Sunday Worship 16th August
St Thomas' Church welcomes you to a Parish Eucharist at 10 am. Our visiting Priest for today is Reverend John Rosedale.
We follow all of the advice from the Government, the Church of England and Manchester Diocese to ensure your safety. The wearing of face coverings is mandatory unless you are exempt from this requirement. Please do bring your own if you can, but we do have a limited supply of disposable face masks if you need one - so don't let that stop you from joining us.
Your own home is still the safest place to worship, particularly if you are shielding or in a vulnerable group, and you'll find everything you need here on this page.
This morning's first hymn is "Just As I Am" -
Today's Gospel reading -
Today’s gospel passage tells the story of the Canaanite woman, and it isn’t an easy passage.
Jesus moved on. This is a very important move because it describes the only occasion on which Jesus went outside Jewish territory. It seems likely that Jesus was seeking a time of quiet before the approaching end of his ministry here on Earth. He needed to prepare the disciples for what lay ahead.
But even here, in foreign parts, Jesus was not to be free from the human need which followed him. The passage tells the story of a woman whose daughter was very ill. The stories of the healings which Jesus had carried out had preceded him and the woman cried to him for help. And at first it seems that Jesus will ignore her. It was a difficult situation for him since not only was the woman a gentile, but also she was a Canaanite – ancestral enemies of the Jews. To have dealings with her might have serious consequences, and not further his work on earth. To call someone a dog was a great insult; dogs then were unclean scavengers, which roamed the streets in search of food. For Jesus to call someone a dog is shocking. But it seems that he must have recognised in her some spark, and he used what seems to be a term of abuse with a touch of humour, since she quickly responded with a reply that showed she was not shocked or offended. Indeed she was able to respond quickly with what feels like cheerful repartee. Jesus was greatly impressed by this and granted her request by healing her daughter from whatever affliction she had.
Throughout his ministry, Jesus demonstrated an uncanny ability to assess quickly what made people tick, to know their characters and their strengths and weaknesses, to understand their motives and their needs. In today’s Gospel passage Jesus seems to have summed up this woman quickly too. He chose to grant her request for healing for her daughter even though that was not initially part of his plan.
So what was it about her that changed his mind? Well she had love. She clearly demonstrated her love for her child, a reflection of God’s love for his children. The driving force of this woman’s heart was love, and there is nothing nearer to God than love. Secondly, she had faith. This faith grew in the presence of Jesus. She began by calling him Son of David – a political title, which describes him in terms of earthly power. She came, then, asking a favour of a great and powerful man. She ended by calling Jesus Lord. In the presence of Jesus himself what had begun as a request to a great man turned into a prayer to the living God. Her faith also led her to worship. She knelt before him. In his presence what began as a request became a prayer. Thirdly, she was persistent. She wasn’t going to take no for an answer. She was serious in her request – she believed she would be granted her request. And fourthly, she was cheerful. She had a serious request to make, one she needed passionately, yet she was still able to answer Jesus with a quick witted response which impressed and moved him.
This woman then got more than she wanted. Not just her daughter’s healing but also mercy for herself and public praise for her great faith. Perhaps the one thing to take away from this is that some of the greatest answers to prayer have a great life changing effect, way beyond the actual thing that is asked for.
Our prayers for today -
And our final hymn for today is - "All Hail The Power Of Jesus' Name"
