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. . . As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord . . . Joshua 25:15b
Introduction
Introduction
Take time to read the gospel lesson in its entirety. How tender is this passage: Jesus speaking to his (our) Father about the disciples. Jesus acknowledges the influence of God in choosing the disciples as well as the difficulties the disciples will face on their journeys. Jesus praises them for their knowledge and belief. Then Jesus asks God to protect them—not from the world or their trials but from evil that is in the world. Now, for those of you with children, re-read the gospel lesson as if from you to God about your children. For me, this gospel lesson demonstrates the love of Jesus for his disciples, exactly as the love of a parent for a child. And you are a child of God.
John 17:6-19
John 17:6-19
Jesus prayed for his disciples, “I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.”
From sermon4kids.com: “. . . The prayer that Jesus prayed for his disciples is for us too. . . . We must live in this world, and Jesus prays that we might remain faithful to his teaching so that the world will know that God sent his Son and that God loves them.”
Scripture: May 16, 2021—Acts 1:15–17, 21–26 (image); Psalm 1 (image); 1 John 5:9–13 (image); & John 17:6–19 (image). A visual/audio journey through the scripture.
Collect: O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
Reflection: In the first chapter of Acts, when the eleven seek to replace Judas with a new apostle, they ask God to reveal who that should be by casting lots. How do you think God’s will is revealed to us today? Is it revealed in more than one way?
(excerpted from Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year B, Volume 1 © 2014 Westminster John Knox Press)
Symbols of the Church
Symbols of the Church
The Paschal candle is lit from a new fire during Easter Vigil, which takes place at church the evening before Easter Sunday. It's a beeswax candle that is marked with the year, a cross and the Greek letters Alpha and Omega, which represent the beginning and the end. The Paschal candle is then used to light smaller candles held by the members of the congregation to represent spreading the light of Jesus to those in attendance and beyond.
from "15 Easter Symbols and Their Unique Meaning" website.
cartoon about the gospel
“Embrace of Peace” by George Tooker
“Word of Life” by Millard Sheets
“Meditation sheet” by P. Solomon Raj
“Olive Trees” by Vincent van Gogh, 1889
24-hours of "Happy" by Pharrell Williams, homage to Psalm 1
“O Master, let me walk with thee”, classic choir
“We believe”,
Celtic sound
“Eternal light, shine in my heart”, choral workshop
"I will not leave you comfortless" by Titcomb
"Going up" by
Bruce Epperly
"Called and Sent" by David Lose
"This prayer won't let me go" by Thomas Brackett
For families: Study guide and activities (another guide), group activity, snacks, kid video
For children: See family guide/activity (another activity); bulletin; craft;
For middlers: See family guide/activity (another activity); bulletin; craft
For youth: This week, consider Psalm 1. The very first word of the Psalter is translated as “Happy.” (“Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers”) But what kind of “happiness” are we talking about here? What does it mean to be happy and to delight in God’s law and in the walk of discipleship? It’s certainly not a once-and-done kind of happy but rather an ongoing journey. In 2013, singer/songwriter Pharrell Williams wrote "Happy". Though some have panned it, it is a truly happy song (there's even a 24-hour version of it and you can learn about the making of the video here). It’s visual proof that “happy” is a process—both in making the video and in living a life as a disciple.
Excerpted from “Power of prayer”, SOLI website.Feel free to comment.
Today we begin the final week of celebrating the Lord’s resurrection. Each Sunday during these fifty days, we have explored some aspect of our baptism into the dying and rising of Jesus. Today’s Gospel reading is a portion of Jesus’ prayer for his disciples on the night before he died. In that prayer, he asked the Father to unite us with him and to give us the same mission and grace the Father gave to him.
The sense of unity within the fellowship of Jesus’ disciples was reflected in the period between his ascension and the day of Pentecost. We hear about the most significant event during that period in the first reading today when, under Peter’s leadership, the disciples chose a replacement for Judas.
The reading from I John also reflects the theme of unity between Jesus and the Father, and between Jesus and us.
Our life in Christ is the gift of God in and through the resurrection. That new life by water and the Holy Spirit will be our theme next week when, on the fiftieth day of Easter, we rejoice that we are filled with the Spirit of God.
From The Rite Light: Reflections on the Sunday Readings and Seasons of the Church Year. Copyright © 2007 by Michael W. Merriman. Church Publishing Incorporated, New York.
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