Reflection for Sunday 14th September 2025

The Thirteenth Sunday After Trinity

Exodus 32.7-14, 1 Timothy 1.12-17, Luke 15.1-10

In Luke’s Gospel, we hear two short but powerful parables — the lost sheep and the lost coin. Both tell us something extraordinary: God goes looking for us. Not waiting for us to find our way home, but actively seeking, searching, rejoicing when we are found.

This is the heart of the Christian story — not that we got everything right, but that God was faithful even when we weren’t.

Exodus reminds us of that too. The people had turned away from God, yet Moses intercedes — and God relents. Not because the people deserved it, but because God is merciful.

In 1 Timothy, Paul speaks of his own story — how he was a persecutor, and yet Christ came to him in grace. That grace changed everything. It still does.

In our churches, we all carry stories — of wandering, returning, being found again. And as small as we might feel, we are part of a great story of God’s mercy and joy. Let us be a people who never stop looking for the lost, never stop rejoicing when grace takes root, and never stop believing that God hasn’t given up — on anyone.

Blessings and prayers,

Emma