Sermon for Sunday 5th July 2026, Trinity 5, preached at Family Service, in Granborough

By Rev Janet Bayly

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READINGS

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PSALM 145.8-15

8  The Lord is gracious and merciful, 
  long-suffering and of great goodness.
9  The Lord is loving to everyone 
  and his mercy is over all his creatures.
10  All your works praise you, O Lord,
  and your faithful servants bless you.
11  They tell of the glory of your kingdom 
  and speak of your mighty power,
12  To make known to all peoples your mighty acts 
  and the glorious splendour of your kingdom.
13  Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; 
  your dominion endures throughout all ages.
14  The Lord is sure in all his words 
  and faithful in all his deeds.
15  The Lord upholds all those who fall 
  and lifts up all those who are bowed down.

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Matthew 11.16-19; 25-30                                                                                         

16 ‘But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market-places and calling to one another,
17 “We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
  we wailed, and you did not mourn.”
18For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, “He has a demon”; 19the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners!” Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.’

25 At that time Jesus said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; 26yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.27All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

28 ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’

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SERMON

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​​May I speak in the name of the living God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Theme. Things and people are not always what they seem 

Optical illusions some objects and some people.

 Bit of fun and an introduction to our theme today - things and people are not always what they seem to be or how people judge them to be.. How often we meet someone and make a judgement about how they speak the clothes they wear. We need to make a connection. She’s kind, he’s polite, she looks like a teacher, he appears to be a farmer. Sometimes we are right but often we are wrong. Bearing in mind that people are probably making similar judgements about us. It’s always good to be open minded and think positively and kindly. 

 Jesus was aware that the people he met, particularly the religious people were making judgements about his cousin John and him. They were both prophets and teachers but they lived very different ways. John was an ascetic. He lived in the wilderness a frugal life, foraging for food, eating locusts and wild honey. Both these were acceptable foods under Mosaic law. So he wasn’t breaking any Jewish rules. His clothes were also simple a camel hair tunic and a leather belt and leather sandals. All these were symbols of a life of fasting and repentance as he was called to prepare the way for the promised Messiah. He was a Nazarite so he probably had long hair and beard and looked rugged a true prophet. So the judgement made about John because how he looked and his lifestyle was, He has a demon. As we know having read about him, he was a god fearing man following his calling to Prepare the way for the coming Messiah. And that is what he was doing, and when the time came he baptised Jesus his cousin, who he recognised as the son of God. Yet people said, he has a demon,

 Jesus’ life style was very different. He grew up in a family with brothers and sisters and learnt a skill to be a carpenter like his father Joseph. His diet would have been a Mediterranean diet of bread and fish from the Sea of Galilee, fruit and nuts and olive oil. Also figs and dates and sometimes wine. Occasionally his family would have had meat when celebrating a feast or the Passover. Jesus would have worn durable clothes traditional for that region - a tunic, a cloak, a prayer mantle suitable for a Jewish man and leather sandals. People looked at him and made the judgement - He is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of sinners and tax collectors. How wrong people were about both men who were following their calling but expressing it such different ways. Yet Jesus graciously dealt with all these people even when they judged him harshly 

 We had fun with the optical illusions which often are puzzling and distorted. But you probably found that when you spent time looking more carefully a different true image appeared. People looked superficially at John and Jesus. If they had spent time getting to know and understand them they would have discovered great truths about the love of God for each one of them. Many of their followers did that, and their lives were transformed as ours have been.

 Jesus’ true purpose and calling, reflecting the nature of God his father is summed up in the beautiful words at the end of todays reading Let us use them now as our prayer. Come to me all you who are weary and carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Amen.