Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Twentieth Sunday after Trinity. Our Church Services today are at the usual times of 9.15 am at St Agnes' and 11 am at St Thomas'. If you are unable to be with us in person, you'll find resources below to worship at home.
Our first hymn this morning is "As the Deer Pants for the Water"
Today's Gospel
Mark 10:17-31The Rich Young Man
As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.’” He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” They were greatly astounded and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”
Peter began to say to him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
Reflection
Mark’s gospel passage today contains probably one of the most challenging stories told by Jesus in the whole of his teachings.
We have the challenging and absurd metaphor of a camel passing through the eye of a needle. This of course is an exaggerated metaphor that highlights the impossible situation of rich people trying to get into heaven.
Moreover, it is challenging in respect of what Jesus appears to be suggesting, and to appreciate the true magnitude of what Jesus said we need to also understand the teaching of the rabbis in the synagogues at that time. To be wealthy and prosperous was seen a s sign of God’s approval. Rich people were seen as blessed by God and it followed that they were more likely to go to heaven.
In that context, what Jesus was proposing was even more radical and disturbing, especially to the rich religious leaders. Jesus turned that whole concept of the wealthy being more deserving upside down along with the notion that one could earn or buy his way to eternal life through amassing wealth.
Jesus was showing us that it’s not about how much we have, but about what we do with what we have.
It’s about how we live our lives here on earth and what we are doing to bring God’s kingdom here on earth ‘as it is in heaven’.
At the beginning of the book of Acts, Paul wrote about, ‘how all who believed were together and had all things in common, they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all as any had need’ [Acts 2:44-45].
No matter how we look at this, the message still seems hard to swallow when we live in a materialistic society that believes, like the first century rabbis, that money and possessions are good and desirable in their own right. In our world today we have examples of important leaders who have so much yet are not satisfied and want something that someone else has. World leaders that covet their neighbours’ land and go to war to possess it, or the richest man on earth who wants to control the world’s social media and dominate outer space.
I would question how happy these people really are – the richest man on earth is maybe the poorest man on earth because he is never satisfied and longs for what he doesn’t have. Like the rich man in Matthew 10, he still yearns for what he doesn’t have when he asks Jesus what he needs to do to gain eternal life.
However, if we look a little closer at Jesus and his followers and the reading from Acts, we can see that they were not destitute and starving. Rather the message is more about generosity and sharing. They held things in common and looked after one another and people around them, and fed and clothed them.
I was listening earlier to Steve Moyse, a professor of the New Testament and theologian. He readily admitted that he felt he could never give up everything he has or sell his house and make his family homeless. He argues that we don’t necessarily have to give our last penny to the poor, but we do have consider how generous we are and how we might respond to Jesus’ call to help one another. Like many virtues, generosity takes practice, whether that’s giving to charities or directly to those we know who are struggling. The more we do it better we become at it.
When Christmas comes along we can all experience the joy of giving, but we maybe have to practice this a lot more than at Christmas. As Jesus said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ [Acts 20:35]
Paul
Our Prayers
Heavenly Father,
Thank you that you love each and every one of us,
And that you made the ultimate sacrifice for our sins.
Show us the way to live more generously and to care for one another, even when that means making sacrifices in our own lives.
Amen
Today's final hymn is "Give Thanks, With a Grateful Heart"
Notices
Next Sunday’s services are at the usual times of 9.15 am at St Agnes’ and 11 am at St Thomas’. The Tuesday morning Service of Holy Communion is at 10 am at St Thomas’, and Worship for all Generations is at 6.30 pm on Tuesday and Wednesday at St Agnes’.
Everyone of all ages is warmly invited to tomorrow’s PCC PLUS – ECO CHURCH at 7 pm at St Thomas’. Caring for God’s creation here in our parish is something which we can all play a part in, whether our role is preaching or teaching, caring for our buildings or churchyards, planning social events, or influencing our friends, families and the whole community. Please do come along and join us – it will be really informal, and there will be cake!
The Ladies of Leesfield meet in St Thomas’ Community Room at 2 pm on Tuesday – everyone is most welcome, even if you’re not a lady, and not from Leesfield.
Welcome to our Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the 19th Sunday after Trinity, and our Harvest Festival. Today we have just one service in the parish - 11 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 this morning is "We Plough the Fields and Scatter"
Today's Bible Reading
Joel 2:21-27 God’s Response and Promise
Be not afraid, O land; be glad and rejoice. Surely the LORD has done great things. Be not afraid, O wild animals, for the open pastures are becoming green. The trees are bearing their fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield their riches.
Be glad, O people of Zion, rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given you the autumn rains in righteousness. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before. The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil. 'I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten-- the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm -- my great army that I sent among you.
You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed. Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the LORD your God, and that there is no other; never again will my people be shamed.
Reflection
Today in our church we celebrate Harvest Sunday which comes at the end of ‘Creationtide’. For those who may not have heard the term before, Creationtide is a season of worship in the in the annual church calendar, from 1st September to 4th October, dedicated to God as Sustainer and Creator of all Life.
Rather than the standard Gospel passage, [Matthew 6:25-33], I’ve chosen the passage from the less familiar book of Joel. In it we are reminded just how much God provides for us and how fortunate we are.
Harvest also falls in the church season of ‘Ordinary Time' and the colour associated with this is green. It’s a colour associated with ecology and the environment and also a reminder of the green open pastures we can see around us in this wonderful part of the world where we live. [Joel 2:22].
Considering we’ve had the wettest spring and September on record, I smiled a little when I read verse 23, “He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains”.
Yet, perhaps there is an irony in this: Harvest is also a time when we are solemnly reminded that we have an obligation to take care of all the good things that God has provided for us. Right from the beginning of creation, in the garden of Eden, Adam was given the responsibility to look after and till the land.
In recent weeks we have seen floods across Europe, in the UK and America with unprecedented storms wreaking havoc and destruction. During the summer there were heatwaves causing people to die from exhaustion caused by the impact of what most scientists now agree is the consequence of our pollution over the last couple of centuries.
We no longer refer to this as ‘global warming’, because we recognise the situation for what it really is, ‘a global climate disaster’.
Whilst we are suffering from the destruction of homes and towns we should also think about the millions of people suffering and starving across the world because of years of prolonged drought. Those who are literally starving to death because of climate change.
I do not for a moment suggest that we should look at harvest as a time for despair and lamenting all that is wrong with the world – even when things don’t go how we want them to, we should still be thankful that we are blessed in so many ways.
But harvest is also a time for all of us to renew their commitment to caring for our planet and for each other. Like Adam, we are called to look after God’s creation so that there will be many more harvests to celebrate in the future.
There are some things we cannot change and some that we can, and we need to pray that we will all step up and consciously reflect on what things, however small, we can change for the better.
That might for example, mean recycling more of our waste, reusing or giving away perfectly good things that we might have grown tired of, from old clothes to last years technology devices. Reduce or stop using things that we know are harmful to the environment such as plastic or doing things that have health benefits such as walking or cycling instead of just jumping into the car. We as a church are also going to look at what we can do to help the, so please come along to our special ‘eco’ PCC on Monday 14th October at 7:00pm.
Harvest is also a time to reflect on the many people who are less fortunate than us, and to remember that God loves them as well. Although times feel hard for many at the moment, we still have far more than others. So, when Jesus commands us to love one another, he asks us to share some of what we have with those who have little or nothing.
I was greatly heartened by the number of gifts that St. Thomas’ school left in church after their school harvest service on Monday. Let’s give thank to God for their generosity and follow their example of loving kindness. Using the gifts He has given us in the service of others is one of the most appropriate ways of demonstrating our gratitude to God for what He has done for us.Paul
Our Prayers
This week's prayers have been provided by Revd Daniel Ramble, our Area Dean.
Loving Creator, in your generous and overflowing love,
you call us to reach out, nurture, and build.
Help us to care for your creation with open hearts, to embrace others with grace,
and to reflect your boundless love in all we do.
Guide us to be stewards of your earth,
builders of community, and bearers of your peace,
so that all may know the depth of your goodness.
In Christ’s name, we pray
Amen
Today's final hymn is "Harvest Samba"
Notices
Your generous Harvest Donations this year will be going to the Food Pantry at St Barnabas’ Church. Please stay for our “Bring and Share” Harvest Lunch, it doesn’t matter at all if you don’t bring anything – there will be plenty to go around! There is no charge for the lunch, but any donations you could make will be most welcome.
Next Sunday’s services are at the usual times of 9.15 am at St Agnes’ and 11 am at St Thomas’. The Tuesday morning Service of Holy Communion is at 10 am at St Thomas’, and Worship for all Generations is at 6.30 pm on Tuesday and Wednesday at St Agnes’.
