This week’s Readings and Sermon for the Tenth Sunday After Trinity
The Collect for This Week
Amen
The Post Communion Prayer for this week
Amen
The Psalm for this Sunday is Psalm 105
O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples. Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wonderful works. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually. Remember the wonderful works he has done, his miracles, and the judgements he has uttered, O offspring of his servant Abraham, children of Jacob, his chosen ones. When he summoned famine against the land, and broke every staff of bread, he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave. His feet were hurt with fetters, his neck was put in a collar of iron; until what he had said came to pass, the word of the Lord kept testing him. The king sent and released him; the ruler of the peoples set him free. He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his possessions, to instruct[b] his officials at his pleasure, and to teach his elders wisdom. that they might keep his statutes and observe his laws. Praise the Lord!
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 Old Testament reading for this Sunday is taken from the Book of the Genesis, Chapter 37: 1-4, 12-28
Jacob settled in the land where his father had lived as an alien, the land of Canaan. This is the story of the family of Jacob.
Joseph, being seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with his brothers; he was a helper to the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he had made him a long robe with sleeves.[a] But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to Joseph Is Sold by His Brothers
Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem. And Israel said to Joseph, ‘Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.’ He answered, ‘Here I am.’ So he said to him, ‘Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock; and bring word back to me.’ So he sent him from the valley of Hebron.
He came to Shechem, and a man found him wandering in the fields; the man asked him, ‘What are you seeking?’ ‘I am seeking my brothers,’ he said; ‘tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.’ The man said, ‘They have gone away, for I heard them say, “Let us go to Dothan.”’ So Joseph went after his brothers, and found them at Dothan. They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to kill him. They said to one another, ‘Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams.’ But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, ‘Let us not take his life.’ Reuben said to them, ‘Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him’—that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves that he wore; and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.
Then they sat down to eat; and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, ‘What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.’ And his brothers agreed. When some Midianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.
This is the Word of the Lord Thanks be to God
The second reading for this Sunday is taken from the Letter of St Paul to the Romans, Chapter 10: 5-15
Moses writes concerning the righteousness that comes from the law, that ‘the person who does these things will live by them.’ But the righteousness that comes from faith says, ‘Do not say in your heart, “Who will ascend into heaven?”’ (that is, to bring Christ down) ‘or “Who will descend into the abyss?”’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say?
‘The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart’
(that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, ‘No one who believes in him will be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’
This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
The Gospel reading for this Sunday is taken from the Gospel of St Matthew, Chapter 14: 22-33
Hear the Gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ, according to Matthew Glory to You, o Lord
Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land,[a] for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking towards them on the lake. But when the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.’
Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came towards Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’ When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.
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
The sermon this week is from rev Denise Smith
ALL THIS DAY O LORD, LET ME TOUCH AS MANY LIVES AS POSSIBLE FOR THEE; AND EVERY LIFE I TOUCH, DO THOU BY THY SPIRIT QUICKEN, WHETHER THROUGH THE WORD I SPEAK, THE PRAYER I BREATHE, OR THE LIFE I LIVE. AMEN.
Those who are close to me will have heard that prayer before as it is one of my favourites. It was written by Mary Sumner in 1876, the year that she started what has become a women-led, international Christian movement with over 4 million members in 84 countries. Her prayer, her vision, her faith and her call for action are still so relevant today. She was a Vicar’s wife in a village on the outskirts of Winchester. Mary’s vision was a practical approach to support the women in her parish, many of whom were primarily concerned about getting enough food on the table so their children would not starve. She believed that women could all support one another in motherhood regardless of class, age or status- quite radical for that time. She also recognised that the work of many women in the home was not fully acknowledged and so she also reached out to men- helping them to be aware of what women did and to recognise the need to show respect and love.
Although not naturally a confident woman, Mary was a woman of great faith. It was through her faith that she overcame her nervousness to speak out to inspire others. She was also firm in her belief that through faith and sharing what was in her heart, God would do the rest. The principles on which her work focused included the recognition that faith is the foundation of family life.
