10 May 2026 May 2026 - Sixth Sunday of Easter – Year A

Charlie Meiklejohn and the team from Christian Aid Scotland mark Christian Aid Week, looking at the fears that hold us back from doing good and how we can live out our Christian call in our complex world.

Introduction

These readings line up with Christian Aid Week 2026. As such, a group of us from the Christian Aid Scotland Team (The Very Rev Sally Foster-Fulton, Val Brown, Charlie Meiklejohn, Leanne Clelland and Calum Martin), have worked on this Weekly Worship in collaboration.

We represent a range of life experiences, theological backgrounds, and denominational expressions. What we have in common is a shared belief that God is a God of love and justice, and a strong desire to see a world where all can live a full life, free from poverty.

We divided the sections amongst ourselves after an initial conversation about the passages and themes. While we would have ideally met again to work all the contributions together, diaries didn't allow. We did, however, have some spirited email exchanges, sense-checking interpretations and asking each other for insight. This sort of ‘theology in the round' has always been one of my favourite parts of working for Christian Aid. Our shared sense of vocation allows us to bring an openness and curiosity to spiritual ponderings, and to learn from each other's experiences and traditions.

It has then fallen to me (Charlie) to tie all the threads together. I have tried to preserve the individual perspectives, while hopefully weaving together a cohesive tapestry. Across the passages, there seems to be a call to consider our role in God's mission on earth, an invitation to act for justice, and a reminder that we are part of a global community. These themes fit nicely with Christian Aid Week.

The spotlight story for this year's Christian Aid Week appeal is Fridah, a mother and grandmother living in an informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya. With support from Christian Aid's partner, Beacon of Hope, Fridah is growing vegetables in planters and small plots of land between dwellings. This unlikely harvest allows her to increase her family's nutrition, and to sell vegetables at market for extra income. Fridah uses those funds to send her children and grandchildren to school, in hope that an education will help them succeed in life, and break the cycle of poverty that she has experienced.

It's worth noting that there are additional Christian Aid Week worship resources and visuals on the Christian Aid website, should you like to explore the stories further or incorporate them in your service.

Acts 17:22-31

If you had thirty seconds to draw "a thriving church", what might it look like? Is it a building with a spire? Is it a group of people and an open door?

For members of the Areopagus, a powerful aristocratic court in ancient Athens, their concept of a thriving institution might have looked different. Whilst the Athens that Paul visited was no longer at the zenith of its classical power, it remained a city of philosophical and mercantile prowess. That meeting space stood surrounded by splendid courts and temples, and in the shadow of the mighty Acropolis. Towering statues and temples lavished with gold were what some of them might have considered the sign of a thriving institution.

Yet for all the wealth centred on the temples and institutions around and above the Areopagus, there is clear unmet spiritual longing in the city.

There is in creation a call to all humanity. A call to a living harmony with one another, with all creation, and with God. Christian Aid articulates this as the belief that we are called to reconcile broken relationships, between people, God and creation.

This passage sees Pauls sharing the good news of that call at the Areopagus, but in looking for signs of folks feeling that call and seeking, reaching instinctively for God, Paul finds resonance more in the humble undecorated altar near the marketplace. Not away up on the glittering hilltop, but down where the people of Athens are living and working. Those temples of gold and ivory shine from above, but viewed from the city below, leave shadows no less flat and lifeless as if they were made of lead.

Perhaps that same puzzle applies to us in Scotland today. We who have long nicknamed our own capital city a latter day "Athens of the North". Many folks still have spiritual longings and questions. How do we best represent and share the good news? How do we communicate the relevance of the gospel and the purpose of the church in a society where celebration of accumulated wealth and personal celebrity are still hailed as what we should look up to, casting unsatisfying shadows over an unequal society?

In Athens, Paul suggests the answer is at least partly in living out the good news in the everyday. Encountering God not only in a designated space and time, but also seeking a living breathing kingdom of love in our daily routines, and in our society. A prayer, or a collection envelope, or a voice raised to speak out for justice: each reflects what it means to be known and loved by God, and to work together toward a world where all can live full and dignified lives.

Perhaps when we sketch "a thriving church" we must start with its context. Reaching out in the heart of its community. Living out the love of God, and perhaps without realising, transforming the world around it.

