Sermon for Sunday 26th October 2025

By Rev Janey Bayly

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READINGS​

2 Timothy 4: 6-8, 16-18

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6 As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

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16 At my first defence no one came to my support, but all deserted me. May it not be counted against them! 17 But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory for ever and ever. Amen.

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Luke 18:9-14

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9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: 10 ‘Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax-collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, “God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax-collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.” 13 But the tax-collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” 14 I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.’

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THE TALK

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Some of you may recognise these words: John will you take susan to be your wife. Will you love her, comfort her, honour and protect her and forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live. The groom replies. I will. The bride then makes her similar vows.

 

Well they are obviously from the wedding ceremony. When I meet the couple for the first time we have a time of marriage preparation. It’s a time when we get to know each other and I listen to their story of how they met. One of the first questions I ask them is why do you want to get married in church? Nowadays there are so many attractive venues available. But time and again the future bride says, this is where I grew up and I always knew that I would want to be married here. And the other reason which is very profound - I want to make my vows in my church. The vows that speak of commitment and faithfulness. Faithfulness sadly seems to be in short supply in society and governments. Vows and promises that are made can be overlooked and forgotten, which erode people’s lives and trust.

Both of our Bible readings today speak of faithfulness - the faithfulness of God to us and our faithfulness to God. St Paul experienced God’s faithfulness to him beginning with Paul’s conversion on the Road to Damascus. It is an account that is familiar to many of us but like all Bible stories that we know well we can always find something new. After the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ the authorities felt that they had also destroyed the faith of all of his followers. But annoyingly there were still many who believed that Jesus was the promised Messiah and were determined to spread the good news. So Paul was on a mission to stamp out Christianity and persecute those who still believed. Whilst he travelled from Jerusalem to Damascus God confronted him and his life was changed. He then became an ardent and committed Christian travelling thousands of miles across land and sea, founding churches, writing letters and suffering persecution all to bring as many people as possible into the kingdom of God. So here we see Gods faithfulness in forgiving Paul and setting him on the right path and Paul’s faithfulness to God in spending the rest of his life serving his saviour. In the letter that Paul wrote to Timothy he writes his epitaph: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race and won the crown. This is his faithful farewell giving glory to his Lord.

Again the parable that Jesus told of the Pharisee and the tax collector is well known. Jesus often took two contrasting characters and used them to teach people truths about Gods values. The Pharisee was wealthy, powerful with status and authority. The tax collector was hated by his own people because he worked for the Romans. People listening to Jesus would understand that the Pharisee was doing well in God's eyes and the tax collector was not. But yet again Jesus turns the world’s values upside down . The one who was right in Gods kingdom was the one who understood Gods love and forgiveness and faithfulness not the arrogant one. 

Sometimes our readings and reflections can seem rather academic and remote from our ordinary everyday lives. Where is the evidence of Gods faithfulness today. Last year I started supporting a young Ugandan child called Paul. I heard about him and the thousands of orphaned and abandoned children now living in the Watoto villages. Not only are they fed and absorbed into family unites but they are educated and helped to get qualifications and jobs. I get a newsletter from time to time and this what I read last week. At Watoto we are flooded with reminders of Gods faithfulness. there is no way to fully encapsulate all the joy, miracles and breakthroughs we’ve witnessed in the last year . Young lives are being transformed by Gods faithfulness and the faithfulness of people in their giving and in their prayers.

As we sing our final hymn at the end of the service let us use it as our personal prayer of thanks Great is thy faithfulness o God my father. There is no shadow of turning with thee,

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