St John the Evangelist

Trinity 12 / Pentecost 13

Sunday, 23/08/2026

SENTENCE FROM SCRIPTURE:

Our help is in the name of the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. (Psalm 124)

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

Almighty and eternal God,
by your generous love
you grant to those who pray
more than is desired or deserved:
pour down your mercy upon us,
forgiving what our conscience fears,
and granting what we dare not ask;
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 Exodus 1.8 – 2.10, read by Zara Ross

⁸ A new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. ⁹ He said to his people, ‘Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and more powerful than we. ¹⁰ Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase and, in the event of war, join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.’ ¹¹ Therefore they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labour. They built supply cities, Pithom and Rameses, for Pharaoh. ¹² But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread, so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. ¹³ The Egyptians became ruthless in imposing tasks on the Israelites, ¹⁴ and made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and brick and in every kind of field labour. They were ruthless in all the tasks that they imposed on them. ¹⁵ The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, ¹⁶ ‘When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, she shall live.’ ✝

¹⁷ But the midwives feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let the boys live. ¹⁸ So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, ‘Why have you done this, and allowed the boys to live?’ ¹⁹ The midwives said to Pharaoh, ‘Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.’ ²⁰ So God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and became very strong. ²¹ And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. ²² Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, ‘Every boy that is born to the Hebrews you shall throw into the Nile, but you shall let every girl live.’ ¹ Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. ² The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him three months. ³ When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river. ⁴ His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him. ⁵ The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it. ⁶ When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him, ‘This must be one of the Hebrews’ children,’ she said. ⁷ Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, ‘Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?’ ⁸ Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Yes.’ So the girl went and called the child’s mother. ⁹ Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages.’ So the woman took the child and nursed it.

¹⁰ When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and she took him as her son. She named him Moses, ‘because,’ she said, ‘I drew him out of the water.’

SILENCE

SECOND READING Romans 12.1–8 , read by Tom Lochhead

¹ I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

² Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect. ³ For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. ⁴ For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, ⁵ so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.

⁶ We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ⁷ ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; ⁸ the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

GRADUAL HYMN

GOSPEL Matthew 16.13–20 read by Rev Chris Wren

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew, Chapter 16, beginning at verse 13

Glory to Christ our Saviour

¹³ Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ ¹⁴ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ¹⁵ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’

¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ ¹⁷ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’ ²⁰ Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

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

SERMON

“Who do you say that I am?”, said Jesus. Matt. 16:15

There’s a question for you! How would you answer it?

Who was, indeed, who is – Jesus?

Our knowledge of Jesus as shown in the New Testament is really very scant. We know of a few sayings, a few acts of kindness, an occasional outburst of rage, even. We all have pictures in our minds of who he was and what he was like. Some of it might be quite mistaken. The stand-up comedian, Milton Jones, who is a practising Christian, and operates in a quite hostile environment at times, says: ‘Jesus had a beard and sandals and long hair. Although we don’t know for sure about the long hair. Or the beard. Or the sandals.’

Wherever Jesus went, people wanted to know about him – who he was, where he came from, what he was doing. Yet to his disciples, he seemed to remain an enigma right up until his crucifixion and beyond. Matthew’s gospel which we are reading through Sunday by Sunday makes this very clear, and sometimes presents the disciples as being more than slightly stupid!

Our story this morning is no exception. The disciples really don’t know how to answer the question Jesus poses. But Peter, always one to jump to an answer – you know the type, you’ve met them – has a stab at it. Jesus, he says, is the Messiah, the Christ, the anointed one. And those, I have to tell you, are words that needs a lot of unpacking, but not now.

We get most of our information from the Gospels, which are loaded accounts of him. By that I mean that each of the four Gospel writers was grinding his own axe, writing for a particular group, from a particular point of view. We actually know very little, and if you were asked of Jesus ‘who is he?’, what would you say? What do you really know about him?

A bit of context. In this story, Jesus is in a mainly non-Jewish area, Caesarea Philippi, so a more peaceful location, a withdrawal from the scrutiny he had been under. He had a problem. He felt that his time was short, that the authorities were after him. And his problem was this. What about his ministry and his message? Did anyone understand him? Did anyone recognise him for who he was? When he was gone, would there be anyone to carry on his work, to proclaim the kingdom message – God’s way? Surely someone, one of the Twelve, perhaps, understood what he was about.

So he puts the question to them. “Who do folk think the Son of Man is?” A very loaded question, which again, needs a good deal of unpacking, but not now. Suffice to say it is a difficult one!

The reply isn’t encouraging. Some say John the Baptist? Or Elijah? Or Jeremiah? Or some other prophet? All these had a meaning in Jewish thought, and were in a way honouring Jesus. But Jesus then makes it personal. What about you? Who do you say that I am? And then it is Peter, jumping in, with some depth of insight, who gives the answer which Jesus wants to hear ‘You are the anointed one, the Messiah, son of the living God’.

So, then, what about you? It is still the personal question. What do you think about Jesus – who was he; what was he about; what is he now?

^{Made with Copilot}

Do you remember the question that Pontius Pilate asked Jesus: ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ The answer Jesus gave was along these lines: ‘Is that what you think, or did someone else tell you?’ In other words, Jesus is saying ‘do you know anything about me? Or are you relying on gossip? What do you think I am about?”

You can know everything we read in the gospels about Jesus. You might know every theological interpretation there has ever been about him. But here’s the question. You might know a lot about him: but do you know him? Is Jesus a reality in your life? Are you living the kingdom life Jesus came to tell us about, and to which he commissioned Peter – ‘on this rock of your confession and insight, I will build my church’. Peter – given authority to carry on teaching and promoting the very values Jesus came to inaugurate – God’s way, the holy way to live, to live the kingdom way. For it is that which has been handed down the centuries to us today.

