Almighty God,

who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ

have overcome death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life:

grant that, as by your grace going before us you put into our minds good desires,

so by your continual help

we may bring them to good effect;

through Jesus Christ our risen Lord,

who is alive and reigns with you,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever.

or

Risen Christ,

your wounds declare your love for the world

and the wonder of your risen life:

give us compassion and courage

to risk ourselves for those we serve,

to the glory of God the Father.

Readings

[Baruch 3.9-15, 32-4.4

9 Hear the commandments of life, O Israel;

   give ear, and learn wisdom!

10 Why is it, O Israel, why is it that you are in the land of your enemies,

   that you are growing old in a foreign country,

that you are defiled with the dead,

11   that you are counted among those in Hades?

12 You have forsaken the fountain of wisdom.

13 If you had walked in the way of God,

   you would be living in peace for ever.

14 Learn where there is wisdom,

   where there is strength,

   where there is understanding,

so that you may at the same time discern

   where there is length of days, and life,

   where there is light for the eyes, and peace.

15 Who has found her place?

   And who has entered her storehouses?

32 But the one who knows all things knows her,

   he found her by his understanding.

The one who prepared the earth for all time

   filled it with four-footed creatures;

33 the one who sends forth the light, and it goes;

   he called it, and it obeyed him, trembling;

34 the stars shone in their watches, and were glad;

   he called them, and they said, ‘Here we are!’

   They shone with gladness for him who made them.

35 This is our God;

   no other can be compared to him.

36 He found the whole way to knowledge,

   and gave her to his servant Jacob

   and to Israel, whom he loved.

37 Afterwards she appeared on earth

   and lived with humankind.

4

She is the book of the commandments of God,

   the law that endures for ever.

All who hold her fast will live,

   and those who forsake her will die.

2 Turn, O Jacob, and take her;

   walk towards the shining of her light.

3 Do not give your glory to another,

   or your advantages to an alien people.

4 Happy are we, O Israel,

   for we know what is pleasing to God.

This is the word of the Lord.

All Thanks be to God.

or

Genesis 22.1-18]

22

After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ 2He said, ‘Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt-offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.’ 3So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt-offering, and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown him. 4On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. 5Then Abraham said to his young men, ‘Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you.’ 6Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. 7Isaac said to his father Abraham, ‘Father!’ And he said, ‘Here I am, my son.’ He said, ‘The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?’ 8Abraham said, ‘God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt-offering, my son.’ So the two of them walked on together.

9 When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. 11But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ 12He said, ‘Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.’ 13And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt-offering instead of his son. 14So Abraham called that place ‘The Lord will provide’; as it is said to this day, ‘On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.’

15 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, 16and said, ‘By myself I have sworn, says the Lord: Because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17I will indeed bless you, and I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of their enemies, 18and by your offspring shall all the nations of the earth gain blessing for themselves, because you have obeyed my voice.’

This is the word of the Lord.

All Thanks be to God.

Acts 11.1-18†

11

Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. 2So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, 3saying, ‘Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?’ 4Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, 5‘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. 6As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. 7I also heard a voice saying to me, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.” 8But I replied, “By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.” 9But a second time the voice answered from heaven, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” 10This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven. 11At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. 12The 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. 13He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, “Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter; 14he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.” 15And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. 16And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 17If 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?’ 18When 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.’

This is the word of the Lord.

All Thanks be to God.

† The reading from Acts must be used as either the first or second reading.

Psalm 148

1  Alleluia.

      Praise the Lord from the heavens; •

   praise him in the heights.

2  Praise him, all you his angels; •

   praise him, all his host.

3  Praise him, sun and moon; •

   praise him, all you stars of light.

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 fast for ever and ever; •

   he gave them a law which shall not pass away.

7  Praise the Lord from the earth, •

   you sea monsters and all deeps;

8  Fire and hail, snow and mist, •

   tempestuous wind, fulfilling his word;

9  Mountains and all hills, •

   fruit trees and all cedars;

10  Wild beasts and all cattle, •

   creeping things and birds on the wing;

11  Kings of the earth and all peoples, •

   princes and all rulers of the world;

12  Young men and women,

      old and young together; •

   let them praise the name of the Lord.

13  For his name only is exalted, •

   his splendour above earth and heaven.

14  He has raised up the horn of his people

      and praise for all his faithful servants, •

   the children of Israel, a people who are near him.

      Alleluia.

[or Psalm 148.1-6]

1  Alleluia.

      Praise the Lord from the heavens; •

   praise him in the heights.

2  Praise him, all you his angels; •

   praise him, all his host.

3  Praise him, sun and moon; •

   praise him, all you stars of light.

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 fast for ever and ever; •

   he gave them a law which shall not pass away.

Revelation 21.1-6

21

Then I 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. 2And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And 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;

4 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.’

5 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.’ 6Then 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.

This is the word of the Lord.

AllThanks be to God.

Gospel Reading

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.

All Glory to you, O Lord.

John 13.31-35

31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. 32If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. 33Little 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.” 34I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

All Praise to you, O Christ.

Post Communion

Eternal God,

whose Son Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life:

grant us to walk in his way,

to rejoice in his truth,

and to share his risen life;

who is alive and reigns, now and for ever.

Almighty God,

whose Son Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life:

raise us, who trust in him,

from the death of sin to the life of righteousness,

that we may seek those things which are above,

where he reigns with you

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever.

or

Risen Christ,

faithful shepherd of your Father’s sheep:

teach us to hear your voice

and to follow your command,

that all your people may be gathered into one flock,

to the glory of God the Father.

Readings

[Genesis 7.1-5, 11-18; Genesis 8.6-18; Genesis 9.8-13]

7

Then the Lord said to Noah, ‘Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you alone are righteous before me in this generation. 2Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and its mate; and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and its mate; 3and seven pairs of the birds of the air also, male and female, to keep their kind alive on the face of all the earth. 4For in seven days I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights; and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground.’ 5And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him.

11 In the six-hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. 12The rain fell on the earth for forty days and forty nights. 13On the very same day Noah with his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons, entered the ark, 14they and every wild animal of every kind, and all domestic animals of every kind, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every bird of every kind—every bird, every winged creature. 15They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life. 16And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the Lord shut him in.

17 The flood continued for forty days on the earth; and the waters increased, and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. 18The waters swelled and increased greatly on the earth; and the ark floated on the face of the waters.

6 At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made 7and sent out the raven; and it went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth. 8Then he sent out the dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground; 9but the dove found no place to set its foot, and it returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took it and brought it into the ark with him. 10He waited another seven days, and again he sent out the dove from the ark; 11and the dove came back to him in the evening, and there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf; so Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth. 12Then he waited another seven days, and sent out the dove; and it did not return to him any more.

13 In the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and saw that the face of the ground was drying. 14In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry. 15Then God said to Noah, 16‘Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. 17Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh—birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth—so that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.’ 18So Noah went out with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives.

8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9‘As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, 10and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. 11I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.’ 12God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.

This is the word of the Lord.

All Thanks be to God.

Acts 9.36-end†

36 Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. 37At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. 38Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, ‘Please come to us without delay.’ 39So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them. 40Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, ‘Tabitha, get up.’ Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. 41He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. 42This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 43Meanwhile he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.

This is the word of the Lord.

All Thanks be to God.

† The reading from Acts must be used as either the first or second reading.

Psalm 23

1  The Lord is my shepherd; •

   therefore can I lack nothing.

2  He makes me lie down in green pastures •

   and leads me beside still waters.

3  He shall refresh my soul •

   and guide me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

4  Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

      I will fear no evil; •

   for you are with me;

      your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

5  You spread a table before me

      in the presence of those who trouble me; •

   you have anointed my head with oil

      and my cup shall be full.

6  Surely goodness and loving mercy shall follow me

      all the days of my life, •

   and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Revelation 7.9-end

9 After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. 10They cried out in a loud voice, saying,

‘Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!’

11And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God, 12singing,

‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom

and thanksgiving and honour

and power and might

be to our God for ever and ever! Amen.’

13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, ‘Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?’ 14I said to him, ‘Sir, you are the one that knows.’ Then he said to me, ‘These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

15 For this reason they are before the throne of God,

   and worship him day and night within his temple,

   and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them.

16 They will hunger no more, and thirst no more;

   the sun will not strike them,

   nor any scorching heat;

17 for the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd,

   and he will guide them to springs of the water of life,

and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’

This is the word of the Lord.

All Thanks be to God.

Gospel Reading

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.

All Glory to you, O Lord.

John 10.22-30

22 At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, 23and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. 24So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’ 25Jesus answered, ‘I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; 26but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. 27My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. 28I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. 29What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. 30The Father and I are one.’

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

All Praise to you, O Christ.

Post Communion

Merciful Father,

you gave your Son Jesus Christ to be the good shepherd,

and in his love for us to lay down his life and rise again:

keep us always under his protection,

and give us grace to follow in his steps;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Almighty Father,

you have given your only Son to die for our sins

and to rise again for our justification:

grant us so to put away the leaven of malice and wickedness

that we may always serve you

in pureness of living and truth;

through the merits of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord,

who is alive and reigns with you,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever.

or

Risen Christ,

for whom no door is locked, no entrance barred:

open the doors of our hearts,

that we may seek the good of others

and walk the joyful road of sacrifice and peace,

to the praise of God the Father.

Readings

[Exodus 14.10-end; Exodus 15.20-21]

10 As Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites looked back, and there were the Egyptians advancing on them. In great fear the Israelites cried out to the Lord. 11They said to Moses, ‘Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt? 12Is this not the very thing we told you in Egypt, “Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians”? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.’ 13But Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. 14The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still.’

15 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward. 16But you lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the Israelites may go into the sea on dry ground. 17Then I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them; and so I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots, and his chariot drivers. 18And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gained glory for myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his chariot drivers.’

19 The angel of God who was going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them. 20It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud was there with the darkness, and it lit up the night; one did not come near the other all night.

21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. 22The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. 23The Egyptians pursued, and went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and chariot drivers. 24At the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and cloud looked down upon the Egyptian army, and threw the Egyptian army into panic. 25He clogged their chariot wheels so that they turned with difficulty. The Egyptians said, ‘Let us flee from the Israelites, for the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.’

26 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and chariot drivers.’ 27So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before it, the Lord tossed the Egyptians into the sea. 28The waters returned and covered the chariots and the chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not one of them remained. 29But the Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.

30 Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31Israel saw the great work that the Lord did against the Egyptians. So the people feared the Lord and believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

20 Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand; and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing. 21And Miriam sang to them:

‘Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;

horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.’

This is the word of the Lord.

AllThanks be to God.

Acts 5.27-32†

27 When they had brought them, they had them stand before the council. The high priest questioned them, 28saying, ‘We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you are determined to bring this man’s blood on us.’ 29But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than any human authority. 30The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. 31God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Saviour, so that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.’

This is the word of the Lord.

All Thanks be to God.

†The reading from Acts must be used as either the first or second reading.

Psalm 118.14-end

14  The Lord is my strength and my song, •

   and he has become my salvation.

15  Joyful shouts of salvation •

   sound from the tents of the righteous:

16  ‘The right hand of the Lord does mighty deeds;

      the right hand of the Lord raises up; •

   the right hand of the Lord does mighty deeds.’

17  I shall not die, but live •

   and declare the works of the Lord.

18  The Lord has punished me sorely, •

   but he has not given me over to death.

19  Open to me the gates of righteousness, •

   that I may enter and give thanks to the Lord.

20  This is the gate of the Lord; •

   the righteous shall enter through it.

21  I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me •

   and have become my salvation.

22  The stone which the builders rejected •

   has become the chief cornerstone.

23  This is the Lord’s doing, •

   and it is marvellous in our eyes.

24  This is the day that the Lord has made; •

   we will rejoice and be glad in it.

25  Come, O Lord, and save us we pray. •

   Come, Lord, send us now prosperity.

26  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; •

   we bless you from the house of the Lord.

27  The Lord is God; he has given us light; •

   link the pilgrims with cords

      right to the horns of the altar.

28  You are my God and I will thank you; •

   you are my God and I will exalt you.

29  O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; •

   his mercy endures for ever.

or Psalm 150

1  Alleluia.

      O praise God in his holiness; •

   praise him in the firmament of his power.

2  Praise him for his mighty acts; •

   praise him according to his excellent greatness.

3  Praise him with the blast of the trumpet; •

   praise him upon the harp and lyre.

4  Praise him with timbrel and dances; •

   praise him upon the strings and pipe.

5  Praise him with ringing cymbals; •

   praise him upon the clashing cymbals.

6  Let everything that has breath •

   praise the Lord.

      Alleluia.

Revelation 1.4-8

4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, 6and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

7 Look! He is coming with the clouds;

   every eye will see him,

even those who pierced him;

   and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail.

So it is to be. Amen.

8 ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega’, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

This is the word of the Lord.

AllThanks be to God.

Gospel Reading

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.

All Glory to you, O Lord.

John 20.19-end

19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ 22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’

24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’

26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ 27Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ 28Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ 29Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’

30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

All Praise to you, O Christ.

Post Communion

Lord God our Father,

through our Saviour Jesus Christ

you have assured your children of eternal life

and in baptism have made us one with him:

deliver us from the death of sin

and raise us to new life in your love,

in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,

by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen

Reading Notes: The New Testament readings should be preceded by a minimum of three Old Testament readings. The Exodus reading should always be used.

Collect

Readings

Genesis 1.1-2.4a

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, 2the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. 3Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. 4And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

6 And God said, ‘Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.’ 7So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. 8God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

9 And God said, ‘Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.’ And it was so. 10God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11Then God said, ‘Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.’ And it was so. 12The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. 13And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

14 And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, 15and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.’ And it was so. 16God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, 18to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.

20 And God said, ‘Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.’ 21So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. 22God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.’ 23And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

24 And God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.’ And it was so. 25God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.

26 Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’

27 So God created humankind in his image,

   in the image of God he created them;

   male and female he created them.

28God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.’ 29God said, ‘See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. 30And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.’ And it was so. 31God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

2

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. 2And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. 3So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.

4 These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created.

In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,

This is the word of the Lord.

All Thanks be to God.

Genesis 7.1-5, 11-18; Genesis 8.6-18; Genesis 9.8-13

7

Then the Lord said to Noah, ‘Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you alone are righteous before me in this generation. 2Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and its mate; and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and its mate; 3and seven pairs of the birds of the air also, male and female, to keep their kind alive on the face of all the earth. 4For in seven days I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights; and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground.’ 5And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him.

11 In the six-hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. 12The rain fell on the earth for forty days and forty nights. 13On the very same day Noah with his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons, entered the ark, 14they and every wild animal of every kind, and all domestic animals of every kind, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every bird of every kind—every bird, every winged creature. 15They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life. 16And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the Lord shut him in.

17 The flood continued for forty days on the earth; and the waters increased, and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. 18The waters swelled and increased greatly on the earth; and the ark floated on the face of the waters.

6 At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made 7and sent out the raven; and it went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth. 8Then he sent out the dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground; 9but the dove found no place to set its foot, and it returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took it and brought it into the ark with him. 10He waited another seven days, and again he sent out the dove from the ark; 11and the dove came back to him in the evening, and there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf; so Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth. 12Then he waited another seven days, and sent out the dove; and it did not return to him any more.

13 In the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and saw that the face of the ground was drying. 14In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry. 15Then God said to Noah, 16‘Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. 17Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh—birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth—so that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.’ 18So Noah went out with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives.

8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9‘As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, 10and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. 11I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.’ 12God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.

This is the word of the Lord.

All Thanks be to God.

Genesis 22.1-18

22

After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ 2He said, ‘Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt-offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.’ 3So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt-offering, and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown him. 4On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. 5Then Abraham said to his young men, ‘Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you.’ 6Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. 7Isaac said to his father Abraham, ‘Father!’ And he said, ‘Here I am, my son.’ He said, ‘The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?’ 8Abraham said, ‘God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt-offering, my son.’ So the two of them walked on together.

9 When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. 11But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ 12He said, ‘Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.’ 13And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt-offering instead of his son. 14So Abraham called that place ‘The Lord will provide’; as it is said to this day, ‘On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.’

15 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, 16and said, ‘By myself I have sworn, says the Lord: Because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17I will indeed bless you, and I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of their enemies, 18and by your offspring shall all the nations of the earth gain blessing for themselves, because you have obeyed my voice.’

This is the word of the Lord.

All Thanks be to God.

Exodus 14.10-end; Exodus 15.20-21

10 As Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites looked back, and there were the Egyptians advancing on them. In great fear the Israelites cried out to the Lord. 11They said to Moses, ‘Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt? 12Is this not the very thing we told you in Egypt, “Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians”? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.’ 13But Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. 14The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still.’

15 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward. 16But you lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the Israelites may go into the sea on dry ground. 17Then I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them; and so I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots, and his chariot drivers. 18And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gained glory for myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his chariot drivers.’

19 The angel of God who was going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them. 20It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud was there with the darkness, and it lit up the night; one did not come near the other all night.

21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. 22The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. 23The Egyptians pursued, and went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and chariot drivers. 24At the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and cloud looked down upon the Egyptian army, and threw the Egyptian army into panic. 25He clogged their chariot wheels so that they turned with difficulty. The Egyptians said, ‘Let us flee from the Israelites, for the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.’

26 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and chariot drivers.’ 27So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before it, the Lord tossed the Egyptians into the sea. 28The waters returned and covered the chariots and the chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not one of them remained. 29But the Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.

30 Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31Israel saw the great work that the Lord did against the Egyptians. So the people feared the Lord and believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

20 Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand; and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing. 21And Miriam sang to them:

‘Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;

horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.’

This is the word of the Lord.

All Thanks be to God.

Isaiah 55.1-11

55

Ho, everyone who thirsts,

   come to the waters;

and you that have no money,

   come, buy and eat!

Come, buy wine and milk

   without money and without price.

2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,

   and your labour for that which does not satisfy?

Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good,

   and delight yourselves in rich food.

3 Incline your ear, and come to me;

   listen, so that you may live.

I will make with you an everlasting covenant,

   my steadfast, sure love for David.

4 See, I made him a witness to the peoples,

   a leader and commander for the peoples.

5 See, you shall call nations that you do not know,

   and nations that do not know you shall run to you,

because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel,

   for he has glorified you.

6 Seek the Lord while he may be found,

   call upon him while he is near;

7 let the wicked forsake their way,

   and the unrighteous their thoughts;

let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them,

   and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

   nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.

9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

   so are my ways higher than your ways

   and my thoughts than your thoughts.

10 For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,

   and do not return there until they have watered the earth,

making it bring forth and sprout,

   giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;

   it shall not return to me empty,

but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,

   and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

This is the word of the Lord.

All Thanks be to God.

Baruch 3.9-15, 32-4.4

9 Hear the commandments of life, O Israel;

   give ear, and learn wisdom!

10 Why is it, O Israel, why is it that you are in the land of your enemies,

   that you are growing old in a foreign country,

that you are defiled with the dead,

11   that you are counted among those in Hades?

12 You have forsaken the fountain of wisdom.

13 If you had walked in the way of God,

   you would be living in peace for ever.

14 Learn where there is wisdom,

   where there is strength,

   where there is understanding,

so that you may at the same time discern

   where there is length of days, and life,

   where there is light for the eyes, and peace.

15 Who has found her place?

   And who has entered her storehouses?

32 But the one who knows all things knows her,

   he found her by his understanding.

The one who prepared the earth for all time

   filled it with four-footed creatures;

33 the one who sends forth the light, and it goes;

   he called it, and it obeyed him, trembling;

34 the stars shone in their watches, and were glad;

   he called them, and they said, ‘Here we are!’

   They shone with gladness for him who made them.

35 This is our God;

   no other can be compared to him.

36 He found the whole way to knowledge,

   and gave her to his servant Jacob

   and to Israel, whom he loved.

37 Afterwards she appeared on earth

   and lived with humankind.

4

She is the book of the commandments of God,

   the law that endures for ever.

All who hold her fast will live,

   and those who forsake her will die.

2 Turn, O Jacob, and take her;

   walk towards the shining of her light.

3 Do not give your glory to another,

   or your advantages to an alien people.

4 Happy are we, O Israel,

   for we know what is pleasing to God.

This is the word of the Lord.

