Sunday Worship 25th January

 Sunday Worship

Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Third Sunday of Epiphany. Our Church Services this morning are at the usual times of 9.15 at St Agnes' and 11.15 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 "Great is Thy Faithfulness"

Today's Bible Reading

Acts 9:1-22         The Conversion of Saul

Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.  Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” He asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” 

The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one. Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.  For three days he was without sight and neither ate nor drank.

Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” He answered, “Here I am, Lord.” The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” 

But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem,  and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptised, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus, and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” All who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem among those who invoked this name? And has he not come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?” Saul became increasingly more powerful and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Messiah. 

Reflection

A long scripture passage today and one that comes around frequently in the cycle of bible readings. It tells of the story of the conversion of Saul which we recount this week. Saul, later known as Paul, wrote many of the letters contained in the New Testament and was we might nowadays call ‘a wrong un’ . Well certainly up north anyway! 

He was despised and feared by the new Christian movement, (referred to as The Way, in verse 2 above), because he enjoyed persecuting them. He asked for permission from the High Priests to hunt them down and bring them back bound, to stand before the priests and Pharisees for their blasphemy. 

But, in this short reflection, I want, for a change, to spend a few moments reflecting on Ananias the faithful Christian, who also has a key role to play but who is often overlooked. 

The Lord comes to Ananias in a vision and asks him to go to seek out Saul in the house of Judas, and furthermore to heal him of his blindness. Ananias’ first reaction is one of shock, and horror. He has heard how terrible Saul has been and that he is in the region right now on a mission to gather up people like him and punish them. Imagine what your reaction might be. 

It is likely that the Christians were in hiding keeping well away from Saul, so the thought of going to visit him would be like asking him to volunteer to put himself in grave danger. Maybe, for a moment, he has doubts about following Jesus - why would he be asked to do such a thing? He is so dubious, that he even challenges the Lord, as good as saying, “you cannot be serious!”

The response he gets is, “I have chosen Saul to be my instrument …… I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name”. [v16]. Despite his fears and reservations, Ananias immediately puts his apprehension aside and obeys the Lord, seeking Saul and healing him. We don’t even know if Ananias was a healer, all we are told is that he was a disciple of Jesus. I think it is fair to say that his faith was strong and he believed he would be safe, and also that the Lord would give him the power to do whatever he was asked to.   

As disciples of Christ, how far would we be willing to go to follow Him? Would we befriend someone who was an ex-convict or someone whom other people despised for some reason? Do we just want to love those we find acceptable or are we willing to face those we don’t relate to. Like Ananias, we need to have faith in Jesus that He will give us the power we need to do His will and bring the kingdom of God into our whole community. 

    Paul 

Our Prayers

Loving Father,

You call  us to play our part

in bringing your kingdom here on earth.

Give us the faith and confidence to do so

with love, compassion and impartiality.

Keep us safe and help us to do your will,

knowing you will give us the power we need.

In Jesus name we pray.     

Amen

Today's final hymn is "Give me Joy in my Heart"

Sunday Worship 18th January

 Sunday Worship

Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Second Sunday after Epiphany. 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 "All People that on Earth do Dwell"

Today's Gospel

John 1:29-42 The First Disciples of Jesus

John saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him; but I came baptising with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptise with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed). He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

Reflection

Let’s start with a quiz question. 

What are the first words that Jesus says in the Gospel according to John?

We see them in today’s passage in John 1: verses 38 and 39. 

“What are you looking for?” They said to Him,  “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” 

Of course these aren’t the first  words Jesus said, and we know from the other Gospels that Jesus knew John Baptist beforehand. Indeed, this passage opens with the story of John the Baptist baptising  Jesus in the River Jordan. His testimony about the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus from heaven and remaining with Him. John’s testimony that Jesus is the true Messiah. 

This is a moment of recognition and transition as John points towards Jesus as the true Son of God. Up until now it has been John who had a huge following, and people were coming from hundreds of miles to be baptised in the Jordan to be John’s disciples. Some thought he was a prophet and some also believed that John was the Messiah.

But now John is fulfilling his role and pointing people towards Jesus when he says “There goes the Lamb of God”. And the following day he repeats the same words in front of his own disciples. John is acknowledging that his role is complete and that he has achieved his purpose in paving the way for Jesus. He is not resentful or jealous, he is full of joy. In John 3:30 he speaks of that joy and how he must become less and allow Jesus to become greater. And so he is pointing own disciples and others towards Jesus.

Now we turn again to Jesus’ words when John’s disciples went to him and asked where he was staying.  Jesus responds, “Come and see.”  This not a command or an instruction, it’s an invitation.  In my mind, I imagine Him saying it quietly, almost in a whisper. 

But it’s not just an invitation to come and see where Jesus is staying, it’s a welcome to be with Jesus, to follow Him as his very first disciples. It’s a loving response to the desire of the two to want to be with Jesus and to follow Him willingly. Andrew and his friend believe the wonderful testimony of John and yearn to follow the anointed one – ‘Lamb of God’.