Immediately after the Harvest Lunch, our PCC members, along with those from St John’s, will be meeting with Archdeacon Karen up at St John’s Church to discuss how we might work together to make progress with the appointment of a new Vicar for both parishes. Please pray for us as we discern a way forward.
On Monday we have All Age Worship Singing at St Thomas, at the new time of 4.30 pm. All are welcome, especially our Sunday School families, as we practice singing some new hymns and old favourites with joy and confidence. Please do come along if you can – it’s really informal and enjoyable, whether you’re a “good” singer or not!
The following Monday, 14th October, 7 pm at St Thomas’, all are welcome to our PCC PLUS – ECO CHURCH. See the poster below for more information.
Welcome to our Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the 18th Sunday after Trinity, and the feast of St Michael and All Angels. 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 "Morning has Broken"
Today's Bible Reading
Revelation 12:7-12Michael and the Dragon
War broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, proclaiming,
“Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Messiah,
for the accuser of our comrades has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.
But they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony,
for they did not cling to life even in the face of death.
Rejoice then, you heavens and those who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you with great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”
Reflection
Today we celebrate the feast of Michael and All Angels. Michael along with Gabriel and Raphael are the three named biblical angels, depicted as the beloved messengers of God.
Michael, which means 'who is like God?', is described as protector of Israel and leader of the armies of God and is perhaps best known as the slayer of the dragon in the passage above from the Revelation to John. He is thus regarded as the protector of Christians from the devil, particularly those at the hour of death.
The excerpt from Revelation is on the face of it, a description of the battle between good and evil. Up to this point. Satan has been able to come and go to heaven as he pleases. He is depicted as a red dragon with seven heads each with ten horns, [Revelation 12: 3], but we know that Satan has many guises and will come with his angels and demons to tempt us to do wrong and disobey God’s commandments.
We must never underestimate the cunning and power of the Satan. We know of his cunning from the very beginning of the Bible where, as the serpent, he deceived Eve in the garden of Eden which led to the downfall of mankind. This is referred to in verse 9 where he is described as the serpent and deceiver of the whole world.
He was a powerful angel and manipulator. So much so that prior to the war with Michael’s angels, we are told that with his dragon’s tail he swept a third of the stars from the sky, [Revelations 12:4]. This refers to him persuading a third of the angels in heaven to support him and follow him. These are the same angels that are cast down alongside him.
Satan thought he could challenge God, and he accused God’s people of sin, and thereby thought he could defame what God had created.
It is important to note that whilst we sometimes think of Satan as the counterpart of God, he is not and never can be, because God has no equal. If anything, Michael, who is described as an archangel is Satan’s counterpart who is sent by God to fight the battle which ultimately leads to Satan being banished, thrown down from heaven.
That is of course not good news for us, because as we know, Satan is still free to deceive and corrupt us here on earth. But there is the wonderful Good News of Jesus, and as Christians we can have faith in his redeeming love and his sacrifice to atone for all our sins. Satan has been conquered by the blood of the Lamb.
We have a loving Lord who came among us and who continues to intercede on our behalf as our advocate in heaven.
The reality is that we all make a mess of things every day. We act selfishly, tell lies, believe other people’s lies, take advantage of situations when we know we shouldn’t, or cause hurt to others, even if it is unintentional.
So what should we do about it? Let Satan persuade us that we are not fit Christians or believe that we are now unacceptable in God’s sight?
As Christians we need to have faith and hope and trust in the Lamb of God and his love for us. We need to face up to what we have done wrong, admit our sins and say we are sorry. Because we have faith that by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross he was able to bear all our sins so we need no longer be accused by the devil and judged by God.
As Saint Paul says, "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!" (Romans 8:1).
As believers we also have a responsibility to fight the devil when we see him at work in others and conquer him through word of our testimony in Christ, [verse 11]. That is we can share the good news that by turning to Christ they can be forgiven and have a place in God’s kingdom. Paul
Our Prayers
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for the salvation, strength, and security I have received from the Lord Jesus Christ,
and for the victory He won for me through His blood.
Thank You that through Him, I can overcome any obstacle in my life, to Your praise and glory
Amen
Our final hymn today is "Ye Holy Angels Bright"
Notices
Next Sunday is our Parish Harvest Festival, and we have just the one service in our parish at 11 am at St Thomas' Church. Please see the poster below for details -