Psalm 66:8-20

Opening with one of those great echoing declarations from the Psalmist, "praise our God, all peoples" (NIV) how quickly we are reminded here that we are all members of one flock, known and loved by the same shepherd.

So too, is this Psalm a reflection that our world, our global society, is a complex tapestry. Many different threads and strands that can seem disparate are tightly woven together. An action here has an impact there, even when unseen. Here we open with a lament at suffering in our shared creation. It is "all peoples", "our lives", "our heads" on which these challenges fall.

Yet the response to these challenges is not to give up or leave it to someone else to fix, but to call out for God's justice in this world. Further, the words of lament are backed by action. Each of us has an active part to play in bringing about a just world for all people.

In reading verses 13 to 15 though, we might ponder what that looks like. What does it mean to make offerings to God? We may not be bringing burnt offerings of sacrificial animals, but in the words of the Prophets and the teachings of Jesus we see spelt out how our offerings can still be made. In offerings of service to one another, and in care for creation, we answer that call to join with and help build the kingdom here on earth.

In the Christian Aid framework of "Give, Act, Pray," we see some of the different ways we can make those offerings today. To not simply repeat gospel calls for justice as words, but to pray together for and with fellow communities around the world. To speak out when we see unjust systems, and to share those reflections with MSPs and those in power. To give of our hearts in loving one another across the whole of God's creation.

We also see the outcome in verse 16. What tells out the love of God in 21st century Scotland better than burnt offerings, but the willingness of our churches to love as we are loved? In the easing of suffering and the righting of injustices across the street and around the world, God's love and living presence is reflected out that all may see. It is in preserving lives and delivering justice that for "all people [we] let the sound of his praise be heard".

And finally, that great joy linking the two ends of the reading, that the love of God is never withheld in tackling injustice and suffering. That whether in prayer, or in service, that when we seek to live out God's love, we find ourselves embraced by that same almighty love.

1 Peter 3:13-22

Was Peter trying to set out the parameters for this newly formed community of God to model anti-violent resistance? Was he extolling them to keep their heads down under the reign of the brutal Emperor Nero? Would this avoid giving the occupying forces any reason to have a problem with them? In all cases, possibly. Whatever the motivation behind them, these verses are difficult at face value. If taken literally, they appear to justify oppression, submission and perhaps even glorify suffering.

When faced with a ‘difficult' passage, it can help to hold it within the context of the full narrative arc and revelation of scripture. The assertion that God requires us to suffer doesn't sit well with the message of the prophets, nor with the life of Jesus. Jesus challenged authority, questioned injustice and modelled non-violent resistance to the Roman occupation of his homeland. Suffering being something that God ‘wills' for people sits at odds with the witness of Jesus.

Theologian Catherine LaCugna deals bluntly with interpretations that conflict with the revelation of God through the life of Jesus. In her reflections, she suggests, "The life of Jesus Christ is at odds with the sexist theology of complementarity, the racist theology of white superiority, the clerical theology of cultic privilege, the political theology of exploitation and economic injustice, and the patriarchal theology of male dominance and control." LaCugna's claims challenge our complacency and call us to consider where toxic theologies stifle Christ's call for love and equity.

At its core, our faith is in a God of justice and love. Jesus was brutally murdered by the Roman occupation because he was questioning their authority, and challenging their social, political and economic practices. He refused to allow the behaviour of the Romans to be made palatable in any way with the teachings of God. This made him a constant thorn in the side of the religious elites of his day.

Our God empathises with suffering, and today millions of our siblings around the world suffer oppression, poverty, daily injustices, grief, want and misery. God is relevant and relatable and a source of hope and comfort.

But for those of us whose lives are relatively free from suffering, there is a call for us too. A different angle on the text might be that Peter is saying that we will all face suffering at some point in life. If suffering is therefore inevitable, wouldn't it be better for it to be a consequence of ‘doing good,' rather than ‘doing evil,' making things worse for others?

