EASTER 5 YEAR C Sunday 18th May 2025
FIRST READING Acts 11.1–18
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.
The apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God.
So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, saying, ‘Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?’
Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying,
‘I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision.
There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners;
and it came close to me.
As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals,
beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air.
I also heard a voice saying to me,
“Get up, Peter; kill and eat.”
But I replied,
“By no means, Lord;
for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.”
But a second time the voice answered from heaven,
“What God has made clean, you must not call profane.”
This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven.
At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were.
The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us.
These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house.
He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying,
“Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter;
he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.”
And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them
just as it had upon us at the beginning.
And I remembered the word of the Lord,
how he had said, “John baptized with water,
but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
If then God gave them the same gift
that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ,
who was I that I could hinder God?’
When they heard this, they were silenced.
And they praised God, saying,
‘Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.’
PSALM Psalm 148
R Praise, O praise the name of the Lord.
1 Alleluia!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights.
2 Praise him, all you angels of his;
praise him, all his host.
3 Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars. R
4 Praise him, heaven of heavens,
and you waters above the heavens.
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord;
for he commanded and they were created.
6 He made them stand fast for ever and ever;
he gave them a law which shall not pass away. R
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea-monsters and all deeps;
8 Fire and hail, snow and fog,
tempestuous wind, doing his will;
9 Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars;
10 Wild beasts and all cattle,
creeping things and winged birds; R
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the world;
12 Young men and maidens,
old and young together.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name only is exalted,
his splendour is over earth and heaven. R
14 He has raised up strength for his people
and praise for all his loyal servants,
the children of Israel, a people who are near him.
Alleluia! R
SECOND READING Revelation 21.1–6
A reading from the book of Revelation.
I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth;
for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away,
and the sea was no more.
And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
‘See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.’
And the one who was seated on the throne said,
‘See, I am making all things new.’
Also he said, ‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.’
Then he said to me,
‘It is done!
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.
To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.’
GOSPEL John 13.31–35
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.
During the supper, when Judas had gone out, Jesus said,
‘Now the Son of Man has been glorified,
and God has been glorified in him.
If God has been glorified in him,
God will also glorify him in himself
and will glorify him at once.
Little children, I am with you only a little longer.
You will look for me;
and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you,
“Where I am going, you cannot come.”
I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.
Just as I have loved you,
you also should love one another.
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another.’
EASTER 6 YEAR C Sunday 25th May 2025
FIRST READING Acts 16.9–15
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.
During the night Paul had a vision:
there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying,
‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’
When he had seen the vision,
we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia,
being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.
We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace,
the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi,
which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony.
We remained in this city for some days.
On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river,
where we supposed there was a place of prayer;
and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there.
A certain woman named Lydia, a worshipper of God,
was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira
and a dealer in purple cloth.
The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul.
When she and her household were baptized,
she urged us, saying,
‘If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord,
come and stay at my home.’
And she prevailed upon us.
PSALM Psalm 67
R Let the peoples praise you, O God,
let all the peoples praise you.
1 May God be merciful to us and bless us,
show us the light of his countenance and come to us.
2 Let your ways be known upon earth,
your saving health among all nations. R
[ 3 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you. ]
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide all the nations upon earth. R
[ 5 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you. ]
6 The earth has brought forth her increase;
may God, our own God, give us his blessing.
7 May God give us his blessing,
and may all the ends of the earth stand in awe of him. R
SECOND READING Revelation 21.10, 22 – 22.5
A reading from the book of Revelation.
In the spirit the angel carried me away to a great, high mountain
and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God.
I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.
And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it,
for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb.
The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.
Its gates will never be shut by day – and there will be no night there.
People will bring into it the glory and the honour of the nations.
But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life,
bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb
through the middle of the street of the city.
On either side of the river is the tree of life
with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month;
and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
Nothing accursed will be found there any more.
But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it,
and his servants will worship him;
they will see his face,
and his name will be on their foreheads.
And there will be no more night;
they need no light of lamp or sun,
for the Lord God will be their light,
and they will reign for ever and ever.
GOSPEL (Alternative readings)
Either John 14.23–29
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘Those who love me will keep my word,
and my Father will love them,
and we will come to them and make our home with them.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words;
and the word that you hear is not mine,
but is from the Father who sent me.
I have said these things to you while I am still with you.
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in my name,
will teach you everything,
and remind you of all that I have said to you.
Peace I leave with you;
my peace I give to you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled,
and do not let them be afraid.
You heard me say to you,
“I am going away, and I am coming to you.”
If you loved me,
you would rejoice that I am going to the Father,
because the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you this before it occurs,
so that when it does occur, you may believe.’
Or John 5.1–9
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.
After this there was a festival of the Jews,
and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool,
called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes.
In these lay many invalids – blind, lame, and paralysed.
One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.
When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time,
he said to him,
‘Do you want to be made well?’
The sick man answered him,
‘Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up;
and while I am making my way,
someone else steps down ahead of me.’
Jesus said to him,
‘Stand up, take your mat and walk.’
At once the man was made well,
and he took up his mat and began to walk.
Now that day was a sabbath.