever.

  Amen

 

 

WCLOSING HYMN  

Christ is Risen! Shout Hosanna                           Blue WOV 672

 

 The text of this hymn may not be reproduced here.


Dismissal

Go in peace. Serve the Lord.

  Thanks be to God!

 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

From Sundays and Seasons.com. Copyright 2022 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved.

Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #20540.

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, 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.

Additional liturgical material from Common Worship: Times and Seasons,

© 2006 The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England.

Caravaggio, Michelangelo Merisi da, 1573-1610. The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=54170 [retrieved April 14, 2022]. Original source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Incredulity_of_Saint_Thomas_by_Caravaggio.jpg.

Agnus Day appears with the permission of www.agnusday.org.