This week’s Readings and Sermon for the 8th Sunday after Trinity
The Collect for This Week
Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray and to give more than either we desire or deserve: pour down upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid and giving us those good things which we are not worthy to ask but through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, 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
God of all mercy, in this eucharist you have set aside our sins and given us your healing: grant that we who are made whole in Christ may bring that healing to this broken world, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Psalm 139, verses 1 to 5 and 12 to 17
O Lord, you have searched me and known me. 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. 3 You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely. 5 You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it.
12 even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you. 13 For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed. 17 How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
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 from the book of the prophet Jeremiah Chapter 2, verses 4 to 13
Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. 5 Thus says the Lord: What wrong did your ancestors find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthless things, and became worthless themselves? 6 They did not say, ‘Where is the Lord who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us in the wilderness, in a land of deserts and pits, in a land of drought and deep darkness, in a land that no one passes through, where no one lives?’ 7 I brought you into a plentiful land to eat its fruits and its good things. But when you entered you defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination. 8 The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those who handle the law did not know me; the rulers transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal, and went after things that do not profit. 9 Therefore once more I accuse you, says the Lord, and I accuse your children’s children. 10 Cross to the coasts of Cyprus and look, send to Kedar and examine with care; see if there has ever been such a thing. 11 Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for something that does not profit. 12 Be appalled, O heavens, at this, be shocked, be utterly desolate,
says the Lord, 13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water.
This is the Word of the Lord Thanks be to God
The New Testament reading for this Sunday is taken from the Letter of St Paul to Philemon (a believer who lived in Colossi) , (Chapter 1), verses 1 to 21
Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,
To Philemon our dear friend and co-worker, 2 to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow-soldier, and to the church in your house:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 When I remember you in my prayers, I always thank my God 5 because I hear of your love for all the saints and your faith towards the Lord Jesus. 6 I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective when you perceive all the good that we may do for Christ. 7 I have indeed received much joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, my brother.
8 For this reason, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do your duty, 9 yet I would rather appeal to you on the basis of love—and I, Paul, do this as an old man, and now also as a prisoner of Christ Jesus. 10 I am appealing to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment. 11 Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful[f] both to you and to me. 12 I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you. 13 I wanted to keep him with me, so that he might be of service to me in your place during my imprisonment for the gospel; 14 but I preferred to do nothing without your consent, in order that your good deed might be voluntary and not something forced. 15 Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back for ever, 16 no longer as a slave but as more than a slave, a beloved brother—especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
17 So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18 If he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. 19 I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand: I will repay it. I say nothing about your owing me even your own self. 20 Yes, brother, let me have this benefit from you in the Lord! Refresh my heart in Christ. 21 Confident of your obedience, I am writing to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.
22 One thing more—prepare a guest room for me, for I am hoping through your prayers to be restored to you.
This is the Word of the Lord Thanks be to God
The Gospel reading for this Sunday is taken from the Gospel of St Luke, Chapter 14, verses 25 to 33
Hear the Gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ, according to Luke Glory to You, o Lord !
25 Now large crowds were travelling with him; and he turned and said to them, 26 ‘Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, “This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.” 31 Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. 33 So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.
This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to You, o Christ !
The sermon this week is delivered by Rev Laura Brinicombe
I thought we’d start by giving Philemon a bit of attention this morning – it’s only short – so short that it rarely gets any time spent on it. I think that’s a great shame because it is a beautiful piece of writing that showcases the incredible power of God’s grace in very real circumstances.
In our letter, it seems a slave, Onesimus (whose name in biblical Greek means ‘useful’) has been ‘useless’ to his master. It was common practice to give descriptive names to slaves like ‘profitable’ or ‘beneficial,’ so as far as we can tell, Onesimus appears to have been a slave who has run away from his owner, Philemon.
By the time our letter is being written, Onesimus seems to have encountered Saint Paul and become a follower of Christ.
This brief letter has had a big impact on world history. In the past, it has been used to justify slavery – particularly during the abolition debates in Britain in the 1830s. Speakers would often reference the way in which Paul seems to insist that Onesimus return to his master, as a way of promoting subservience and obedience to white slave-owners.
I hope that today, we can see the problem of conflating obedience to a loving and self-sacrificial God, with obedience to abusive human authority - so let’s see if we can do better than that this morning!
Paul’s letter to Philemon is not a call for anyone to return to an abusive situation or relationship. If you are concerned for your safety and wellbeing or that of somebody else, please speak to myself or another member of clergy, our parish safeguarding officer or Abbey, the diocesan safeguarding officer. You can find details on the posters dotted around or scroll to the bottom of the first page of the church website for a full list of support agencies and contact information.
So, what does Paul have to say about service and obedience?
Paul:
At first glance, it might seem like this letter is about two powerful men deciding the fate of somebody who is powerless – after all, they seem happy tagging Onesimus with the ‘useless’ label and we don’t get to hear anything about what he thought of the situation.
