This week’s Readings and Sermon for the Eighth Sunday After Trinity
The Collect for This Week
Almighty Lord and everlasting God, we beseech you to direct, sanctify and govern both our hearts and bodies in the ways of your laws and the works of your commandments; that through your most mighty protection, both here and ever, we may be preserved in body and soul; through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen
The Post Communion Prayer for this week
Strengthen for service, Lord, the hands that have taken holy things; may the ears which have heard your word be deaf to clamour and dispute; may the tongues which have sung your praise be free from deceit; may the eyes which have seen the tokens of your love shine with the light of hope; and may the bodies which have been fed with your body be refreshed with the fullness of your life; glory to you for ever. Amen
The Psalm for this Sunday is Psalm 105: 1-11, 45
1 Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done. 2 Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. 3 Glory in his holy name let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. 4 Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. 5 Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced, 5 you his servants, the descendants of Abraham,6 his chosen ones, the children of Jacob.7 He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.8 He remembers his covenant forever, the promise he made, for a thousand generations, 9 the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac. 10 He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant: 11 “To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion you will inherit.”
45 that they might keep his precepts 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 29: 15-28
15 Then Laban said to Jacob, ‘Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?’ 16 Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 Leah’s eyes were lovely, and Rachel was graceful and beautiful. 18 Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, ‘I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.’ 19 Laban said, ‘It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.’ 20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her. 21 Then Jacob said to Laban, ‘Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.’ 22 So Laban gathered together all the people of the place, and made a feast. 23 But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her. 24 (Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her maid.) 25 When morning came, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, ‘What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?’ 26 Laban said, ‘This is not done in our country—giving the younger before the firstborn. 27 Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me for another seven years.’ 28 Jacob did so, and completed her week; then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as a wife.
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 8: 26-39
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. 27 And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 We know that all things work together for good[e] for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.31 What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? 33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written,‘For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.’ 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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 13:31-33 & 44-52
Hear the Gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ, according to Matthew Glory to You, o Lord
44 He put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; 32 it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches. 33 He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.’44 ‘The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 ‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; 46 on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.47 ‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; 48 when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 51 ‘Have you understood all this?’ They answered, ‘Yes.’ 52 And he said to them, ‘Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.’ 53 When Jesus had finished these parables, he left that place.
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
Although we do not have a sermon from rev Samuel Hameem
“May my words and my thoughts be acceptable to you O Lord my refuge and my redeemer amen.”
In the Gospel according to Matthew 13:34, it is written that,
“Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables; without a parable he told them nothing.”
If we recall Jesus' earthly life and ministry, we could see that this statement is spot-on. Throughout his life here on earth, since his teenage till his death, and even after his death till his ascension, Jesus did the same, this applies perfectly to the Gospel account read today.
Today’s Gospel reading is taken from the Gospel according to Matthew, written by the person called Matthew who sometimes called Levi, or a tax collector as well, who became one of Jesus’ disciples. Matthew wrote this Gospel account to offer irrefutable proof that the long-awaited Messiah had come to inaugurate God’s kingdom on earth. This fits perfectly with our reading from the Gospel today. That's why, an Anglican priest, who is also spiritual director and a writer, Catherine Williams, she wrote in The Canterbury Preacher’s Companion 2026 that,
“Our today’s Gospel is series of snapshots of the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom is that place, that attitude of mind, that way of being where Jesus Christ is Lord and King.”
If we recall today’s Gospel passage in our minds, we can see that the verses just read to you mention a wide variety of things—or, to put it another way, Jesus used various objects as means in His parables to clearly explain one specific concept: what is the nature of the Kingdom of Heaven, or what is Kingdom of Heaven. In short, he is teaching that the, Kingdom of Heaven is a bit like this, and it’s a bit like that. It’s right now and at the same time it is not yet. The Kingdom is here and at the same time, it is still to come.
