As I’m sure you all know, the lectionary, the body of readings appointed to be used during the Church’s worship, is put together in such a way that there should be a discernible theme running through all the readings on any given day of the year. In the Old Testament reading today, for example, we heard that, when Moses was able to hold his hand up, Israel was able to prevail in battle against Amalek. The Psalm assures us that God will help those who look up to him. In the Epistle, St Paul urges us to continue in faith, in studying Scripture and in good works. And in the Gospel, Jesus assures us that, so long as we pray constantly and don’t lose heart, God will hear and answer our prayers. So we could say that the theme of today’s lectionary readings is perseverance in faith; perseverance in doing all that our faith tells us we should do, trusting that God will come to our help.  

I think that message is quite easily discernible in this morning’s readings, and I hope everyone was able to find it. But I think that there are also some other messages in these readings that are perhaps not quite so easy to see. And I think some of these other messages are also not so easy to digest as that comfortable, reassuring message that, so long as we persevere in faith, God will come to our aid. Tougher messages that lie behind that comfort and reassurance about just what it means to persevere in faith and about how hard that can be.  

So what are these hidden, or at least not quite so obvious messages, in this morning’s readings? Well, lets start with the reading from Exodus. As we read, Israel was engaged in battle against Amalek and, as long as Moses was able to hold up his hand, the battle went well for Israel but, if Moses lowered his hand, Amalek gained the advantage in battle. But, as the battle raged on, Moses grew so tired that it seems he couldn’t hold his hands up any longer and so Aaron and Hur had to stand alongside him and hold his hands up for him. Moses was the one God had chosen to lead his people out of Egypt and bring them to the promised land. He was so important a figure in the story of God’s people that he appeared in glory with Jesus on the Mountain of the Transfiguration. And yet he still needed help, even from those less able, less faithful, less well qualified we might say. And what this tells us is that no matter our own strength, no matter how important a position we might have in the Church, no matter how much we know about the Lord and his ways and no matter how good we are putting those things into practice in our lives, we all still need the help of others at times.  

We might not be engaged in the same kind of battle that took place between Israel and Amalek, but we are engaged in a spiritual battle between the way of the Lord and the way of the world. And if we’re going to emerge victorious from this battle, we need to trust in the Lord, to keep our hands raised to the Lord, so to speak. And it’s a very long battle because it’s one we have to fight every day and there will be times when we grow weak, moments during the battle when our strength begins to fail and the battle starts to go badly for us. And that’s when we need the help of others to give us the strength to get through the tough times until our strength returns and we can hold our own hands up again. So none of us should ever think that we can live out our Christian faith without the help of other Christians because we can’t; none of us can do this on our own.  

Moving on to the Epistle, St Paul urges us not just to be familiar with Scripture but take what we read in Scripture to heart and to order our lives according to what we read. I don’t think anyone would argue with that. How could we when every time we read from Scripture in church we end by proclaiming it as the Word or Gospel of the Lord? So we might very well nod our heads and say “Yes indeed” when St Paul says,  

‘All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.’ 

But to what extent do we really use Scripture in that way? To what extent do follow St Paul’s charge to, 

‘…preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.’  

One of the great failings, both of us as individual Christians, and of the wider Church is not using Scripture in this way. Because how often do we excuse our own failures to live up to what we read in Scripture as ‘just little sins that don’t really matter’? How often are we only too ready to ignore Scripture ourselves, and turn blind eye when our family and friends ignore it, but are only too ready and willing to condemn others when they do likewise? And when we condemn others for their failure to live out what we read in Scripture, how often do we have the courage to actually say something to them? Aren’t we far, far more likely to simply criticise and gossip about them behind their backs? We might have a lot of patience with ourselves and our loved ones, but where is that patience when it comes to dealing with the faults and failings of others?  

And how often in recent years has the wider Church appeared to be far more interested in fitting in with the way of the world and in not causing offense than in preaching the word, reproving, rebuking and exhorting the world to turn to Christ? And where is the teaching in any of this?   

