This week’s Readings and Sermon for the Tenth Sunday After Trinity
The Collect for This Week
God of glory, the end of our searching, help us to lay aside all that prevents us from seeking your kingdom, and to give all that we have to gain the pearl beyond all price, through our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
The Post Communion Prayer for this week
Lord of all mercy, we your faithful people have celebrated that one true sacrifice which takes away our sins and brings pardon and peace: by our communion keep us firm on the foundation of the gospel and preserve us from all sin; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
The Psalm for this Sunday is Psalm 133
How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there the Lord ordained his blessing, life for evermore.
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 Genesis 45: 1-15
1 Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, ‘Send everyone away from me.’ So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2 And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. 3 Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?’ But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence.4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Come closer to me.’ And they came closer. He said, ‘I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither ploughing nor harvest. 7 God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 9 Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, “Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. 10 You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. 11 I will provide for you there—since there are five more years of famine to come—so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.” 12 And now your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my own mouth that speaks to you. 13 You must tell my father how greatly I am honoured in Egypt, and all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.’ 14 Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, while Benjamin wept upon his neck. 15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him
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 11: 1-2a, 29-32
1 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.
29 for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 Just as you were once disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now[a] receive mercy. 32 For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.
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 15: 10-28
Hear the Gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ, according to Matthew Glory to You, o Lord
10 Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, ‘Listen and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.’ 12 Then the disciples approached and said to him, ‘Do you know that the Pharisees took offence when they heard what you said?’ 13 He answered, ‘Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.’ 15 But Peter said to him, ‘Explain this parable to us.’ 16 Then he said, ‘Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. 19 For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.’ 21 Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, ‘Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.’ 23 But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, ‘Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.’ 24 He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’ 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, help me.’ 26 He answered, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’ 27 She said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.’ 28 Then Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.’ And her daughter was healed instantly.
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 talk this week is from Mike Black
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of all our hearts be now and always acceptable in your sight, Oh Lord, our strength and our redeemer. AMEN.
Last week, Denise spoke to us about actually putting our faith into practice and ‘stepping out of the boat.” This is such an important facet of being a Christian. We should share our faith with others. If we don’t, then what is the point in claiming to have that faith. We know that the gift of Christ, redemption and eternal life is the best is the most wonderful present we could ever receive – or give to others. If we keep it to ourselves, then what is the point in having that faith ?
The readings today take things one step further.
Some of you who have been attending church, and the Holy Communion service in particular, may remember a prayer, which was often said between the Agnus Dei (Jesus, Lamb of God) and the “prayer of humble access” (We do not presume to come…).
Who can remember what it was ? It was taken from the words of the centurion to Jesus in St Matthew’s Gospel, Chapter 8.
It went as follows :
Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof, but speak the word only and my soul shall be healed.
(or, the more modern version was “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.”)
Worthiness and acceptance are the key themes running through the three readings today.
Let’s start with Joseph.
He’d been his father’s favourite. His father, very famously, had had a very special – and not very subtle - coat made for him. His brothers resented him. They thought he tried to lord it over them. When the opportunity arose they planned to kill him and dump his body in a pit in the desert. Had a caravan of slave traders not been passing by, they would have done just that. Instead, they pinched and soiled his fine coat, sold him to the traders and told their father that he must have been taken by a wild beast.
Several years later, Joseph had risen from being a slave to being the second most important man in famine-struck Egypt.
Who should turn up, looking to beg some food from the stores of Egypt, but his brothers.
What would he do ? What would many people today have done ? After the way they had treated him, I think that many people today would have sent them packing. They simply didn’t deserve any help from the man they tried to dispose of.
Joseph, however, recognises what Denise would call a “God-incidence”. Despite the way he’d been treated, his love for his family – especially his father and younger brother, Benjamin – had not dwindled. He not only accepted their request for food, but he also set in motion a plan to bring all his family to a safe harbour during the famine.
They were not worthy, but he accepted them.
The short passage from St Paul’s letter to the church in Rome follows the same theme. He is reminding the believers in the congregation that the Israelites had, throughout history, been a stiff-necked and disobedient people. Indeed, the passage he refers to regarding Elijah is taken from the First Book of Kings, Chapter 19, where Elijah prays “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me.” Anyone who has read the Old Testament of the Bible, or even only parts of it, will know that from the time of Moses right through to the exile in Babylon, the Israelites had not exactly been consistent in their faithfulness to the God who delivered them from slavery in Egypt.