That, however, poses a problem for us. Is not the Jesus we know, and the kingdom values which he taught, at odds with the values that many powerful people despise or ignore? In other words, it might be that Christian kingdom ways are counter-cultural. Even if you know who Jesus is, and what he was on about, how would you face the Putins, the Trumps, the Hegseths, the Musks, Bezos and the like of this world?

Some years ago the Methodist Church wanted its members to consider this very problem, and a statement from the Methodist Conference of 2005 said this:

“We are all part of the contemporary culture as well as being rooted in the Christian tradition, which is often deeply counter-cultural. But we have to wrestle honestly and intelligently with how and when exactly we may be called to adopt a counter-cultural stance. Often we cannot see clearly what may be the harmful attitudes we are caught up in because they are like the air we breathe, while at the same time we may be opposing secular movements which are of the Spirit. We need to have real conversations with each other in order to discern the way to be faithful Christian disciples in the contemporary world.”

In other words, Christian people should not stand aloof from the world, for we are all influenced by it. We live in the world, but perhaps we are not always conscious of the way in which our discipleship entails a mix of detachment and accommodation, that is to say being ‘in the world, but not of it’. The gift is being able to discern where to put our energies, and which battles to fight. But let us never be afraid.

^{St Ann’s Church, Kew}

Giles Fraser, a Church of England cleric, recently broadcast a series of three programmes on Radio 4, having a look at churchgoing and its decline in the UK. He didn’t really come up with any solutions as to how that decline could be reversed. So consider this. There can be litle doubt that the church is not what it once was. The best way to ensure the continued demise of the church as a community of faith is for us to turn our back on the world and not engage with it. For is not the church all about Jesus? Ought we not to be telling the world who Jesus is? As the old evengelical chorus goes: ‘Everybody ought to know who Jesus is’. It is not an easy task, but not one from which we should shrink.

We are called in this generation to have the courage to defend our faith, faith in the Jesus we know, who commissions us all to carry on the work he inaugurated two millenia ago. Whether that faith be strong or weak, let us not be afraid to speak out.

Here’s a way to start, perhaps. Think of someone you know, and perhaps you could ask them: ‘Who do you think Jesus is?’ It could be an interesting conversation!

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

Today Father we pray for the whole world and everyone that lives on earth. Today we pray for the Scottish Episcopal Church, especially, praying for the Glasgow and Galloway Diocese, in particular, our Bishop Nick, Dean Matthew Little, Canon Missioner Dawn Matthew, Rural Dean for south of the Diocese Elizabeth Breakey, the Diocesan Protection of Vulnerable Groups co ordinator Jenny Whelan.

Lord in your mercy hear our prayer.

^{This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA}

Father, we ask you to give discernment, strength and wisdom to all the countries in the world that are at war, in conflict, or in negotiations. Particularly we pray for our friends in Ukraine who we are always praying for peace and that the Holy Spirit can send its healing powers through all the bereaved and troubled families that are bereft because of the brutalities of war. Lord, we pray that we may one day gain world peace. You sent your only Son as a remarkable act of love and we pray that these world leaders recognise that love and demonstrate that love.

Lord in your mercy hear our prayer.

^{This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA}

Closer to home, we pray that our parliaments and government leaders guide our country in fair and just manners. We pray that you guide them, Lord, with wisdom and compassion. Lord, we pray that our law makers and law enforcement are given your strength and guidance to deliver fair and just outcomes. In particular, Lord, we pray for our judges, sheriffs, solicitors, police and prison officers that they have your love and guidance as they strive to deliver the rules of the land, keeping our country fair and just.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

^{This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA}

Today Lord, we want to hold our amazing health service up to you for you to be able to provide your healing powers to the health workers that are required to help others. You give your gift of discernment to the managers and officials and you show your love and caring hand to all that work in the NHS and care services. Also, all those that are currently sick and need your healing hand. Let’s take a minute to silently pray for all those we currently know who are ill, have a long term condition, or work within the care profession. Today, lord, in our own parish, we pray for …..

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

During times of trouble Lord, we always turn to you but here on earth we are regularly turning to our pets for the unconditional love that you show us. We can often get the reassuring cuddle and the feeling of unfailing love from our pets knowing, Lord, you are the only one that demonstrates this to us all of the time. Our pets are a gift from you to help us, so Lord at this time we hold our pets up to you and pray that you help us to keep those bonds and relationships strong, giving us that strength that you give us but having that physical being on earth. This morning Lord, we pray for all our pets, large or small, fat or thin, hairy or not, we lift them all up to you and give thanks.

Lord in your mercy hear our prayer.

Today Lord we pray for those loved ones that have recently passed to your kingdom. Lord, we pray that families that are bereaved are given your strength, your love and your Holy Spirit to be reassured in their faith and feel the overwhelming feeling only you can give. In our own parish we pray for our recently departed, praying for….We now hold in our hearts anyone who we know personally who has also passed into the kingdom.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Lord, as you have taught us war is never the answer, and during these dark and horrendous times we look for your glimmer of light, and today Lord, that glimmer of light is very much a beacon, shining bright which we wish to give a hearty thanks for. That beacon Lord, is the chance for us to meet, form and develop lifelong friendships and fellowship with our Ukrainian family. Lord, we want to thank you for introducing us to this amazing group of Ukrainian children and the amazing family of Ukrainian congregation that are now regular members and lifelong friends. We wish to give thanks for their blessing in their performance and with your Holy Spirit, and your unconditional love, Lord, we pray that these bonds of love and friendship are the building blocks of peace in the Ukrainian war.

Lord in your mercy, hear your prayer.

Father hear all these prayers today, spoken and unspoken, for we bring them to you through you Jesus Christ our lord, 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