Turning finally to the Gospel, I think this is a reading where something is most definitely lost in translation. In the story, as we read it, the unrighteous judge finally decides to give justice to the widow because she’s being a nuisance, she’s wearing him out with her constant mithering. But in the Greek, the judge finally gives in not because he’s fed up but because he thinks the widow will become so fed up of him ignoring her that she’s going to end up smacking him in the face! And I think that actually gives an added dimension to what Jesus is trying to say to us here.  

We’re told right at the beginning that this parable is about the need to pray always and not lose heart. At the end Jesus implies that, if even an unrighteous judge will give justice if he’s asked often enough and forcefully enough, how much more will God give justice to those who ask him. But while Jesus says God will give justice speedily, we notice that he says that it is justice that will be given, and it will be given to “his elect”, to those of his chosen people 

“… who cry to him day and night.”   

So what Jesus seems to be saying here is that we need to pray constantly and never give up because God will answer our prayers, but we might need to pray day and night, we might need to cry out to God in prayer. We might even have to get angry with God before our prayers are answered, and even then, we might not get what we want. Because what we will receive from God is justice, what is right and fitting in God’s eyes, which may or may not be the same as what is right and fitting in our eyes.  

We must all know the feeling that our prayers are not being answered, at least as quickly as we’d like them to be, or in the way we want them to be. Even Jesus knew that feeling during his agony in Gethsemane. But if God is going to answer our prayers at once, if he’s going to click his fingers, so to speak, and just give us what we ask for, there’s no need to pray always is there, we just need to pray when we want something, and we’ll get it. If prayer is always answered immediately and in the way we want it to be answered there’s no need to speak about not losing heart, or crying out God day and night is there?  

There would certainly be no need to feel like we want to smack God one if praying to God was like rubbing a magic lamp and simply waiting for a genie to appear and grant our wishes would there? But that’s not what happens when we pray and so remaining constant in prayer and not losing hope takes faith, a lot of faith. And so Jesus’ question at the end of this morning’s Gospel becomes quite understandable: 

“Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”  

And that’s the question I’d like to leave you to consider, do we, do you, have that kind of faith? The faith to keep going when the going gets tough and we need the help of others. A humble faith that knows its need of help and isn’t too proud to ask for or accept help. The faith to look at ourselves through the lens of God’s Word as harshly as we sometimes look at others through that lens. The faith to reprove, rebuke and exhort ourselves and our loved ones to live according to God’s Word, as we so often do to others. The faith to speak out when the way of the world is contrary to the way of the Lord, rather than simply go with the flow for the sake of a quieter, easier life. And the faith to be gentle and patient. Gentle and patient with ourselves, not to excuse our own wrongdoing, but as we look for guidance to carry on in God’s way. And gentle and patient with others too, looking only to guide them into and along that way rather than stand over them in judgement? And the faith to be constant in prayer, and never lose heart, even when it seems that God isn’t being fair or isn’t even listening? Do we have that kind of faith? The faith that Scripture urges us to have, and Christ will look for when he returns.  

Amen 

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Propers for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, 19th October 2025

Entrance Antiphon 
To you I call; for you will surely heed me, O God; 
turn your ear to me; hear my words. 
Guard me as the apple of your eye; 
in the shadow of your wings protect me. 

The Collect 
Almighty ever-living God, 
grant that we may always conform our will to yours 
and serve your majesty in sincerity of heart. 
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, 
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 
God, for ever and ever. 
Amen. 

The Readings 
Exodus 17:8-13  
Psalm 121:1-8 
2 Timothy 3:14-4:2 
Luke 18:1-8 

Prayer after Communion  
Grant, O Lord, we pray, 
that, benefiting from participation in heavenly things, 
we may be helped by what you give in this present age 
and prepared for the gifts that are eternal. 
Through Christ our Lord. 

Amen. 

Entrance Antiphon 
If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? 
But with you is found forgiveness, O God of Israel. 