Paul balances things out, though. He reminds the non-Jews in the congregation that they, to had been disobedient to God, albeit through ignorance. In a very true sense, none are worthy of the love and grace of God. Yet we know that, through Christ, we have all been made one and have received God’s mercy.
As Paul says, “For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.”
The Jews and the Gentiles were not worthy, but God accepted them.
Finally, to the gospel reading.
The reading can actually be split into two parts. We have a section on things that defile, and we have a recount of the faith of a Canaanite woman.
Throughout His ministry, Jesus had many run-ins with the Pharisees. For those who are familiar with the name “Pharisee”, but don’t know much more, they were an influential religious sect within Judaism at the time of Jesus’ life on earth. They believed that all the laws of Moses written in the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament), including the rituals concerning ceremonial purification and cleanliness.
It is no surprise, then, that they took umbrage at Jesus’ teaching that food going into a person’s mouth would not defile that person. This parable is one which serves as a caution to each and every one of us. To the pharisees, eating anything that was ceremonially unclean was a sin. Even today, we see that Jews and Muslims must not eat certain foods. The Jews call such foods “Treuf”, and the Muslims call them “haram”.
There is no doubt that certain things can be dangerous to ourselves, were we to eat them, but how much harm to others is brought about by the physical food we take in through the mouth ?
On the other hand, how much harm or injury can we do to others by the words which come out of our mouths ?
Any food which God provides is worthy of consumption, but it is up to us to ensure that the words we utter are also worthy of living according to His will.
Notice, too, that Peter is the one who asks Jesus for an explanation of what Jesus has said in this regard. In the book of Acts, there is a parallel to this parable. Peter has a vision that, while he is hungry, a sheet is lowered down to him from heaven with all kinds of living creatures, including ones which were considered unclean.
“Then a voice told him ‘Get up, Peter, kill and eat.’
‘Surely not, Lord!’ Peter replied. ‘I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.’
The voice spoke to him… ‘Don’t call anything impure that God has made clean.’” (Acts 10:13-15)
This was the sign to Peter that he should take the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ to the Gentiles.
It is a sign that all people who are willing to turn to Christ are both worthy and accepted.
Finally, we have the tale of the Canaanite woman who turns to Jesus to heal her daughter. At first she is ignored, then the disciples, considering her unworthy of any attention, urge Jesus to send her away. She is persistent, though. She has the faith that, if it is His will, Jesus can heal her spirit-tormented daughter. When Jesus tells her, in no uncertain terms that His priority is to save the children of Israel, her response is one which is familiar to us all, since we use it in what is known as the “prayer of humble access” at each Holy Communion service.
“Yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table”
Such faith brings about the response from Jesus that she is hoping for. Although, as a Canaanite, she is unworthy to be heard by the Son of the Jewish God, her sincere prayer is accepted, heard and granted.
Now, what does all of this mean to us ?
For starters, we must learn to accept the fact that, no matter how bad or unworthy of God’s grace we think we are, we are all loved and cherished individually by the most wondrous God, who created us and redeemed us through the one true sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ, upon the cross at Calvary.
Secondly – and this links in to Denise’s talk about “getting out of the boat” last week – we must treat everyone we meet as being worthy of God’s love. That doesn’t mean that we should condone everything a person does, but we should encourage them to accept Jesus as their saviour and turn to Him. As Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.” (John 8:11)
Jospeh saw his brothers as worthy of his love and acceptance. Paul shows that even people who have been disobedient (and that includes all of us) are worthy of God’s grace. Jesus reminds us that we need to be careful in what we utter from our mouths and demonstrates that even those who are considered unworthy by society can receive His grace. It is up to us now to show our gratitude for being considered worthy and accepted by reflecting that same love and attitude of acceptance to all we meet.
Let us pray
Lord, we thank You that You count us worthy to be called Your servants. Help us to be accepting of those who are different to us, but keep our eyes firmly on You. Teach us the ways in which we, though our actions, may draw others to You and to Your glorious salvation. This we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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