Sunday Worship
Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Fourth Sunday of Advent. Our Church Services this morning are at the usual times of 9.15 at St Agnes' and 11.00 at St Thomas'.
If you are unable to be with us in person, you will find resources below to worship at home.
Our first hymn this morning is "How Far is it to Bethlehem"
Today's Gospel
Luke 1:39-45(46-55) Mary visits Elizabeth
In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord."
[And Mary said,
"My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever."]
Reflection
Last week I talked a lot about joy and this week we continue that theme as we wait impatiently for the imminent coming of Jesus.
In the gospel, we hear first of Elizabeth’s joy. She is overjoyed because she was very old and despite being righteous in God’s eyes, she had remained childless. This was deemed to be shameful in the Jewish culture if the time – yet, now in her old age, she was miraculously, by God’s grace, expecting a child.
Mary, having been told by the Angel Gabriel that her relative Elizabeth was pregnant, decides without hesitation to go and visit her.
Despite her teenage youth, the dangers of travel and the distance, (some four days away), Mary had no hesitation in setting off to visit Elizabeth to share in her joy and help in the last months of her pregnancy.
When Mary greets Elizabeth, Luke tells us that the baby in her womb, who is John the Baptist, also leapt for joy as well.
Luke then says that Elizabeth, filled with Holy Spirit, also becomes aware that Mary is with child and moreover, recognises that Mary is not carrying just any child - she is carrying the Holy Son of God.
Elizabeth is filled with awe and joy as she realises how blessed they both are. Mary’s response is the wonderful rejoicing in the words of her song which we now use as the Gospel Canticle or Magnificat.
There is so much joy as together, both women recognise this tremendous honour and rejoice at the role they have been given to play in God’s plan. It’s probably one of the most touching scenes in Luke’s gospel.
Their story is also significant in testifying to the unwavering faith that both women had in God. Both of them had reason to be totally fearful of the people in their society. Elizabeth an aged yet childless woman suddenly becoming pregnant would have been subject to scorn and suspicion. Mary, a very young teenager who was unmarried and pregnant would have been disgraced, accused of adultery and could even have been stoned.
But instead, what we see in them is absolute faith and trust in God and what he calls them to do. A faith that doesn’t fill them with despair, but leaves them overflowing with joy and thanksgiving.
In our lives, we too may be called to make sacrifices or do things that we are not comfortable with for the sake of our faith. Albeit, that might be relatively small things, but you never know if some of us may be called upon put ourselves in harm’s way or risk persecution as we stand up for what we believe in. I would like to hope that we would show the same level of strength and joy as Mary and Elizabeth as we face whatever lies ahead.
Paul
Our Prayers
Heavenly Father,
You sent your servant Mary with our Lord Jesus,
and filled Elizabeth with your Spirit so that she could recognise who He was.
Help us to open our eyes and recognise where you are at work in the world and in our lives,
and rejoice with praise at your presence every day.
Amen
Today's final hymn is "Tell Out My Soul"
Notices
Tuesday is Christmas Eve, and we have our lovely Nativity and Crib Service with Sunday School at St Thomas’ at 5 pm. Everyone is invited to come and join us.
Then at 11.30 pm we celebrate the First Communion of Christmas at St Thomas’. This service will be led by Archdeacon Karen Smeeton, who many of you will remember as a young curate in our parish in the early 2000s.
Our Christmas Morning Eucharist is at St Agnes’ at 9.15 am. Anyone who wishes to attend this service but would struggle to get there please let us know and we can arrange a lift for you.
There will be no Tuesday morning service of Holy Communion or Worship for all Generations this week or next, and on Sunday the 29th December there will be a Parish Eucharist at St Thomas’ at 11 am, with no service at St Agnes’ on that day.
For all attending services at St Thomas’ Church, please wrap up warmly because the main heating system has failed. For smaller services we will worship in the Community Room as we do on Tuesday mornings, because that space is on a separate heating system.
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from everyone in Leesfield Parish,
