Trinity 19 / Pentecost 20
Sunday, 26/10/2025
OPENING SENTENCE OF SCRIPTURE –
You crown the year with your goodness, O Lord (Psalm 65)
HYMN-
GREETING
Grace and peace to you from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen
COLLECT FOR PURITY
Almighty God,
to whom all hearts are open,
all desires known,
and from whom no secrets are hidden:
cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you,
and worthily magnify your holy name;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
SUMMARY OF THE LAW
Our Lord Jesus Christ said: The first commandment is this:
Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is the only Lord. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.”
The second is this: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these. Amen. Lord, have mercy.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
God is love and we are God’s children. There is no room for fear in love. We love because God loved us first.
Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith.
SILENCE
God our Father,
we confess to you
and to our fellow members in the Body of Christ
that we have sinned in thought, word and deed,
and in what we have failed to do.
We are truly sorry.
Forgive us our sins,
and deliver us from the power of evil,
for the sake of your Son who died for us, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
ABSOLUTION
God, who is both power and love,
forgive you and free you from your sins,
heal and strengthen you by the Holy Spirit,
and raise you to new life in Christ our Lord. Amen.
GLORIA sung by Sue St Joseph
COLLECT
O Lord, in your mercy:
grant to your faithful people pardon and peace;
that they may be cleansed from all their sins,
and serve you with a quiet mind;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, world without end. Amen
PROCLAIMING & RECEIVING GOD’S WORD
FIRST READING Joel 2.23–32, read by David Kerr
23 O children of Zion, be glad and rejoice in the LORD your God; for he has given the early rain for your vindication, he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the later rain, as before. 24 The threshing-floors shall be full of grain, the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. 25 I will repay you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent against you. 26 You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. ✝ 27 You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I, the LORD, am your God and there is no other. And my people shall never again be put to shame.
28 Then afterwards I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. 29 Even on the male and female slaves, in those days, I will pour out my spirit. 30 I will show portents in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes. 32 Then everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls.
SECOND READING 2 Timothy 4.6–8, 16–18 read by Kate Lidwell
6 As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing. 16 At my first defence no one came to my support, but all deserted me. May it not be counted against them! 17 But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.
18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
GRADUAL HYMN
GOSPEL READING: Luke 18, 9-14 read by the Rev Chris Wren
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke Chapter 18 beginning at verse 9
Glory to Christ our Saviour
9 Jesus also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: 10 ‘Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax-collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, “God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax-collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.”
13 But the tax-collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” 14 I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.’
Give thanks to the Lord for his glorious Gospel
Praise to Christ our Lord.
SERMON
In today’s Gospel reading (Luke 18 vv 9 – 14) Jesus tells the parable of the pharisee and the tax collector, a story directed at those, as Luke puts it, who “trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt” (v9). At the conclusion of the story, we are told that it was the tax collector, who recognised his need of forgiveness, and not the self- righteous pharisee, who “went down to his home justified” (v14). What does it mean to be justified?
At the heart of the Christian gospel, a fundamental principle repeated and emphasised, particularly throughout the letters of Paul, is that of ‘justification by grace through faith’. As just one example of this (there are many!), Paul writes in his letter to the Romans (Ch 3 vv 22 – 23): “…there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift…”
This is us, all of us. We all fall short of being the people that we are created to be, the people that God wants us to be. As we open ourselves to the grace of God, the wondrous unconditional outpouring of God’s love for all humankind, for all His creation, in His gift of Himself in Jesus, His Son, living, dying and rising, then we can know new beginning, forgiveness in our lives, be reconciled – that is ‘justified’ – drawn back into relationship with God. In the parable, the tax collector is oblivious to this truth, while the tax collector, knowing himself in his need, is drawn back into relationship with God, and so justified.
When we link the truths that this parable teaches with the Old Testament reading we have heard today from the book of the prophet Joel, we are taken on from our individual lives in relation to one another and with God, to our lives together in the Church and in the wider society and world.
Joel writes of the promise of God (Ch 2 v 28): “I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.” This is a promise that includes all, young and old, male and female, slave and free (v29). And it is this promise of the outpouring of the Spirit of God “on all flesh” that is the starting point of Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost, the birth of the Church (Acts 2 vv 14 ff). So we have here a picture of the breaking down of barriers, of the building of relationship, a picture of inclusivity and welcome, where all are loved, all are valued, all can have their place of belonging. This is a picture of the Church as it should be and of the world that we seek to build, a picture of the Kingdom of God, His kingdom of love, peace, justice, hope and life for all.
Today’s readings challenge us all, individually and in our life together within the Church and in the world, to work to break down the barriers that divide and build that Kingdom of love and life for all.
Amen.
THE CREED
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
God from God,
Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one substance with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven;
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father.
With the Father and the Son,
he is worshipped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
PRAYERS
Father, the first prayer we have offered in our worship today acknowledges that all our thoughts and desires, and all that is in our hearts lies open before you. We give you thanks for the good news of the Gospel today and what the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector teaches us – that we need never pretend to be who we are not. Save us from all hypocrisy and prejudice, and the temptation to look down on others. Help us to forgive others freely, as you forgive us.
Created with Copilot
Lord,
Hear our prayer.
Father, we give thanks for the beauty, the wonder and the mystery of your Creation. Help us to see the world through your own eyes and to love it with your love which is beyond our own. We give thanks for all who are working for a more sustainable earth. Help us all to be more conscientious in caring for our world. We give thanks for the zero carbon initiatives which the Scottish Episcopal Church is promoting, and for those who are entrusted with this ministry. At the same time, remind us that while we have a responsibility to pass on a good and fruitful world to future generations, we ourselves are strangers and pilgrims. Give grace to us to use our time on earth wisely and well.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND
Lord,
Hear our prayer.
Father, we pray for all who have become lost on their life’s journey, especially those against whom the odds in life were stacked from the outset. We pray for all caught up in the spiral of alcohol or drug addiction. Bring your healing presence upon all who live in areas of social deprivation where health outcomes are poor and where there is anti-social behaviour which destroys neighbourhoods and fosters crime.
Lord,
Hear our prayer.
Father, we give thanks for our loved ones and all who have cared for us. Help us to build a caring, compassionate community in our neighbourhood, and make us ever more fully a healthy, healing, loving, and joyful family of Christians here at St John’s.
Lord,
Hear our prayer.
Father, we pray for all whose lives are at a low ebb – the exhausted, the weary, the worn, and all who can no longer cope on their own or through fear venture outside their homes. Bless the terminally ill and those who have undergone catastrophic medical events. We pray for the anxious and depressed, and all who are contemplating suicide. May they know the peace and freedom that are to be found in Jesus. Be near to all who our loved ones and all who have asked for our prayers for healing.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC
Lord,
Hear our prayer.
Father, we give thanks for all who have run the race, finished the course and kept the faith. Give us grace to do the same so that we too may enter with all the saints and our loved ones who have gone before us into your kingdom. There may we know your love in all its fulness, the love that has brought us into being and has been with us and watched over us all our days.
Lord,
Hear our prayer.
Merciful Father accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ who taught us to pray together
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those
who sin against us.
Do not bring us
to the time of trial
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power
and the glory are yours,
now and forever. Amen.
BLESSING
Christ the Son of God gladden your hearts with the good news of his kingdom; and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen.
HYMN –
DISMISSAL
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord
In the name of Christ. Amen
