Lord Jesus, open to us the scriptures; make our hearts burn within us while you speak. See Luke 24.32
On the Third Sunday of Easter we find ourselves with Saul of Tarsus, a great enemy of the Gospel, coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ. Saul will henceforth be known to the Church as the Apostle Paul; a dedicated servant of Christ, stalwart defender of the faith, and theologian responsible for writing much of the New Testament. In Psalm 30, a song for the dedication of the temple, we hear of God's steadfast love and faithfulness. Revelation 5.11-14 depicts the heavenly choirs of angels praising the Lamb that had been slain. In John 21.1-19 the disciples are back out in the boats. They see Jesus, and he instructs them to cast their nets on the right side of the boat, just as he had in the earlier story in Luke 5. This time the fish are counted... 153 large fish! We also see the restoration of Peter as he has opportunity to follow Jesus again even after denying him.
Scriptures: Acts 9.1-20, Psalm 30, Revelation 5.11-14, John 21.1-19
Hymns: click on the link to hear a recording of the hymn.
#306 O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing.
#482 Come and Journey with a Saviour.
#385 Worship the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness
#482 Jesus Calls Us O'er the Tumult.
Ecumenical Prayer Cycle: Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.
Art and Pictures:
Swanson, John August. The Great Catch, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56550 [retrieved April 27, 2025]. Original source: Estate of John August Swanson, https://www.johnaugustswanson.com/. 1
Ethnic Uzbek refugees from Afghanistan in the Shamshatoo refugee camp near Peshawar, Pakistan.
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