Sermon 16th Sunday after Trinity, 2026
The collect for the 16th Sunday after Trinity asks God to protect and defend His Church. But what is the Church, and what is our place within it? The Church is more than a collection of individual believers. Through the Holy Spirit, we are united to Christ and to one another as members of His Body. In Ephesians 3, St. Paul reminds us that we belong to a family extending across heaven and earth, and that our lives, including our suffering and service, are to be offered for the good of the whole Church and the glory of God.
In Luke 7, Christ encounters a grieving widow and raises her only son from the dead. Yet the miracle does not end with the young man’s restoration to life. Scripture tells us that Jesus delivered him to his mother. Here we see a picture of the Church as our spiritual mother, receiving and nurturing those whom Christ has raised to new life. As we mature in faith, we are called to return that love through our service to the Church. Whether through great sacrifice or ordinary acts of faithfulness, we have been given the privilege of serving Christ by caring for His Body. Our calling is to embrace that service with gratitude and love, for the glory of God and the building up of His Church.