Readings for the Second Sunday of Easter – 12th April 2026

Collect for the Second Sunday of Easter

Almighty Father, you have given your only Son to die for our sins and to rise again for our justification; grant us so to put away the leaven of malice and wickedness that we may always serve you in pureness of living and truth; through the merits of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Amen

A reading from the book of Acts, chapter 2, verses 14a & 22 to 32

But Peter, standing with the eleven, addressed the crowd, “Fellow Jews, listen to what I

have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power,

wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know - this

man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you

crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. But God raised him up, having

released him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its

power. For David says concerning him, ‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my

right hand so that I will not be shaken; therefore, my heart was glad, and my tongue

rejoiced; moreover, my flesh will live in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades

or let your Holy One experience corruption. You have made known to me the ways of

life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’

“Fellow Israelites, I may say to you confidently of our ancestor David that he both died

and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Since he was a prophet, he knew

that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would put one of his descendants on his

throne. Foreseeing this, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying,

‘He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh experience corruption.’

“This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses.”

A reading from the first letter of Peter, chapter 1, verses 3 to 9

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has

given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the

dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in

heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a

salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, even if now for a little

while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith - being

more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire - may be found to result

in praise and glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. Although you have not

seen him, you love him, and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him

and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of

your faith, the salvation of your souls.

A reading from the gospel according to John, chapter 20, verses 19 to 31

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house

where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood

among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his

hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to

them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he

had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you

forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are

retained.” But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them

when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he

said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the

mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although

the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand

and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and

my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed

are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in

this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the

Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

Second Collect

Lord God our Father, through our Saviour Jesus Christ, you have assured

your children of eternal life and in baptism have made us one with him; deliver us from the death of sin and raise us to new life in your love, in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen