Sundays 16 and 23 August 2026 - Ordinary 20 and Ordinary 21

Due to my absence from my normal work routines while in Tonga next week for General Synod/Te Hinota Whanui, I am running the next two Sundays together in this week's post:

SUNDAY 16 AUGUST 2026 - ORDINARY 20

Theme(s): God's mercy / our faith / a simple cry for help / God saves both Jews and Gentiles

Sentence: O the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! (Romans 11:33)

Collect: Bosco Peters Book of Prayers in Common 2026

O God,

you have prepared for those who love you
good things which no eye can see,
and which surpass our understanding;
pour into our hearts such longing for you,
that we,
loving you in all things and above all things,
may obtain your promises,
which exceed all that we can desire;
through Jesus Christ,
who is alive with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Readings (related):

Isaiah 56:1, 6-8
Psalm 67
Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32
Matthew 15: (10-20), 21-28

Comments:

Isaiah 56:1, 6-8

As we come to the gospel reading today to consider a story in the mission of Jesus in which he claims that his mission is to Israel alone, we hear this reading as a reminder that God's mission was never to Israel alone, but always included in its vision the wider world.

Thus this reading forms background to the gospel story in which a Gentile woman seeks help from Jesus and leads us to wonder if Jesus was making a teasing comment about the focus of his mission rather than a definitive or absolute statement.

Psalm 67

The psalmist shares in God's global vision. The expectation of this psalm is that 'all nations' will know who God is, what God's saving power is all about, and respond with joyful worship.

Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32

This choice of verses is very poor on the part of the lectionary compilers! By stopping the first part with the words 'God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew' the sense is given that 'Israel is fine (fullstop)' when, in fact, the next few verses (2b-5) go on to make the point that God's not-rejecting-Israel is exemplified by the recurring presence of a 'remnant' (5). It is not exemplified by a 'get out of judgment' card for ALL Israel.

In the second part of the reading, it is just as unfortunate that the choice of verses does not front up to the confrontational verse 28, 

'As regards the gospel they are enemies of God for your sake; but as regards election they are beloved, for the sake of their ancestors'. 

Only with this verse does verse 29 make any kind of sense!

What is Paul saying in these latter verses? He is saying something he expresses throughout the chapter (see verses 11 and 12) that in some way, Israel being disobedient to God has opened up the way for God to expand his covenant of love to include those outside Israel, that is, to the Gentiles. Jewish loss (of obedience) is Gentiles' gain (of blessing). But verse 31 suggests a kind of virtuous circle: as the blessing of God moves on from disobedient Israel to the Gentiles, so it will move on again, moving back to Israel, that it might also be shown mercy.

This likely seems odd to our way of thinking, especially those of us who are Gentile Christians, steeped in a strong sense of the inclusive, wide-ranging love of God. We need to think about what revolution had been going on in Paul's life: an Israelite nationalist and Jewish zealot, his view of the sphere of God's operation was extremely limited. Israel alone! Now that his tiny worldview has been shattered by his conversional encounter with the risen Christ, he is setting out an understanding of what his new worldview looks like, in relation to his previous one.

But there are more difficulties in Romans 11 and the lectionary choice generously drives us past them, leaving them unattended on the side of the exegetical road! What, for example, does Paul mean when he says, 'And so all Israel will be saved' (26a)?

Whatever he means, taking the chapter as a whole, including the three chapters it is grouped with, 9-11, as well as the whole letter to the Romans, it is difficult to get past the fact that Paul is committed to an understanding of salvation in which our belief determines where we stand in relation to God. ("Belief" here meaning our personal commitment to Christ as a response to hearing the gospel.)

Thus we read in verse 23,

'And even those of Israel, if they do not persist in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again.'

Matthew 15: (10-20), 21-28

15:10-20: It is likely too much to preach a moderate length sermon on the whole of 15:10-28! But 10-20 serve as background to 21-28 for there Jesus converses with a Canaanite, a defiled person, so to speak, and thus verses 10-20, about what actually defiles a person is of direct relevance to verses 21-28.

The summary of 10-20 is: 

'But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles' (18).

By verse 28 we will find that what comes out of the Canaanite woman are words of faith: she is no longer 'defiled'. Jesus has prepared the way for her to be included in the 'new Israel' or kingdom of God because in verses 10-20 he has upended the role of the law in guarding the boundaries of Judaism. If what defiles a person are not external actions (hand washing, which foods go into the mouth) but internal attitudes and intentions, then the basis of distinction between Jew and Gentile is radically undermined.

15:21-28: Matthew tells this story with some variations from Mark's version (Mark 7:24-30). In Mark's version the woman's Gentile status and character is spelled out as 'a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth' (7:26) but Matthew revises this to 'Canaanite' (Matthew 15:22). Either way, this woman is a Gentile, someone who does not belong to Israel, a point made with particular intensity by Jesus (24).

Matthew's Gospel has a high gearing towards a Jewish Christian readership (note, for example, the beginning in chapter 1 via an 'Israelite' geneaology, the repeated invocation of prophetic texts being fulfilled in Jesus and the engagement with the relationship between Jesus' teaching and Old Testament law in 5:17-20).

But at several points Matthew communicates to his readers that Jesus' mission long-term was not to be limited by Christian disciples to Israel alone. This story is one of those points. Here is a Gentile woman seeking help from Jesus (15:25); here is Jesus claiming that he 'was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel' (24). But the woman gets the help she seeks and the conversation between her and Jesus draws out that Gentiles are encompassed within the scope of Jesus' mission: 

'even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table' (27).

For many centuries this story has been read as a fascinating story in which Jesus and an unnamed Gentile woman engage in a bit of clever repartee for which the woman is commended as yet another person, indeed another Gentile (see Matthew 8:5-13) who has faith (28).

But in recent years, especially through a feminist critical lens, this story has received quite a 'going over'. Special concerns raised include:

- the attitude of Jesus towards the woman (harsh? unyielding until she gets the better of him?)
- the use of the word 'dogs' to describe the social status in Jewish eyes of a Gentile woman (26)
- yet again Matthew presents a woman, two woman, in fact, the mother and the daughter, without names.

The observation is also pressed by some scholars that the story seems to show Jesus as needing to be taught a lesson by the woman, 'even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table' (27), before he succumbs to her entreaty for help.

In sum: the story has become a centre of scholarly controversy, both in respect of Jesus' attitude to women, to outsiders and in respect of christological reflection as to 'who' the Jesus of this story is.

Can we add a thought or two at this point?

If we compare this story with the comparable (re Gentiles) story in Matthew 8:5-13 we see that there is equal treatment of the centurion and his servant re names: both are unnamed. We also see that the centurion takes a position of extreme humility in relation to Jesus whereas in today's story Matthew (so to speak) permits the woman to be a 'strong woman' with humility ('she came and knelt before him', 24) but is not characterized as a strong woman with extreme humility (since she refuses to take 'No' for an answer).

In each story Jesus commends the Gentile for his or her 'faith' and healing occurs at a distance (i.e. in each case the ill person is not present to Jesus).

Each supplicant demonstrates their great faith in Jesus by a 'smart' verbal exchange:
- the centurion demonstrates his awareness of the authority of Jesus in relation to the authority of God,
- the Canaanite woman demonstrates her awareness of the mercy of Jesus in relation to the mercy of God (which has been demonstrated through the centuries to non-Israelites, e.g. to Naomi & Ruth, to Naaman).

The matter of the use of the term 'dogs' is difficult. It is a deprecatory term for Gentiles. Yet, could we read it as a form of teasing which opens up the possibility of the woman's clever reply which (positively) manipulates the conversation to a point where Jesus has no further reply save to offer 'the crumbs' she seeks (27)?

While at this point (and on this point) we could say that Jesus learns a lesson, even that Jesus is challenged to expand his narrow mission horizon, it is equally possible to say that Jesus himself is manipulating the situation to draw out the faith he senses in the woman, a faith which has brought her to the point of recognising a non-Canaanite as having access to the healing power of God.

Finally, in respect of the christology of the story, Matthew can scarcely be charged with presenting Jesus as some kind of limited human being with a narrow outlook, inconsistent with being divine in status. 

The woman addresses Jesus as 'Lord' on three occasions (22, 25, 27) and on the first of those occasions connects 'Lord' with the messianic address, 'Son of David.' 

Does this 'Lord' need to be taught through another human being that God's purposes for the world are greater than his understanding? It is preferable to consider that this Lord is able on his own to work out the global extent of God's plan and thus the comment in verse 24 is a teasing comment rather than a statement of Jesus' then self-understanding with all its implied limitation.

For ourselves, we might read our participation in God's plan via our own needs for assistance, expressed in the simple prayer,

'Lord, help me' (25).

Our confidence in God's help then works its way out from this story as we consider the mercy of God available even to us who may feel far from the centre of God's purpose,

'even the crumbs that fall from their master's table' (27).

ADDENDUM: Ian Paul offers some significant rejoinders, here, to a drift of recent scholarship to characterize this story in terms of Jesus' limitations if not his fallibility.  

SUNDAY 23 AUGUST 2026 - ORDINARY 21

Theme(s): Confession of faith / The basis of our faith / Who is Jesus? / How then should we live?

Sentence: Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God (Romans 12:1)

Collect: Bosco Peters Book of Prayers in Common 2026

O God,
you inspire the hearts of the faithful with a single longing;
grant your people to love what you command
and to desire what you promise,
so that in all the changes and chances
of this uncertain world,
our hearts may surely there be fixed
where true joys are to be found;
through Jesus Christ,
who is alive with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Readings (related):

Isaiah 51:1-6
Psalm 138
Romans 12:1-8
Matthews 16:13-20

Comments:

Isaiah 51:1-6

The connection between this passage and the gospel reading is obvious: the word 'rock' figures in both passages, a 'rock' which is foundational for the succeeding work of God. Isaiah looks back to a person or persons (Abraham and Sarah): the work of God is always a work among people and works from people. Israel grows from Abraham and Sarah's child. The church is built as people respond to the preaching of Peter and the other apostles.

Psalm 138

The psalm praises the Lord, who is both beyond all kings and gods, yet is not so high as to be unable to regard the lowly (6).

Marked by 'steadfast love and your faithfulness' (2), this Lord, the God of Israel is able to help the psalmist 'in the midst of trouble' (7).

Romans 12:1-8

The importance of this passage should not be underestimated.

Through 11 preceding chapters Paul has laid out the content of the gospel which is the power of salvation (1:17). Through the gospel we learn that God saves us when nothing else can and we learn that all can be saved, Gentiles as well as Jews. In response to the gospel we are freed from the wrath to come and granted eternal life rather than awarded the wages of sin which is death.

All that being so, one great question remains: how are saved people to live?

Paul now gives his answer, 

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to ..." (1a). 

To do what? The next words are a general statement summing up the scope of our activity as Christians:

"present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship" (1b).

For ourselves as readers, these words are inspiring and yet mystifying: what is 'living sacrifice' and 'spiritual worship'? We need to read on!

In the next verse Paul urges us to not be 'conformed to this world' (which speaks of living a distinctive and different style of living compared to non-Christians around us), rather being 'transformed by the renewing of your minds' (which, in the light of the preceding chapters, must be the work of the Spirit of Christ indwelling us).

The outcome of this turning away from the world and allowing the Holy Spirit to renew our minds is not a set of rules for each and every one of life's moral dilemmas and choices about what to do next. Rather it is the ability to 'discern what is the will of God' (2b).

Verses 3-8 (and, of course, 12:9-15:7) then give us some details about the general shape and direction of the 'good and acceptable and perfect' will of God.

In these verses the focus is on ourselves and 'the measure of faith' which God has assigned to each of us, which includes the gifts God has distributed to each of us as we are members of the one body - gifts which are to be taken out of their wrappers and used.

Next Sunday we continue into further explanation of the will of God through verses 9-21.

Matthews 16:13-20

Who is Jesus? On the answer to that question a lot turns. 

Everything Christians believe hinges on the answer to the question. If, for example, the answer is 

'Jesus of Nazareth, nothing more, a teacher with interesting ideas on the application and extension of the Law of Moses' 

then there should be no Christianity, just an extra chapter, or maybe only an extra footnote in the history and theology of Judaism.

So Jesus confronts those closest to him with the question, 

'Who do people say that the Son of Man is?' (13) 

and then confronts them directly with 

'But who do you say that I am?' (15).

Note that answers to the first question, prophet etc, make no great demands in respect of Jewish belief and commitment. If verse 14 is the answer to the question 'Who is Jesus?' then we are in an extra chapter or footnote to Judaism territory.

Simon Peter's answer to the second question is a wedge which will separate Jews and Jewish Christians and drive Christianity apart from Judaism: 

"You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God" (16).

Why is this answer more significant than the one given in verse 14?

