Evening Prayer Thursday, 25 March 2021
A reading from St John’s Gospel
7 … then he said to his disciples, ‘Let us go back to Judea.’
8 ‘But Rabbi,’ they said, ‘a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?’
9 Jesus answered, ‘Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the day-time will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. 10 It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.’
…
16 Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him.’
John 11: 7–10 & 16 NIV®
Dear Lord, like the original disciples we often resolve to follow Jesus
and to be with him wherever he leads us,
but when the situation looks less good than we had anticipated,
we back away, just as the disciples disappeared when Jesus was arrested.
May we be steadfast, following Jesus on his last journey,
celebrating and praising him with the crowds who welcomed him into Jerusalem as a king,
but recognising the true nature of his kingship: the servant king,
whose followers are called by Jesus to serve the poor and needy, the destitute and outcasts,
putting the well-being of others on an equal footing with their own.
May we go on, like Thomas, to overcome our doubts and fears, and continue to serve our Saviour,
wherever that may take us, even to strange, unfamiliar places, just as Thomas travelled to India,
where he was martyred.
As we look forward to less constrained lives both for ourselves and our Christian community,
may we make effective use of what the coronavirus crisis has taught us
about what our priorities should be.
As a church, may we hold on to the new ways we have discovered to build up fellowship,
and to reach out to those on the margins of our community.
We thank you for the examples of the many people who have worked unceasingly over the past year
to provide us all with our needs.
We ask you to bless and protect all the medical staff, care workers, porters, technicians, drivers,
delivery workers and administrators who keep these essential services running for the good of all.
We give thanks for the remarkable way that vaccines have been developed and made available,
and we pray that all governments and those in authority will recognise the need to ensure that
these vaccines are provided to the whole of humanity.
Amen
So, we close our time of prayer by saying the Grace to one another,
whether we be together or far apart:
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
be with us all, evermore.
Amen
