Sunday 27 April 2025

EASTER 2 YEAR C           

FIRST READING Acts 5.27–32

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.

When the temple police had brought the apostles,

they made them stand before the council.

The high priest questioned them, saying,

‘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.’

But Peter and the apostles answered,

‘We must obey God rather than any human authority.

The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus,

whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree.

God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Saviour

that he might give repentance to Israel

and forgiveness of sins.

And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit

whom God has given to those who obey him.’

PSALM

Either Psalm 118.14–29

R This is the day that the Lord has made;

we will rejoice and be glad in it.

or

R Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

his mercy endures for ever.

14 The Lord is my strength and my song,

and he has become my salvation.

15 There is a sound of exultation and victory

in the tents of the righteous:

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!’ R

17 I shall not die, but live,

and declare the works of the Lord.

18 The Lord has punished me sorely,

but he did not hand me over to death.

19 Open for me the gates of righteousness;

I will enter them; I will offer thanks to the Lord. R

20 ‘This is the gate of the Lord;

whoever is righteous may enter.’

21 I will give thanks to you, for you answered me

and have become my salvation.

22 The same stone which the builders rejected

has become the chief corner-stone.

23 This is the Lord’s doing,

and it is marvellous in our eyes. R

24 On this day the Lord has acted;

we will rejoice and be glad in it.

25 Hosanna, Lord, hosanna!

Lord, send us now success.

26 Blessèd is he who comes in the name of the Lord;

we bless you from the house of the Lord. R

27 God is the Lord; he has shined upon us;

form a procession with branches

up to the horns of the altar.

28 ‘You are my God and I will thank you;

you are my God and I will exalt you.’

29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

his mercy endures for ever. R

Or Psalm 150

R Praise God in his holy temple.

1 Alleluia!

Praise God in his holy temple;

Praise him in the firmament of his power.

2 Praise him for his mighty acts;

praise him for his excellent greatness. R

3 Praise him with the blast of the ram’s-horn;

praise him with lyre and harp.

4 Praise him with timbrel and dance;

praise him with strings and pipe. R

5 Praise him with resounding cymbals;

praise him with loud-clanging cymbals.

6 Let everything that has breath

praise the Lord.

Alleluia! R

SECOND READING Revelation 1.4–8

A reading from the book of Revelation.

John 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,

and 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,

and made us to be a kingdom,

priests serving his God and Father,

to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Look! 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.

‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God,

who is and who was and who is to come,

the Almighty.

GOSPEL John 20.19–31

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

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.’

After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side.

Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

Jesus said to them again,

‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’

When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,

‘Receive the Holy Spirit.

If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them;

if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve,

was not with them when Jesus came.

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.’

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.’

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.’

Thomas answered him,

‘My Lord and my God!’

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.’

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples,

which are not written in this book.

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.

 

SUNDAY4 May 2025

EASTER 3 YEAR C

FIRST READING (Short or long reading) Acts 9.1–6, (7–20)

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.

Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus,

suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.

He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him,

‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’

He asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’

The reply came, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.’

[The men who were travelling with him stood speechless

because they heard the voice but saw no one.

Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.

For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias.

The Lord said to him in a vision,

‘Ananias.’

He answered, ‘Here I am, Lord.’

The Lord said to him,

‘Get up and go to the street called Straight,

and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul.

At this moment he is praying,

and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias

come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.’

But Ananias answered,

‘Lord, I have heard from many about this man,

how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem;

and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.’

But the Lord said to him,

‘Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen

to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel;

I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.’

So Ananias went and entered the house.

He laid his hands on Saul and said, ‘Brother Saul,

the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here,

has sent me so that you may regain your sight

and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’

And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes,

and his sight was restored.

Then he got up and was baptized,

and after taking some food,

he regained his strength.

For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus,

and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues,

saying, ‘He is the Son of God.’ ]

PSALM Psalm 30

R I will exalt you, O Lord,

because you have lifted me up.

or

R You have made me, Lord, as strong as the mountains.

1 I will exalt you, O Lord,

because you have lifted me up

and have not let my enemies triumph over me.

2 O Lord my God, I cried out to you,

and you restored me to health.

3 You brought me up, O Lord, from the dead;

you restored my life as I was going down to the grave. R

4 Sing to the Lord, you servants of his;

give thanks for the remembrance of his holiness.

5 For his wrath endures but the twinkling of an eye,

his favour for a lifetime.

6 Weeping may spend the night,

but joy comes in the morning. R

7 While I felt secure, I said,

‘I shall never be disturbed.

You, Lord, with your favour,

made me as strong as the mountains.’

8 Then you hid your face,

and I was filled with fear. R

9 I cried to you, O Lord;

I pleaded with the Lord, saying,

10 ‘What profit is there in my blood,

if I go down to the Pit?

will the dust praise you or declare your faithfulness?

11 Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me;

O Lord, be my helper.’ R

12 You have turned my wailing into dancing;

you have put off my sack-cloth and clothed me with joy;

13 Therefore my heart sings to you without ceasing;

O Lord my God, I will give you thanks for ever. R

SECOND READING Revelation 5.11–14

A reading from the book of Revelation.

I, John, looked, and I heard the voice of many angels surrounding the throne and the living creatures and the elders;

they numbered myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands,

singing with full voice,

‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered

to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might

and honour and glory and blessing!’

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth

and under the earth and in the sea,

and all that is in them, singing,

‘To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb

be blessing and honour and glory and might

for ever and ever!’

And the four living creatures said, ‘Amen!’

And the elders fell down and worshipped.

GOSPEL John 21.1–19

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

Jesus showed himself again to the disciples

by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way.

Gathered there together were Simon Peter,

Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee,

the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples.

Simon Peter said to them, ‘I am going fishing.’

They said to him, ‘We will go with you.’

They went out and got into the boat,

but that night they caught nothing.

Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach;

but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.

Jesus said to them,

‘Children, you have no fish, have you?’

They answered him, ‘No.’

He said to them,

‘Cast the net to the right side of the boat,

and you will find some.’

So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in

because there were so many fish.

That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter,

‘It is the Lord!’

When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord,

he put on some clothes, for he was naked,

and jumped into the lake.

But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish,for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.

When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there,

with fish on it, and bread.

Jesus said to them,

‘Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.’

So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore,

full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three of them;

and though there were so many, the net was not torn.

Jesus said to them, ‘Come and have breakfast.’

Now none of the disciples dared to ask him,

‘Who are you?’ because they knew it was the Lord.

Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them,

and did the same with the fish.

This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples

after he was raised from the dead.

When they had finished breakfast,

Jesus said to Simon Peter,

‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’

He said to him,

‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’

Jesus said to him,

‘Feed my lambs.’

A second time he said to him,

‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’

He said to him,

‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’

Jesus said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’

He said to him the third time,

‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’

Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time,

‘Do you love me?’

And he said to him,

‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’

Jesus said to him,

‘Feed my sheep.

Very truly, I tell you,

when you were younger,

you used to fasten your own belt

and go wherever you wished.

But when you grow old,

you will stretch out your hands,

and someone else will fasten a belt around you

and take you where you do not wish to go.’

He said this to indicate the kind of death

by which he would glorify God.

After this he said to him,

'Follow Me'