First, verse 14 shows that an unsettled answer or set of answers was circulating among some people.Without a settled answer, would the movement of people following Jesus have become a distinctive force within Judaism? Secondly, it is far from clear, surveying the history of speculations in Judaism re figures such as Elijah and Jeremiah, that if a settled answer such as "Jesus is the re-appearance of Jeremiah" had been agreed to, then much impact would have been made (beyond a footnote in the history of Judaism).

But the claim in verse 16 is very significant. Expectation about the coming of the Messiah grew and grew through the pages of the Jewish Scriptures (our Old Testament) and in the minds of readers of these sacred writings, especially in the centuries preceding the birth of Jesus. 

To claim that "X is the Messiah", then to persist in that claim, in the face of persecution and even execution, was to determine that Judaism should now fall in behind the Messiah rather than continue in a state of waiting and yearning. To make and persist in the claim, as the first Christians did, was to say, "there are two ways ahead of us, following the Messiah or denying that the Messiah has come." Indeed the very existence of a group known as 'Christians' was to make the claim since Christ = Messiah so the Christians were (so to speak) 'Messiahians', people who followed the Messiah.

So Jesus blesses the one making the statement with clarity and conviction, Simon Peter.

But the blessing raises a couple of questions.

(1) Why describe Peter as 'son of Jonah'? Possibly nothing more than a variation on 'son of John' (see John 1:42), possibly Peter is being described as a prophetic figure, like Jonah.

(2) What does the statement about the confession Peter has just made being something which has been 'revealed' mean for us? 

Does it mean that we can only believe similarly if we too have a revelation? (Certainly the confession of many Christians would be that they have not been argued into the kingdom but that some kind of revelation has occurred which has led from a state of unbelief to a state of belief). 

Does it mean that now the confession has been written down, we are without excuse for refusing to believe the confession? (Certainly the confession of many Christians is that the witness of Scripture, built in the New Testament around precisely what Peter says, is decisive in the pathway to faith).

So far so good. In a sense we have, through verses 13-17, the decisive reason for the break between Christianity and Judaism but in verses 18-20 we have a decisive difference between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism/Eastern Orthodoxy!

The former (broadly speaking) emphasises the person of Peter and the office he carried forward from that day, as senior apostle (see Acts chapters 1 to 15) then, later when resident in Rome, the first "Bishop of Rome". That is, an emphasis on Peter and the church office he held as the foundation on which Christ builds the church, with the authority of the office being ascribed to Jesus' own delegation of authority in verses 19-20.

The latter (broadly speaking) emphasises the confession Peter makes, with the church being built on the basis of sound theology, on the foundation of basic truth that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. 

Protestantism has particularly emphasised the confession of Peter as the rock on which the church is built. The authority delegated by Jesus in verses 19-20 is then an authority delegated to all the apostles. 

The final verse, 20, is addressed to all the apostles, not only to Peter. Eastern Orthodoxy (and to a degree Anglicanism) has emphasised both the importance of Peter's confession and the role that all the apostles (and their continuation in the archbishops and bishops of the church through the ages) have played in both maintaining that confession and in exercising the delegated authority of Christ.

Without attempting to 'sort this issue' once and for all (as if I could undo 2000 years of difference, especially nearly 1000 years of division between Eastern and Western Christianity since 1054, in the church!) the following observations might be profitable in the run up to this week's sermon:

- if Peter, as person and office-holder, is being singled out by Jesus to be the first many "Petrine/Supreme Pontiff" leaders, where do we find supporting evidence in the other gospels or in Acts (noting that in the first church council in Acts 15, Peter is one of the senior figures, not any kind of supreme figure)?
- if confession rather than person counts, why does Jesus then talk about the exercise of authority which can only be exercised by people rather than by a confession?

- does our understanding of this passage require an acknowledgement of the importance of both personal leadership and of impersonal confessional statements? 

Sunday 9 August 2026 - Ordinary 19

Theme(s): Faith / Miracles / Do not be afraid / Facing life's storms/Faithfulness and faith-filledness

Sentence: For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. (Romans 10:12)

Collect: Bosco Peters Book of Prayers in Common 2026

Grant to us, O God, we pray,
the spirit to always think and do what is right,
that we, who cannot exist without you,
may be able to live according to your will;
through Jesus Christ,
who is alive with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Readings (related):

1 Kings 19:9-18
Psalm 85:8-13
Romans 10:5-15
Matthew 14:22-33

Comments:

1 Kings 19:9-18

Elijah (and Elisha, introduced in verse 19) are the two prophets of old whose ministry is closest to Jesus in respect of amazing miracles of nature occurring.

In this reading Elijah has been part of an amazing miracle (1 Kings 18) but now finds himself like a balloon that has been punctured. In his deflated state he wishes he could die (19:4) - a state we may find ourselves in after a period of intense spiritual activity.

When we look across to Matthew 14:22-33 we see no signs of Jesus feeling deflated after the Feeding of the Five Thousand but we do see Jesus, like Elijah, seeking aloneness.

In that aloneness, God visits Elijah, as it happens with some mighty natural events (11-12) but it is only when 'a sound of sheer silence' (12b) envelopes Elijah that the voice of God comes with the next step of his prophetic career charted out for him (13-18).

One point of the reading is that the word of the Lord (9) is greater than the power of nature. Nature shouts at Elijah but its message is unclear. Silence permits the word of the Lord to be heard in all its divine clarity.

Another point of the reading is that the theophanic (i.e. spectacular) aspects of God's encounter with Elijah connect Elijah with Moses, as do some locational details (the same mountain of God, Elijah does not see God's face, Elijah is in a cave): see Exodus 33:16-22. Thus Moses and Elijah are the two "great" prophets of the Old Testament, and it is then no surprise that they appear during the Transfiguration (e.g. Luke 9:28ff).

Relatedly, we might also wonder if the speaking through the sound of sheer silence is a pointer to Israel-in-Exile (and post-Exile): they should look for God's voice to the Israelites through the reading and exposition of the Torah. Today we might say, in similar vein, "Don't look for God speaking so loudly to you that you cannot ignore him, open your Bibles, read, for God has already spoken to you."

Finally, the wonderful miracle here is that despite the in-roads Baalism has made into Israel, damaging its corporate, national will to worship one and only one God, 7,000 remain faithful to the Lord God.

Psalm 85:8-13

This psalm is appropriate to associate with the gospel reading. In that reading great 'works' are done by Jesus, works that no god other than the God of Israel can do through his Son. To such a God, the nations are envisaged as bowing down and worshiping him. So we find Jesus the Son of God worshiped at the conclusion of the gospel story.

