St Ansgar Lutheran Church, London

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Sunday Morning

We invite you to join us for the following worship services:

Sundays
10:30 a.m. Worship service

Hand sanitizer will be available at the entrance and other locations in the church for
your use.

Washrooms will be available for use.

In the service: The service will be shown on the screen. The offering will not be gathered and presented, but there will be an offering plate at the back of the sanctuary where you can put your offering as you enter or leave. Pastor David distributes the communion wafers and an Assisting Minister distributes wine or grape juice in individual glasses.

We have coffee and fellowship time available again in Luther Hall after the service.

We will continue to evaluate our worship service procedures on a monthly basis.

SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, SEPTEMBER 13, 2026.

St. Ansgar Lutheran Church, Outline for Worship (with sermon)
September 13, 2026 – Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Based on ELW Setting Ten

GATHERING

WELCOME & ANNOUNCEMENTS

BRIEF ORDER FOR CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS
P: Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God, who pours love into our hearts and
healing upon the earth.
C: Amen.

P: Confident that God justifies us by grace through faith, let us confess our sin.

Silence is kept for reflection.

P: Compassionate God,
C: we confess that we struggle to embody your goodness in the world and
in our own hearts.
Creation groans from overuse. Jealousy and bitterness strain our
relationships. Indifference keeps us from seeking justice. Divisions
disrupt your call to show genuine love to others.
Turn our hearts back to you. Restore our world and reconcile us to one
another. Renew us to live as your holy people, following the way of Jesus
Christ. Amen.

P: Hear this good news: We have peace with God through ☩ Jesus Christ, in
whom there is no condemnation, but only forgiveness and the promise of eternal
life. Receive freely this healing gift of grace.
C: Amen.

ENTRANCE HYMN - All Creatures, Worship God Most High! (ELW #835)

GREETING
P: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion
of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
C: And also with you

KYRIE (ELW p. 203)
Have mercy on us, Lord, and hear our solemn prayer.
We come to hear your living word; it saves us from despair.
Have mercy on us Christ, and wash away our sin.
Pour out your grace and make us whole that new life may begin.
Have mercy on us, Lord; make sin and shame depart.
Renew us with your saving pow’r; create in us new hearts!

CANTICLE OF PRAISE (ELW p. 204)
Glory be to God in heaven; peace, goodwill to all the earth.
Mighty God of all creation, Father of surpassing worth:
we exalt you, we adore you, we lift high our thanks and praise.
Saints and angels bow before you; here on earth our songs we raise.
Glory be to Christ forever, Lamb of God and Lord of love.
Son of God and gracious Saviour, you have come from heav’n above;
on the cross you died to save us; now you reign at God’s right hand.
Hear our prayer; restore, forgive us; in your promise firm we stand.
Holy One we now acclaim you; Lord alone, to you we call;
Holy One in faith we name you, God most high, yet near to all:
Jesus Christ, with God the Spirit, in the Father’s splendour bright.
For the peace that we inherit, glory be to God on high!

PRAYER OF THE DAY
P: Let us pray.
P: O Lord God, merciful judge, you are the inexhaustible fountain of forgiveness.
Replace our hearts of stone with hearts that love and adore you, that we may
delight in doing your will, through Jesus Christ,
our Saviour and Lord.
C: Amen

WORD

FIRST READING: Genesis 50:15-21
15 Realizing that their father was dead, Joseph's brothers said, "What if Joseph
still bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong that we
did to him?" 16 So they approached Joseph, saying, "Your father gave this
instruction before he died, 17 'Say to Joseph: I beg you, forgive the crime of
your brothers and the wrong they did in harming you.' Now therefore please
forgive the crime of the servants of the God of your father." Joseph wept when
they spoke to him. 18 Then his brothers also wept, fell down before him, and
said, "We are here as your slaves." 19 But Joseph said to them, "Do not be
afraid! Am I in the place of God? 20 Even though you intended to do harm to
me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is
doing today. 21 So have no fear; I myself will provide for you and your little
ones." In this way he reassured them, speaking kindly to them.

A: The word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.

PSALM: Psalm 103: 1-13
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me, bless God’s holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all God’s benefits –
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases;
4 who redeems your life from the grave
and who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy;
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like and eagle’s.
6 O Lord, you provide vindication
and justice for all who are oppressed.
7 You made known your ways to Moses
and your works to the children of Israel.
8 Lord, you are full of compassion and mercy,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 you will not always accuse us,
nor will you keep your anger forever.
10 You have not dealt with us according to our sins,
nor repaid us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is your steadfast love for those who fear you.
12 As far as the east is from the west,
so far have you removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion for his children,
so you have compassion for those who fear you, O Lord.

