Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity. 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 "On a Hill Far Away (The Old Rugged Cross)"
Today's Gospel
John 12:27–36 Jesus Speaks About His Death
“Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say: ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”*
The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. The crowd answered him, “We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?”
Jesus said to them, “The light is in you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.”
Reflection
Today, we are taking a detour from the Gospel of Luke as we celebrate Holy Cross Day.
As you read the passage above, what thoughts go through your head? Perhaps you can try to put yourself in Jesus’s shoes – He knows what destiny lies ahead. That He is going to be killed in Jerusalem. Not only that, He knows what kind of death that is going to be. An excruciatingly tortuous, painful and drawn out death on the Cross.
This takes place at the beginning of Holy Week just after Palm Sunday where He was welcomed with rapture as the Messiah. Therefore, not only is Jesus aware what lies ahead, He also knows that it is imminent.
For an instant, in the opening line, it seems as though Jesus might be having second thoughts – and who wouldn’t? However we need to appreciate that in coming to earth Jesus gave up His divine nature and became one of us, fully human.
As St. Paul tells us – “though he was in the form of God, He did not regard equality with God … but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in human likeness.” [Philippians 2:6–7]
Jesus wasn’t like Superman, a being from another planet who had super powers and was impervious to pain and suffering, He was fully human and as such had emotions and fears, and as we see, He could experience doubt and anxiety and fear.
Yet, despite this momentary doubt, He almost instantly affirms His commitment to meet His destiny. He decides He is not going to be side-tracked from His mission to bring salvation to all who turn to Him.
In this moment of hesitation we see vulnerability in Jesus’ humanity. He is clearly troubled to the core of His soul. So what does He do? He talks to God. He bares His soul and tells God just how anxious He is. Surely, there’s a lesson in this for us. If Jesus needed to turn to the Father in times of need, then we too can do the same when we are faced with difficult challenges or decisions in our lives.
When we make time to share whatever is in our hearts with God, and take our fears and troubles to Him, we are opening our relationship with God to enable a deeper connection and spiritual understanding with Him.
In this story. Jesus reminds us that it’s OK to be frightened or uncertain sometimes – it’s human. Being scared of what lies ahead is not a sign of weakness – it’s human.
But Jesus also shows us that we sometimes need to stand back from our worries and look at the bigger picture. Picking up our own cross sometimes means taking the option that isn’t the most obvious and may cause us some short term pain.
Talking with God also means listening to what He wants us to do. When Jesus reflected on what lay ahead, He could see that in God’s greater plan, His personal suffering on the Cross was the only way that our sins could be atoned for. Putting aside His fears, Jesus could see that what He was being asked to do as part of God’s plan was essential for humanity.
In this vulnerable moment, Jesus battled with His human emotions and anxiety and chose to trust in God - to submit to God’s will and his plan and to put His misgivings aside for the greater good. That is the essence of true faith – when we allow ourselves to put others first even if it causes us personal grief then we too can demonstrate that we are willing to pick up the cross.
As we navigate the winding journey and the ups and downs of our lives, let us look at this powerful example of how Jesus faced into His fears. Let His example of faith give us hope and assurance that we too can lean on God to point us in the right direction. Paul
Our Prayers
Father God ,
We ask you to let us see the light of your son Jesus.
That we may be led by His most precious light
Out of darkness and into the ways of
goodness and righteousness
So that we may become children of light.
Amen
Today's final hymn is "What a Friend we Have in Jesus"
Notices
Special Notice – For anyone who wasn’t in church last Sunday to hear the announcement, we are pleased to say that we will have a Curate in Charge before Advent this year.
Revd Kirsten Stott is coming to us from St Luke’s Heywood and St John’s Hopwood, and will be serving the remainder of her curacy at St John’s Hey and Leesfield under the supervision of her Training Priest, Revd Kirsty Screeton.
When Kirsten’s training is complete, expected during Spring 2026, the Bishop will formally ‘sign off’ her Curacy, and she will then be able to apply for the role of Incumbent.
If we, St John’s and Kirsten are all happy to proceed at that time, there will be a formal interview for the role of Incumbent of both parishes, and if successful, Kirsten would then become our Vicar.
With only one ordained priest across the two parishes, three churches and four schools, there will, inevitably, be some alterations to worship patterns in both Leesfield and St John’s. We are currently working with St John’s, with guidance from Area Dean Daniel and Archdeacon Karen, on what this might look like.
Please hold Revd Kirsten and both parishes in your prayers as we jointly discern how best to serve God and our communities over the coming years.