Romans 10:5-15

This reading is just a bit, or even quite a bit complicated! But, despair not, we can make sense of it!

Recall that Paul argues through the whole of Romans that the gospel is the power of God for salvation for all, for Jews and for Gentiles. Now he turns his attention through chapters 9-11 to the specific Jewish question of the salvation of Israel, given the covenantal promises God has previously made to them. More simply, when Israel after Jesus Christ asks, 'What about us?', Romans 9-11 is the answer according to Paul.

In Romans 9, Paul lays out what could be called a 'history of salvation' of the Jews, which highlights the instances in which not all Jews were saved. (That sentence is a bland summary of a subtle argument in which Paul engages with God's role (election) in the matter and with Israel's mistakes, leading to a remnant being saved in some episodes of Israel's history).

In the first few verses in Romans 10, Paul is remarkably clear and un-nuanced: Israel's failings are 

(a) lack of enlightenment and ignorance of the 'righteousness that comes from God' (2-3a), 

(b) consequential non submission to 'God's righteousness' (3b) with (a) and (b) being measured by 'Christ [as] the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes' (4).

With this in the background, let's see if we can make sense of Romans 10:5-15 which is divided here into 10:5-8, 8-13, 14-15

10:5-8

First, Paul is doing something familiar to Jewish exegetes of his day, but a little obscure to us. He takes two texts (Leviticus 18:5, Deuteronomy 30:11-14) and works from one to the other. Leviticus 18:5 is cited in v.5 whereas Deuteronomy 30:11-14 is cited in vss.6-8. But Paul does something we might - in the light of cold, hard logical consistency - consider a bit dodgy: he pits Leviticus as the voice of Moses against Deuteronomy as the voice of 'righteousness that comes from faith' (6). That is, Paul pits 'righteousness that comes from the law' versus 'righteousness that comes from faith' by citing two pieces of Moses' writings!

As if that does not go against the grain of how we, today, might ideally strive to read the Bible, he also seems remarkably obscure in the way he cites Deuteronomy 30:11-14 in 10:6-8. Again, we need to allow for Paul the ancient Jewish exegete to have his own - to our eyes, peculiar - way with the text. By citing Christ in verses 6 and 7 he is, in a roundabout way, saying that true righteousness is found in Christ but Christ is not found by righteousness striven for by strict obedience to God's commandments. Thus he speaks of 'the righteousness that comes from faith says ...' (6).

But faith is not an alternative to works in the sense that faith is a better pathway to find Christ. So we find that what "the righteousness that comes from faith" says is 'Do not say in your heart ...' (6). Rather, faith is a response to 'the word' (Deuteronomy 30:14 which Paul interprets as 'the word of faith that we proclaim' i.e. the good news of Jesus Christ).

In other words, in a form of biblical reasoning which is obscure to our usual way of handling biblical texts, Paul is arguing the superiority of 'faith righteousness' over 'works righteousness', and doing so on the basis that Scripture itself supports this argument.

From this point Paul segues towards something clearer to our minds: the word of faith which he proclaims (8) becomes the word spoken of in Deuteronomy 30:14, a word on lips and in hearts, a word which saves.

10:8-13

Implicit in what Paul writes in Romans 10:8-9 is that the correct response to the gospel consists of two things. The two things he spells out, using the language of Deuteronomy 30:14, are 

(1) 'if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and 

(2) believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.' 

Verse 10 is then a supporting explanation and verse 11 (citing Isaiah 28:16) is a supportive encouragement to be such a believing, 'righteousness that comes from faith' person.

Note that the belief re the resurrection is not that 'Jesus was raised from the dead' or that 'Jesus is alive'. No, it is belief that 'God raised him from the dead', that is, belief that God's seal of approval is on Jesus Christ as the new and living way to God.

In other words, Jesus is God's anointed one (Messiah=Christ) and thus is properly considered 'the end of the law' (4).

In a neat and decisive twist, backed up by his argument through Romans 1-8, Paul is saying that in the righteousness that comes from faith, there is a new commandment (to use language of Leviticus and Deuteronomy) to follow, a living commandment or, better, a living commander to follow, the risen Lord Jesus. To submit to his lordship is now decisive for 'righteousness.'

Verses 12-13, building on this twist, make the point that Jews and Gentiles may both claim Jesus as Lord, may both believe that God raised him from the dead. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (13, citing Joel 2:32 and applying it to Jesus Christ).

10:14-15

From the previous verses Paul segues again, this time to the mission of proclamation of the 'word of faith'. How can people call on the one they are yet to believe in if they have not heard the message? (14a) How can people hear if no one proclaims the message? (14b) And how can there be proclaimers if no one is sent? (15a).

(Much more can be said, especially when we look over from verse 15 into the succeeding verses where Paul kind of reverses the direction he goes in since he does not talk about proclaimers being sent but about the continuing spiritual plight of Israel as a people for whom 'not all have obeyed the good news' (16).)

Matthew 14:22-33

Matthew has 'form' when it comes to stories involving the combination of Jesus, water, storm, disciples and faith. 

In Matthew 8:23-27 he tells the story of Jesus and the disciples together in a boat in a storm which leads the disciples asking Jesus to save them and to Jesus rebuking the disciples for having little faith after telling them not to be afraid.

In this story the disciples are alone in a boat in a storm but Jesus comes walking towards them. He urges them to not be afraid. Then Peter asks if he could be commanded to walk on the water towards Jesus. When he does so he is initially successful but when he takes is eyes off Jesus and looks at the waves around him he begins to sink and cries out to Jesus to save him. As Jesus reaches out his hand to save him he says to Peter, "You of little faith, why do you doubt?"

This story of Jesus walking on the water is comfortable enough in gospel terms as other gospels also tell the story of Jesus defying the usual rules of gravity-plus-water (Mark 6:45-52; John 6:16-21). But when we get to Peter walking on water at the conclusion (albeit briefly) we are in uniquely Matthean territory as no other gospel conveys this story to us.

However a case could be made for the other gospels being a bit coy about this embarrassing-for-Peter story. Whatever we make of Peter walking on water, we can make sense of the fact that it was brash Peter making the attempt and not one of the others. Actually we can make sense of Peter being inspired by his Lord to emulate him. That he only made it for a few steps before sinking becomes the occasion for a plausible message to us all about faith, as we shall see below.

A further point of comparison concerns the ending of the story.

Matthew's earlier storm story concludes with the disciples saying, 

"What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?" (8:27)

Here the storm story concludes with, 

"And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God." (14:33)

This is a clear instance of Matthew developing his understanding of who Jesus was and is ("christology") as he unfolds the story of Jesus: a question about what kind of man Jesus is is replaced by a statement about who Jesus is in relation to God; and a question about who Jesus is gives way to an act of worship.

I have coined a (not particularly original) phrase, 'every story in Matthew is a sermon'!

What is Matthew's message as he tells us this story in his own unique version of it? (Each point is numbered, but not each point is intended to have 'equal value.'

1. Time alone with God is important. Jesus tried to get that time after John the Baptist died (14:13) but the crowds thwarted him. His determination is not deterred and this time he succeeds. Crowds do not climb mountains. Where do we need to go so that distractions do not follow us? (To a region without cellphone coverage?)

2. If the message of the first storm story (8:23-27) was that Jesus is in the boat with the church when it faces storms, the message here is that even when the church thinks Jesus has deserted them, he is not far away. The church should never be afraid, no matter what storms batter it about. Jesus is present, we do not need to be afraid.

3. Jesus' comfort is to individuals as well as to the church collectively. Peter stands here for all individuals walking in the way of Jesus who take brave steps of faith in the face of life's storms and then lose sight of Jesus and are overwhelmed by the storms. (Step forward all those who have succeeded where Peter failed! ... What, not even one of us?) Jesus is ever at hand to save us, ever gentle when chastising us for our little faith.

4. What is the appropriate response to Jesus who walks on water and calms stormy seas? It is to worship Jesus. But not some kind of 'Superman' or 'Magician' Jesus. He has not performed party tricks on a cosmic scale. What we see through Matthew's eyes is the Son of God, the creator of the universe ruling over his world. Nature obeys the Son of God, humanity should worship the Son.

5. It is faith that matters. Stilling storms is great. Walking on water is amazing. It would have been great if Peter had been able, through faith, to walk on water. But what his failure to walk on water points us to is not that someone might yet succeed where he failed in respect of a physical action which defies normal human experience; rather, it points to how we might all succeed, by having faith in Jesus, through every storm.

Sunday 2 August 2026 - Ordinary 18

ORDINARY 18

Theme(s): Compassion / Provision / God's power and our faith

Sentence: Jesus said to his disciples, "They need not go away; you give them something to eat." (Matthew 14:16).

Collect: Bosco Peters Book of Prayers in Common 2026

O God,
may your ceaseless mercy
cleanse and defend your church,
and, since it cannot stand firm without you,
guide and govern it always by your goodness;
through Jesus Christ,
who is alive with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Readings (related):

Isaiah 55:1-5
Psalm 145:8-9, 14-21
Romans 9:1-5
Matthew 14:13-21

Comments:

Isaiah 55:1-5

This reading relates to both the epistle and the gospel!

The direct links are verse 2 to the feeding of the five thousand, and verses 3-5 to the beginning of three chapters in Romans, 9-11.

As the crowd feeds on the word of God through Jesus they also begin to hunger physically for bread, but the former offers the ultimate satisfaction.

As Paul develops his understanding of the gospel or new bread of God, he embarks on a reflection concerning the relationship between God and Israel as the revelation is made that the gospel is for all peoples.

Psalm 145:8-9, 14-21

What kind of god is present in Jesus Christ? When Jesus discerns that his audience is hungry he has compassion on them (Matthew 14:13-21). Thus present in Jesus is the God of Israel, praised in this psalm, a God full of grace and mercy, with compassion 'over all that he has made' (9).

With particular reference to the gospel reading we find verse 15, 'the eyes of all look to you and you give them their food in due season.'

Romans 9:1-5

As we have made our way through Romans in recent weeks we have seen Paul develop various arguments (i.e. explanations which develop points about various themes in the light of the good news of Jesus) under the 'umbrella' argument that the gospel is God's word for the whole world, announcing salvation through Jesus Christ.

But logically this presents a question for Paul, a Jew who now follows Jesus. He now understands the Law of Moses to be deficient in the light of Christ who offers believers the power to live a righteous life which the law does not. The question in colloquial terms is "What about Jews who do not believe in Jesus?"

Our five verses today are the introduction to three chapters in which Paul works out his answer to the question. It is a complicated answer over which Pauline scholars disagree when they try to explain it to us!

But these five verses are straightforward enough: Paul longs for his fellow Israelites to know Christ and to belong to Christ. From a "pre gospel" perspective they have every advantage (verses 4-5). Yet Paul wishes he himself could be "accursed and cut off from Christ" for their sake (3).

This is the true love of a godly evangelist for those to whom he proclaims the gospel. If he could make a choice between those who are "accursed and cut off from Christ" and those who are not, he wishes he could be cut off so that his hearers could belong to Christ and no longer be accursed.

Matthew 14:13-21 Feeding of the Five Thousand

(Since last Sunday's reading, Jesus has been rejected at Nazareth (13:54-58) and John the Baptist has had his head cut off (14:1-12).)

Jesus understandably (for, remember, he is completely human) withdrew from 'there' (where?, the text does not say) 'when he heard this [news about John the Baptist]' (13).

He withdraws by boat (i.e. across Lake Galilee) to 'a deserted place by himself' but this is futile since the 'crowds heard it' and 'followed him on foot from the towns' (13).

It is worth a moment's pondering to consider the nature of Jesus' public fame so that people watched him leave by boat, then bothered, in numbers, to walk to where he had traveled by boat, indeed walk at a fast pace, since they arrived before he did at his destination (14).

For those of us minded to do calculations re travel times, it seems extraordinary that the crowd could beat the boat, but perhaps Jesus was in no hurry to get to shore - sailing has its own recreational virtues, and it would be in keeping with other gospel stories if there was some fishing on the way :).

It is a tribute to Jesus that when he tried to 'get away from it all' nevertheless, when confronted with the crowd, he did his works of compassion in the usual way (14).

(Incidentally, when we compare the four gospel versions of this story, Matthew 14:13-21 // Mark 6:32-44, Luke 9:10b-17, John 6:1-15, Matthew tells us Jesus healed people and then fed them, Mark tells us Jesus taught them (out of compassion) then fed them, Luke says he spoke to them about the kingdom of God and cured the sick before feeding them, and John says he sat down, saw the crowd - who had followed him because of his healings - and set about organising a feed for them).

