St John the Evangelist

Trinity 17 / Pentecost 18

Sunday, 27/09/2026

SENTENCE FROM SCRIPTURE:

We will recount the wonderful works of the Lord (Psalm 78)

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 (for the Season of Creation)

O God,
in whose wisdom all things have been established in order:
enlighten the people you have saved,
that they may consider the greater wonder of your new creation,
brought forth in the fullness of time,
through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord,
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.. Amen.

PROCLAIMING & RECEIVING GOD’S WORD

FIRST READING Exodus 17.1–7 , read by Margaret Morton

¹ From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. ² The people quarrelled with Moses, and said, ‘Give us water to drink.’ Moses said to them, ‘Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?’

³ But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?’ ⁴ So Moses cried out to the LORD, ‘What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.’ ⁵ The LORD said to Moses, ‘Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. ⁶ I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.’ Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.

⁷ He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarrelled and tested the LORD, saying, ‘Is the LORD among us or not?’

SECOND READING Philippians 2.1–13, read by Annabelle Guthrie

¹ If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, ² make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. ³ Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.

⁴ Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. ⁵ Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, ⁷ but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, ⁸ he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross.

⁹ Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. ¹² Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; ¹³ for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

GRADUAL HYMN:

GOSPEL Matthew 21.23–32 : read by Catriona Appleby Strivens

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew Chapter 21, beginning at verse 23

Glory to Christ our Saviour

²³ When Jesus entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, ‘By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?’

²⁴ Jesus said to them, ‘I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. ²⁵ Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?’ And they argued with one another, ‘If we say, “From heaven,” he will say to us, “Why then did you not believe him?” ²⁶ But if we say, “Of human origin,” we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet.’ ²⁷ So they answered Jesus, ‘We do not know.’ And he said to them, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

²⁸ What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, “Son, go and work in the vineyard today.” ²⁹ He answered, “I will not”; but later he changed his mind and went. ³⁰ The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, “I go, sir”; but he did not go. ³¹ Which of the two did the will of his father?’ They said, ‘The first.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, the tax-collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. ³² For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax-collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.’

Give thanks to the Lord for his glorious Gospel
Praise to Christ our Lord.

SERMON

            Moses can do no good; everything is his fault. “We got into this mess because you dragged us into this barren desert, where there is no food or water. Why did you bring us here to die? We had everything we wanted and needed in Egypt; we were settled and had a good life.”

The Israelites are looking back through rose-coloured spectacles rather than trusting the Almighty’s plan for the future. They see only the problems and the difficulty of the journey, rather than the promise.

Last week, Ann and I were in Marlborough, providing car support for a group of Franciscan pilgrims walking from Alnmouth in Northumberland to London via Dorset. Their route took in the eight Franciscan houses in the UK. The pilgrimage celebrated 800 years of Franciscan life touching the lives of others, working and praying for peace, and sharing the Good News of God in Christ.

You may ask why someone from Scotland was doing that in Wiltshire. I must admit that the decision was made reluctantly: we were both very tired, and the prospect of roughly 1,000 miles of driving overall was not attractive, either financially or because of the challenges of the M6 and M5. Should I have said, “Sorry, the people whose house we were using cannot share it with us”? Should I have said that it was too much and too costly? Or should I have gone, rather than leaving the pilgrims without support? I had to pause and think again.

I could, of course, blame the whole situation on many different people and failures in planning. I could blame peoples’ indifference and lack of support. What matters the most is supporting the pilgrims and the future celebration of God’s promise.

        

 

This morning, Paul, in Philippians, calls the Church — calls us — to unity, but not to a unity built on slogans or good intentions. It is a unity shaped by “the mind of Christ”: a mind marked by humility, self-giving and obedience. Like Moses, I had accepted responsibility for this initiative in response to God’s call. I therefore needed to take responsibility for our shared failures as well as celebrate the promise ahead.

In the end, like for Moses and his reluctant followers, the promise won out. It turned out to be a refreshing opportunity with many blessings and opportunities to meet people ‘in the flesh’ rather than in a square box on a screen.

I could, of course, have blamed others for what I needed to change. I could have challenged everyone’s reluctances rather than getting on living out the promise.

Today’s readings ask each of us: do I need to take the humble path Christ shows, turning blame and reluctance into service to others, even when they are unyielding or challenging?

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

The bidding is: Just as we are

The response is: We come to you

The Prayers

United in the love of Christ, let us unburden our needs and cares to our Heavenly Father.

Heavenly Father, bless the church throughout the world that it may be more visibly the Body of Christ on earth, and that Christians may be vessels of your love and presence. We pray for all lapsed Christians, all who have known Christ but rejected Him, all who doubt His love or are hesitant to trust Him with their lives. May they be led back to His welcoming arms.

Just as we are

We come to you

Heavenly Father, we come as citizens of a fractured world. We acknowledge our blundering mistakes, our weaknesses for self-indulgence and greed, our misplaced affections. May our lives be ordered and calmed by the breath of your Holy Spirit.

Just as we are

We come to you

Heavenly Father, we think of all missing persons and their families, and bring to you all those who have lost their way emotionally or professionally. Give clarity to those whose minds are confused and strength and sanity to those who are at their wits’ end. May all who are lost be found and know the security of being loved and protected by you as their Father and Creator.

Just as we are

We come to you

Heavenly Father, we come before you just as we are, asking for your grace that our own lives may be reordered, calmed and refreshed by your Spirit; may we be healed of all that shuts us off from your love.

Just as we are

We come to you

Heavenly Father, you know all our needs. We bring our intentions to you now in prayer.

Just as we are

We come to you

Heavenly Father, in thankful love we ask you to hear our prayers through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Amen.

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