SECOND READING: Romans 14:1-12
1 Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling
over opinions. 2 Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only
vegetables. 3 Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those
who abstain must not pass judgement on those who eat; for God has welcomed
them. 4 Who are you to pass judgement on servants of another? It is before
their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able
to make them stand. 5 Some judge one day to be better than another, while
others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds. 6
Those who observe the day, observe it in honour of the Lord. Also those who
eat, eat in honour of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who
abstain, abstain in honour of the Lord and give thanks to God. 7 We do not live
to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. 8 If we live, we live to the Lord,
and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we
are the Lord's. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be
Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 Why do you pass judgement on your
brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will
all stand before the judgement seat of God. 11 For it is written, "As I live, says
the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to
God." 12 So then, each of us will be accountable to God.

A: The word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (ELW p. 205)
Alleluia! Lord and Saviour: open now your saving word.
Let it burn like fire within us; speak until our hearts are stirred.
Alleluia! Lord, we sing for the good news that you bring

GOSPEL
P: The Holy Gospel according to Matthew 18:21-35
C: Glory to you, O Lord.

21 Then Peter came and said to him, "Lord, if another member of the church
sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?" 22
Jesus said to him, "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times. 23 "For
this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to
settle accounts with his slaves. 24 When he began the reckoning, one who
owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; 25 and, as he could not pay,
his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his
possessions, and payment to be made. 26 So the slave fell on his knees before
him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' 27 And out
of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. 28
But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who
owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, 'Pay what
you owe.' 29 Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, 'Have
patience with me, and I will pay you.' 30 But he refused; then he went and threw
him into prison until he would pay the debt. 31 When his fellow slaves saw what
had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their
lord all that had taken place. 32 Then his lord summoned him and said to him,
'You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33
Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?'
34 And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his
entire debt. 35 So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do
not forgive your brother or sister from your heart."

P: The Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise to you, O Christ.

SERMON
Matthew 18:21-35
The sermon for today has been prepared by Rev. Dennis Hendricksen, Pastor
of Christ Lutheran Church, Regina, in the Saskatchewan Synod of the ELCIC.
Which Song Will We Sing?
Do you know what the first song in the Bible is? It is not a hymn; rather, it is a
song of vengeance and violence. It is found in Genesis chapter 4, in the midst of
a listing of the descendants of Cain. In verses 23 and 24 we find Lamech
poetically boasting to his wives with these words:
“Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; you wives of Lamech, listen to what I say:
I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me.
If Cain is avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”
This short example of Hebrew poetry has been called The Song of the Sword.
We don't know any of the background here. We don't know who the young man
was or why Lamech killed him. But what we do know is that this is a song of
vengeance. This is also the very first reference in the Bible to the number
seventy-seven.
Lamech’s words show a man who reinterprets justice in self-centred terms and
celebrates retaliation marked by escalating aggression. In the concluding line (“If
Cain is avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy-sevenfold”) Lamech explicitly
invokes God’s earlier words to Cain: “Whoever kills Cain will suffer a sevenfold
vengeance.” (Genesis 4:15). In its original context, this was a merciful restraint,
preventing a spiral of retaliatory killings. God placed a protection around Cain to
ensure that judgment would remain with the Lord rather than with vigilantes.
Lamech, however, seizes this divine promise and reverses its meaning. Where
God used “sevenfold” to limit vengeance, Lamech uses “seventy-sevenfold” to
expand it beyond any reasonable or righteous measure. The Hebrew words
express an escalation of intensification: vengeance multiplied until it becomes
virtually limitless. Ancient readers would hear in this phrase the language of
excess, extremity, and unrestrained retaliation.
Whereas God was the one who promised sevenfold vengeance for Cain,
Lamech now assigns seventy-sevenfold vengeance to himself. He elevates his
own importance above Cain’s and implicitly above God’s sovereign claim over
justice. Lamech twists God’s response to Cain’s murderous act, magnifies it,
and uses it as license for personal violence.
Throughout all history humans have sung The Song of the Sword. We have
claimed the right to seek revenge, to respond to those who have wronged us in
any way with vengeance that escalates circumstances, often with the
justification that “We’ll teach them a lesson!”
We’ve all heard of an “eye for eye, tooth for tooth” (Exodus 21:24), a law that
sought to limit revenge by ensuring the harm done to an aggressor was no more
than the harm inflicted on the victim. But even that approach to revenge has
problems, as Mahatma Gandhi purportedly said: “An eye for an eye leaves the
whole world blind.”
We need a different song to sing, rather than The Song of the Sword. We need
the song Jesus teaches, the Song of Jubilee. At the beginning of his ministry, as
recorded in the Gospel of Luke, on a Sabbath Jesus went to the synagogue in
his hometown of Nazareth. There he read from the scroll of Isaiah, ending the
reading with the words “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has
anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release
to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are
oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” (Luke 4:18-19) This
passage is often understood as a reference to the Jubilee year, a time
prescribed in Levitical law (Leviticus 25) when debts were forgiven, slaves were
freed, and land was returned to its original owners. The Jubilee was a time of
economic, social, and spiritual renewal, reflecting God's desire for justice and
mercy.
Everywhere he went, Jesus lived Jubilee: forgiving, healing, restoring, setting
people free. Forgiveness is the first step in Jubilee because it clears the way. It
deals with the past—the mistakes, the guilt, the grudges—and opens people up
to God’s freedom. Forgiveness is a central core of Jesus' ministry. The
examples here go on and on. "Your sins are forgiven." "Forgive us our debts as
we forgive our debtors." "Forgive and you will be forgiven." "Love your enemies."
"Turn the other cheek." "Neither do I condemn you." "Father, forgive them for
they know not what they do."
By his words and actions Jesus sang the Song of Jubilee, and through that
melody the world was changed. In today’s gospel reading, Jesus teaches more
of that song to his disciples. When Peter asks Jesus a question about how many
times he should forgive another, Jesus responds to Peter’s question with the
words: “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.”
The deliberate echo of Lamech is unmistakable. Lamech uses “seventy-seven”
to magnify vengeance; Christ uses “seventy-seven” to magnify forgiveness.
The contrast is striking. Lamech embodies the kingdom of self, where pride
justifies vengeance. Christ inaugurates the kingdom of God, where humility
offers reconciliation. Lamech’s boast becomes the dark backdrop against which
the brilliance of gospel forgiveness shines. Where sin multiplies vengeance,
grace multiplies pardon.
We who follow Christ are not called to assert our rights or magnify our
grievances but to extend grace, pursue reconciliation, and imitate the forgiving
heart of our Saviour. Our witness shines forth when we lay aside vengeance and
choose mercy. This does not mean ignoring injustice or denying real wounds; it
means entrusting justice to God and refusing to let bitterness become the
architect of our relationships.
Unlike Lamech, few of us have slain another, but we have held grudges,
nurtured resentment, or silently dwelt on thoughts of vindication. The spirit of
retaliation can be subtle: expressed in cutting words, cold distance, or the
unspoken hope that someone who hurt us will “get what they deserve.”
The gospel calls us to examine whether we respond to injury with humility or
with spiritual bravado. Do we justify our anger because we were wounded? Do
we exaggerate the wrongs done to us? Do we interpret divine blessings as
entitlement rather than mercy? We are challenged to surrender these impulses
and to walk in the humility that Jesus taught his followers.
The world is filled with voices like Lamech’s: voices that celebrate power,
vengeance, and self-importance. Our mission is to bear witness to a radically
different realm, one that magnifies forgiveness rather than retaliation and
humility rather than pride. As we do so, we offer a counter-narrative to a culture
that often glorifies the very impulses Lamech embodied.
I have not spoken yet about the parable Jesus told following his conversation
with Peter. Let me make a few comments about this parable before I conclude.
The first thing I want to mention is that, unlike other parables where one of the
characters is representative of God, the king in this parable is not really used in
that way. This is important because at the end of the parable the king revokes
his pardon of the debt and sends the debtor to suffer torture. Scripture tells us
that when God forgives, our sins are removed as far as the east is from the west
(Psalm 103:12). When those words were written, the world was understood to
be flat; thus, as far as the east is from the west would be an infinite distance.
When God forgives, there is no dredging up old sins once again; they are gone
forever.
The setting of this parable is the king’s audience chamber, with a king calling in
to settle accounts those slaves entrusted with collecting taxes in certain regions.
This parable is typical Middle Eastern hyperbole, with the amount owed being
ridiculously large. Ten thousand is the largest numeral for which a Greek term
exists, and the Talent is the largest known amount of money. When the two are
combined, the effect is like our “zillions.”
No individual slave, even if they were a high court official, could literally
embezzle such a fabulous sum. A historical sidenote: When the Romans first
occupied Palestine in 63 B.C., they levied on the whole nation an annual tax of
10,000 talents, a sum so enormous, so impossibly burdensome, that Julius
Caesar later reduced it.
The point of such a huge amount in this parable is that the slave had no way to
pay that crushing debt. Therefore, the king ordered that the slave himself,
together with his wife and children, should be sold on the auction block as
slaves, and all his property should be confiscated and liquidated, with the
proceeds to be applied toward the debt. Only a fraction of the debt would be
paid off, but the king’s honour would be satisfied, and other potential embezzlers
would get the warning.
The slave threw himself face down, and begged his master: “Have patience with
me, and I will pay you everything.” His promise is preposterous. He could never
pay off such an enormous debt. Nevertheless, the plea touched his master’s
heart. Moved to pity for him, the king not only released him, rescinding his prior
order, but actually forgave him the entire debt.
This act of mercy is then contrasted with the slave demanding from a fellow
slave repayment of a significantly smaller amount of money. The amount owed
in this circumstance is the equivalent of three months’ pay for a day labourer. In
a gesture that was both mean and ugly, totally at odds with the mercy he had
just experienced, the first slave grabbed his fellow slave by the neck and
demanded, “Pay what you owe.” This scene is full of irony—with nearly identical
gestures and words, the second slave sought the same mercy which the first
had just tasted.
But no mercy is shown, and when word gets back to the king, the mercy
originally shown to the first slave is rescinded. The lesson of this parable for the
followers of Christ can be summed up by saying that those who have been
shown mercy should, in turn, be merciful. Those who have been forgiven
should, in turn, be forgiving. Those who have been shown unconditional love
should, in turn, be loving. To act otherwise would make a mockery of God’s
grace and mercy. Divine generosity is meant to empower humble and mutual
forgiveness. Heaven and earth embrace and are no longer separated by a great
gulf when each one, forgiven by God, forgives the sister or the brother from the
heart.
When we respond to injury with grace, to offence with patience, and to conflict
with prayerful dependence on God’s justice, we demonstrate the beauty of the
gospel. When we join Jesus’ Song of Jubilee, offering radical forgiveness to
those who have wronged us, we bring some harmony into the dissonance of this
chaotic world.
Brothers, sisters, siblings in Christ, let us reject Lamech’s Song of the Sword,
and let us take up the beautiful melody of Christ’s Song of Jubilee. Let us forgive
as we have been forgiven, and let the majesty of that radical act resound in the
heavens and into eternity.
Let us pray:
Gracious and merciful God, we confess that we struggle to forgive those who
have hurt us in some way. Fill us with the grace to forgive others as we have
been forgiven by you.
Amen.

