Every Sunday we hear four readings from the Bible. One is from the Old Testament and follows the story of God and people to whom God declared, "I will be your God and you will be my people." The second reading is from the New Testament and is the story of those people whom Jesus Christ called into fellowship as the church. Between these two we sing a psalm, one of the hymns of Jewish Temple worship. The psalm is, of course, from the Bible. Finally we hear from the Gospels, which are the stories of the good news of Jesus Christ. All these readings, these stories, these songs are part of the great love story of the Bible, the story of the love between God and God's people.

Today the stories are about brothers and sisters, strangers and friends, foreign lands and our own country. The story of Joseph and his brothers begins when his jealous brothers sell him into slavery in Egypt. In Egypt, Joseph becomes the Prime Minister, so that when his brothers come to Egypt to buy grain during the famine, Joseph has great power over them. He could have treated them harshly and sent them away. He had the power to sell them into slavery just as they had sold him. Instead Joseph saw that God was at work in all that had happened. "God sent me before you to preserve you." he told his brothers. Joseph saw the evil deeds of his brothers turned to good, by God, so that their lives could be saved and that there would be a reconciliation between them.

The psalm we sang is a little chorus to the story. In the reconciliation of Joseph and his brothers and wherever kindred live together in unity, there God gives blessing and life for evermore. The story of Joseph has a happy ending - the family comes together again and they prosper and live in peace.

When we look at the other two readings, one from St Paul and one from the Gospel of Matthew, we find that God has taken his people one step further. In the Old Testament God taught his people to love their brothers and sisters, however, in the New Testament, God teaches his people to ask themselves a new question; "Who are my brothers and sisters?"

The story of the Good Samaritan is one answer to that question. Today's Gospel is another answer. The disciples and even Jesus himself seem to be treating the Canaanite woman as if she was not their sister; the disciples tried to drive her away and Jesus ignored her; in fact he even compared her to a dog! But by the end of the story she was seen differently. She, like the disciples, is one who has been called by God into the fellowship of faith. Her faith makes her a sister of Jesus and the disciples - she is reconciled to them and God's blessing follows - her daughter is healed instantly.

St Paul is writing about the same thing to the people of Rome. In Rome there were a large number of Jews. Some of these became Christians, just as many of the non-Jewish citizens of Rome. This produced problems because the various groups grew jealous of each other. Each group was inclined to think that they had all the right answers and that their particular group was the true church. St Paul compares God's kingdom to an olive tree. Paul did not invent the picture, it comes from the Old Testament where Abraham is seen as the trunk of the tree and his descendents as the branches. Some branches have been broken off, that is, some people have forgotten what it means to be part of the Kingdom of God. In Paul's eyes, these would be the Roman Jews who did not become Christians. Other branches have been grafted in - and these are the non-Jewish citizens who have become Christians.

Paul reminds them all that the tree belongs to God and is God's creation. No one should boast about being part of the tree, because it is God who gives the tree its growth. It is possible for all people to be part of the tree, Jews or Gentiles, slaves or free, man and women, and one part of the tree should not despise another part.

Once more I find myself thinking how appropriate St Luke's mission statement is. When we share God's unconditional love and acceptance of all people, we are doing exactly what God was working towards in the story of Joseph and his brothers. It reminds us that the people with whom we share God's love may have treated us badly or rejected us. They are our brothers and sisters nevertheless, and God's blessing flow when we live with them in unity.

The gospel reminds us that the people with whom we seek to share God's love may be people we would not normally associate with. Perhaps they are the noisy and the rude, the arrogant and the disruptive, the ratbags who scratch down the side of our new car with a sharp key. We might call them dogs, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the table.

The letter of Paul reminds us that people of other religious beliefs are also our brothers and sisters. They are all branches of the same tree and can be respected because of that. They may be convinced that they are right and we may be convinced that they are wrong, but God is at work in all. Who knows, it may be through them that God is preparing a blessing for us.

Let us pray then, that we, recognising all people as brothers and sisters, may learn to respect and love them, and share the love of God with them.

How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity.