This week’s Readings and Sermon for the second Sunday of Easter
The Collect for This Week
Risen Christ, faithful shepherd of your Father’s sheep: teach us to hear your voice and to follow your command, that all your people may be gathered into one flock, to the glory of God the Father.Amen
The Post Communion Prayer for this week
Living God, your Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: open the eyes of our faith, that we may see him in all his redeeming work; who is alive and reigns, now and for ever. Amen
The Psalm for this Sunday is Psalm 23
1 The Lord is my shepherd; therefore can I lack nothing. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters. 3 He shall refresh my soul and guide me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me; you have anointed my head with oil and my cup shall be full. 6 Surely goodness and loving mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning is now and shall be forever. Amen
The First Reading for this Sunday is taken from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 2, verses 42 to 47
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
43 Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. 44 All who believed were together and had all things in common; 45 they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.
This is the Word of the Lord Thanks be to God
The New Testament reading for this Sunday is taken from the First Letter of St Peter, Chapter 2, verses 19 to 25
19 For it is to your credit if, being aware of God, you endure pain while suffering unjustly. 20 If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, where is the credit in that? But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God’s approval. 21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.
22 ‘He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.’ 23 When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.
This is the Word of the Lord Thanks be to God
The Gospel reading for this Sunday is taken from the Gospel of St John, Chapter 10, verses 1 to 10
Hear the Gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ, according to Luke Glory to You, o Lord
1 Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.’ 6 Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
7 So again Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to You, o Christ
Note :All readings are shared from the Church of England Lectionary App and are subject to copyright . © The Archbishop’s Council
This week’s sermon is delivered by Rev Samuel Hameem
“May my words and my thoughts be acceptable to you O Lord my refuge and my redeemer amen.”
As long as the church has existed, baptism has been an integral part of the church worship, and if we recall the last words Jesus that he spoke to His disciples just before his ascension, that are written in the end of the Gospel according to Matthew, we can see the threefold instruction over there: make disciples, baptize those who believe, and teach them (new believers) His commands. That is why we as a church baptize people because our Lord Jesus has commanded us to do so. And that is why we are here this morning to baptize Phoebe.
And that is what disciples were doing in the reading we just heard from the book of Acts. The passage from the Book of Acts we just heard tells us that when Peter spoke to the people on the day of Pentecost, three thousand people were baptized and the disciples added them to the church. When Peter and the other disciples added people to the church, it does not mean that they heeded Peter's words, but rather that the people heard the voice that was speaking to them through Peter, that is, they heard the voice of God that was talking to through Peter.
If we ponder on our lives, we could find many voices around us each day in our daily lives and in our daily routines. Sometimes we could find those voices convincing, but we need to remember that not every voice leads us in the right direction, and that is what Jesus is telling us in our today’s Gospel reading.
If we recall today’s Gospel reading in our minds, we could see that in this passage, Jesus is speaking of something very simple yet deeply personal. According to Kt Tupling, an Anglican priest and Diocesan Disability Advisor, wrote in The Canterbury Preachers Companion 2026 that,
“Typical of Jesus’ teaching methods, he looks around at the familiar – the ordinary life context of the crowds, and imagery from Scripture – and begins a story. Jesus begins with sheep and shepherd with overtones of his ancestor King David who begin his life as a shepherd. In ancient times, a shepherd was more than just a caretaker or sheep, he was a protector, a guide, and source of sustenance… when we think about sheep, we realize they are often vulnerable, easily frightened, and prone to wandering.”
In today’s Gospel reading Jesus is saying that his sheep follows him not because they are forced, not because they are confused, but because they recognize his voice.
And today, as we are about to add another sheep to His fold through baptism, we need to first reflect on our own lives and ask ourselves, am I listening to the voice of my Shepherd? Because listening to the voice means obeying His commands, reading His Word, and spending time with Him, and putting Jesus first in every decision in your life.
In our lives there will always be distractions, but we need to remember that we need listen to Jesus’ voice because he is not just a shepherded for our lives, but he is a Good shepherded. His voice does not push us into fear or confusion, rather it leads us to the truth, even when it challenges us.
And that is why we are here today for this service, not only to baptize this child, but also to make promise that we will as church, parents and Godparents will guide, protect and direct her to the Good Shepherd, but we can only do this if we practice it ourselves.
Baptism should be a time of celebration for the believer, for the family and for the church, but not just celebration for sake of celebration, rather, because through baptism God has included us in His family, and we are to glorify His name with our lives.
As today this young child is about to join God’s family today, we need to spend our lives in front of her, in such a way that through our lives she can recognize Jesus and his voice who is Good Shepherded for our lives.
May God bless you all.
Amen