As we gather, we recognize that we live, work, pray, and play
in the traditional, unceded lands
of the Cowichan Tribes and Coast Salish People. 
We continue to commit ourselves
to the work of reconciliation and relationship-building
with our First Nations neighbours.     

Call to Worship:  

Have you believed, Thomas,
because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen, 
and yet believe.​

John 20. 29 

O Come, Let Us Worship. 

Gathering

Alleluia! Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!
O Come. Let us worship.

Almighty God,
to you all hearts are open, all desires known,
and from you no secrets are hidden.
Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the
inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you,
and worthily magnify your holy name;
through Christ, our Lord. Amen. 

Collect for Today
 Almighty and eternal God,
the strength of those who believe and the hope of those who doubt,
may we, who have not seen, have faith and receive the fullness of Christ’s blessings,
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.   Amen.

The Proclamation of the Gospel:

John 20. 19-31

Sermon:  The Ven.  Brian Evans

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of
our hearts be ever acceptable to you, O Lord.  Amen.

       “Fear and Doubt"

On Wednesday of this week, we read from the Gospel-incident of Jesus catching up with the two disciples on their way to Emmaus.

It is the 1st week of the resurrection.
I am sure, it was the least of their expectations. or worries, that Jesus would catch up with them and join in their walk.            

I have always wanted to be a mouse riding on the shoulder of one of the disciples while they shared the events of the past few days.            

Contrary to Paul Harvey, and ’The Rest of the Story’ we do not know the ‘rest of the story’. Not even Paul Harvey knows.            

Yet, we are here today, to witness the resurrection of our Lord. We will be here tomorrow, the next day, and the day after, just as Christians have testified for over 2000 years.            

We are those who are continuing the dialogue.            

Today, we are Peter, whose sermon we read a part of this morning.            

In his sermon, Peter testifies

‘this Jesus, the Christ, who obediently went to the cross to fulfill God’s plan, this Jesus is raised from the dead.'

Then to substantiate his claim Peter quotes from Psalm 16.

‘For David says concerning him,
'I saw the Lord always before me, because he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; moreover, my flesh will live in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One experience corruption.
You have made known to me the ways of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.'            

These words are meant to quell the crowd.

For the 21st century Church, these are words of encouragement for our sharing the truth of the resurrection. These are the early days of hope and promise for what lies ahead.            

The early church, like the Church today, returns to the community filled with joy and excitement in the resurrected Christ. Yet, amid this joy and excitement, there is fear and doubt.              

For support, we have been given the words from Peter’s 1st Letter; words to encourage our faith, words of encouragement to lead us forward in the midst of any doubt, hardships, or suffering, because of our faith.            

Although these words may seem over the top at times, for us today, they remain relevant.   As we hear these words from 1st Peter:

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.

Blessed! Blessed be the God, Peter says.
We say, “Blessed be God who has given us new life, new birth—new birth because of our sharing in the resurrection of our Lord. Blessed be God who has given us an ‘inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.’

It’s that whole looking, and identifying eternity—eternal life, that we talk about in our lives, that we receive in death.  

Then Peter turns and says, ‘who are being protected by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  

Protected! We inherit that protection of God in eternal life!            

And so, in this Easter Season, we will read through the letter of 1st Peter.
Peter is writing to the Church—the Church yesterday, and the Church today.  

Peter’s concern is pastoral support for the believers, in the midst of the world in which they are living.  

Our concern is for pastoral support for the people today in the world—not just those who occupy the pews on Sunday morning—but for the whole world…to be that pastoral connection for the world.  

Peter’s words are meant to encourage and support our believing.  
Our words are meant to support and encourage the people that we encounter in our daily lives.        To live our lives believing in what it means to be baptized into the death and resurrection of Christ. 

As a priest in the Church, my duty is not to decide who should be baptized or should not.   What I am responsible for, as described in the Ordinal, is to “minister the word of God, and the Sacraments of the New Covenant, that ‘the reconciling love of Christ’ may be known and received.”            

This summer, we will return back to Saskatchewan for a few weeks. And on that coming there, it has been requested that I baptize some my 2nd cousins' children.   

These young children live in an area of the Province where, because of rural depopulation, there is no Parish Church close to their home.  

But the Church of the world is there. It is still part of their lives in that spiritual way, and it is our responsibility to give them and to give their parents that hope and that affirmation.

At the same time, I think of the purpose of the Church, and my ordination vow to be faithful to the reconciling love of Christ to be known and received.

Today is the 2nd Sunday of Easter, in accordance with our liturgical calendar. At the same, it could be yesterday, or it could be tomorrow or any other day.