In Matthew 13:31-33, Jesus compares Kingdom of Heaven with a Mustard seed and the yeast. Talking about the mustard seed, yes, I think we all know that the seed itself is tiny, and we Jesus reminds us that it the smallest of seeds, and it can easily be overlooked by a normal human eye. But it is also a fact that, this smallest seed can do big things, this smallest grain can have a big impact. The same applies to yeast; even when we mix just a small amount into something, the result is significant, it changes every part of the dough.
In these verses Jesus uses this simple picture to remind his followers on that time and to us today that God’s kingdom does not always grow through big dramatic moments. More often, it grows through small acts of faith that are repeated day after day by us. It can be anything, it can be a prayer with your colleague or with someone you are travelling on bus toward your work, or it can be spending some time with someone, who is your church member, or even with the person who does not know about God, who is going through a difficult time. Because a kind word to someone who is struggling can give that person a sense of belonging in his or her distress. Or it can be just to ask someone with a smile that how he or she is doing, and offer that person some help with you can do easily. These moments may seem insignificant, and small, but remember God uses them to shape our hearts and touch lives on others.
Then from verses Matthew 13:44-52, Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a hidden treasure, a pearl of great value, and a net that can caught all kinds of fish. If we look bit closely to, in the first two parables, the people who discover them respond in the same way. They willingly give up everything else because they know they have found something far greater than what they were having at that time.
Now, in these stories, we need to remember that Jesus is not asking us to abandon everything we own right now, rather in our today’s text, he is inviting us to examine ourselves and to ponder on what truly holds first place in our personal, family, social, church, spiritual and emotional lives. It is a fact that many things compete for our attention in our day-to-day life. It could be our success, comfort, recognition, possessions, or even our own plans. They all are very important but it is a fact that none of them can offer the lasting hope and life that God gives. We need to notice that the people in the parables did not make their decision reluctantly or unwillingly, rather they acted with joy because they understood the value of what they had found.
The illustration of the dragnet that Jesus uses in today’s reading is one of my favorites. But it is also one of the scariest. It is a favorite because it shows that the kingdom of heaven is for everyone. Young or old, man or woman, healthy or sick, rich or poor—the Kingdom of Heaven is for everyone, and everyone should strive to be a part of it.
To me, it is also a daunting prospect because it reminds us of our responsibilities and the fact that we will be held accountable in the Hereafter. We will be questioned about every action we take—whether good or bad, significant or unimportant—and if we fail to meet God’s standards, our fate will not be a happy one, which means we need to live our lives according to God’s word.
Yes, I know that following Jesus and living according to the principles laid down by God is not an easy task. One may have to face many difficulties and hardships, but remember—while it is certainly difficult, it is not impossible. Living the Christian life is like spending the night on a bed of thorns, but remember that in the endwe receive in return is a relationship with God that nothing else can replace, and we will be the part of God Kingdom, and it is just about to be the part of the Kingdom of heaven, In fact, it is our responsibility to involve others as well, and we must work towards that, because according to Rick Otto, who is Equip Project Manager and Diocesan Children Officer of the Diocese of Manchester, the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven is an Intergenerational Kingdom, and it is for everyone.
Yes, it is true that as human beings, we sometimes, or it is better to say that, we most of the time want to see immediate results. We always hope that our prayers will be answered at once or that our efforts will bear fruit without delay. Yet remember that example of the yeast. It works from within, unseen at first, but later we can see its impact. In the same way, God is often at work even when we cannot yet see the outcome.
What we need to do is that instead of becoming discouraged by what appears small, let us remain faithful, and continue what we are doing for God’s Kingdom in any aspect, whether it is a big act or a small one. Trust on God and obey Christ, and allow his
presence to spread through our lives. Remember every second, minute, hour, day offers another opportunity to welcome God’s Kingdom within us and to preach it through our personal, family, church, and social life. We need to pray to God that He not only includes us in the Kingdom of Heaven but also enables us to tell others about it.
May God bless you all. Amen.
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