SUNDAY 30 AUGUST 2026 THIRTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY

FIRST READING Jeremiah 15.15–21

A reading from the book of the prophet Jeremiah.

O LORD, you know; remember me and visit me,

and bring down retribution for me on my persecutors.

In your forbearance do not take me away;

know that on your account I suffer insult.

Your words were found, and I ate them,

and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart;

for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts.

I did not sit in the company of merrymakers, nor did I rejoice;

under the weight of your hand I sat alone,

for you had filled me with indignation.

Why is my pain unceasing, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?

Truly, you are to me like a deceitful brook, like waters that fail.

Therefore thus says the LORD:

If you turn back, I will take you back, and you shall stand before me.

If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless,

you shall serve as my mouth.

It is they who will turn to you, not you who will turn to them.

And I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze;

they will fight against you, but they shall not prevail over you,

for I am with you to save you and deliver you, says the LORD.

I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked,

and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.

PSALM Psalm 26.1–8

R Your love is before my eyes;

[I have walked faithfully with you].

1 Give judgement for me, O Lord,

for I have lived with integrity;

I have trusted in the Lord and have not faltered.

2 Test me, O Lord, and try me;

examine my heart and my mind. R

3 For your love is before my eyes;

I have walked faithfully with you.

4 I have not sat with the worthless,

nor do I consort with the deceitful.

5 I have hated the company of evildoers;

I will not sit down with the wicked. R

6 I will wash my hands in innocence, O Lord,

that I may go in procession round your altar,

7 Singing aloud a song of thanksgiving

and recounting all your wonderful deeds.

8 Lord, I love the house in which you dwell

and the place where your glory abides. R

SECOND READING Romans 12.9–21

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans.

Let love be genuine;

hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good;

love one another with mutual affection;

outdo one another in showing honour.

Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit,

serve the Lord.

Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.

Contribute to the needs of the saints;

extend hospitality to strangers.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

Live in harmony with one another;

do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly;

do not claim to be wiser than you are.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil,

but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.

If it is possible, so far as it depends on you,

live peaceably with all.

Beloved, never avenge yourselves,

but leave room for the wrath of God;

for it is written,

‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’

No, ‘if your enemies are hungry, feed them;

if they are thirsty, give them something to drink;

for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.’

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

GOSPEL Matthew 16.21–28

Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew.

From that time on,

Jesus began to show his disciples

that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering

at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes,

and be killed,

and on the third day be raised.

And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying,

‘God forbid it, Lord!

This must never happen to you.’

But he turned and said to Peter,

‘Get behind me, Satan!

You are a stumbling-block to me;

for you are setting your mind not on divine things

but on human things.’

Then Jesus told his disciples,

‘If any want to become my followers,

let them deny themselves

and take up their cross and follow me.

For those who want to save their life will lose it,

and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.

For what will it profit them

if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life?

Or what will they give in return for their life?

For the Son of Man is to come with his angels

in the glory of his Father,

and then he will repay everyone for what has been done.

Truly I tell you, there are some standing here

who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.’

SUNDAY  6 September 2026 Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity

FIRST READING Ezekiel 33.7–11

A reading from the book of the prophet Ezekiel.

The word of the Lord came to me:

So you, mortal, I have made a sentinel for the house of Israel;

whenever you hear a word from my mouth,

you shall give them warning from me.

If I say to the wicked,

‘O wicked ones, you shall surely die,’

and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from their ways,

the wicked shall die in their iniquity,

but their blood I will require at your hand.

But if you warn the wicked to turn from their ways,

and they do not turn from their ways,

the wicked shall die in their iniquity,

but you will have saved your life.

Now you, mortal, say to the house of Israel,

Thus you have said:

‘Our transgressions and our sins weigh upon us,

and we waste away because of them;

how then can we live?’

11 Say to them,

As I live, says the Lord GOD,

I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked,

but that the wicked turn from their ways and live;

turn back, turn back from your evil ways;

for why will you die, O house of Israel?

PSALM Psalm 119.33–40

R Give me understanding and I shall keep your law.

33 Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes,

and I shall keep it to the end.

34 Give me understanding and I shall keep your law;

I shall keep it with all my heart. R

35 Make me go in the path of your commandments,

for that is my desire.

36 Incline my heart to your decrees

and not to unjust gain. R

37 Turn my eyes from watching what is worthless;

give me life in your ways.

38 Fulfil your promise to your servant,

which you make to those who fear you. R

39 Turn away the reproach which I dread,

because your judgements are good.

40 Behold, I long for your commandments;

in your righteousness preserve my life. R

SECOND READING Romans 13.8–14

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans.

8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another;

for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

9 The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery;

You shall not murder;

You shall not steal;

You shall not covet’;

and any other commandment,

are summed up in this word,

‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’

10 Love does no wrong to a neighbour;

therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.

11 Besides this, you know what time it is,

how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep.

For salvation is nearer to us now

than when we became believers;

12 the night is far gone, the day is near.

Let us then lay aside the works of darkness

and put on the armour of light;

13 let us live honourably as in the day,

not in revelling and drunkenness,

not in debauchery and licentiousness,

not in quarrelling and jealousy.

14 Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ,

and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

GOSPEL Matthew 18.15–20

Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew.

Jesus spoke to his disciples.

15 ‘If another member of the church sins against you,

go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone.

If the member listens to you,

you have regained that one.

16 But if you are not listened to,

take one or two others along with you,

so that every word may be confirmed

by the evidence of two or three witnesses.

17 If the member refuses to listen to them,

tell it to the church;

and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church,

let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax-collector.

18 Truly I tell you,

whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven,

and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

19 Again, truly I tell you,

if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask,

it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.

20 For where two or three are gathered in my name,

I am there among them.’