Jesus’ first question isn’t “Who do you want?”  but, “What do you want?” 

They don’t just want to meet Jesus, they want to be with Him. They want a relationship with Him, to follow Him and devote themselves to Him. They want to become his first disciples. And Andrew’s experience is so overwhelming that he wants to share it with others; he goes away and invites his brother, Simon Peter who will become known as the ‘rock of the church’. 

 

They want to remain with Jesus and abide with Him. They answered Jesus’ quiet invitation to be with Him and had courage to believe in Him. We too are invited to come and see and meet Jesus, and we are asked to courageously put our trust and faith in Him. 

We are invited by those who point to Him and have experienced the love of Jesus for themselves - and we are personally invited by Jesus Himself to open our hearts and ‘come and see’ for ourselves.

Like his first disciples, Jesus invites us to ‘come and see’ and also abide with Him, uniting us with the same Spirit that anointed and remained with him.

Paul 

Our Prayers

Heavenly Father,

We thank you for the testimony of John the Baptist,

and all those who came after him

who point us towards Jesus the Lamb of God.

We pray that we may willingly respond to Jesus’ gracious invitation,

to follow Him and commit ourselves to Him, 

to  abide with Him and witness your glory

in our lives.

Amen

Today's final hymn is "Will You Come and Follow Me"

Notices

The Ladies of Leesfield monthly meeting is on Tuesday 20th January at 2 pm in St Thomas’ Community Room. All are most welcome to join us for companionship and refreshments.

The Week of Christian Unity starts today, and runs until Sunday 25th January, and Churches Together in Lees and District will be celebrating with a special service at 3 pm at Springhead Congregational Church on the 25th.

 

Sunday Worship 11th January

 Sunday Worship

Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the First Sunday after Epiphany, when we celebrate the Baptism of Christ.

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 "As We are Gathered, Jesus is Here"

Today's Gospel

Matthew 3:13-17         Baptism of our Lord

Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptised by him. 

John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptised by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness.” 

Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptised, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 

And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

Reflection

I love this story about the baptism of Jesus and I usually reflect quite a lot about how wonderful and special that moment is when God speaks from heaven and says, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

But for a change, I thought I would reflect a little on the way Jesus focus on righteousness and also what baptism meant at that time.

When we think of baptism as we know it in our church today, we see it as a way of welcoming new people into the church and faith. The candidates confirm their faith and belief in God the Father, Jesus his son and the Holy Spirit, (The Holy Trinity), and at the baptism of Jesus we witness the presence of the Holy Trinity at the river Jordan. 

Another important part of the sacrament is that candidates are required to renounce evil, the devil and all his works, and we are reminded that immediately after his baptism, Jesus went into the wilderness where he was confronted by Satan and his temptations.

But you might wonder what baptism was about before Jesus. Did baptism exist for the Jews? 

Well, sort of, but not in the way we would recognise it. It was more a form of cleansing and purification. The Hebrews going back to the times of Moses had many cleansing rituals they were required to perform if they had become unclean by touching bodily fluids or diseased people and priests were required to wash before performing Temple duties. There is also the example of Elisha requiring Naaman to bathe seven times in the river Jordan to be spiritually cleansed and cured of his leprosy. Clearly this wasn’t anything like the baptism we would recognise ; it was more of a ritual ceremony and, unlike today, it was done more than once. 

A key change in the practice of baptism came when John the Baptist emerged in the Judean wilderness, calling people to confession and immersion in the Jordan River. He preached “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” and he elevated ritual washing from a repeated cleansing ceremony into a unique, one-time sign of authentic repentance and preparation for the coming of Jesus.

John’s baptism built on the Jewish cleansing rituals and established a practice that implied deeper implications of moral reform and expectation of God’s coming kingdom [Matthew 3:2]. 

In that context, the baptism of Jesus surely presents us with a conundrum. If John was drawing huge crowds of people preaching the need for confession, repentance and baptism as a means of forgiveness and preparation for the kingdom of God – Why did Jesus who had nothing to repent for or to be forgiven for, need to be baptised?

Try to picture that moment when Jesus arrives on the scene, steps out of the vast crowds and enters the river Jordan. As he wades and splashes his way through the water to his cousin, John is similarly confused by this jaw dropping and bewildering turn of events. 

John has been aware who Jesus was from the moment Mary visited Elizabeth when both Jesus and John were still in their mothers’ wombs, and so he challenges Jesus, and asks for Jesus to baptise him instead, 

But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness.” 

In Matthew’s gospel these are the first words spoken by Jesus, and it might at first sound like Jesus just telling John to get on with it!  But it is profoundly more significant because by using the words ‘it is proper for us’, he is not only affirming the ministry of John, he is saying that it is God’s will. 

