Dear all,
Like last Sunday, we have another unusual image. Traditionally, the risen and triumphant Christ was depicted without obvious wounds or scars from his crucifixion. But here, Caravaggio, the provocative and unruly Italian painter, goes out of his way to draw our attention to them. In the face of Thomas’ skepticism, Jesus invites him to “put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.”
What does inspecting or even probing the wounds of Christ have to do with faith in the resurrection we may wonder? How does it help Thomas to stop doubting and to believe? And what difference does it make to us, now that Jesus has ascended to the right hand of the Father and is now physically absent from us? What does it mean when the Bible speaks of the Church as “the body of Christ”? Is there some sense in which Christ is still physically present with us? Can we still touch the wounds of the crucified in the new world that has been opened by the resurrection? Why would we want to?
Order of Service
SUNDAY, April 24, 2022
Prelude:
Hymn 258: “Thine be the Glory”
Prayer of Adoration
Prayer of Confession
Declaration of Grace and Lord’s Prayer
Responsive reading: Psalm 150
Revelation 1: 4-8
Anthem: “Praise the Lord with the sound of trumpet”
Acts 5:27-32
John 20: 19-31
Hymn 452: “Jesus stand among us”
Meditation: “Easter Wounds”
Hymn 257 “The strive is o’er, the battle won”
Offering and Offertory
Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession
Hymn 565: “Come my Way, my Truth, my Life”
Benediction
“Go Now in Peace”
Postlude: