Trinity 20 / Pentecost 21

Sunday, 18/10/2026

SENTENCE FROM SCRIPTURE:

He spoke to them out of the pillar of cloud. [Psalm 99]

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 merciful God:
in your goodness keep from us all that is harmful;
that, being ready both in body and soul,
we may freely accomplish your will;
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 33.12–23
read by Zara Ross

¹² Moses said to the LORD, ‘See, you have said to me, “Bring up this people”; but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, “I know you by name, and you have also found favour in my sight.” ¹³ Now if I have found favour in your sight, show me your ways, so that I may know you and find favour in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.’

¹⁴ He said, ‘My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’ 15 And he said to him, ‘If your presence will not go, do not carry us up from here. ¹⁶ For how shall it be known that I have found favour in your sight, I and your people, unless you go with us? In this way, we shall be distinct, I and your people, from every people on the face of the earth.’ ¹⁷ The LORD said to Moses, ‘I will do the very thing that you have asked; for you have found favour in my sight, and I know you by name.’ ¹⁸ Moses said, ‘Show me your glory, I pray.’ ¹⁹ And he said, ‘I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you the name, “The LORD”; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. ²⁰ But,’ he said, ‘you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live.’ ²¹ And the LORD continued, ‘See, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock;

²² and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; ²³ then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen.’

SECOND READING
1 Thessalonians 1.1–10
read by Peter Borrell

¹ From Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. ² We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, ³ constantly remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labour of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁴ For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you, ⁵ because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake.

⁶ And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, ⁷ so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. ⁸ For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it.

⁹ For the people of those regions report about us what kind of welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, ¹⁰ and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead – Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming.

GRADUAL HYMN

GOSPEL
Matthew 22.15-22,
read by the Rev Chris Wren

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew, Chapter 22, beginning at verse 15

Glory to Christ our Saviour

When the chief priests and Pharisees had heard the parables, they realized that Jesus was speaking about them. ¹⁵ Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. ¹⁶ So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, ‘Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. ¹⁷ Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?’ ¹⁸ But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, ‘Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? ¹⁹ Show me the coin used for the tax.’ And they brought him a denarius.

²⁰ Then he said to them, ‘Whose head is this, and whose title?’ ²¹ They answered, ‘The emperor’s.’ Then he said to them, ‘Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ ²² When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.

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

SERMON
by Rev Jim Booth

This morning’s Gospel [Matthew 22 vv 15 – 22] finds Jesus faced with a trick question, designed to entrap Him between denial of His Jewish heritage, piety and allegiance to God on the one hand and espousal of political revolution on the other. The question concerning the payment of taxes is posed by two disparate groups of opponents – the Pharisees and a group described as the Herodians – who, apparently, have found common cause in trying to catch Jesus out. The Pharisees, who of course feature frequently in the Gospel narrative, are the devout guardians of Jewish heritage, practice and law. The Herodians, mentioned only here, would seem to be representative of the pro-Roman faction owing allegiance to Caesar and, presumably therefore, supportive of the Roman occupation.

The build-up to the trick question that they have devised begins with flattery: “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God…” [v 16] It feels somewhat like a modern-day politician in the hot seat being ‘buttered up’ by a political journalist! Then comes the question: “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” [v 17] To understand the response that Jesus gives, we need to know that different coins were used for different purposes. So, the coin for which Jesus asks – the one used to pay tax to the colonial authority, showing the head of the emperor and incorporating pseudo-religious and divine attributions of the emperor and so offensive to the Pharisees – is not the same as that used to pay the Temple tax. So, when Jesus replies: “Give to Caesar…” or “Render, give back…” to Caesar, Jesus both placates the Pharisees, offended by the coin and makes clear that He is not fomenting political revolution.

The response of Jesus also turns the attention of His first hearers, and of us, away from Caesar and political debate and intrigue to God. “Give therefore … to God the things that are God’s.” [v21] In this morning’s Old Testament passage, God says to Moses: “… I know you by name…” [Exodus 33 v 17] To know the name of someone, in Biblical thought, is to know much more than a means of identifying one individual from another. To be known by name means that the very depths of that person, who that person truly is, their fundamental identity – truly who they are – is known and understood. We are, each one of us, just like Moses, known by name by God – who we truly are. We are known by name and we are loved – loved and accepted as we are in spite of ourselves, in spite of all the ways in which we fall short of being the people that God has created us to be. “Give… to God the things that are God’s” says Jesus. We are loved and invited to find our place of belonging with the living God, whom we meet in the person of Jesus, living, dying and rising. And as we give ourselves back to God, as we find our true place of belonging with Him, then we begin our life’s journey towards becoming more truly the people that God has created us to be, that we can be and become. And that belonging will find its expression in the practical outworkings of faith in the life of the world [1 Thessalonians 1] as we work to build, here where we are, God’s Kingdom of peace, hope, life, love for all.

May God bless us in our life’s journey with Him.

Amen

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

Almighty God, you are always more ready to hear than we are to pray.

Hear our prayers for the world you created and redeemed and for all your children

Lord, hear us… Lord, graciously hear us

Almighty God, hear our prayers for the church which is your body. We pray for all who confess the faith of Christ crucified, raised and ascended, particularly those who must worship with the threat of persecution. Surround them with the knowledge of your love and protection and the prayers of many throughout your world

Lord, hear us… Lord, graciously hear us

Almighty God, in St John’s we will today commission our new Vestry. We give thanks for all who are willing to give their time and talents to serve you in their local church or other organisations which benefit their local community. Give them strength and wisdom in the tasks that lie ahead of them

Lord, hear us…… Lord, graciously hear us

Almighty God, we pray for peace in your world. Guide the rulers of the nations to seek the good of all not merely their own wishes. Bless the peacemakers and give them wisdom and imagination. Give strength to those who seek to bring comfort and relief to war torn or other devastated area. We pray for all who live in the midst of conflict and in a moment of silence we each pray for one place that is on our hearts today

Lord, hear us…………… Lord, graciously hear us

In St John’s we have heard today about the work of our local Food Bank and so we pray:

Almighty God, forgive us that when there is enough food for all to share many people throughout the world will be hungry tonight. Bless the work of the Food Banks in this country. Thank you for all who work in them. Encourage those who can to give and those who are worried about asking for help to contact their local food bank and take the first step to get support. Help our community to strive for a society where nobody goes without food

Lord, hear us……………. Lord, graciously hear us

Loving Father, we commend to you all who are ill or who live with chronic long term conditions. We pray especially for those lost in the darkness of dementia or addiction May all who suffer physically or mentally know your comfort and strength. Guide those who care and give them patience and understanding.

Loving Father, hear our prayer for all who are grieving the loss of someone they have loved. We claim your promise that those who mourn will be comforted

In a moment of silence we bring our personal prayers to our Heavenly Father

Lord, hear us…………… Lord, graciously hear us

Heavenly Father hear our prayers for ourselves in the coming week. We remember how Jesus was challenged. Help us to give to you what is yours

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