Ss. Simon & Jude Church, Cockshutt – Sunday 22nd October, 2023
“Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s”. (Matthew 22:22)
After the relentless rain and localised flooding of recent days, today dawned as calm as a mill pond! So, with grateful hearts for the calming of God’s creation, we made our way to Ss Simon & Jude for our Sunday Service.
There, we were greeted with gentle kindness, by Rev. Rob Haarhoff (ret’d) a Zimbabwean who had arrived in England around twenty years ago and served for many years as Priest-in-Charge for a local Benefice prior to retirement. It was good to see some of his previous congregants join us for today’s service.
Rev. Haarhoff’s sermon was based on today’s gospel reading (Matthew 22: 15-22) where, despite finding Himself once again in conflict with the secular and religious leaders, Jesus reminded us that we must integrate with the secular world whilst treating every minute as a sacrament, focusing on the second part of his instruction, “render unto God the things that are God’s”.
VJC and JAC