Parish of Leesfield: Sunday Worship 11th October

Sunday Worship

Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity, which is also our Parish Harvest Festival.

This morning there will be only one service in the parish, at 11.15 am at St Thomas' Church, and there will be no service at St Agnes'. The service will be followed by a 'Bring and Share Lunch', to which everyone is invited, whether you are able to bring anything or not - there is always an abundance of food!

We will also be most grateful for donations of non-perishable food items to share with the local community through Oldham Foodbank.

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 "Morning Has Broken"

Today's Gospel

Luke 12:16-30 The Parable of the Rich Fool

Then he told them a parable: ‘The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, “What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?” Then he said, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God.’

He said to his disciples, ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them.

Reflection

In our reading today Jesus told a story about a rich man who owned land. The land grew lots of food crops and one year, the man’s harvest was bigger than ever before.

He had more food than he knew what to do with. He had so much food that it wouldn’t fit inside the barns on his farm. The man had to choose what to do with all those crops and all that food.

What he chose to do was to build even bigger barns and to keep all the food for himself, just in case.

Jesus’ story tells us that there are a few problems here.

Firstly, the rich man didn’t recognise that he already had more than enough, more than he needed. Indeed far more than he needed. He already had enough food to fill his barns to overflowing.

Secondly, the rich man focused only on himself; he didn’t think about other people.

And third, he forgot what it means to be really ‘rich’.

The rich man held on tight to what he had and by doing that he missed out on the chance to share with his neighbours. He missed out on the chance to see what sharing could do, the change and growth it could bring for his community. He failed to recognise the benefits and joys of giving - As Paul tells us that God loves a cheerful giver, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. [2 Corinthians 9].

When we share and help one another, that’s when we find real riches. Jesus tells us not to ‘store up treasures’ for ourselves but to be ‘rich towards God’.

But what does that mean? How do we do that? We do that by listening to God’s word and by being generous, loving, and open-hearted with one another.

Elsewhere in the Bible, Jesus says that everyone will know who his followers are by the love we show one another. That is what marks us out as Jesus’ disciples. We are ‘rich towards God’ when we follow God’s commandments to love God and to love each other.

We often think we don’t have enough, and sadly for some that is true. But as we celebrate harvest season, perhaps we need to challenge ourselves and think about whether instead we have more than enough, more than we need.

Perhaps also challenge what we do with our money, do we really need that big car that costs a fortune in fuel and insurance? Do we need so many TV channels when we have so much else to do in our lives? And do we need to stockpile things just in case we might need them?

What are we doing with the surplus, with the extra? Are we building bigger barns, holding on to things tightly, and keeping what we have to ourselves? Do we end up throwing food away as waste?

What could we do differently?

One step might be sharing our food [as we are doing through all the wonderful harvest offering which people donated at our Harvest Festival this week]. These gifts will be taken to Oldham Foodbank. Or it could be donating toys or clothes, sharing our time by, and love by, seeking out someone who needs support and kindness.

Or it could be by helping someone we don’t even know by making a donation to people across the world who really know what it’s like to have no food and who suffer malnutrition. If you wish to you can share your love and hope with our global neighbours by making an online donation to Christian Aid at caid.org.uk/harvest .

As we celebrate Harvest today, and as we celebrate the bounty of God’s gifts and his grace, let’s remember those who do have so much less - and consider what we can do to be ‘rich towards God’ and one another. And let us give thanks for the gifts that have been donated today for families in need in our community, including those in and around our churches. Rev. Paul

Our Prayers

Heavenly Father and maker of all things,

We give thanks for your creation and all the things you provide.

We pray for those who are not so fortunate,

that we may recognise what we have,

and ungrudgingly share what we have with generosity and love.

And pray that as caring stewards, we may respect your creation

enabling the harvests of future generations.

Amen

Today's final hymn is "All Thing Bright and Beautiful"