The Collect 
May your grace, O Lord, we pray, 
at all times go before us and follow after, 
and make us always determined to carry out good works. 
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, 
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 
God, for ever and ever. 
Amen. 

The Readings 
2 Kings 5:14-17  
Psalm 98:1-4 
2 Timothy 2:8-13 
Luke 17:11-19 

Prayer after Communion 
We entreat your majesty most humbly, O Lord, 
that, as you feed us with the nourishment 
which comes from the most holy Body and Blood of your Son, 
so you may make us sharers of his divine nature. 
Who lives and reigns for ever and ever. 
Amen.  

We hear a lot in the news these days, do we not, about the divisions in our society and about the problems and trouble that these divisions are causing. But then we in the Church should know all about this kind of thing because we’ve been dealing with the problems of division for a long time. And if anyone here thinks that there was a time when the Church was not divided in some way, and those divisions did not cause problems within the Church, I’m sorry to disillusion you, but we need only read Acts of the Apostles and St Paul’s Letters to see that division within the Church has been present since the very early days.  

And division and all the problems associated with division are still with us. For example, almost immediately after the announcement of the Reverend Sarah Mullally as the new Archbishop of Canterbury, GAFCON, the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, the grouping of conservative Anglicans, largely from Africa and Asia, expressed its sorrow and dismay at the appointment, and its concern that the appointment of a female, liberal to the See of Canterbury will only deepen the divisions that already exist within the global Anglican Communion.   

But then we don’t have to look to the wider world, either secular or sacred to see division. People here in our churches today will, I know, be divided in their opinion about what we’re celebrating in church this morning because our annual Harvest Thanksgiving services are a source of division. Some people love them, while others loathe them.  

I must admit, I’m not a big fan of Harvest Thanksgiving services. Not though, because of any great objection to these services in themselves, but because of the inordinate fuss that people can make over them, and the trouble they can cause between even those who absolutely love them. I’ve been in parishes where, if you were to judge by the time and effort that goes into decorating the church and organising who’s going to do what at the service, you’d think that Harvest Thanksgiving was more important than Easter and Christmas combined. I’ve known churches where they form Harvest Thanksgiving Sub-Committees to discuss and organise their Harvest Thanksgiving service which is something they most definitely didn’t do even for Easter and Christmas. And such a completely OTT carry-on is utterly ridiculous, for what is, when all is said and done, simply an optional local celebration in the Church’s calendar.  

And then there’s the trouble these services can cause between those who want to get involved in them. How many times have I heard people arguing and falling out about who’s doing what and who’s decorating which window sill for a Harvest Thanksgiving service. And when it comes to who’s going to do that piece de resistance, the central display in front of the altar, well, at times you’d think people were vying for seats at the right and left hand of the Lord himself!  And the arguments and upset and fall-outs these things cause is again, utterly ridiculous. I’ve even known people leave a church because somebody has done something for or at a Harvest Thanksgiving service that they thought they should have been allowed to do!  

So that’s my problem with Harvest Thanksgiving services. But for other people there’s a more fundamental problem with them For some people, Harvest Thanksgiving services smack of ancient fertility rites They’re uncomfortable with symbols taken from nature taking pride of place in a church and these things fly a little too close to paganism for their liking. And again, I know someone who did leave a church because, in his opinion, things went a little too far in this direction at a Harvest Thanksgiving service one year. As I recall, putting a Green Man image at the centre of the display in front of the High Altar was the straw that broke this particular camel’s back! 

For other people though, Harvest Thanksgiving services are simply anachronistic. For some, they have no real place in today’s world, or at least in our part of the world where the vast majority of people no longer work in agriculture and we no longer rely on the annual harvest for our food.  

