5th July 2026 10.30am – Fifth Sunday after Trinity – Eucharist

The Readings

Romans 7.15-25a

I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.

So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, with my mind I am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh I am a slave to the law of sin.

Matthew 11.16-19, 25-end

‘But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market-places and calling to one another,
“We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we wailed, and you did not mourn.”
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, “He has a demon”; the 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.’

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; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All 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.

‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are 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.’

Scripture Quotations are from: New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

The Sermon
Prepared by Catherine, Reader at St Mary's.

Some years ago we enjoyed a television programme - “The secret life of 5 year-
olds”. About 10 small children spent a fortnight in a purpose-built school room
and outdoor play area. Cameras were hidden all over the place, and the
children wore microphones. They were given different challenges and
activities throughout the day. Some child psychologists hid in another room,
watching and listening to the children interact with each other (sometimes
collapsing in hysterics), and explained to the viewers what they thought was
going on.

In one episode they wanted to see how the children behaved in single sex
groups. The play area was set up with plenty of activities which could perhaps
interest, in particular, boys or girls. The girls were let in first. They quickly
found the dressing up area and got busy putting on clothes and make up.
Except one. She had discovered the dinosaurs. She asked each of the other
girls in turn to play dinosaurs with her, but they weren't interested. And she
wasn't interested in make up. No one wanted to play with her, and she got
upset.

Interestingly, when it was the boys’ turn, they played with both the dinosaurs
and the dressing up, and I don’t remember anyone being left out.

When you’re a child, sometimes your friends will play. Sometimes they
won’t. It’s that stark. Compromise is something 5 year-olds are only just
starting to navigate.

Only a handful of stories show Jesus interacting with children. He heals a few.
He blesses some. He gratefully accepts a boy’s offering of loaves and fish to
share with a crowd. And yet from today’s gospel reading it is clear that he
understands children well.

Jesus has watched children at play. He's seen their efforts to get other children
to join in. And he’s noticed two games in particular that the children of the day
play - wedding games and funeral games. In the wedding game the girls play
flutes, whilst the boys dance. In the funeral game the boys sing dirges and the
girls wail.

But sometimes the other children don't want to play. So the girls play their
flutes, but the boys won't dance. Or the boys sing, but the girls won’t wail. And
so neither game will happen. When the others won't join in your game you get
upset.

Children watch adults and they copy them. The wedding and funeral games
copy what the grown-ups get up to. The game is a mirror of ordinary social
life.

Jesus notices the way children watch and copy the adults. And now he uses the
children’s games to describe Israel’s response to God. God is inviting Israel to
join in the “Kingdom game”.

To join the “Kingdom Game” there are two things God wants Israel to do. The
first is to recognise where things have gone wrong, own their part in this, and
turn back to the way of God. The second is to celebrate the world that God has
given them, with all its good things, and enjoy it together.

John the baptist is the first to call Israel to the game. He is strict, lives frugally
and urges the people to repent. It’s a bit like the boys’ dirges in the funeral
game. But Israel’s people are suspicious of someone so sober and stern and
don't want to listen.

Then comes Jesus. He heals the sick, befriends the poor and likes a good
party. A bit like the girls’ flute-playing in the wedding game. But the people
are suspicious of him too, because he likes to have a good time. So they won't
join him either. No one wants to be part of the “Kingdom game”. And Jesus is
rather upset.

But all is not lost.

Jesus knows that while some children don’t want to play, others do. You just
have to find them. It’s like that with the “Kingdom game” too. Some people do
respond to John and to Jesus. They are like children keen to learn,open to
God’s forgiveness. And they’re not the supposedly wise religious leaders, but
ordinary, everyday people with receptive hearts. People who have struggled to
follow the strict lifestyles adopted by the Pharisees, with their impossibly
heavy burdens. People who welcome the chance to take on a light burden and
to learn from a caring teacher.

I can’t remember what happened next with the little girl and the dinosaurs in
the TV programme. But there were caring teachers around and plenty of other
activities to try. And maybe in time, she might have found some dinosaur
loving playmates away from the cameras.

So, are we ready to join in the “Kingdom game”? Let’s play!

The Prayers

Prepared by Joe, Reader at St Mary's.

Let us pray to God, who knows our weakness, shares our
burdens, and calls us to find rest in him.
Lord God, we pray for your Church throughout the world.
We pray for all who try to follow Christ faithfully, yet know the
struggle of divided hearts: wanting to do what is right, yet so
often falling short; longing to love, yet finding ourselves
impatient; hoping to serve, yet becoming tired or distracted.
Teach your Church to be honest about human weakness, but
never without hope. Help us not to pretend that faith makes us
perfect, but to trust that your grace is stronger than our failure.
We pray for bishops, clergy, lay ministers, churchwardens, and
all who carry responsibility in your name. Give them wisdom
without pride, strength without harshness, and humility enough
to keep learning from you.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer.

Lord, we pray for the world you love.
We bring before you the nations where people are weary from
war, injustice, poverty, fear, or uncertainty. We pray for those
who carry burdens too heavy to bear: refugees, prisoners,
victims of violence, those trapped by debt, and all whose lives
are shaped by decisions made far away from them.
We pray for leaders and all in authority. Save them from the
childishness Jesus saw in his own generation: the refusal to
listen, the habit of criticism, the quick judgement of those who
do not fit expectations. Give them the wisdom that is shown not
in clever words, but in just and compassionate action.

May your wisdom be vindicated in peace, mercy, truth, and
care for the most vulnerable.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer.

Lord, we pray for our own community, our parish, our city, and
the people among whom we live and work.
We pray for those who feel weary in ordinary life: weary with
work, weary with caring, weary with family difficulties, weary
with loneliness, weary with trying to keep going.
We pray for those who feel pulled in different directions,
knowing what they ought to do, but finding it hard to do it. Give
us patience with ourselves and with one another. Help us to be
kinder than we need to be, slower to criticise, and quicker to
encourage.
May our homes, our friendships, our workplaces, and our
church become places where burdens are shared, not added
to; where people find welcome, not judgement; and where the
gentle yoke of Christ is made visible in the way we treat one
another.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer.

We pray for those in need
Lord Jesus, you said, “Come to me, all you that are weary and
are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
We pray now for all who need that rest today.
We pray for the sick, the anxious, the depressed, the bereaved,
and all who are frightened about the future. We pray for those
living with pain, addiction, guilt, regret, or memories they cannot
easily lay down.

In a moment of quiet, we name before you those known to us
who need your comfort and healing.
Lord, meet them with your gentleness. Lift from them whatever
burden can be lifted, and give them strength for whatever must
still be carried.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer.

Lord, we remember before you those who have died.
We give thanks for all who have finished their earthly struggles
and now rest in your keeping. We pray for those who mourn
them, especially where grief is still raw, or where words of
comfort are hard to find.
Receive the departed into your mercy, and bring us with them,
in your time, to the rest and peace of your kingdom.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer.

Lord, we pray for ourselves.You know the truth about us: the good we want to do, the good
we fail to do, and the burdens we sometimes hide from others.
Meet us not with condemnation, but with grace.
Teach us to come to Christ not only when we feel strong, but
when we are tired; not only when we feel faithful, but when we
know our need. Give us the humility of little children, ready to
receive what we cannot earn, and the courage to walk with you
day by day.

May we learn from you, gentle and humble in heart, and find in
you rest for our souls.
Merciful Father,
accept these prayers

for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.

St Marys Walkley

The Church on the Road: inclusive, eucharistic, a safe place to be with God

5th July 2026 10.30am – Fifth Sunday after Trinity – Eucharist