Sunday Worship
Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish, as we celebrate the 175th Anniversary of St Thomas' Church. There is no service at St Agnes' today, as everyone will be attending the 11 am Parish Eucharist at St Thomas'. If you are unable to be with us in person, you will find the Gospel Reading for today, a reflection, and prayers below.
Our first hymn this morning is "O Jesus I have Promised"
Today's Gospel
Matthew 10:40-42 Jesus sends out the Twelve
Jesus said, “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple - truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”
Reflection
This is part of the words of comfort that Jesus gave to disciples as He sent them out into the world to proclaim His Good News, cast out demons and cure the disease and sickness. (see my previous reflection from 18th June).
As He sent them out He deliberately told them to take no food, spare clothes, money or weapons for protection. Even though He warned them that some would persecute them, He deliberately sent them out in a state of vulnerability. So, hardly surprising then that they needed these words of comfort before they embarked on their mission. He also said to them, “ If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave their house or town.” Now contrast that with the opening words from the passage above. ““Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.”
A thought springs to mind. I’m sure many of you will have seen a welcome mat, placed at the entrance to a house. They’re usually made of course material called coir or coconut bristles and have a dual purpose. One to wipe the dirt off your feet and save you walking it all over the house and also to offer a greeting of welcome to visitors.
Our church prides itself on being an inclusive church and we even have ‘meeters and greeters’ to say a friendly hello to people who come to church on a Sunday morning. It is of course important that we make everyone who visits our church welcome and that needs to be more than just a polite hello to a new face. As followers of Jesus we are also called to reach out to people in our community.
Like the first disciples, we too might feel a little uneasy or vulnerable reaching out to relative strangers or people we don’t know as well as we should. This first weekend of July sees our 175th Anniversary Celebrations and many people have gone to a lot of trouble to make it a success. But that begs the question, what does success look like?
When we first discussed this at an open meeting (PCC+), there was a really strong sense that this was to be an event for everyone whether they have ever been to church or not. It is an opportunity to invite different people into our wonderful building not only to see the wonderful architecture or listen to the entertainment, but also perhaps to be touched by The Holy Spirit in some way.
There could be some folk who may be curious about God or church but feel uneasy to come to a formal service or are put off because they haven’t heard about Jesus. But if we just show them they are truly welcome, whoever they are, whatever their background or appearance is, they may just want to know a little more. We ourselves need to be Jesus’ welcome mat because when we never know who that stranger is. We may be missing the chance to welcome an Angel. As Jesus says, “whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones, in the name of a disciple - truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.” If we don’t welcome everyone, they may use the mat to shake the dust off their feet as they leave and not come back! Paul