All Thanks be to God.

or Proverbs 8.1-8, 19-21; Proverbs 9.4b-6

8

Does not wisdom call,

   and does not understanding raise her voice?

2 On the heights, beside the way,

   at the crossroads she takes her stand;

3 beside the gates in front of the town,

   at the entrance of the portals she cries out:

4 ‘To you, O people, I call,

   and my cry is to all that live.

5 O simple ones, learn prudence;

   acquire intelligence, you who lack it.

6 Hear, for I will speak noble things,

   and from my lips will come what is right;

7 for my mouth will utter truth;

   wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

8 All the words of my mouth are righteous;

   there is nothing twisted or crooked in them.

19 My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold,

   and my yield than choice silver.

20 I walk in the way of righteousness,

   along the paths of justice,

21 endowing with wealth those who love me,

   and filling their treasuries.

4 ‘You that are simple, turn in here!’

   To those without sense she says,

5 ‘Come, eat of my bread

   and drink of the wine I have mixed.

6 Lay aside immaturity, and live,

   and walk in the way of insight.’

This is the word of the Lord.

All Thanks be to God.

Ezekiel 36.24-28

24I will take you from the nations, and gather you from all the countries, and bring you into your own land. 25I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances. 28Then you shall live in the land that I gave to your ancestors; and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

This is the word of the Lord.

All Thanks be to God.

Ezekiel 37.1-14

37

The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2He led me all round them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. 3He said to me, ‘Mortal, can these bones live?’ I answered, ‘O Lord God, you know.’ 4Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.’

7 So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. 9Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.’ 10I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.

11 Then he said to me, ‘Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.” 12Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. 14I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.’

This is the word of the Lord.

All Thanks be to God.

Zephaniah 3.14-end

14 Sing aloud, O daughter Zion;

   shout, O Israel!

Rejoice and exult with all your heart,

   O daughter Jerusalem!

15 The Lord has taken away the judgements against you,

   he has turned away your enemies.

The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;

   you shall fear disaster no more.

16 On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:

Do not fear, O Zion;

   do not let your hands grow weak.

17 The Lord, your God, is in your midst,

   a warrior who gives victory;

he will rejoice over you with gladness,

   he will renew you in his love;

he will exult over you with loud singing

18   as on a day of festival.

I will remove disaster from you,

   so that you will not bear reproach for it.

19 I will deal with all your oppressors

   at that time.

And I will save the lame

   and gather the outcast,

and I will change their shame into praise

   and renown in all the earth.

20 At that time I will bring you home,

   at the time when I gather you;

for I will make you renowned and praised

   among all the peoples of the earth,

when I restore your fortunes

   before your eyes, says the Lord.

This is the word of the Lord.

All Thanks be to God.

Romans 6.3-11

3Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. 7For whoever has died is freed from sin. 8But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

This is the word of the Lord.

All Thanks be to God.

Gospel Reading

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.

All Glory to you, O Lord.

Luke 24.1-12

24

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. 2They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3but when they went in, they did not find the body. 4While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. 5The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. 6Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.’ 8Then they remembered his words, 9and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. 10Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. 11But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. 12But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

All Praise to you, O Christ.

Reading Notes: From the Monday of Holy Week until the Saturday of Easter Week the seasonal psalmody must be used for Morning and Evening Prayer.

Collect

Almighty Father,

look with mercy on this your family

for which our Lord Jesus Christ was content to be betrayed and given up into the hands of sinners and to suffer death upon the cross;

who is alive and glorified with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever.

or

Eternal God,

in the cross of Jesus

we see the cost of our sin

and the depth of your love:

in humble hope and fear

may we place at his feet

all that we have and all that we are,

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Readings

Isaiah 52.13-end of 53

13 See, my servant shall prosper;

   he shall be exalted and lifted up,

   and shall be very high.

14 Just as there were many who were astonished at him

   —so marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance,

   and his form beyond that of mortals—

15 so he shall startle many nations;

   kings shall shut their mouths because of him;

for that which had not been told them they shall see,

   and that which they had not heard they shall contemplate.

53

Who has believed what we have heard?

   And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,

   and like a root out of dry ground;

he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,

   nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

3 He was despised and rejected by others;

   a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity;

and as one from whom others hide their faces

   he was despised, and we held him of no account.

4 Surely he has borne our infirmities

   and carried our diseases;

yet we accounted him stricken,

   struck down by God, and afflicted.

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions,

   crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the punishment that made us whole,

   and by his bruises we are healed.

6 All we like sheep have gone astray;

   we have all turned to our own way,

and the Lord has laid on him

   the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,

   yet he did not open his mouth;

like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,

   and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,

   so he did not open his mouth.

8 By a perversion of justice he was taken away.

   Who could have imagined his future?

For he was cut off from the land of the living,

   stricken for the transgression of my people.

9 They made his grave with the wicked

   and his tomb with the rich,

although he had done no violence,

   and there was no deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain.

When you make his life an offering for sin,

   he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days;

through him the will of the Lord shall prosper.

11   Out of his anguish he shall see light;

he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge.

   The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous,

   and he shall bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great,

   and he shall divide the spoil with the strong;

because he poured out himself to death,

   and was numbered with the transgressors;

yet he bore the sin of many,

   and made intercession for the transgressors.

This is the word of the Lord.

AllThanks be to God.

Psalm 22

1  My God, my God, why have you forsaken me, •

   and are so far from my salvation,

      from the words of my distress?

2  O my God, I cry in the daytime,

      but you do not answer; •

   and by night also, but I find no rest.

3  Yet you are the Holy One, •

   enthroned upon the praises of Israel.

4  Our forebears trusted in you; •

   they trusted, and you delivered them.

5  They cried out to you and were delivered; •

   they put their trust in you and were not confounded.

6  But as for me, I am a worm and no man, •

   scorned by all and despised by the people.

7  All who see me laugh me to scorn; •

   they curl their lips and wag their heads, saying,

8  ‘He trusted in the Lord; let him deliver him; •

   let him deliver him, if he delights in him.’

9  But it is you that took me out of the womb •

   and laid me safe upon my mother’s breast.

10  On you was I cast ever since I was born; •

   you are my God even from my mother’s womb.

11  Be not far from me, for trouble is near at hand •

   and there is none to help.

12  Mighty oxen come around me; •

   fat bulls of Bashan close me in on every side.

13  They gape upon me with their mouths, •

   as it were a ramping and a roaring lion.

14  I am poured out like water;

      all my bones are out of joint; •

   my heart has become like wax

      melting in the depths of my body.

15  My mouth is dried up like a potsherd;

      my tongue cleaves to my gums; •

   you have laid me in the dust of death.

16  For the hounds are all about me,

      the pack of evildoers close in on me; •

   they pierce my hands and my feet.

17  I can count all my bones; •

   they stand staring and looking upon me.

18  They divide my garments among them; •

   they cast lots for my clothing.

19  Be not far from me, O Lord; •

   you are my strength; hasten to help me.

20  Deliver my soul from the sword, •

   my poor life from the power of the dog.

21  Save me from the lion’s mouth,

      from the horns of wild oxen. •

   You have answered me!

22  I will tell of your name to my people; •

   in the midst of the congregation will I praise you.

23  Praise the Lord, you that fear him; •

   O seed of Jacob, glorify him;

      stand in awe of him, O seed of Israel.

24  For he has not despised nor abhorred the suffering of the poor;

      neither has he hidden his face from them; •

   but when they cried to him he heard them.

25  From you comes my praise in the great congregation; •

   I will perform my vows

      in the presence of those that fear you.

26  The poor shall eat and be satisfied; •

   those who seek the Lord shall praise him;

      their hearts shall live for ever.

27  All the ends of the earth

      shall remember and turn to the Lord, •

   and all the families of the nations shall bow before him.

28  For the kingdom is the Lord’s •

   and he rules over the nations.

29  How can those who sleep in the earth

      bow down in worship, •

   or those who go down to the dust kneel before him?

30  He has saved my life for himself;

      my descendants shall serve him; •

   this shall be told of the Lord for generations to come.

31  They shall come and make known his salvation,

      to a people yet unborn, •

   declaring that he, the Lord, has done it.

[or Psalm 22.1-11

1  My God, my God, why have you forsaken me, •

   and are so far from my salvation,

      from the words of my distress?

2  O my God, I cry in the daytime,

      but you do not answer; •

   and by night also, but I find no rest.

3  Yet you are the Holy One, •

   enthroned upon the praises of Israel.

4  Our forebears trusted in you; •

   they trusted, and you delivered them.

5  They cried out to you and were delivered; •

   they put their trust in you and were not confounded.

6  But as for me, I am a worm and no man, •

   scorned by all and despised by the people.

7  All who see me laugh me to scorn; •

   they curl their lips and wag their heads, saying,

8  ‘He trusted in the Lord; let him deliver him; •

   let him deliver him, if he delights in him.’

9  But it is you that took me out of the womb •

   and laid me safe upon my mother’s breast.

10  On you was I cast ever since I was born; •

   you are my God even from my mother’s womb.

11  Be not far from me, for trouble is near at hand •

   and there is none to help.

or Psalm 22.1-21]

1  My God, my God, why have you forsaken me, •

   and are so far from my salvation,

      from the words of my distress?

2  O my God, I cry in the daytime,

      but you do not answer; •

   and by night also, but I find no rest.

3  Yet you are the Holy One, •

   enthroned upon the praises of Israel.

4  Our forebears trusted in you; •

   they trusted, and you delivered them.

5  They cried out to you and were delivered; •

   they put their trust in you and were not confounded.

6  But as for me, I am a worm and no man, •

   scorned by all and despised by the people.

7  All who see me laugh me to scorn; •

   they curl their lips and wag their heads, saying,

8  ‘He trusted in the Lord; let him deliver him; •

   let him deliver him, if he delights in him.’

9  But it is you that took me out of the womb •

   and laid me safe upon my mother’s breast.

10  On you was I cast ever since I was born; •

   you are my God even from my mother’s womb.

11  Be not far from me, for trouble is near at hand •

   and there is none to help.

12  Mighty oxen come around me; •

   fat bulls of Bashan close me in on every side.

13  They gape upon me with their mouths, •

   as it were a ramping and a roaring lion.

14  I am poured out like water;

      all my bones are out of joint; •

   my heart has become like wax

      melting in the depths of my body.

15  My mouth is dried up like a potsherd;

      my tongue cleaves to my gums; •

   you have laid me in the dust of death.

16  For the hounds are all about me,

      the pack of evildoers close in on me; •

   they pierce my hands and my feet.

17  I can count all my bones; •

   they stand staring and looking upon me.

18  They divide my garments among them; •

   they cast lots for my clothing.

19  Be not far from me, O Lord; •

   you are my strength; hasten to help me.

20  Deliver my soul from the sword, •

   my poor life from the power of the dog.

21  Save me from the lion’s mouth,

      from the horns of wild oxen. •

   You have answered me!

Hebrews 10.16-25

16 ‘This is the covenant that I will make with them

   after those days, says the Lord:

I will put my laws in their hearts,

   and I will write them on their minds’,

17he also adds,

‘I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.’

18Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

19 Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, 20by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), 21and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. 24And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, 25not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

This is the word of the Lord.

AllThanks be to God.

or Hebrews 4.14-16; Hebrews 5.7-9

14 Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. 16Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; 9and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him,

This is the word of the Lord.

AllThanks be to God.

Gospel Reading

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.

AllGlory to you, O Lord.

John 18.1-end of 19

18

After Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to a place where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. 2Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, because Jesus often met there with his disciples. 3So Judas brought a detachment of soldiers together with police from the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. 4Then Jesus, knowing all that was to happen to him, came forward and asked them, ‘For whom are you looking?’ 5They answered, ‘Jesus of Nazareth.’ Jesus replied, ‘I am he.’ Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. 6When Jesus said to them, ‘I am he’, they stepped back and fell to the ground. 7Again he asked them, ‘For whom are you looking?’ And they said, ‘Jesus of Nazareth.’ 8Jesus answered, ‘I told you that I am he. So if you are looking for me, let these men go.’ 9This was to fulfil the word that he had spoken, ‘I did not lose a single one of those whom you gave me.’ 10Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave’s name was Malchus. 11Jesus said to Peter, ‘Put your sword back into its sheath. Am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?’

12 So the soldiers, their officer, and the Jewish police arrested Jesus and bound him. 13First they took him to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. 14Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was better to have one person die for the people.

15 Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, 16but Peter was standing outside at the gate. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out, spoke to the woman who guarded the gate, and brought Peter in. 17The woman said to Peter, ‘You are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ 18Now the slaves and the police had made a charcoal fire because it was cold, and they were standing round it and warming themselves. Peter also was standing with them and warming himself.

19 Then the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching. 20Jesus answered, ‘I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. 21Why do you ask me? Ask those who heard what I said to them; they know what I said.’ 22When he had said this, one of the police standing nearby struck Jesus on the face, saying, ‘Is that how you answer the high priest?’ 23Jesus answered, ‘If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong. But if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?’ 24Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

25 Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They asked him, ‘You are not also one of his disciples, are you?’ He denied it and said, ‘I am not.’ 26One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, ‘Did I not see you in the garden with him?’ 27Again Peter denied it, and at that moment the cock crowed.

28 Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to Pilate’s headquarters. It was early in the morning. They themselves did not enter the headquarters, so as to avoid ritual defilement and to be able to eat the Passover. 29So Pilate went out to them and said, ‘What accusation do you bring against this man?’ 30They answered, ‘If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.’ 31Pilate said to them, ‘Take him yourselves and judge him according to your law.’ The Jews replied, ‘We are not permitted to put anyone to death.’ 32(This was to fulfil what Jesus had said when he indicated the kind of death he was to die.)

33 Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ 34Jesus answered, ‘Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?’ 35Pilate replied, ‘I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?’ 36Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.’ 37Pilate asked him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.’ 38Pilate asked him, ‘What is truth?’

After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, ‘I find no case against him. 39But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover. Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?’ 40They shouted in reply, ‘Not this man, but Barabbas!’ Now Barabbas was a bandit.

19

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe. 3They kept coming up to him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ and striking him on the face. 4Pilate went out again and said to them, ‘Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no case against him.’ 5So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, ‘Here is the man!’ 6When the chief priests and the police saw him, they shouted, ‘Crucify him! Crucify him!’ Pilate said to them, ‘Take him yourselves and crucify him; I find no case against him.’ 7The Jews answered him, ‘We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has claimed to be the Son of God.’

8 Now when Pilate heard this, he was more afraid than ever. 9He entered his headquarters again and asked Jesus, ‘Where are you from?’ But Jesus gave him no answer. 10Pilate therefore said to him, ‘Do you refuse to speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?’ 11Jesus answered him, ‘You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.’ 12From then on Pilate tried to release him, but the Jews cried out, ‘If you release this man, you are no friend of the emperor. Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against the emperor.’

13 When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside and sat on the judge’s bench at a place called The Stone Pavement, or in Hebrew Gabbatha. 14Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover; and it was about noon. He said to the Jews, ‘Here is your King!’ 15They cried out, ‘Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!’ Pilate asked them, ‘Shall I crucify your King?’ The chief priests answered, ‘We have no king but the emperor.’ 16Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.

