Weekly for 23 April 2023 (Easter 3)

Dear People of God

Grace and Peace to you all

It was a busy Parish Council meeting last Sunday, with the new Parish Chair (Dianne Leonard) and Secretary (Adrian Richardson) in place. Deacon Gail, having relinquished the Parish Council Secretary position (Diocesan policy is that clergy other than the Incumbent, should not hold executive positions) is continuing on Council by invitation, as was Mthr Sharon when she was with us, continues to function as Assistant Secretary until Adrian gets his head around all the ins and outs of the job.

Amongst other things, Council endorsed the 2023 Budget, which estimates a surplus which will be put into Reserve against the (hopeful) appointment of a Youth Worker in 2024 in a joint project with Raymond Terrace and Morpeth parishes; agreed to the appointment of a Ministry Development Committee; endorsed a draft statement of duty for a yard maintenance contract; continued to call for quotes for a contract for church cleaning and provided to accept the single tender in the absence of acceptable others; considered maintenance proposals; re-circulated the report on upgrading requirements for disabled access to parish buildings. It may appear to be mundane but is necessary work in running a parish!

ANZAC Day is coming up this week. Whether or not we go to the various Dawn Services and other Remembrance observations it becomes us all to pause to pray for the peace of the world and to remember before God to very many men and women whose lives were stolen from them by war. We remember that war does not only kill or maim the direct combatants: it leaves widows and orphans, leaves many people with what we now recognise as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, puts enormous stress on cities, towns and small communities whose lives are seriously impacted not only by deaths and absences and where children grow without the presence of a parent …..

Australia has a long history or participation in warfare, official or otherwise, during its little more than 200 years of European occupation: apart from the Boer War, World Wars 1 and 2, the Malaysian Emergency, Vietnam, Iraq, the Solomon Islands intervention and various “peace keeping” operations, as a nation we have to face the reality that European settlement of this country came with the price of displacement of the people who had been here prior to European arrival in what we now recognise as the Border Wars.

Holy God, your Incarnate Word came to bring peace and reconciliation: grant to us such a thirst for your peace, which passes all understanding, that we may truly be instruments of your peace, through Him who is our peace, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

The Lord be with you

Fr George

gmainprize@bigpond.com 0410 586 119

PROPERS for Easter 3

Sentence

Repent, and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your minds may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38-39)

Collect

O God, your Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of the bread: open the eyes of our faith, that we may see him in his redeeming work; who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen

Readings

Acts 2:14a, 36-41 The first converts

Psalm 116:1-4, 11-18 Response to God

1 Peter 1:13-25 A call to holy living

Luke 24:13-35 The walk to Emmaus

SERMON (Deacon Gail)

Our gospel reading for this week continues on the Easter story. These events occur after the women had gone to the tomb and found it empty, had returned to the disciples in the upper room where understandably they had shown unbelief at what they were told. We know that Peter went to the tomb and saw but as our gospel last week indicated he and some of the other disciples went fishing anyway. These two disciples obviously also were dubious what had been said about him not being in the tomb and had decided to leave Jerusalem and head out to the country.

I don’t know about you but if I had been a disciple in the upper room when the women had returned with their story, I think that I too would need to go away somewhere quiet to reflect on what had just been said. The disciples had been expecting that great things would happen with Jesus in their lives. What they were in fact experiencing was an immense sense of loss, bewilderment, and grief as they try to move on from the appalling events that had occurred. What they had hoped for had come to nothing. This reality is explicit in Luke’s telling of the story. When the stranger joins them and appears to know nothing of the events of the last few days, I also can imagine that they wonder whether he has crawled out from under a rock and where he has been.

If we look at the mood of the two disciples, does it make us think of how often we are in the same situation. How often have we felt deeply disappointed and disoriented by the events around us, how often are we angry and frustrated like these two. We too can sympathise with their feelings.

Did you ever meet someone while on a journey – in a place, train or bus, hitchhiking, on a Sunday walk, a queue in a hospital, or the dentist, and you have a personal chat? People in doctor’s waiting rooms tell all sorts of personal details about themselves and their children. It was the same for the disciples on this Sunday walk. The disciples on the road, at a time in their lives when they were lost, met a stranger who made some sense of some of their troubles. Jesus made sense of their distress by his presence and his word. A good chat can often heal a bad day. Jesus pointed out some things to them that lifted their hearts.

The high point of this story is when the disciples’ eyes are opened, and their hearts come alive. They recognise Jesus in a new way. Critical to this experience is the breaking of the bread by Jesus at the evening meal. Jesus repays those offering him hospitality with the taking, blessing, breaking, and giving of bread. When we offer hospitality, God uses it not only as a means of serving those in need of refreshment, but also as an invitation for us to experience Jesus’ presence ourselves.

This passage highlights the importance of relationships, and that dialogue is the thread that binds us all. Jesus draws the travellers out through continuous dialogue and gentle questioning as he listens and engages as an equal. The encounter with Jesus on the road to Emmaus also gives us an indication of what the right relationship with God is. The relationship that is on offer between God and us is a deeply personal and loving one as well as a communal one: we are also called into community. What these two disciples experienced is also on offer to us today if we are open to believe in him.

This story offers a rich image of prayer. You start out on your own, perhaps quite hopeless, if life has been going badly. Jesus comes by unobtrusively; you welcome him and tell your story. He listens intently, then gently throws light on what had been bothering you. By the end of the prayer, you don’t want him to leave, but you know he will always be watching over you and will meet you again each day. How re- assuring is this.

Amen

INTERCESSIONS (Church of England plus our specific intentions)

On this day that the Lord has made, let us pray for the people he has redeemed

That we may live as those who believe in the triumph of the cross

For the Christian Church throughout the world; for Christians who are persecuted, mocked or discriminated against for their faith: for the healing of the divisions of the Body of Christ; for the Anglican Church throughout the world; for Justin Archbishop of Canterbury; The Anglican Consultative Council; in Australia for Geoffrey our Primate;, in this Diocese for Peter our Bishop and Sonia our Regional Bishop, the Samaritans Foundations and the Society of St Francis; in this Parish for our clergy George and Gail, for the ministry of the OpShop and the volunteers, for the Mothers’ Union group, and for our fellow-Christians in this place in the Baptist Church

Lord, hear us: Lord, graciously hear us

That all people may receive the good news of his victory

For all agencies of mission and evangelism, especially the Australian Anglican Board of Mission, the Church Missionary Society, Bush Church Aid, the Mission to Seafarers, and in this place for all those whom we meet in our daily life that you will give us grace to see small opportunities for sharing the faith

Lord, hear us: Lord, graciously hear us

That those born to new life in the waters of baptism may know the power of Christ’s resurrection

Especially Ava and Grace, who received Baptism at Easter, for Nevaeh, being prepared for baptism, and for their families; for all those new in the faith; and for each one of us as we continually renew our faith

Lord, hear us: Lord, graciously hear us

That those who suffer pain and anguish may find healing and peace in the wounds of Christ

Especially those for whom our prayers are sought: : Doug and Jenny, Indi, Barbara D, Val Frazer, Lynn, Betty, Les, Jill, Ann, Daphne, Bruce, Debbie M, Samuel, John J, Merv T, Nicole M, Jenny H, Didi, Margaret, Peter McC, Susan, Elizabeth, Dawn A, Heidi, Wendy F, Peter, Vicki L, Laurie, Jenny M, Val D, Ben, Keith M, Sammy J and Noah, Stuart McInnes, Sue T, Keith and Hettie, Hope, Mick Atkins, Derek, Zoe, Roslyn, Shannon, and for those whom we name in silence before you.

Lord, hear us: Lord, graciously hear us

That in the undying love of Christ we may united with all who have died in the faith of Christ

With Mary the Blessed Mother, Paul our Patron, The Melanesian martyrs, and with Harry Hamilton, Elsie Beggs and Natalia Crethary, whose years mind falls at this time; with those whom we have loved and see no more; and at this Anzac-tide, for all those whose lives were stolen from them by war

Lord, hear us: Lord, graciously hear us

Let us commend the world, in which Christ rose from the dead, to the mercy and protection of God Grant that what we have asked in faith we may, by your grace, receive, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

SAINTS and COMMEMORATIONS of the week (23-29 April)

23 George, martyr, Patron of England (c.304) (England) is known by legend rather than established fact. The little we do know is that he was probably a Roman soldier executed under one the persecution of Christians under Emperor Diocletian and his remains were taken to Lydda in Palestine, his family home. Returning Crusaders to England brought his cult with them. He replaced King Edward the Confessor as Patron of England in the 15th century

24 The Seven Martyrs of the Melanesian Brotherhood (Solomon Islands) (2003) during the Solomon Islands Emergency a number of Brothers went to the Weather Coast of Guadalcanal to search for three Brothers who had gone there to attempt to bring a peace settlement with Harold Keke, the rebel leader who was known to the Brothers. Their remains were located but the other Brothers were murdered by the breakaways. Their memorial shrine is prominent on Canterbury Cathedral and several of the Brothers are working in North Queensland Diocese, whose Bishop, Keith Joseph, formerly Rector of Mt Vincent in this diocese was working as a officer in RAMSI, the Australian Army peacekeeping force, and who was ordained in Melanesia.

25 ANZAC Day

Mark, Evangelist and Martyr

27 Christina Rosetti, poet (1894) (England) Devoutly Anglican of the Anglo-Catholic tradition she had a notable output of poetry of many genres, including verse for children and a considerable body of devotional work. At least two of her compositions are well-known hymns: “In the bleak mid-winter” and “Love came down at Christmas”, which appears as 317 in our hymnal.