However, you may have noticed that Paul uses some other labels for himself, Onesimus and Philemon.
He uses labels like ‘beloved brother,’ ‘child’ and ‘father.’
For Paul, the issue is defined by the bond that these men share ‘in Christ.’ We’re not reading about a privileged person arranging the return of property – we’re reading the plea of a family member, desperately seeking reconciliation between siblings.
Paul understands that Jesus has bound these people together, they are each part of the body of Christ – so closely connected that Paul speaks of Onesimus as ‘his own heart.’
And he provides him with his own voice. As we read, we see Paul is willing to call in favours, to use his social capital and history to ensure Onesimus is cared for properly - even if there is a cost to himself. He instructs Philemon that any fault of Onesimus be ‘charged to his account.’ Paul cannot stand apart from Onesimus, he’s willing to take his own status and reputation and put it on the line alongside him.
These men share the Spirit, the goodness of Christ, they are united – and so, miraculously, we see a slave given the voice of an apostle.
I think Paul provides some great inspiration for us to lend our voices and use our position to advocate for others.
Are there small ways we can stand with those who are suffering? Are there stories of people in our community that never get told - can we provide a platform for those stories to be shared? I know many people here already speak out and challenge unjust systems and I want to encourage us in that.
Philemon:
Paul goes on to encourage Philemon.
Paul also refers to him as ‘brother,’ ‘friend’ and ‘co-worker.’ Now, we don’t know who Philemon was exactly but we do know that Paul was a big deal– the sort of person that might make an early Christian a bit star-struck.
So when Paul calls Philemon ‘brother,’ I should think the man was quite pleased with his status – ‘brother’ to the great apostle! Very nice!
It’s so nice that we might imagine Philemon being open to giving his slave their job back. That would have been seen as very selfless thing for Philemon to do – very generous – a great result for Onesimus.
But Paul asks for more! He wants Philemon to accept Onesimus not as a slave but as a brother- as his equal. The status that Paul has given to Philemon - he asks Philemon to now give to Onesimus – he wants this disciple to follow his example.
And this is the tricky bit isn’t it?
Irrespective of how important the world may believe us to be/or how ‘useless’ the world may believe us to be – in Christ, we are brothers and sisters.
Paul won’t accept anything less than that truth – do we?
There are many people in our society, our communities, and sadly, in our churches, who are labelled as ‘useless.’
And it is risky to stand beside those who have been rejected – it is even riskier to call them brother or sister.
But this courage is exactly what we see in Jesus, our great advocate in heaven, stood holding the door open for each of us to return to God.
I wonder if there are ways we can push back against a world that likes to raise some up and put others down?
Can we welcome an outsider to sit with us, even if the headlines scream that they are not wanted here. Can we reassure someone that we see them, we hear them and that they are worthy of care and support, even if they have been ignored or overlooked by everyone else.
Can we be a people who live with the knowledge that grace changes everything! Without Jesus we are all ‘useless’ but His sacrifice means we can be welcomed into new life as children of God – as brothers and sisters. We can tell everyone in the world that God thinks they are beautiful enough, important enough, useful enough to die for.
Jesus:
This brings us to our gospel reading from Luke.
We find a whole list of familial terms here too, ‘brother,’ ‘sister,’ ‘mother,’ ‘father,’ ‘husband,’ ‘wife.’
Again, Jesus reminds his disciples that God’s grace will rewrite our relationships – will make us part of a new family – just as Paul’s words were helping Philemon to realise.
Jesus goes on to explain that being part of this new family of God comes with a cost.
‘Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.’
Jesus knew that this equalizing, this radical re-arranging of the status quo – shuffling the ‘useless’ and ‘useful,’ would be painful.
It would require his followers to let go of all that had gone before, to acknowledge the tension within themselves and to live at odds with the world around them.
We see this cost in our letter don’t we?
We can’t know how Philemon reacted to Paul’s writing or how his relationship with Onesimus panned out.
But we can be fairly certain that the equality and welcome Paul wrote of would have shocked those who read it – it would have been deeply offensive to request a master not only acknowledge his slave as a brother in Christ, but love him as a brother as well.
The type of request Paul makes is still deeply offensive today.
Our culture has determined who is ‘useful’ and who is ‘useless’ and welcoming or befriending the ‘wrong’ people will lead to pressure and opposition – if we’re doing it right, we will feel the weight of that cross bearing down.
In our letter, Philemon is facing once of those moments of truth –those moments when our faith has to be translated into a transformed life. Those moments when the Holy Spirit can make us truly useful.
Maybe we can take time today to ask God to present each of us with one of those moments? A relationship we need to work on? Somebody we need to speak out for? Or stand up next to?
When we face those moments we can pray to our advocate in heaven. To the one who underwent terrible suffering, so that those who were ‘useless,’ those who were ‘dead,’ could be welcomed into new life as children of God, forever. Amen.