Having said all that, you might be forgiven for thinking that I think we’d be better off without Harvest Thanksgiving services but actually, I do think that these services can serve a good and useful purpose, if we can do away with the OTT fuss that some people make of them, and all the pagan imagery and associations that can go with agricultural celebrations, and get back to what should always have been at the heart of our Harvest Thanksgiving services. Originally, Harvest Thanksgiving in church was intended to replace the pagan, or at least semi-pagan festivities that went on in agricultural communities at harvest time with a Christian service of thanksgiving to God. And that’s what we need to get back to; making Harvest Thanksgiving services a reminder of our need, our obligation even, to give thanks to God. And not just for our food, but for all that God gives us.  

To be honest, I think that thanksgiving is sadly lacking in what we do in church, and perhaps in what we do as individual Christians too. Like me, many people here today will be of a generation that was taught to give thanks to God on a daily basis for the food we eat. How many of us, when we were at school had to stand up in class just before the dinner break and say something along the lines of, 

“For what we are about to receive, may the Lord make us truly thankful. Amen.” 

It’s something we all did, every day from Monday to Friday during school term times. The fact that so many of us remember it from so many years ago tells us how much a part of our lives it was. But how many of us still say grace, a payer of thanksgiving before we eat, today? I do, but not always, I must admit.  

And how many of us include thanksgiving in our prayers? I’ve spoken before about ACTS of prayer where ACTS is an acronym for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication, the idea being that our prayers should be made up of these four elements and in that order. But how much of our prayer is simply a list of requests of what we want God to do for others or for us? And if our prayers are answered, do we even then give thanks to God? Just think about our intercessions in church. One common way to introduce the intercessions is with the words, 

“Let us pray for the Church and for the world and let us thank God for his goodness.”   

But where is the thanksgiving in what follows? We often pray for peace in the world don’t we? But when peace comes, do we ever thank God for it? We pray for the Church but when do we ever thank God for the Church, even though it is his gift to us? We pray for ourselves, and we often lay our problems at the Lord’s feet; but how often do we thank God for the good things in our lives or how often do we thank him when our problems are resolved? We pray for the sick, but do we ever thank God when they recover and are restored to health? And we pray for the dead, asking God to gather them into his heavenly kingdom. But when do we ever thank God for the promise of that gift, the gift of eternal life?  

There is a lot of thanksgiving in our Eucharistic liturgies but, as we say or hear these words of thanksgiving, are we really giving thanks to God? Are we really thinking about the words and feeling thankfulness in our hearts, or are we simply going through the motions? And at the end of the service, for example, when the Dismissal used requires a response of, 

“Thanks be to God.” 

Are we really thanking God for all we’ve just head and experienced? Are we thanking God for that most wonderful gift we’ve received, the very body and blood of his Son our Lord Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Sacrament of The Altar, in our reception of Holy Communion? Or are we simply expressing our thanks that the service is over, in effect saying, “Thanks be to God” but actually meaning something more like ‘Thank God that’s over!’? 

Giving thanks to God should be part of all we do both in the Church and as individual Christians, and Harvest Thanksgiving services should be a reminder of our need and obligation to do that. So whatever we think about Harvest Thanksgiving services personally, let’s at least use them in this way, as a reminder to give thanks to God not just for out food but for all that he’s given us and gives us to sustain us on our earthly pilgrimage.  

Amen.   

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Propers for Harvest Festival, Sunday 5th October 2025

Entrance Antiphon 
The earth has yielded its fruit, may God, our God, bless us. 

The Collect 
O Lord, good Father, 
who in your providence have entrusted the earth to the human race,  
grant, we pray, that with the fruits harvested from it,  
we may be able to sustain life and, with your help, 
always use them to promote your praise and the well-being of all. 
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,  
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 
one God, for ever and ever. 
Amen. 

The Readings 
Joel 2:21-24, 26-27  
Psalm 67:2-3, 5, 7-8 
1 Corinthians 1:6-11, 17-19 
Luke 12:15-21 

Prayer after Communion 
Grant, we pray, O Lord,  
that, as we give you thanks in this saving mystery 
for the crops harvested from the earth, 
we may, through the same mystery working within us,  
be worthy to receive still greater blessings. 
Through Christ our Lord. 
Amen.