kneel in wonder at heaven touching earth

Strengthen us to proclaim your risen life

Following the resurrection of Jesus, the disciples were filled with boldness and fresh hope, and went on to found the early Church. Those tired and defeated men that had slunk away following the crucifixion came back strengthened sufficiently to change history. Personally, I find that one of the more compelling arguments in favour of the resurrection as a “real” event in history. I don’t think those men could have done what they did without it.

Now here we are, in this Collect, praying for that same strength; strength to proclaim the risen Christ to the world. Now, I don’t think for one minute that I’m going to change history, as the disciples did. But that shouldn’t stop me from trying to share my faith with others. After all, I’ve benefited so much from it, and so can others.

And, in light of the “Great Commission”, it’s difficult to avoid the responsibility to share our faith others. The Great Commission is the instruction to his disciples by the resurrected Jesus Christ, that they spread his teachings to all the peoples of the world. Although a version of it appears in Luke, John and Acts, the version we’re probably most familiar with is to be found in the Gospel of Matthew (28:16-20). In Luke, Jesus tells the disciples to preach repentance and forgiveness, and promises that they will have divine power. In John, Jesus says the disciples will have the Holy Spirit and the authority to forgive sins and to withhold forgiveness. In Acts, Jesus promises the disciples that the Holy Spirit will inspire them. And in Matthew, Jesus directs the disciples to baptize people of all nations in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Trinitarian formula. It has become one of the major doctrines in Christian theology, emphasizing, as it does, missionary work, evangelism, and baptism.

So let us pray that we, too, will be filled with boldness and fresh hope; so that we’ll be strong enough to proclaim Christ’s risen life, and be filled with his peace.

Risen Christ,
you filled your disciples with boldness and fresh hope:
strengthen us to proclaim your risen life
and fill us with your peace,
to the glory of God the Father. Amen.

Additional Collect for The Third Sunday of Easter
is Copyright © The Archbishops Council

Open the doors of our hearts

My thoughts on this week’s Collect have little to do with the content in it, or the Easter season. But do have a lot to do with the phrase quoted above, “open the doors of our hearts”.

I imagine, by now, God just might be a little fed up with hearing me pray, “open, or close, the doors of my heart”. It seems to be something that is frequently on my lips. It’s a prayer I use a lot in any discernment process. I pray that God will open the doors, or make the way easier, if I’m making the right choices: and close the doors, or make the way harder, if I’m making the wrong choices.

And it seems to work for me. When I’m struggling with a decision I’ll keep trying the doors, or exploring the choices, and trust that God will open or close the doors as he sees fit.

It’s amazing how often, after struggling to work out the correct way to take, things feel so very right when you’ve made the right choice — the doors open readily, the way is easier. And the obverse is frequently true too; when you’ve made the wrong choice, everything appears so much more complicated — the doors are barriers and are closed, and the way is harder.

We always have the free-will to break-through the barriers, the closed doors; but I’ve found that if I have to do that, I’m usually going wrong.

I don’t know if my method will work for others; but next time you’re struggling to make a decision, and wondering just which way God wants you to go, you might like to try it for yourself. It worked for the person who taught me, it seems to work for me, and it just might work for you too.

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.

Additional Collect for The Second Sunday of Easter
is Copyright © The Archbishops Council