The Feast of Saints Joachim and Anne | Tuesday 26 July 2022

Today is Tuesday the 26th July, the feast of Saints Joachim and Anne.
The Kyiv Chamber Choir sing In Thy Kingdom from One Thousand Years Of Ukrainian Sacred Music.

(Lyrics currently unavailable)

Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Matthew.

Matthew 13:36-43

Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, ‘Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.’ He answered, ‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!

There are lots of occasions when Jesus seems to be straightforwardly dualistic: there are good people and there are bad; righteous and evildoers; those bound for the kingdom and others heading for a furnace of fire. How do you respond to this kind of teaching? . . .

When Jesus is crucified by evildoers, his judgement is rather different: “Father forgive them; they know not what they do.”
How do you reconcile such contrasting attitudes?

Listen again and notice how you feel about this passage . . .

The Jesus you believe in . . . what’s he like? Speak to him now, honestly, about how you feel about today’s reading.


Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.