Listen to or read a short service of prayer for the Monday after the Second Sunday of Easter, 20 April 2020.
Preparation
O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
If I climb up to heaven, you are there;
if I make the grave my bed, you are there also.
Praise
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.
Amen.
Psalm 2:1-9
Why are the nations in tumult,
and why do the peoples devise a vain plot?
The kings of the earth rise up, and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and against his anointed:
‘Let us break their bonds asunder
and cast away their cords from us.’
He who dwells in heaven shall laugh them to scorn;
the Lord shall have them in derision.
Then shall he speak to them in his wrath
and terrify them in his fury:
‘Yet have I set my king
upon my holy hill of Zion.’
I will proclaim the decree of the Lord;
he said to me: ‘You are my Son; this day have I begotten you.
‘Ask of me and I will give you the nations for your inheritance
and the ends of the earth for your possession.
‘You shall break them with a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.’
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now and shall be for ever. Amen.
Reading
Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, “You must be born from above.” The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.’
John 3:1–8 (NRSV)
This is the word of the Lord.
Prayers
In the power of the Spirit, let us pray to God.
Renew your Church by the working of the Holy Spirit. In quiet and humble rebirth may your people find new strength as your body in the world and show the way of salvation to all who seek.
God who loved the world even to sending the Son to be its Saviour, come among us for the healing of conflict between nations and races. Draw those who hold power and influence into the presence of Christ, to know his love and to make it their own in all their dealings.
Lift up our eyes to see the grace of God in all around us. Lift up our hearts to be his messengers to our families and friends and throughout our community. Help us to find in what is familiar the new birth of his love.
Have mercy on those who have lost their way and no longer seek to know God and to do his will. May the life-governing Spirit bring healing to the sick, and strength to those who minister to them.
May the souls of those who have died be gloriously born again to the eternal life where love is complete and the night of seeking turns to the perfect day. May we too in our time be born again in glory.
We pray in the name of Christ, lifted up in pain and in triumph for our sake.
Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
Amen.
Gathering our prayers and praises into one,
let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power, and the glory
for ever and ever.
Amen.
The Conclusion
May the risen Christ give us his peace.
Alleluia. Amen.
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