The Ninth Sunday after Trinity – Reflection by Canon Leslie

​The Gospel reading for this Sunday is Matthew’s account of Jesus stilling the storm. Immediately after Jesus had engaged with the feeding of the five thousand, he sent his disciples off in their boat to cross the lake while he dismissed the crowd. Then Jesus went up the mountain to find solitude and to pray.
 
For the disciples this journey across the lake turned into a nightmare as the storm whipped up the water and as the waves battered the boat. Jesus came to their rescue and the storm was calmed. Jesus had not deserted his disciples when they needed him most.
 
To prepare for this Sunday’s service I invited those of you who want to do some thinking beforehand to focus on the image of gales, just as Teddy Horsley is doing in today’s picture, as the strong wind blows his little boat across the lake.
 
Next week the image to help us prepare for participation in the Sunday service, whether offline in the Cathedral or online at home, is removing barriers, when the Gospel reading is Matthew’s narrative of Jesus’ encounter with the Canaanite woman. To begin with when the story opens there is a huge barrier between Jesus and the woman. By the end of the story Jesus has removed that barrier. You can find out more about that theme here https://www.prayerforliverpool.org/prayer-resources.html. We would really appreciate you letting us know how you are using these materials. Please send us your ideas and photos of the things you may create; email them to [email protected].
 
We warmly invite you to join us in worship online by watching our pre-recorded service video that will go live at 10:30am:  

Teddy Horsley sends his Sunday greetings to all.
​
Canon Leslie
​