Speaking out against injustice can be uncomfortable. Choosing to shop ethically can be expensive. Disagreeing with the status quo can be isolating. These might not be considered "suffering," in the strongest terms, but they still bear a financial, social or emotional cost. When we consider which costs we're willing to bear, perhaps Peter is encouraging us to choose the hardships that make the world a bit fairer, more just, or more equitable. Maybe we need to be more like Jesus and use our voice to challenge and change the structures that keep others suffering.

Catherine M LaCugna, "God in Communion with Us" in Freeing Theology: The Essentials of Theology in Feminist Perspective. ed. Catherine M LaCugna, (New York: Harper Collins, 1993), pp 83-114, p99.

John 14:15-21

This could read like a manager in a dressing room before a big game, getting the players to believe that they are ready, and just need to trust in themselves and each other to get out there and get the job done. Jesus makes it clear that living out their calling wasn't a task they were being left to do alone. He reassures them that they know how to do this, because they have seen Jesus do it for three years. The call was enormous, and dangerous, but they were the ones being commissioned.

When we look at the world today, with a select few amassing obscene wealth at the expense of other human beings, lies being told by the powerful, destruction of our common home, aggressive marketing by companies with no regard for the wellbeing of consumer, the call to be God's hands and feet on this earth seems daunting, if not impossible.

And yet, here we are, part of the body of Christ, empowered by our faith in a just God with a job to do. But we need not do this alone. We have the Spirit, the church community, the church nationally, Christian Aid, partner organisations around the world, the World Council of Churches, people of goodwill both near and far. We all have a small part to play in this ongoing work of journeying towards a more just world where all people can thrive, ‘keeping on keeping on,' even when things are hard. What's your part to play this week, or in this season?

Sermon ideas

Themes emerge across the texts this week, so lean into them. It is an opportunity to explore, to ask questions, to have a conversation with the texts and with each other. Read the texts several times over and discover what resonates with you.

One example to unpack is the profound difference between speaking and doing highlighted in our lectionary texts. The Psalmist understands that prayers are heard because the words spoken in praise to God are echoed and embodied in actions. If they had ‘cherished iniquity in their hearts' while praising with their words, the words would have been hollow and the praise unfounded. The writer acknowledges the temptation to abandon promises made during times of trouble but affirms their intention to be faithful to them.

Ask your listeners to consider times when they have experienced hardship or pain and realised, through that lived experience, how their actions and inactions might contribute to the pain of others. When they recovered, did the lesson stick or did they return to the default position of the expected status quo?

The God described in Acts is not described as a deity to be appeased, but a love so intimate and integral it is all around us; it is in feeling around, searching and living out that God is praised. The ‘unknown God' is right here, with, within, without you.

Again, the theme is strong in John's gospel text, ‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments.' If you are serious, you will embody (imitate) me and I will embody you. I will emanate from you. ‘The World,' (better understood as the systems that profit a few at the expense of the many) struggle to see the truth because their sight is clouded by ‘what's in it for me first?'

Finally, 1 Peter does not shy away from the reality of challenge, of struggle, of suffering, but the text calls the reader not ‘to fear what they fear'. In the texts for today, there are many references to times of intense struggle – the time of Israel's slavery in Egypt, flood, fire, oppression, exile.

What fears hold us back from doing good: fear of failure, loss of money, status, stability? This is an opportunity to consider how we live out Christ's call to love in a complex world where it would be easier to compromise or domesticate love-inspired justice values.

Prayers

Gathering prayer
God our maker, our shepherd, our redeemer
We come before You today from different journeys and from different weeks
With different names, with different voices
Yet we come before You together.
Together as a congregation,
Together as a community,
Together as a church.

We come before You together within these walls, and together beyond these walls
From every land, and in every corner of creation.
How many different names? How many different voices?
Beyond our knowing, beyond our counting
Yet each known and loved by You

Loving God, this Christian Aid Week
As we gather today, help us to respond to Your word,
to hear Your voice, to care for Your creation
and in one another see not stranger or other
but fellow souls, known and loved by the same Shepherd.

Let us in our lives, in our actions, and in our care,
reflect a glimpse of Your love, that all might see
And all might know You better
Amen

Option – this can then lead into the Lord's Prayer, if that is part of your worship pattern. This we pray, in the name of Your Son, who taught us to together pray:
"Our Father...