Righteousness is all about doing God’s will – and in complying with this strange request for role reversal and baptising Jesus, John is also fulfilling God’s will, enabling Jesus to receive the anointing of the Holy Spirit and God’s word-from-on-high announcing Jesus as the Son of God. 

In doing so he allows Jesus to humble himself and be with the people he has come to save. Jesus wants to lead by example and help them learn what God wants them to do, and he will do this through tolerance, understanding and love. 

When we see how God expresses his love for his son, we should remember that we are also children of God and he loves all of us for who we are. God wants the best for us, and to be the best we can be and we can do this by following Jesus and John in their example of obedience and righteousness.           Paul

Our Prayers

Heavenly Father,

We thank you that through the sacrament of baptism,

you adopt us as your beloved children.

Thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide us in the ways of righteousness.

We remember that through Jesus, we are accepted and cherished. 

Help us to embrace our identity as Your children 

and to live in a way that reflects Your love and grace

and help us to share Your love with others. 

Amen

Today's final hymn is "Hail to the Lord's Anointed"

Sunday Worship 4th January

 Sunday Worship

Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish as we celebrate Epiphany. Our Church Services this morning are at the usual times of 9.15 am at St Agnes' and 11.15 am 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 today is "Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning"

Today's Gospel

Matthew 2:1-12            The Magi Visit the Messiah

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

 are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for out of you will come a ruler

who will shepherd my people Israel."

Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. 

Reflection

This is one of those weeks when the lectionary, (which sets out what readings the church uses each week), seems to get things in the wrong order. Last week we read Matthew 2: 13 onwards and this week we have jumped back to Matthew 2: 1-12. So if you are a little confused by the chronological order of events don’t worry – just think of last week as a trailer for the next episode in the wonderful story of the nativity. An episode that sets the scene for the type of society and world that Jesus was born into.

 

As we look at today’s passage, a good place to start might be to ask who the Magi were. How many of them were there?

We might think we know from the words of the Christmas carol, “We Three Kings”, but the number is not disclosed in any of the Gospels. Many think that because there is mention of gold, frankincense and myrrh it is reasonable to assume there were three but each of them might have brought more than one gift to pay homage to the foretold King of the Jews. 

So in reality we don’t exactly know how many there were. We can reasonably assume that they were men of great status and learning and probably at least one of them studied astronomy or an ancient form of astrology. It is also likely that they had a good knowledge of Hebrew scripture and teachings. They clearly talk about their quest to seek the King of the Jews which indicates a knowledge of Jewish scripture and the promise of a Jewish Messiah.

They are believed to have come from the regions of Persia and Babylon and were obviously wealthy and very important people in their own right, albeit probably not royalty or kings.

Yet despite all their status and comfortable standard of living they embarked on a long journey of around nine hundred and fifty miles to travel to Jerusalem. When I reflect on this, it’s quite incredible – these well to do ‘wise men’ are willing to risk their lives to set off and seek a new born Jewish King. 

It is also likely that they would not have set off on such a harsh and potentially perilous journey on their own. Like the picture above, they would have embarked on the long trek with a caravan or entourage of people. Their arrival would therefore have been a big deal and caused a buzz in and around Jerusalem, which inevitably gave rise to Herod’s interest and concern, especially given what the Magi had sacrificed to make the journey. 

Now comes the interesting part, having listened to the tale of their mission, Herod turned to another group of wise men – his own wise men – the chief priests and lawyers who interpret the scriptures and quote the prophet Micah, [Michah 5:2], “But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.”

Why do I find this interesting? Because here we now have two sets of learned and ‘wise’ men who seem agree that the ‘King of the Jews’ may have been born - One group, from far away, is willing to leave everything behind and risk their lives to seek the new Messiah, yet the others chose to do nothing about it. There doesn’t appear to be a shred of excitement or joy from them. If you were a Chief Priest, wouldn’t you have been running around throwing some clothes in a bag and asking if you could join in the search? I most certainly would! 

As we discussed last week, Herod was fearful that a new king may challenge his power, but for the Priests to be so passive about news that the long awaited Messiah is born, seems to me to be totally unfathomable. 

Jesus says, “Seek and you shall find”. [Matthew 7]. As we await the second coming of Jesus, are we waiting passively and doing nothing, or are we wiser like the Magi, filled with daily joy and excitement and doing something in our lives to actively seek Jesus? Are we listening to the Good News, and as well as knowing about Jesus, are we doing something about it? Are we acknowledging God and giving thanks for his Son, who he sent to save us all and offer salvation for all of us. Are we giving up our time, energy and love to serve one another and be influenced by Jesus as we seek his coming again? Paul

Our Prayers

Loving Father, 

The Magi gave gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh,

we thank you for the greatest gift of all, your Son Jesus Christ.

Let us see his presence in the world, amidst both joy and hardship.

Lead us by the star before us, move us to love you as you love us.

Guide us by the Holy Spirit to seek and follow Jesus Christ,

Our Lord and Redeemer.

Amen

This morning's final hymn is "O Worship the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness"