Easter 5B

THE FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER—MAY 2, 2021 JESUS THE VINE OF LIFE A PREPARED MEDITATION FOR A BEAD AND A PRAYER
	CROSS		To God, the Keeper of the Vineyard, we give our thanks and praise. To the One in whom we live, we lift our hearts in joyful song. To the Spirit, who brings forth fruits of peace and justice, we celebrate life and love.
	INVITATORY		Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy Name. Amen.
	CRUCIFORM		Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One: Have mercy on us and in your compassion heal our brokenness.
	WEEK 1		John 15 ♦ “I am the true vine, and the Holy One who sent me is the vine grower who cuts off every branch in me that doesn’t bear fruit, but prunes the fruitful ones to increase their yield. ♦ You’ve been pruned already, thanks to the word that I have spoken to you. Live on in me, as I do in you. ♦ Just as a branch cannot bear fruit of itself apart from the vine, neither can you bear fruit apart from me. I am the vine; you are the branches. ♦ Those who live in me and I in them will bear abundant fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. ♦ Those who don’t live in meare like withered, rejected branches, to be picked up and thrown on the fire and burned. ♦ If you live on in me, and my words live on in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you. In such God will be glorified if you bear much fruit and thus prove to be my disciples. ♦ As God has loved me, so have I loved you. Live on in my love. And you will live on in my love if you keep my commandments, just as I live on in God’s love and have kept God’s commandments. Priests for Equality. The Inclusive Bible. Sheed & Ward.
	CRUCIFORM		Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One: Have mercy on us and in your compassion heal our brokenness.
	WEEK 2		Isaiah 6 ♦Let me now sing of my friend—it is a love song about a vineyard. My friend had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. ♦My friend dug the soil, cleared the stones, and planted the choicest vines; then within it built a watchtower, and constructed a winepress. My friend anticipated the crop of grapes, but what it yielded was rotten grapes. ♦“Now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah—judge between me and my vineyard: What more could I have done for my vineyard that I haven’t done? ♦Why, when I looked for the crop of grapes, did it bring forth bad fruit? ♦Now I will let you know what I mean to do to my vineyard: take away its hedge, give it over to grazing, break through its wall, let it be trampled! ♦I will let it go to wilderness; it will not be pruned or hoed, but overgrown with thorns and briars. I will command the clouds not to send rain upon it.” ♦The vineyard of the Holy God, Holy and Almighty is the house of Israel and the people of Judah are God’s cherished vine. God looked for justice, but found bloodshed; for the doing of God's will, but found only a cry of suffering. Priests for Equality. The Inclusive Bible. Sheed & Ward.
	CRUCIFORM		Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One: Have mercy on us and in your compassion heal our brokenness.
	WEEK 3		Luke 20 ♦ Then Jesus went on to tell the people this parable: “A landowner planted a vineyard, leased it to several farmers and left for a long journey. ♦When the time came, a worker was sent to the farmers to collect the landowner’s share of the harvest. The farmers drove the worker off with a beating. ♦ So the landowner sent a second worker, who likewise was beaten and driven off empty-handed. A third was beaten, and sent packing with none of the harvest. ♦ “The owner of the vineyard said, ‘What will I do? I’ll send my firstborn, whom I love; maybe that will get their respect.’ ♦ But when the tenants learned of this, they conspired to kill the heir in order to gain control of the inheritance. So they murdered the firstborn outside the vineyard. “What will the landowner do to them? ♦ The owner will come and execute those tenants and turn the vineyard over to others.” When the people heard this, they said, “God forbid!” ♦ But Jesus stared at them and said, “Then tell me what the scripture means when it says, ‘The stone which the builders rejected became the cornerstone.’ Priests for Equality. The Inclusive Bible. Sheed & Ward.
	CRUCIFORM		Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One: Have mercy on us and in your compassion heal our brokenness.
	WEEK 4		Revelation 14. 6-8, 14-19 ♦ Then I saw an angel flying high overhead, sent to announce the Good News of eternity to all who live on the earth—every nation, race, language and tribe. In a loud voice I heard, “Give reverence and glory to God, for the hour of divine judgment has come. Worship the One who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.” ♦ A second angel followed and said, “Babylon has fallen! Babylon the Great has fallen, who made the whole world drink the wine of its corrupt passions.” ♦ In my vision a white cloud appeared, and on the cloud sat someone who looked like the Promised One, wearing a crown and holding a sharp sickle. ♦ Then an angel came out of the Temple and in a loud voice cried out to the one sitting on the cloud, “Use your sickle and cut down the harvest, for now is the time to reap; the earth’s harvest is fully ripe.” ♦ So the one sitting on the cloud wielded the sickle over all the earth and reaped the earth’s harvest. Then out of the Temple in heaven came another angel, who likewise held a sharp sickle. ♦ A second angel, who was in charge of the fire at the altar of incense, cried out in a loud voice to the one who held the sharp sickle, “Use your sharp sickle and gather the grapes from the vines of the earth, for the clusters are ripe.” ♦ So the angel wielded the sickle over the earth and gathered the grapes of the earth. Priests for Equality. The Inclusive Bible. Sheed & Ward.
	CRUCIFORM		Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One: Have mercy on us and in your compassion heal our brokenness.
	INVITATORY		To you, O God, be all glory, majesty, and praise.
	CROSS		May God bless you and keep you. May God’S face shine upon you, and be gracious to you. May God look kindly upon you, and give you peace. Amen.