Family Communion for the twelfth Sunday after Trinity: celebrant the Revd Tola Badejo. Junior Church takes place at the same time in the hall.

First reading: Jeremiah 18: 1–11
Gospel: Luke 14. 25–33

Today's readings are challenging, underlining not only the fact that God is a God of justice as well as compassion but also that the life of faith will involve sacrifices. Jeremiah's image of the potter is dramatic and memorable: as soon as the craftsman sees that his work is not coming out as he intended, he casts it down and makes a fresh start. Yet, severe as it is, the metaphor contains hope: though the potter utterly destroys the form of the imperfect pot, he starts again with the same clay, and in the same way God will, if we allow him, build up those whom he has chastised.

In the Gospel, Luke presents Jesus in a harshly uncompromising light, apparently demanding that his followers reject not only their material possessions but also their families. Clearly this is not his intention - Christ would neither ask that we 'hate' anyone nor encourage us to break one of the Commandments - and many thoughtful commentaries explain that Jesus typically used exaggerated language and that the word 'hate' is an imperfect translation of a verb that simply means the opposite of 'prefer'. Nevertheless, his meaning is clearly that faith, and the duties it entails, take precedence over all other considerations, a truth reflected in traditional representations of the crucifixion showing those whom Christ most loved at the foot of the cross.