So they took Jesus; 17and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. 18There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. 19Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.’ 20Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. 21Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, ‘Do not write, “The King of the Jews”, but, “This man said, I am King of the Jews.” ’ 22Pilate answered, ‘What I have written I have written.’ 23When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. 24So they said to one another, ‘Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it.’ This was to fulfil what the scripture says,

‘They divided my clothes among themselves,

   and for my clothing they cast lots.’

25And that is what the soldiers did.

Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ 27Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

28 After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfil the scripture), ‘I am thirsty.’ 29A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. 30When Jesus had received the wine, he said, ‘It is finished.’ Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

31 Since it was the day of Preparation, the Jews did not want the bodies left on the cross during the sabbath, especially because that sabbath was a day of great solemnity. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken and the bodies removed. 32Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. 33But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out. 35(He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth.) 36These things occurred so that the scripture might be fulfilled, ‘None of his bones shall be broken.’ 37And again another passage of scripture says, ‘They will look on the one whom they have pierced.’

38 After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body. 39Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. 40They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. 41Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. 42And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

AllPraise to you, O Christ.

Post Communion

The Liturgy of Good Friday may conclude with one of the following prayers without a blessing dismissal

O Lord Jesus Christ,

Son of the living God,

set your passion, cross and death

between your judgement and our souls,

now and in the hour of our death.

Grant mercy and grace to the living,

rest to the departed,

to your Church peace and concord

and to us sinners forgiveness,

and everlasting life and glory;

for, with the Father and the Holy Spirit,

you are alive and reign,

God, now and for ever.

or

Most merciful God,

who by the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ

delivered and saved the world:

grant that by faith in him who suffered on the cross

we may triumph in the power of his victory;

through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,

who is alive and reigns with you,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever.

Reading Notes: From the Monday of Holy Week until the Saturday of Easter Week the seasonal psalmody must be used for Morning and Evening Prayer.

Collect

God our Father,

you have invited us to share in the supper

which your Son gave to his Church

to proclaim his death until he comes:

may he nourish us by his presence,

and unite us in his love;

who is alive and reigns with you,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever.

or

God our Father,

your Son Jesus Christ was obedient to the end

and drank the cup prepared for him:

may we who share his table

watch with him through the night of suffering

and be faithful.

Readings

Exodus 12.1-4 [5-10] 11-14

12

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: 2This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. 3Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. 4If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbour in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it.[ 5Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. 7They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 8They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 9Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. 10You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn.] 11This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the Lord. 12For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgements: I am the Lord. 13The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

14 This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance.

This is the word of the Lord.

All Thanks be to God.

Psalm 116.1, 10-end

1  I love the Lord,

      for he has heard the voice of my supplication; •

   because he inclined his ear to me

      on the day I called to him.

10  How shall I repay the Lord •

   for all the benefits he has given to me?

11  I will lift up the cup of salvation •

   and call upon the name of the Lord.

12  I will fulfil my vows to the Lord •

   in the presence of all his people.

13  Precious in the sight of the Lord •

   is the death of his faithful servants.

14  O Lord, I am your servant, •

   your servant, the child of your handmaid;

      you have freed me from my bonds.

15  I will offer to you a sacrifice of thanksgiving •

   and call upon the name of the Lord.

16  I will fulfil my vows to the Lord •

   in the presence of all his people,

17  In the courts of the house of the Lord, •

   in the midst of you, O Jerusalem.

      Alleluia.

[or Psalm 116.9-end]

9  I believed that I should perish

      for I was sorely troubled; •

   and I said in my alarm,

      ‘Everyone is a liar.’

10  How shall I repay the Lord •

   for all the benefits he has given to me?

11  I will lift up the cup of salvation •

   and call upon the name of the Lord.

12  I will fulfil my vows to the Lord •

   in the presence of all his people.

13  Precious in the sight of the Lord •

   is the death of his faithful servants.

14  O Lord, I am your servant, •

   your servant, the child of your handmaid;

      you have freed me from my bonds.

15  I will offer to you a sacrifice of thanksgiving •

   and call upon the name of the Lord.

16  I will fulfil my vows to the Lord •

   in the presence of all his people,

17  In the courts of the house of the Lord, •

   in the midst of you, O Jerusalem.

      Alleluia.

1 Corinthians 11.23-26

23 For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, 24and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ 25In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ 26For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

This is the word of the Lord.

All Thanks be to God.

Gospel Reading

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.

All Glory to you, O Lord.

John 13.1-17, 31b-35

13

Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper 3Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, 4got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. 5Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. 6He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’ 7Jesus answered, ‘You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.’ 8Peter said to him, ‘You will never wash my feet.’ Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.’ 9Simon Peter said to him, ‘Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!’ 10Jesus said to him, ‘One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.’ 11For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, ‘Not all of you are clean.’

12 After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, ‘Do you know what I have done to you? 13You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. 14So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. 16Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. 17If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.

31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. 32If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. 33Little 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.” 34I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

AllPraise to you, O Christ.

Post Communion

Lord Jesus Christ,

we thank you that in this wonderful sacrament

you have given us the memorial of your passion:

grant us so to reverence the sacred mysteries of your body and blood

that we may know within ourselves

and show forth in our lives

the fruit of your redemption,

for you are alive and reign, now and for ever.