We usually think of Jesus living and preaching in the Holy Land –
Judaea and Galilee. Most of the time He did – but he sometimes
travelled in other areas, and not just to Egypt as a baby. The gospels
tell us of him passing through Samaria, and through the Greek speaking
areas of the Decapolis. But this week we hear how he travelled to what
used to be Philistine territory on the coast, and what happened when a
Canaanite woman asked him for help. We will start with a hymn that looks forward to the time when God’s kingdom shall come to the whole world, and sums it up in a phrase from Habakkuk 2:14: The earth shall be filled with the glory of God as the waters cover the seas.

Now let us approach God in prayer:

Our first reading today is taken from Isaiah 56:1-3a, 6-7, looking
forward to the time when the Temple will be seen as a house of prayer
for all nations

Our second reading is from the gospel of Matthew, 15:21-28,

Talk: A different side of Jesus?

Let’s sing …

Let us pray for God’s help for the world – both for the people we
know, and for those we will never meet.

For our last hymn, let us sing that great song of the New Commandment:

And we close by saying the blessing for each other