10th Sunday after Trinity

10th after Trinity

Readings: Isaiah 58v9b-end; Psalm 103v1-8; Hebrews 12v18-end; Luke 13v10-17.

Let us pray: May the words of my mouth and the thoughts and meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.

A Word: In the readings today we hear about the Sabbath Day.

In Isaiah we hear that the Lord wants to rebuild and restore his holy people by keeping the Sabbath and honouring it as a sacred day. The Lord says he will hear, help, guide, strengthen and satisfy us if we do his bidding. The Lord’s bidding is to do two things: to turn away from being evil; and to help those in need. I believe that we can only keep the Sabbath if we also do the Lord’s bidding, which means we need to take stock of how we live and take action to live as the Lord asks of us.

In the psalm we hear that we are called to bless the Lord who is full of compassion, mercy and kindness; and to call to mind everything he has done for us. For the Lord crowns us with love and compassion by: forgiving our sins; healing our infirmities; restoring our lives; satisfying us with good things; and implementing upright decisions for the browbeaten, exploited, broken and demoralised. I believe that blessing the Lord is something we can do on the Sabbath and as we bless the Lord we need to keep in mind all that the Lord does for his people.

In Hebrews we hear that as we gather together in worship we draw close to the living God who is the judge of all and an all-consuming fire. We also hear that as we worship, we do so alongside innumerable angels and the congregation of the firstborn who are already enrolled in heaven. These are the spirits of the righteous, those who have been made perfect. Hebrews also warns that if we want to survive the final judgement that we should offer down-to-earth, modest and simple worship. For if we do, when all of heaven and earth is remade, we will become part of all that remains and will be gathered into the heavenly Jerusalem.

From these readings, I believe that we are being called to consider how we keep the Sabbath. For as we hear in Isaiah, we will be blessed by the Lord if we keep the Sabbath sacred, and in the psalm we are called to use the Sabbath to bless the Lord. Then in Hebrews, to remember that as we worship we join in the worship of heaven. For the way we keep the Sabbath is important because as we hear in Luke, it is all too easy to make errors about what the Lord requires. For surely the leader of the synagogue was in error when he reprimanded Jesus for healing a woman on the Sabbath. I believe this because Jesus defended his action by reminding the leader of the synagogue that lots of good things were permitted on the Sabbath day, before saying that healing and setting people free were suitable acts for the Sabbath day too.

So, as we review how we keep the Sabbath, let us be careful what we teach is allowed, permitted and acceptable, because one day Jesus may challenge us too.

Let us Pray: God of our pilgrimage, you keep the gate of mercy open for all who trust in you. Keep us on the pathway of life and prevent us from wandering away. Hear our prayers and guide us to ask for the things that please you, for the sake of our saviour Jesus. Amen

Thanks for joining us today.