Easter 3
Collect for Easter 3
with the sight of the risen Lord: Give us such knowledge of his presence with us, that we may be strengthened and sustained by his risen life and serve you continually in righteousness and truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
1 John 3: 1-7
Luke 24: 36b-48
“Ghosts don’t eat fish.”
Luke describes three events when the disciples hear about Jesus’ resurrection. Once when the women – Mary of Magdala, Joanna and Mary the mother of James report what they have seen – but the disciples consider them to be talking nonsense. Next, they hear about His appearance to Simon, and then the two disciples who had met Him on the road to Emmaus describe their own realisation of His accompanying presence in the breaking of the bread. The disciples are talking about these events when He comes to stand among them – but in their confusion, the only thing they can imagine is that they are seeing His ghost. – they long for Him to be real, but still they can’t believe – this is something that goes against everything they have experienced. So Jesus once and for all establishes the reality of His bodily resurrection – he asks for, and is given, a fish supper. And He eats it. Which ghosts can’t do.
They can’t now deny it – and so, to them, He proclaims the fulfilment of the scriptural prophesy of the coming of the Messiah, and the challenge that presents to those who have seen Him.
It is easy, with hindsight, to criticise the disciples for their incredulity. But we have to ask ourselves what we would do in their place. I suspect that our reaction would be pretty much the same; and given that we weren’t there to see what happened for ourselves, it is actually more difficult for us to believe. We need evidence – but if we look, it is there in so many ways. The disciples changed from fearful into fearlessness. How? The evidence of changed lives throughout scripture. What? The amazing acts and subsequent history of a people worldwide who have been convicted of the truth in the power of the Spirit. Why? And most of all, our own experience of the times when we have acted in ways that the world would consider as nonsense, but in following His challenge and commission, have seen Him at work in ourselves. Here and Now. And we must respond – we have no choice. So what is our missionary task?
In a time when the world appears to be on the threshold of widening conflict and increased violence, we need to be mindful of those places where people are at war, where people are living with daily injustice, where children are starving and families destroyed, where leaders of Nations and Communities are self-serving rather than serving those they lead, we are conscious that are hope lies only in You. And when we see the need, we do whatever we can, be it large or small.
Dear Father, we pray that you bring peace on earth – and let it begin in each and every one of us, trusting in Your promise.
We pray together Psalm 23
The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD my whole life long.

Previous Posts
Praying Together 30th March 2025
As Julian of Norwich wrote, ‘the example of a mother’s service is closest, most willing, and most sure because it is most true’, and thus we use that example as part of our Lenten journey.
Praying Together 23rd March 2025
God gives us the freedom to make that choice, and will always offer us another chance when we fail, as He did to the barren fig tree.
Praying Together 16 March 2025
Unlike the other tragic heroes, Jesus has no flaw or blemish other than those inflicted by others: the scars on His back, the thorn-blood on His forehead, the betrayal by His friend.
Praying Together March 9th 2025
God’s demand for perfection need not discourage you in the least in your present attempts to be good, or even in your present failures.
Praying Together 2nd March 2025
God of the nations, whose sovereign rule brings justice and peace, have mercy on our broken and divided world.
Praying Together 23 February 2025
Meditation for the Second Sunday before Lent CollectAlmighty God,you have created the heavens and the earthand made us in your own image:Teach us to discern your hand in all your worksand your likeness in all your children;through Jesus Christ our Lord,who with you...
Praying Together 16th February 2025
And if you accept Him as Lord, allow Him to lead you as you walk into the future without looking back, and do what He has equipped you to do as His body on earth
Praying Together 9th February 2025
We are all asked to have the faith to put out into deep water, but we must remember that we will never be on our own. Peter’s ministry was made possible by the power of the Holy Spirit, as will ours.
Praying Together 2nd February 2025
We are all called to be the Body of Christ in His entirety – and we are to take the example of all ‘Saints’ who have gone before, both male and female, as models of our required behaviour.
Praying Together 26th January 2025
Most importantly, in the face of what appears to be a society built upon prejudice and hatred, we are sustained and strengthened by the knowledge that in the end, love will triumph, leaving the wordly values of the tyrant to be forgotten.
Praying Together 19th January 2025
Jesus has demonstrated His authority and power. He takes something ordinary, and it becomes extraordinary. He turns water to wine. He heals the past and offers a new future. He changes his followers from sinner to saint.
Meditations 5th January 2025
With the same eyes as the Magi, we look into the manger, see the light of the world – be it for the first time, after a dark time, or in our daily devotions – and every time we see something new.