The disciples are themselves a little bit compassionate in this story! They see the need for the crowd to have a feed and suggest, in a quite patronising manner, as though Jesus was incapable of seeing the dilemma for himself, that he disperse the crowd and send them 'into the villages' so they could buy food for themselves (15).

Jesus will have none of this practical but powerless ministry: 

'They need not go away; you give them something to eat' (16). 

We can only imagine the incomprehension, if not fear in the eyes of the disciples as they heard this direct speech from the Master!

But they are nothing, as we have seen, if not practical and realistic. They have already collated their resources and counted them up: 

'nothing but five loaves and two fish' (17).

Jesus is not deterred. The crowd will be fed and they are going to do it. He orders the meagre resources to be brought to him (18) and orders the crowds to be seated nearby (19a).

How are these meagre resources to be multiplied to feed the multitude? Jesus takes them, looks up to heaven (that is, entrusts the whole situation to God's power), blesses and breaks the loaves, and gives them to the disciples to distribute to the crowds (19).

The way Matthew describes the event crushes any attempt by modern scholars to explain the feeding as an impulse sweeping around the crowds to get out their otherwise hidden lunches and share them with their careless neighbours who had not brought their own supplies. The miracle of multiplication here occurs through the work of God enacted in the combination of taking, praying, blessing, breaking and distributing.

The report concludes with the powerful observation that the multiplied food was not a stretching thin of the meagre amounts of food so that everyone had a mouthful to keep them going. No,

'all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full' (20).

With God working this miracle we should expect no less than this ending since God is God of all the world and able to provide all necessities of life in abundance. In the background, of course, is the mighty provision of daily sustenance of manna and quails for the feeding of Israel in the wilderness.

So what? What are we meant to do with this report (apart from praising God for his power and provision)?

Matthew always tell us about Jesus with an eye on the church for whom he writes. Jesus is lord of the church and wants the church to be the continuation of the disciples-in-mission whom Jesus is training and commissioning for service in the kingdom.

Thus we may read this report as a message to the church (as well as a story of Jesus). The resources of the church are often meagre and the needs of the world around it are overwhelming. Yet God can take the little we have and multiply it for the good of all, in a demonstration of the compassion of God. Our role is to offer the little we have to God in faith, bless it, break it and distribute it.

Through this miracle, God says to the church in relation to the world, 

'you give them something to eat' (16). 

Sunday 26 July 2026 - Ordinary 17

Theme(s): Wisdom. Kingdom of heaven. Understanding. Kingdom wisdom. Kingdom of heaven: priceless!

Sentence: All things work together for good for those who love God (Romans 8:28)

Collect: Bosco Peters Book of Prayers in Common 2026

O God, 

the protector of all who trust in you, 

without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy; 

enfold us in your gracious care and mercy, 

that with you to govern and to guide us 

we may so use your gifts in this fleeting world 

that we do not lose the good that is eternal; 

through Jesus Christ, who is alive with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 

one God, now and for ever. Amen.  

Readings (related):

1 Kings 3:5-12
Psalm 119:129-136
Romans 8:26-39
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Commentary:

1 Kings 3:5-12

Solomon has the world and its opportunities set before him but in his time and context there are three sought after possibilities, wealth, long life, or wisdom. He chooses the last and God is pleased to grant that to him.

In the gospel reading today, the kingdom of God offers a new way of life in which riches play no part and there may not be a long life, but true wisdom in the light of the coming of Jesus demands entry to the kingdom rather than its rejection.

Back to this reading: Solomon seeks wisdom in order to govern his country well. There must be something to say from this observation about the state of our world and about the choices we will make at our forthcoming NZ election!

Psalm 119:129-136

The psalmist shows a deep, passionate, intelligent appreciation for God's law through these verses. It is not just that God's 'decrees are wonderful' as decrees which govern life (129), they have power to do more for those who love God's law.

'The unfolding of your words gives light' (130a) and 'imparts understanding to the simple' (130b). Through reading and keeping God's law, the psalmist recognises that he is more able to understand the world and what is going on within it. The law provides wisdom and insight.

Realistically, the psalmist recognises that the words of the law do not by themselves empower him to keep the law: so he entreats God to help him to live rightly (133-135).

This passage is a good complement to Matthew 13:51-52.

Romans 8:26-39

Recalling last week's passage and comment, we remind ourselves that Paul is sequencing his way through several, related themes in this chapter, though always with an eye on the role of the Spirit in the life of the believer.

Here the themes are:
- prayer aided by the Spirit (26-27)
- the fulfilment of God's good purposes for those who love God (28-30) which anticipates the next and last section of the chapter in which Paul proclaims the unshakeable and unbreakable love of God
- God is on the side of God's people, not against them, demonstrated by 'not withhold[ing] his own Son' (31-32)
- there is no charge of sin against God's elect (33-34)
- nothing, absolutely nothing, not earthly powers nor heavenly ones, neither the fiercest opposition nor death itself can 'separate us from the love of Christ' (35-39).

This is a carefully worked out yet poetically expressed ending to this first part of Romans. The gospel indeed saves people and does more in the sense that it guarantees the salvation of people who respond to God's love for them in Christ with love for God through Christ, empowered by the Spirit of God who comes to dwell in believers.

Finally, and briefly, if we look back to verses 19-24, we find Paul talking about the whole of creation, its present "eager longing for the revealing of the children of God," 19, (while in a state of "bondage to decay", 21) and its anticipation of the future when "creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God" (22), which, in turn, is linked to our own situation:

"and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies" (23).

Thus, when, at the beginning of this Sunday's passage we read,

"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness ... " (26),

we are brought to an encounter with the awesome "universalism" of the salvation of God in and through the crucified and risen Christ.

God is as much at work by the Holy Spirit in the whole of creation as in each of us as individual creatures!

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

With this passage we complete the parables taught by Jesus as conveyed to us in this chapter of Matthew.

In each of the five parables 'the kingdom of heaven is like' something: mustard seed, yeast, hidden treasure, a fine pearl, a net with all kinds of fish.

Our challenge, without interpretations provided for the parables (save that the interpretation in 13:36-43 would appear to be applied to 13:47-50), is to understand what it means that the kingdom is 'like' something.

Without proposing that the following is an exhaustive set of interpretations, Jesus appears to be saying that the kingdom of heaven is:
- a growing phenomenon which starts small and becomes very large (mustard seed)
- a powerful influence working through the whole world (yeast)
- something utterly worth being part of and belonging to (hidden treasure, fine pearl)
- a bit messy because it grows and develops in such a way that both evil and righteous people are caught up in its life (fishing net).

