Sunday 2 August – (Patronal Festival of St Oswald’s)
Genesis 18.1-10a
Abraham entertains threeunknown visitors, offering them hospitality. Sarah overhears the conversation and laughs at the idea that she would bear a child at her age.
1 Peter 4.12-19
The writer encourages is readers who are facing persecution, that God is with them in their suffering.
John 18.29-33
John’s account of Jesus’s crucifixion differs from some of the other Gospels in some of its details. The water and blood flowing from Jesus’s side were a potent reminder of the Christian sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist. John also added that Joseph of Arimathea - a secret disciple, and Nicodemus , a Jewish Rabbi who visited Jesus by night and spoken with him were also there. (Jn.3:1-16)
OR for our other churches not celebrating that patronal festival:
Sunday 2 August – (9th Sunday after Trinity - Continuous)
Genesis 32.22-31
As Jacob travels home, he meets a stranger. In their struggle Jacob’s hip is damaged. Jacob demands the stranger to bless him. The man gives him a new name, Israel, ‘man of God’ - the name of the Hebrew nation from ancient times. Jacob calls the place ‘Penuel’ meaning ‘God’s face’
Romans 9.1-5
Paul continues to write of his problems in reconciling his former Jewish upbringing, of which he was proud, to his new faith in Jesus Christ.
Matthew 14.13-21
Jesus and John the Baptist were related through their mothers, so Jesus was distressed when John was beheaded by Herod. When Jesus saw the crowds who had followed him and their needs, like Moses in the wilderness, he fed them. He took the bread, broke it, and gave it to them - actions we recognise each time the Eucharist is celebrated.
Sunday 9 August – (10th Sunday after Trinity - Continuous)
Genesis 37.1-4, 12-28
The so-called ‘Joseph saga’ stretching from- Genesis 37 -50, recounts an account of the birth of Joseph . He becomes his father’s favourite which arouses his brother’s jealousy. They try to get rid of him
Romans 10.5-15
Paul continues to struggle with his own understanding of how his previous Jewish faith relates to his present faith in Jesus Christ.
Matthew 14.22-33
Immediately after feeding the crowd with the five loaves and two
Jesus went away from the crowds, while the disciples were caught in a storm on the lake. As Jesus came to them, Peter asked to join Jesus but lost his faith. The disciples were astonished and declared their faith in Jesus as God’s son.
Sunday 16 August – (11th Sunday after Trinity - Continuous)
Genesis 45.1-15
Towards the end of the Joseph saga, Joseph has reached a high position in Pharaoh’s court.He welcomes his brothers who have come to buy corn in Egypt.
Romans 11.1-2a, 29-32
Paul writes of his pride in his own Jewish background to show that God in his mercy accepts all whom He calls to himself.
Matthew 15.21-28
Tyre and Sidon lay in Gentile territory. A Canaanite woman approached Jesus asking him to heal her daughter. She replied bravely and boldly to his response. Jesus recognised her faith and healed the child.
Sunday 23 August – (Feast Day of St Bartholomew the Apostle)
Isaiah 43.8-13
Writing to the Jews exiled in Babylon after the fall of Jerusalem, the prophet reassures them that God is still with them and will save them.
Acts 5.12-16
In the crowded walkway in the Temple area, crowds gathered round the apostles, bringing their sick to be healed.
Luke 22.24-30
During the Last Supper, the disciples argued amongst themselves. Jesus pointed out that the greatest person must be the one who served others as he did..
Sunday 30 August – (13th Sunday after Trinity - Continuous)
Exodus 3.1-15
After fleeing from Egypt, the young Moses comes Mount Horeb where God appears to him in a flaming bush. God reveals his name, the enigmatic ‘I am who I am’ - the capital letters in Hebrew in which this written are YHWH, Jehovah. By telling Moses his name, God makes clear the nature of his relationship with the world He has created.
Romans 12.9-21
Paul continues his letter encouraging the Christians in Rome to display the same love to others as God has shown to them.
Matthew 16.21-28
As Jesus began his journey down to Jerusalem, he warned the disciples of the dangers facing him there. Peter tried to argue with him, but Jesus explained that suffering was necessary before the coming of God’s rule on earth. Some of them would see that for themselves.