A Meditation for Trinity 18 – Harvest 2026

Collect

Joel 2: 21-27

²¹     Do not be afraid, land of Judah;  be glad and rejoice. Surely the Lord has done great things!

²²     Do not be afraid, you wild animals, for the pastures in the wilderness are becoming green. The trees are bearing their fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield their riches.

²³ Be glad, people of Zion, rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given you the autumn rains because he is faithful. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before.

²⁴ The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.

²⁵ “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten— the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm—my great army that I sent among you.

²⁶ You will have plenty to eat, until you are full,  and you will praise the name of the Lord your God,  who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed.

²⁷ Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the Lord your God, and that there is no other; never again will my people be shamed.

Reflection

A Meditation for Trinity 16

Collect

Matthew 20: 1-16 – The Great Commission

20‘For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard. 2After agreeing with the labourers for the usual daily wage,* he sent them into his vineyard. 3When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the market-place; 4and he said to them, “You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.” So they went. 5When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. 6And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, “Why are you standing here idle all day?” 7They said to him, “Because no one has hired us.” He said to them, “You also go into the vineyard.” 8When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, “Call the labourers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.” 9When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage.* 10Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage.* 11And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, 12saying, “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.” 13But he replied to one of them, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?* 14Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. 15Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?”* 16So the last will be first, and the first will be last.’

Reflection

image courtesty of Sketchplanations

A Meditation for Trinity 13

Collect

1 Corinthians 1:3-9

Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings?

5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labour. 9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.

Matthew 28: 16-20 – The Great Commission

16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Reflection

I remember an excellent sermon on the passages from 1 Corinthians and Matthew’s Gospel above.

The essence of the message was that our responsibility in the Christian life is to prepare people for receiving the Gospel – remembering that they are able to meet Christ themselves directly in prayer and scripture. We cannot meet Him on their behalf, and in His walk alongside them they will grow as His body on earth. We must always be there to help – but ultimately, it is only God who offers forgiveness, healing and growth.

The sermon illustration used was preparing dinner – we are there to peel the spuds, but it is God who cooks the finished meal. Nice example – but actually doesn’t go far enough. God isn’t asking that people come to Him flawless, with all the skin peeled away resulting in uniformly pure white chips. Certainly, the process of helping people become disciples and walk with Him begins with washing away the earth, with its worldly pollution and layers of pesticides. But it is much healthier to then leave the potato unpeeled, for it is in the skin where most of the goodness is found. In our words, but more significantly in the example of our actions, we invite people to be baptised and turn away from the clinging dirt of the world; but God takes over from there, building a church rich in diversity, of all shapes and sizes – creating the balanced diet necessary for health.

Trinity 13

Collect

Romans 12: 9-12

9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; 10love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour. 11Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. 13Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly;* do not claim to be wiser than you are. 17Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. 18If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God;* for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ 20No, ‘if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.’ 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Matthew 16: 21-28

21 From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.’ 23But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.’

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. 26For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?

27 ‘For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. 28Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.’

Reflection

Today’s Gospel reading follows the developing story of Jesus’ ministry and teaching. Immediately before this Jesus has asked the disciples the question “Who do they say that I am?” – followed by another question to Peter “…and who do you say that I am?”

Peter answers – “You are the Christ, the son of the living God”.

Then the future plan begins to unfold as Jesus declares – “you are Peter, the rock, and upon you I will build my church”. Turning to the others he warns them to tell no one that is the Christ.

Just as the seasons change….there’s a clear change taking place here.

All good things turn to an end – seemingly?

Jesus has given Peter the shock of his life. Perhaps he was hearing things – how could his leader, teacher and closest friend possibly contemplate the journey into Jerusalem. Immediately Peter challenges him not to make that journey – it would end in tears. But Peter is in for an even bigger shock when Jesus rebukes him – “get away from me Satan – get behind me. This has to be done. You’re fixing your mind on things of this world and not on God’s Kingdom”.

Peter isn’t alone in his response – we all fall into that trap – albeit unintentionally. When we’re facing something that seems bigger than us – things we have no idea how to deal with – a sudden shock or change in our ‘ordered’ lives. When we feel out of control.

Let’s try to imagine how Jesus felt – or how Peter dealt with the shock-response following that unexpected and angry rebuke. The mixed emotions of the rest of that group of friends and followers.

Life’s like that from time to time for each one of us. Fear steals in; our faith is shaken. Yet not one of us has had to deal with what lay ahead for our Saviour. He too was human – tempted to take an easier route perhaps…

Yet, obedient to his Father he turned his face to Jerusalem. We need no reminder of the events that took place from this moment. A tragic story of humiliation, torture and death alongside a bunch of criminals. An innocent man who never told a lie went willingly to that cruel cross – willingly.

We know the joy of that Easter morning too – and the joy that filled the hearts of Jesus’ friends and followers as they began to understand the promises he had made.

That joy is ours – there for ever until we see him face-to-face.

BUT – just like those early disciples and apostles there’s an important work to continue. You and I are part of that bunch of followers – ordinary people – let’s keep that in mind – as we reach out to others, each and every day of our lives.

Trinity 12

Romans 12: 1-18

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. ²Do 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. ⁴For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, ⁵so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. ⁶We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ⁷ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; ⁸the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

Do not be conformed to this world – it’s in a whole lotta trouble

Be a transformer instead

Reflection

Cambridge dictionary definition: ‘Conform’ – to behave according to the usual standards of behaviour that are expected by a group or society.

So what are the world’s standards of behaviour? Perhaps we should look to the current behaviour of our world and its leaders, and measure them against the will of God as illustrated and expected by the Commandments, summarised by Jesus as ‘Love God and Love your neighbour.’ If God sent a team of angels to do an audit on current world leadership, what would they find?

• Billionaires using social media to maximise profit by targeting children.
• Reckless destruction of the environment – fossil fuels, deforestation, overfishing.
• Ongoing economic and physical violence against any ‘tribes’ whose values/ traditions/ cultures/ religions differ.
• Fundamentalist and/or populist political leadership telling barefaced lies without shame.
• Deployment of technologies without assessing consequence – weaponised AI, ultra-processed food, uncontrollable Internet.
• Increasing domestic and gender-based violence exacerbated by childhood exposure to adult examples.

So in rejecting these, what would the angelic report offer as alternative non-conforming and positive transformations?

You.

Yes you, with all the baggage you brought and left at the foot of the cross, as you accepted forgiveness and resolved to start again with The Holy Spirit as your guide. All that is needed to put the Commandment to love God and Neighbour into daily practice is for you to commit to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with Him in your life, and the Victory is sure.

Walking with you, He has overcome the World.

Open your eyes but don’t let go of His hand…