Many a time I have been incredibly nervous about leading a service or a retreat, but if I stay in the vestry and pray for the Holy Spirit to help me, my nerves disappear. In our Gospel reading today, the supernatural power of Jesus is brought out in the story for us to learn from.
Jesus experiences the power of God whilst he was ministering here on earth. We see it through the miracles we have read on recent Sundays as well as today. Jesus had faith in his Father and the confidence that God will give him the power he needed.
WE can live our lives with the same kind of confidence. Jesus gave his Apostles power and authority too.
Luke 9 v1-3 when Jesus had called the 12 together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God.
Peter for a short time that day experienced the power of God. Probably a high point in Peter’s life, when as we are told in v29 Peter got down out of the boat.
There are many parts of the story we can identify with- the storm, the fear, their struggle and their failure to trust. BUT Peter took the walk of his life, trusted in God and walked on water.
Are you staying in the boat?
Are you standing on the side-lines?
Most of us love to hear about the miracles and we are fascinated by God’s power. We may love the dramatic part as long as we can just watch.
The rest of the disciples were quiet because they preferred to stay in the boat- stay in their comfort zone.
The information that God is powerful is not enough. The power can only be experienced and manifested when you step out of the boat. You have to take the first step and get your feet wet. It need not be a big step. A simple prayer for someone who is sick, a few words to someone who is depressed, share with a person in grief, talk to someone new about your faith, a gesture of friendship to someone. God will work through your words and hands. You cannot stay in the boat. When you take that step of faith God uses that to accomplish His purposes and power!!
Your faith cannot grow without you taking action. This is how our faith in God grows. Peter only experienced it for a short time, then his faith wavered and he sank. After walking on water his faith took on a new dimension and he went on to heal the crippled man by the temple gates. Acts 3 v6.
God is challenging us to take the first steps. Faith is not ‘passive sitting on the side-lines’, but it is getting actively involved in what we believe God is wanting us to do. We must trust God enough to take the first step and step out of the boat and our faith will grow.
This is how Mary Sumner strengthened her faith and trust in God. Could she have imagined that her Christian movement would still be being used by God 150years later? Would she have dreamt it would become global and a massive charity run by its members? MU has changed in that it has become more inclusive. Originally it was just for married mothers, now it is for anyone that has been baptised – women and men regardless of whether they are parents.
The fundamental focus of MU has remained steady over the last 150years – demonstrating faith in action, by the transformation of communities worldwide through the nurture of family life in its many forms, working with all people of all faiths and none. From its early origins MU has been an advocate for change. Mary herself campaigned to stop children collecting alcohol from public houses for their families. They managed to raise the age of marriage for girls from 12 to 16 years. Members have continued to campaign ever since, getting the Family Allowance Act passed in 1945 with payments paid directly to mothers, increasing the widow’s allowance earnings limit. We still have a representative in Parliament and our members are consulted over many issues- we are still involved in advising on the appropriateness of computer games for children, our BYE BUY CHILDHOOD campaign was to protect children from exploitative marketing and it led to the Children and Families Act in 2014.
Currently we have a campaign called RISE UP which works against domestic abuse, working closely with refuges. This church family has donated toiletries, clothes etc. for people forced to flee their homes. We work in prisons all over the diocese and beyond, with support groups, crèches, and toys at Christmas. Here we filled many, many rucksacks for prisoners being released with no address to go to.
For 60 years we have provided much needed holidays and respite for families unable to afford it for themselves. Goodshaw has always supported this scheme called AWAY FROM IT ALL. which we shorten to AFIA. I have also helped people make use of the scheme from this local area.
Our latest campaign is working with a charity called the CLEWER INITIATIVE to raise awareness of Modern Slavery, which is very widespread in our Diocese.
It is only through God’s power that all this work came about from a Christian grandmother, Mary, with not much confidence, but a strong faith. She was a grandmother when she started MU. So let us get our feet wet here in Goodshaw. Faith grows in small steps. Where is God calling you to walk on water? Maybe to JOIN US AND JOIN IN. (our Motto this year)
Begin each day by asking God where you need to get your feet wet. Give your faith a chance to grow. God uses every act of ours to accomplish HIS purposes. You have got to get out of the boat every day and your faith will deepen. Amen.
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