Confession / Repentance
God of mercy and grace,
Your steadfast love extends to the heavens,
Your faithfulness to the clouds.
Yet still we turn away from You.
We give up in the face of challenges.
We allow division to deepen.
We tell ourselves that You have deserted us.
When we lose faith, loving God,
in Your mercy:
Forgive us and help us.

Jesus, You call us to love one another
and share our good gifts with our neighbours.
But too often we say:
‘Am I my brother's keeper?'
We hold tight to what is ours.
We do not listen to cries for justice.
We tell ourselves that there is nothing we can do.
When we fail to turn our faith
into action, loving God,
in Your mercy:
Forgive us and help us.

Holy Spirit, Your fruit is faithfulness,
love, joy and peace.
Too often we fear the growth and change that comes with being guided by You.
We would rather pursue our own way.
We do what is wrong
and we neglect to do what is good.
When we fall short as faithful followers, loving God,
in Your mercy:

Forgive us and help us.

From Christian Aid Week 2026 resources

Thanksgiving / Gratitude
Creator of all,
You are faithful to the world
You have made.
I will praise You Lord,
with all my heart.
[Pause to give thanks for Creation and for our brothers and sisters across the world.]

Giver of abundant life,
You long for our flourishing.
I will praise You Lord,
with all my heart.
[Pause to pray for the areas in our church where we are flourishing or long to grow.]

Good Shepherd of the sheep,
You know us and love us.
I will praise You Lord,
with all my heart.
[Pause to pray for those in our church and in our communities who look after us.]

Lord, as we gather in prayer and praise,
we ask that You renew our faith,
and form us into one body,
ready to serve You.
Amen.

From Christian Aid Week 2026 resources

Prayer for others / Intercession
God of resurrection
We turn from the cross of death towards the tree of life
And dare to imagine another possible world
Where violent conflict becomes peaceful reconciliation
(pause in silence, or to name places of conflict)

Where hunger and thirst are filled and quenched
Where barriers of exclusion become bridges of opportunity
(pause in silence, or to name needs in the community)

Where pain and tears are healed and tenderly wiped away
Where world weary hearts are strengthened and re-energised
Where the leaves of the tree heal all the nations
(pause in silence, or to name people who are grieving, ill, or facing hardship)

In a time of inequality and division we are united by hope,
anticipating the flourishing of creation and fullness of life for everyone
To the glory and praise of Your Almighty name.
Amen

From Christian Aid's Restore campaign

Blessing / Closing prayer
May Jesus, who is the way, guide you.
May Jesus, who is the truth, speak through you.
May Jesus, who is the life, fill you with purpose.
And may God's blessing go with you today and always.
Amen.

From Christian Aid Week 2026 resources

Musical suggestions

The music chosen reflects the ways in which God, in all divine mystery, appears through creation and through the trinity, through hope, justice and life in all its fullness. These hymns and songs also reflect how worship – though expressed differently in differing global and theological contexts – is united in purpose: bearing witness to our hope in Christ.

Gathering
This song from West Africa (Nigeria) invites the Holy Spirit to join our gathering.
Come, O Holy Spirit, come / Wa wa wa Emimimo (Wild Goose Resource Group)

GWA 126 – "Vem, Espirito Santo" – Come, O Holy Spirit, come and hear the plea of your people
Like the psalmist and the writer of Acts, Kathy Galloway and Keith and Kristyn Getty make the link between the God's glory and justice.
CH4 172 - "Sing for God's glory that colours the dawn of creation" Kathy Galloway
Creation Sings The Father's Song| Hymnary.org, Keith and Kristyn Getty

Word
In this Christian Aid Week these songs give voice to the hope that all people of faith and goodwill hold: that the systems and structures that keep people poor would be made new, and that we would be moved by God's prompting from apathy to action.
GWA 226 – "God of all comfort"
CH4 362 – "Heaven shall not wait"
CH4 251 – "I, the Lord of sea and sky"
CH4 537 – "We do not hope to ease our minds"

Response
Perhaps dismissed elsewhere as a romantic notion, divine and incarnational love is revolutionary. These songs which span denominations and the ages, reflect on the power of love to change the world.
GWA 224 – "Sing a new world into being"
CH4 115 – "Love is the touch of intangible joy"
CH4 519 – "Love divine, all loves excelling"
CH4 198 – "Let us build a house where love can dwell"
MP 806 – "God of the poor" – Graham Kendrick
There is a hope – Stuart Townend

All-age suggestion
Based on ‘We Shall Overcome', a well-known protest song, this all-age suggestion reminds all of us that that together it is possible to overcome difficulties and problems.
We will find a way – Fischy Music

Sending
Having considered the reason for the hope within us and the love which unites us for justice, these two global songs remind us that together, and in the light of God, another world is possible.
CH4 256 – "May the God of hope go with us every day" – Argentinian song translated by Alvin Schutmaat
CH4 771 – "If you believe and I believe" – Zimbabwean traditional song
CH4 622 – "We sing a love that sets all people free"

God Welcomes All (GWA) is the new supplement to Church Hymnary Fourth Edition. This exciting new collection features over 200 hymns and songs in a wide range of styles by writers from Scotland and around the world.

The full music and words-only versions are now available; and digital resources, including the expansion of the existing Church of Scotland music website, will be published in due course, with streaming functions and further information on each song; backing tracks; and lyric videos. God Welcomes All is available to order from https://chbookshop.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9781786225573/god-welcomes-all

Our online music resource is on the Church of Scotland website; you can listen to samples of every song in the Church Hymnary 4th edition (CH4) and download a selection of recordings for use in worship. You will also find playlists for this week and liturgical seasons and themes on the Weekly Worship and Inspire Me tabs.

You can find further musical suggestions for this week in a range of styles on the Songs for Sunday blog from Trinity College Glasgow.

A suggested playlist of songs from CH4 throughout Easter can be found on the Church of Scotland website.

Reflecting on our worship practice

Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, the way we worship has changed and we need to reflect on the changing or newly established patterns that emerged and continue to emerge as a result of the disruption.

We can facilitate worship for all by exploring imaginative approaches to inclusion, participation and our use of technologies in ways that suit our contexts. This is not an exhaustive list, but some things we could consider are:

• Framing various parts of the worship service in accessible language to help worshippers understand the character and purpose of each part. This is essential for creating worship for all (intergenerational worship) that reflects your community of faith.
• Holding spaces for reflection and encouraging prayer to be articulated in verbal and non-verbal ways, individually and in online breakout rooms.
• In online formats the effective use of the chat function and microphone settings encourages active participation in prayer, e.g. saying the Lord's Prayer together unmuted, in a moment of ‘holy chaos'.
• While singing in our congregations is still restricted, we can worship corporately by using antiphonal psalm readings, creeds and participative prayers.
• Using music and the arts as part of the worship encourages the use of imagination in place of sung or spoken words.
• Use of silence, sensory and kinaesthetic practices allow for experience and expression beyond regular audio and visual mediums.

The following questions might help you develop a habit of reflecting on how we create and deliver content and its effectiveness and impact, and then applying what we learn to develop our practice.

• How inclusive was the worship?
  Could the worship delivery and content be described as worship for all/ intergenerational?
  Was it sensitive to different "Spiritual Styles"?
• How was the balance between passive and active participation?
• How were people empowered to connect with or encounter God?
  What helped this?
  What hindered this?
• How cohesive was the worship?
  Did it function well as a whole?
  How effective was each of the individual elements in fulfilling its purpose?
• How balanced was the worship?
  What themes/topics/doctrines/areas of Christian life were included?
• How did the worship connect with your context/contemporary issues?
  Was it relevant in the everyday lives of those attending and in the wider parish/ community?
  How well did the worship connect with local and national issues?
  How well did the worship connect with world events/issues?
• What have I learned that can help me next time I plan and deliver worship?

Useful links

You can listen to samples of every song in the Church Hymnary 4th edition (CH4) and download a selection of recordings for use in worship in our online hymnary.

You are free to download, project, print and circulate multiple copies of any of this material for use in worship services, bible studies, parish magazines, etc., but reproduction for commercial purposes is not permitted.

Please note that the views expressed in these materials are those of the individual writer and not necessarily the official view of the Church of Scotland, which can be laid down only by the General Assembly.