HYMN OF THE DAY – Our Father, We have Wandered (ELW #606)

APOSTLES’ CREED
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead.

On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
A: Reminded of God’s gracious and abundant love, we offer our prayers,
confident that God hears us.
A: God of our church, send forth your Spirit as we pray for our Bishops Larry and
Carla. Empower them with your wisdom to lead the church. We also pray for the
Thames Ministry area, especially Pastor Rob Wiesner and the people of St.
Peter’s Lutheran Church, Brodhagen.
Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: Move your church throughout the world away from judging and despising
others. Lead us to embody the forgiveness you have given us in Jesus. Hear us,
O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: The endless beauty of your creation reminds us of your mercy. Protect
those who care for farms and ranches. Guide those who lead us to wonder
at your creation. Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: Raise up leaders to hold all in authority accountable for any misuse of the
power entrusted to them. Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: Calm the fears of all in need with your promises. Compassionately free the
lives of any who feel bound by their failures. Remember your children in need,
especially Beth, Jean, Kristine, Karen, Emma, Cathy, Lene, Lyra, Bud, Pastor
Bob, Margaret, Johnny, and those others who are in our hearts. Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: Ground this congregation in the welcome you show us in forgiving our sin.
Inspire each of us to to welcome others for your honour and glory. Hear us, O
God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: Merciful God, we pray for peace as war continues in Ukraine and in the
Middle East. Shelter all living in fear; protect those seeking refuge in
neighbouring countries; sustain families separated by the horrors of war;
tend to those who are injured; comfort all who mourn their dead.
Direct your people into the way of peace. Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: With you is found the joy and promise of eternal life. Keep us in that joy as we
remember all those who have gone before us. Hear us, O God.
C: Your mercy is great.

A: Grant the prayers we have offered, what we have forgotten to ask, and
whatever else you see that we need. We ask this in Jesus’ name.
C: Amen.

PEACE
P: The peace of Christ be with you always.
C: And also with you.

LORD’S PRAYER
P: Lord, remember us in your kingdom and teach us to pray.
C: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen.

SENDING

BLESSING
P: The God of love draw you into full accord and one mind, in the body of Christ
Jesus.
C: Amen.

P: The God of hope grant you strength and joy in all circumstances through the
interceding of the Spirit.
C: Amen.

P: The God of grace + bless you now and forever.
C: Amen.

SENDING HYMN – Go, My Children, with My Blessing (ELW #543)

DISMISSAL
A: Go out in joy. Be led forth in peace.
C: Thanks be to God.

DISMISSAL HYMN – The Lord Now Sends Us Forth (ELW #538)
Verse 1
The Lord now sends us forth
with hands to serve and give,
to make of all the earth
a better place to live. Repeat (2X)

Verse 2
The angels are not sent
into our world of pain
to do what we were meant
to do in Jesus' name;
that falls to you and me
and all who are made free.
Help us, O Lord, we pray,
to do your will today. Repeat (2X)