Sunday Worship
Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the First Sunday of Advent. Our Church Services this morning are at 9.15 am at St Agnes' and 11.00 am at St Thomas'.
If you are unable to be with us in person, you will find resources below to worsip at home.
Our first hymn this morning is "Long Ago, Prophets Knew"
Today's Gospel
Matthew 24:36-44 The Need for Watchfulness
Jesus said to the disciples, “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man.
Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”
Reflection
It's the start of a new church year as we enter the season of Advent.
It’s also a time for preparation and looking forward to the coming of Jesus, the Son of Man. In his book, ‘An Advent Manifesto’, Martyn Percy describes it as follows, “at first glance it is a seemingly inauspicious event – a child conceived out of wedlock to a teenage young woman, born in a room shared with livestock”.
But as we know this was no ordinary child, he was the incarnation of God, in the human form of Jesus, the Messiah. As we prepare to celebrate Jesus’ birth we are also called to prepare for Jesus’ second coming which he refers to in this passage from Matthew’s gospel.
Advent is a season of prayer, reflection and penitence. It is common to wish someone ‘many happy returns’ on their birthday, and as well as reflecting on the return of Jesus it is a time for each of us to return to Jesus and commit ourselves to living lives where Jesus plays a central part.
The boy scout motto is ‘be prepared’ and that is exactly the message that Jesus gives us – be prepared. Many of you will be preparing for Christmas by shopping, buying presents, decorating and putting up tinsel and lights. Indeed yesterday a group of people spent most of the day decorating the church with trees and baubles and other trimmings.
Some of you will be well-organised and may have already started planning and doing things, and others will leave it to the last minute - wrapped up in work and busyness. But the thing is, because you know exactly when Christmas happens you will make preparation so that all goes as well as it can.
But the preparation we need to do for Jesus’ return is not that easy. The point is, we know that Jesus will return because he has promised us that he will come again in power and glory to restore God’s kingdom - but we don’t have any idea when that will be. Or how it will happen. No one does apart from God our Father.
Jesus is not going to send a WhatsApp or Zoom invitation to put in our digital calendar so we can start living our lives better. Quite the opposite, it will be sudden and unexpected. So how can we possibly be prepared?
Being prepared involves constant vigilance and reflecting about at how we live our lives now. How do we relate to God who loves us so much he gave his only Son to become human and live amongst us and to die for us on the Cross.
Being prepared involves us thinking more about God and his love for us and sharing that love with one another, following the example that Jesus set for us. Jesus told us how to live and look after one another and how important it is to give thanks to God. If we do that then the very way we live our lives will be preparation for his coming again.
Maybe we should ask ourselves this question, ‘If Jesus returned tomorrow how prepared would we be?’
Where did I spend quality time with God, praying and talking to him? Thanking God and reaching out for the guidance of the Holy Spirit to show me how to be a better person.
It is striking that in the scenarios Jesus uses, he describes everyday situations. When he cites to story of Noah in Genesis, he talks about people going about their everyday lives, eating and drinking and getting married. They are consumed by the busyness of their lives but they have no time for God.
When he gives examples of the two people in field and the two people grinding meal, he is describing everyday folk going about their lives. It is not a sin to work or go about our lives, but if we are to be prepared we must go about our business in the way that Jesus showed us. We need to live our lives with generosity and kindness, welcoming the stranger and the outcast. Showing compassion and love, helping to build God’s kingdom here on earth in anticipation of Jesus’ return.
On my phone I get a message every week which tells me how much time I’ve spent on my phone, talking, messaging, screentime etc. I wonder what picture a similar app would paint about how much time we spend living our lives in a way that prepares us for Jesus’ return?
Advent is a time for reflection and repentance but it’s not about beating ourselves up; it’s about looking at ourselves framed in the context of the unlimited mercy and love of God. To quote Martyn Percy again, “God’s love arrived in the person of Jesus Christ, unmerited and unbidden – so our love for ‘others’ must be unbidden too, especially the least in our world. We love because God loved us first."
Our preparation for Jesus’ second coming needs to be no more and no less than living our lives as he showed us. Paul
