Patrick Comerford
We are continuing in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar and today is the Eleventh Sunday after Trinity (Trinity XI, 31 August 2025). We have come to the end of August, and the Season of Creation begins tomorrow (1 September).
Later this morning, I hope to take part in the Parish Eucharist in Saint Mary and Saint Giles Church, Stony Stratford, leading the intercessions. But, before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, for reflection, prayer and reading in these ways:
1, today’s Gospel reading;
2, a reflection on the Gospel reading;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;
4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.
Luke 14: 1, 7-14 (NRSVA):
1 On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.
7 When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honour, he told them a parable. 8 ‘When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honour, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; 9 and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, “Give this person your place”, and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, “Friend, move up higher”; then you will be honoured in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. 11 For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.’
12 He said also to the one who had invited him, ‘When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbours, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’
Today’s Reflections:
In today’s Gospel reading (Luke 14: 1, 7-14), Saint Luke continues his series of Christ’s sayings about entering the Kingdom of God. He has healed a person on the sabbath (verses 2-6), and he is invited to a Sabbath meal with a prominent Pharisee.
The gathering of God’s elect at the end of time is commonly depicted as a wedding banquet, at which the host is God. The translation of the word κεκλημένος (keklemenos) in verses 7 and 8 referring to ‘guests’ in the NRSV and other versions of the New Testament fails to quite capture how the Greek word, with one occurrence only in Matthew (see Matthew 22: 3, κεκλημένους) and in Luke, says these people have not just been invited but called specifically by their names, chosen individually.
But when we are invited to the heavenly banquet, be that the Eucharist or the Kingdom of God, we are to realise that this is an open invitation. The very people the author of the Letter of the Hebrews reminds us about, the ones we see as humble and humbled, have been invited to the banquet too.
Remembering this should be a cautionary reminder of how we behave in our homes and in our churches, at our own tables, too.
Today’s Prayers (Sunday 31 August 2025, Trinity XI):
The theme this week (31 August to 6 September) in Pray with the World Church, the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘A Faith that Listens and Grows’ (pp 34-35). This theme is introduced today with reflections from Soshi Kawashima, Seminarian, Diocese of Chubu, Nippon Sei Ko Kai (Anglican Church in Japan).
Soshi took part in the Emerging Leaders Academy (ELA), a cross-cultural learning opportunity for young people across the Anglican Communion. Here he shares some reflections:
It was at graduate school that I came across Anglicanism for the first time. What struck me most was the description of the Anglican Communion as "a communion continuing interpretation". It made me think about how the diversity of the Anglican Communion can enhance, or challenge, our core beliefs.
In my day-to-day life, I interact with many people who we might consider oppressed, such as my LGBTQ+ friends and female ministers. This encounter changed me, making me realise they cannot be disregarded. Unless our theology is dynamic and linked to individual experiences and lives, we will end up with a very ‘dry’ definition of what it means to be a Christian. In short, Anglicanism should oppose a static theology and should instead empower and sustain individuals.
In that sense, the ELA was meaningful to me because it taught me about the importance of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5: 19). Matters are bound to complex, but the recent discussions over same-sex marriage, for example, seem to me to be a significant opportunity to come together and hear new and diverse voices from all over the world. What are considered weak points can be strong points.
Anglicans have always valued diversity and will continue to do so. Our future does not lie in absolute truth but in a thoughtful, evolving understanding. We must remain fully respectful of our Anglican identity as a communion that continually reflects on and reinterprets who we are.
The USPG Prayer Diary today (Sunday 31 August 2025, Trinity XI) invites us to read and meditate on Luke 14: 1, 7-14.
The Collect:
O God, you declare your almighty power
most chiefly in showing mercy and pity:
mercifully grant to us such a measure of your grace,
that we, running the way of your commandments,
may receive your gracious promises,
and be made partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Post Communion Prayer:
Lord of all mercy,
we your faithful people have celebrated that one true sacrifice
which takes away our sins and brings pardon and peace:
by our communion
keep us firm on the foundation of the gospel
and preserve us from all sin;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Additional Collect:
God of glory,
the end of our searching,
help us to lay aside
all that prevents us from seeking your kingdom,
and to give all that we have
to gain the pearl beyond all price,
through our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Yesterday’s reflection
Continued tomorrow
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
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