Can we say with the disciples that we understand 'all this' (51)?

The passage finishes on a beautifully poetic note about scribes trained for the kingdom (52) who are also 'like' something - like a master of a house who brings out of his treasure what is old and what is new. But what does this mean? Who are 'scribes' in the kingdom (since we do not encounter these particular kingdom officials anywhere else in the gospels)?

A key word here is 'trained' which in the Greek also means 'discipled'. Potentially 'scribes' could be all disciples, or scribes trained in the Law of Moses who are now discipled into the kingdom; or it could be one scribe in particular, Matthew who composes this gospel.

Either way, there is a strong hint here, as we recall Matthew 5:17-20, that Jesus is valuing continuity with all that is good in the past of Israel as well as asserting the value of what is now being taught through the parables of Jesus.

 

Sunday 19 July 2026 - Ordinary 16

Theme(s):Grace, mercy and kindness. Hope and glory. Patience and eager anticipation. Suffering and hope. Life in the kingdom. Judgment.

Sentence: I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18).

Collect: Bosco Peters Book of Prayers in Common 2026

Watch over your church, O God,  

with your constant support,  

and since without you we will surely fall, 

keep us safe from all harm,  

and lead us towards all that is good; 

through Jesus Christ, 

who is alive with you, 

in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 

one God, now and for ever. Amen. 

Readings (related):

Isaiah 44:6-8

Psalm 86:11-17

Romans 8:12-25

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Commentary:

Isaiah 44:6-8

The choice of this reading looks ahead to a challenging (to understand) gospel reading. What God presides over a world in which the plan is to establish a kingdom for that God, yet an evil one is permitted to establish a rival kingdom? The prophet here acclaims the God of Israel as the one God of all the world ('besides me there is no god', 6, see also 8b).

For this God there is no question of a rival, not even an evil one sowing discord in the world.

Thus those who believe in the God of Israel do not need to be afraid (8).

Note a curious phrasing in 44:6, 

'Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts.'

In part, in its original compositional context, this is a condemnation of Babylonian claims about multiple gods controlling the world. No, says Isaiah, the LORD is the one God of all.

In another part, a seeming distinction between the LORD as the King of Israel and the LORD of hosts as 'his redeemer' anticipates the later christology in which the God of Israel is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Lord Jesus Christ is the Incarnation of Israel's God, the Son of God.

Psalm 86:11-17

It is sometimes said of the Old Testament that one, single, unifying idea cannot be found within it, which 'organises' its contents. But there is one great idea, one substantive teaching which shines through many of its pages, and these verses give expression to it: God is 

'merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness' (15).

It is the God of this kind of love who brings the parable to us in today's gospel reading: a God who withholds judgment rather than hastens it.

Romans 8:12-25

If I am a Christian then I have the Spirit of God living within me (8:1-11). Paul continues to spell out what this means for you and me as Christians.

Essentially, we are under obligation, 'we are debtors' (12), with our obligation being to live according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh (13).

But thinking this way takes Paul on a theological journey as he links one thought to another thought. He will come back to the battle between flesh and spirit (23, 26) but he moves on this journey as follows:

- the Spirit of God is not 'a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear', rather it is 'a spirit of adoption' (15);

-under the influence of the Spirit as our spirit of adoption we cry out to God as 'Abba, Father' (15c) which is also testimony that we are 'children of God' (16, also 14);

- if we are children of God then we are 'heirs of God' which also means we are 'joint heirs with Christ' (17a);

- but that last thought raises a 'check in', have we suffered with Christ so that we may be glorified with him? (17b)

- suffering now may be compared with glory to come, with the latter far outweighing the former (18);

- but thinking of what is not yet leads to thinking about 'creation' waiting 'with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God' (19);

- in turn Paul offers a deep reflection on creation as that which currently is subject to 'futility' (20) while yet able to anticipate being 'set free from its bondage to decay and [obtaining] the freedom of the glory of the children of God' (21), with the sense that creation 'until now' 'has been groaning in labour pains' we ourselves are involved as we 'groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies' (22-23);

- such anticipation of a better, fulfilled future is hopeful, in fact, 'in hope we are saved' (24a) which could mean, 'in hope we see what one day will be but which is not yet our completed experience';

- thus as an aside we have a few words about 'hope' (24) and its application 'we wait for it with patience' (25).

What does all this mean for the Christian today?

I suggest at least this: Paul faces the reality that in the battle between spirit and flesh, between living for God and living for self, between achieving ideal holy living and failing to achieve it here and now, it is very tough for believers. We are in the same position as 'groaning' creation. We long for that which we want but do not yet have. Whether this is a matter of suffering in itself (i.e the suffering of patiently withstanding temptation and living rightly) or we suffer as Christians simply for being Christians as enemies persecute us, Paul urges us to 'hang in there'. Hope tells us we will get to the end. The glory in that day will outweigh present trials. Don't give up!

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

The reading as selected from Matthew 13 focuses on one parable and its interpretation (in parallel with last week's reading, and both parables have 'seed' as a common motif).

Note that if the full reading, 13:24-43, were followed then we would have three parables of kingdom growth (24-33), deliberately joined together in a sequence. 

Further (and paralleling a missing part Matthew 13 in last week's reading) we would have a brief explanation concerning teaching by parables (13:34-35; parallel, 13:10-17): Matthew is a very sophisticated literary artist!

So, with that in the background, let's look at the 'parable of the weeds'.

The core idea is easy to understand, especially with the aid of the provided interpretation: the kingdom of heaven (= kingdom of God) consists (in this life, thinking of the reign of God across the whole globe) of 'children of the kingdom' and 'children of the evil one' (37).

This fact of the kingdom is visible and gives rise to thoughts of a human solution (27-29). But the master of the kingdom, God, directs patience and requests waiting: the separation of the children of the kingdom and of the children of the evil one will take place at judgment and will be handled by the angels (30, 39-42).

The application of the parable - at first sight, straightforward, Wait and leave judgement to God! - is one tricky matter, another concerns how the kingdom can include both kinds of 'children'.

Clearly, in practical terms, evil people need separating from non-evil people: a murderer should be imprisoned, a paedophile kept well away from children ... a heretic denied a pulpit and a thief kept off the church silver cleaning roster. It would be absurd to suggest the parable means that in specific instances of these kinds, whether thinking of society broadly or more narrowly of congregational life, we should just let people be and allow them to carry on their evil ways.

But, if that is so, are there other 'evil' people whom we can tolerate between now and judgment day? That sounds a bit absurd. Especially if we focus on the life of the congregational church: it is hard work putting up with evil people who (say) disrupt congregational harmony, damage people through (say) gossip and putdowns, manipulatively abuse power. Much easier to expel the troublemakers!

But two such absurdities perhaps will make us think, 'what is the kingdom in this parable?' Perhaps we shouldn't think so much about an equation between kingdom and church (as often Christians have done). Indeed, not far away in Matthew's gospel, chapter 18, we have Jesus giving instruction for how to manage discipline in the church. Further, the emphasis on the judgment in the parable and its interpretation is on final judgment ('furnace of fire,' 42), not the outcome of a church tribunal. So, what is the kingdom in view here?

A strong clue seems to be in verse 38, 'the field is the world.' Jesus has the whole world in view here and the spread of the kingdom of heaven through it. More than church congregational life is being considered in this parable. 

Life in the world, lived under the rule of God (i.e. the kingdom of heaven) involves the children of the kingdom and the children of the evil one mixing together socially. The parable and its interpretation is a specific command for the kingdom children to refrain from attempting to carry out God's judgment (1) before it is due according to God's timetable, (2) when it is not the designated role of the children to do so.

What are children of the kingdom to do? 

The application of the passage is, in the end, plain for us: remain faithful to our calling as children of the kingdom, bearing grain (i.e. living fruitful lives for God) (26), avoid becoming weeds, refrain from playing the role of God as judge, and patiently endure the presence of evil people in the world.

Sunday 12 July 2026 - Ordinary 15

Theme(s): The mission of Jesus / The multiplying mission of Jesus / Gospel fruitfulness. Set free by the Spirit. Victorious life in the Spirit.

Sentence: There is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1)

Collect: Bosco Peters Book of Prayers in Common 2026

O God, 

you shine the light of your truth 

so that any who stray into error 

may be able to return to the right path; 

grant that all who profess the Christian faith 

may reject whatever is contrary to the name of Christ 

and eagerly follow the way that leads to you; 

through Jesus Christ, who is alive with you, 

in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 

one God, now and for ever. Amen. 

Readings (related):

Isaiah 55:10-13

Psalm 65:9-13

Romans 8:1-11

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Commentary:

Isaiah 55:10-13

God's word (here, in context, God's covenantal promise to restore Israel from exile, see 55:3) 

is powerful in its purpose (it will achieve what it sets out to do) and 

purposeful in its power (it intends to do good). 

It will be fruitful - Israel will 

'go out with joy and be led forth in peace' (12).

This same word is the word of the gospel as taught and proclaimed by Jesus (see gospel below).

Psalm 65:9-13

This is a lovely picture of God blessing the earth. The psalm is chosen to complement the gospel reading. As the word of God brings forth fruit in people's lives, its warmth, beauty and loveliness is illustrated by this parallel scene in nature. Over both kinds of fruitfulness God is the caring farmer!

Romans 8:1-11

This 'continuing' reading through Romans brings us into a great chapter which represents an important stage in Paul's argument through the whole epistle.

Through seven chapters Paul has been expounding the grace of God, a grace which includes Jew and Gentile, which covers every sin, and is freely available because of what Christ has done. So he begins this chapter, 

'Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus' (1). 

This is a fair summary of his argument to this point. But what now? What is Paul's next stage? What point does he now seek to make?

In part Paul continues a theme he has been developing through chapters six and seven: life in Christ does not mean continuing in sin in order for grace to abound, nor does it mean despair over continued sinning because a new way of life is available through identification in baptism with the death and rising of Jesus Christ. Nevertheless there is a new development, presaged in Romans 5:5 with mention of the Holy Spirit, in which Paul reminds his readers that the Holy Spirit is at work in them in the battle between doing good and doing wrong, between allegiance to God and allegiance to the sinful nature within them.

Effectively Paul repeats his argument through chapters six and seven but revises it to now talk about the Spirit of God and the work of the Spirit which every believer may expect and rely on.

Along the way Paul sets out some facts about the Holy Spirit: 

One is that the Spirit of God lives in each person who 'belongs to Christ' (9). No Christian should think they do not have the Spirit, and certainly no Christian should run around congregations suggesting that some members do not (yet) have the Spirit. (That is, if anyone says to you, "But if you pray this prayer etc then you will have the Spirit come on you ...", be polite to them but assure them that as a believer in Christ the Spirit is already working within you). 

Secondly there is no division in the working of God between Christ being in the believer and the Spirit being in the believer (9-10). 

Thirdly, the power available to the believer is the power of the one and same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead who now dwells within the believer (11).

Thus Paul, at the beginning of our passage, can confidently teach that the Christian believer is able to be victorious in overcoming sin (1-4) because there is a new, lively power at work in us (2), enabling us to meet the requirements of the law in a way which the law itself is not able to do.

One way to summarise all that is going on through chapters 6-8 is this: Christians, the Spirit will empower you to be what you are (in, through and because of Christ - who he is and what he has done for you)!

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 - The Parable of the Sower

A challenge for the preacher this week is to take a very familiar passage and say something fresh from it!

Something to observe is that Jesus tells the parable when 'such large crowds gather round him' (13:2). It is as though Jesus is sizing up the crowd and telling them that they will not all be found faithful to the word he is teaching them. Even at a high point of 'success' for his movement, measured in terms of interested listeners, Jesus recognises the reality of life.

Between the parable (1-9) and the interpretation (18-23), what Jesus recognises is understandable in every generation, including ours. Some simply do not 'get' the gospel message (4, 19); some hear the message and respond joyfully, but the hearing has no depth and when trouble comes, they fall away (5, 20-21); some hear the word but their response is quickly choked out by the worries of this life and the deceitful claims of wealth - materialism trumps spirituality (6, 22); some hear, understand, with joy, deeply, without choking (7, 23).

What does the reference mean to the crop being produced hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown (8, 23)? We might investigate what this meant in terms of the agriculture of Jesus' day. But more relevant could be investigating what this meant in terms of Jesus' own mission.

If the starting point above is valid, that Jesus was seeing beyond the crowds to the few who would be faithful to his word, then the multiplying of the seed is about the value of the faithful few: they will receive the word and multiply it, in terms of more faithful adherents across Israel and, later, throughout the world.

The very fact that you are reading this, that a congregation will hear your sermon this Sunday is testimony to what Jesus taught about the word. We are evidence of the multiplication!