Except it is today. Today, we are gathering with the disciples again, again in the locked room. 

And, we encounter the ‘doubting Thomas’. Or is it us who are the ‘doubting Thomas’?            

At the same time, we are glad to share in the peace of Christ.            

As stated in ‘Sundays and Seasons Preaching Series’: Christ as King, is an image behind the reading from Acts. King David testifies to this power: Jesus is now on David’s throne; Christ is the Anointed One, the Messiah.            

It is from these readings that we inherit the exchange of the Peace in the Liturgy: the peace of the risen Christ.

In some parishes, this tradition has grown into a metaphor for the ‘7th inning stretch’, during which everyone chats with everyone else about the latest news, or newest birth in the family.  

However, what is intended in this greeting, is the enacting of John 20: receiving the from one another, the Peace of Christ, as Christ gave it to the disciples on that day in the Upper Room.

It does not say ‘Christ wandered around the table giving that peace’.

It simply says Christ expressed that love… this breath of new life…simply saying, ‘Peace be with you’.

To share the meaning of Christ’s death and resurrection.

This is the same meaning which removed Thomas’ fear and doubt; the same meaning for which men and women have, for centuries, travelled the globe into the unknown, to share ‘for the sake of Christ’, the good news as we know it as Christians.

The same “Peace be with You” Merv’s daughter and son-in-law are filled with, in their mission-work in Monrovia. (Liberia – West Africa)

It is in wrestling with these unknowns, fears, and doubts, that the ‘foundations of faith’ have pushed us out of our comfort zones in life.

For our Clergy Conference, two weeks from now, as clergy we have been asked to respond, in writing, to a series of questions prior to attending.  

One of those questions is:  

• ‘What surprises did you encounter in your experience of ministerial work?

• What have been the peaks and valleys, the minor or major changes, successes, setbacks, shifts in focus?

• How have you navigated them?’  

My answer today would be, not unlike Thomas and his friends, “sometimes feeling as if I am in the locked Upper Room, and then Jesus came in, and with His gift of Peace, those fears and doubts passed away.’  

And may ‘that’ be the experience for each one of us.  

Thanks be to God. Amen. 

Let Us Pray

United in the hope of joy and resurrection, let us pray for the Church, the world, and all in need.

God of rebirth,
the good news of your resurrection brings refreshment to a weary world.
Following the women at the tomb, empower us to boldly share your radical love through our words and our works. 

Hear us O God.
Your mercy is great. 

As you breathed your Spirit into the disciples, breathe your spirit of healing upon all creation. Nourish the earth with sufficient rains.
Strengthen us to counter the effects of pollution and destruction. 

Hear us O God.
Your mercy is great. 

You prepared the disciples for their ministry by calming their fears,
and granting them your peace.
Equip our communities’ leaders in the City of Duncan and North Cowichan.
Give them a spirit of peace, and hearts that burn for justice,
that their leadership reflects your love. 

Hear us O God.
Your mercy is great. 

You come along in unexpected ways.
Send us to those who hide in fear, or question your love.
Be a healing presence for any isolated by addiction, incarceration, mental illness, chronic pain, sickness, or grief.
We continue to pray for those in need, particularly in our parish:
Roy & Gail; Daryl & Sue; Roy; Jay;  Sheila; Joseph; and those on our hearts. 

Hear us O God.
Your mercy is great. 

As you met your disciples on the road to Emmaus,
show us your presence along our journeys.
Bless our doubts and questions.
Provide trusting and safe relationships for all ages,
to nurture our connection to you and one another. 

Hear us O God.
Your mercy is great. 

Resurrecting God,
you bring us to new life everyday.
Thank you for blessing us with companions on our faith journey,
especially those who now rest in your love.
Strengthen us with the eternal peace of your promises. 

Hear us O God.
Your mercy is great. 

Rejoicing in the victory of Christ’s resurrection,
we lift our prayers and praise to you,
almighty and eternal God;
through Jesus Christ, our risen Lord. Amen. 

As our Saviour taught us:
Our Father,
who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name,
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as in heaven. 
Give us today our daily bread. 
Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who tresspass against us.
And lead us  not into temptation, but deliver us fom evil.  
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power and the glory,
forever and ever.  Amen.

Almighty God,
We too have seen with our eyes, and touched with our hands,
as we have received from you that Bread of the Gift of Eternal Life.
And we give thanks that you strengthen our faith,
as we come before you and share in this phenomenal moment of life-giving strength.
And so, may we, in response, grow in your love.
This we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, the Risen Lord. 
Amen. Thanks be to God! Alleluia! 

Let us go in Peace to love and serve the Risen Lord.

Thanks be to God. Alleluia!