Sunday Worship 15th November

 Sunday Worship

Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Second Sunday before Advent. Today we have just one service in the parish, at 11.15 am at St Thomas', and we will be worshipping in St Thomas' School hall because of the lack of heating in church.

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 "Give me Joy in my Heart"

Today's Gospel

Matthew 25:14-30                          The Parable of the Talents  

‘For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them;  to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, “Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.” His master said to him, “Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, “Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.” His master said to him, “Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, “Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.” But his master replied, “You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest.  So take the talent from him and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Reflection

Our Gospel reading today casts a shadow over the soon to arrive season of Advent, a period of watching and waiting, and certainly a time when we as Christians should be thinking about what the return of Jesus might look like. I will talk more of this in the weeks to come, but the whole imagery of waiting for ‘Judgement Day’ is very much foretold in Jesus’ parable today, as he edges on the uncomfortable territory of money (which never sits too well) and also puts the characters in his story in competition with each other, which again, is not particularly a Christian message we are always overly comfortable with. I find the first reading of this parable always an uncomfortable affair. It is a reading filled with the use of ‘slave’ language, which instinctively feels wrong, and always, my own sympathies fall on the side of the third ‘servant’. If we take the story at face value, the wealthy landowner asks each of his ‘servants’ to ‘take care’ of his money, according to their abilities. That judgement of their abilities again creates unease, and whilst the first two please the Master, the third angers him, as all he has done is buried the money, and safeguarded it for his Master. I can see where he was coming from, but from the response he gets, (a promise of an eternity in darkness, with wailing and gnashing of teeth), he clearly has not done the right thing!

I am always intrigued by the term ‘talents’ used here as a sum of money (a talent = approx. 15 years wages back then). From this parable, has grown our understanding of ‘talent’ to be something God has given us, which ought not to be wasted. We can see how that analogy has developed. But it is within that analogy that we find what the parable is really teaching. Not about making money – this is no ‘prosperity gospel’ narrative. It is about being prepared. Jesus is teaching his disciples and us that we must be prepared to ‘step outside of the box’. We must use what we have been given, and with what we have been given, we must grow the kingdom. And we must be willing to make sacrifices for our faith, even if it is uncomfortable. When we hear this reading today, (and hopefully reflect on what it is telling us), it is not telling us to make the most money we can for our bosses or be damned! But we do have to heed the message that John the Baptist will soon deliver, ‘get your paths straight, (your house in order) before the Messiah returns’. Whatever gifts God has individually bestowed upon us, we cannot bury them away and be passive with them, we must use them in whatever ways we can, in order to be the children of light, the salt of the earth. I have to remind myself of that, especially when my default setting is often to sympathise with the third servant, (the one who the Master already has low expectations of), who hasn’t really done anything wrong – because the parable is clear, by not doing enough with the gifts he was loaned, he is ‘cast out’. I suppose on the days where I think ‘Oh, God won’t mind – he understands’ I should not defer to tomorrow or the next week. I should try my level best to do the right thing there and then. We all should take caution and recall what Jesus is teaching us today - because whether we meet the Messiah when he returns (and who would know when that might be), or whether we welcome him in the salvation of the Messiah in the manger, we need to be ready to meet the incarnate God, whose mercy knows no bounds.  I will be praying for all of us this week, as we try to make our paths straight and ‘be prepared’! Amen    Rev Kirsten x

Our Prayers

Heavenly Father, 

Help us this week in whatever we do, whether in word or deed, to do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. 

Help us to let our light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify our Father in heaven.

Help us to be prepared and be ready for the day that Jesus will return. 

Amen.

Today's final hymn is "Lord of all Hopefulness"

Notices

The Ladies of Leesfield meet this Tuesday at St Thomas' at 2 pm - 

Sunday Worship 8th November

 Sunday Worship

Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Third Sunday before Advent, which is also Remembrance Sunday.

Today we have only one Service in the parish, at 9.15 am at St Thomas' Church, before assembling at Lees Library at 10.10 am to process to the War Memorial at Lees Cemetery for the Act of Remembrance at 10.30 am.

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 "The Lord's My Shepherd"

Today's Gospel

Matthew 25:1-13       The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids

‘Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 

As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a shout, “Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.” Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. 

The foolish said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.” But the wise replied, “No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.” And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, “Lord, lord, open to us.” 

But he replied, “Truly I tell you, I do not know you.” Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

Reflection

There is a familiar idiom I’m sure many of you know, “Time Flies”.  Some people associate it with having a good time, hence the phrase - time flies when you’re having fun. 

The term originates from the Latin  expression ‘tempus fugit’, meaning “time escapes” or “time runs away.” This perhaps sums up how others may perceive time - where we associate it with the endless state of busyness we seem to have in our lives. The vast amount of things on our daily ‘to do list’  that leaves little time for personal matters or relaxation, let alone considering our spiritual well-being. There are times when we may get to a point when we just wish there were another twelve hours in the day.

This is not necessarily because we are bad at organising things, even people who like to plan things out meticulously find themselves in the position where time just seems to run out. Have you ever been in a position where despite having set aside what you thought was plenty of time, suddenly everything is the last minute? Often because, despite our best intentions, we get distracted.

I remember once when I was much younger, getting ready to go on holiday. Everything was planned out - I was packed 2 days before the holiday, taxi booked for the airport a day in advance, I had checklists for everything I needed to take with me, (tickets, passport, money etc.). Additional lists for the things I needed to do at the last minute, (ensure all door and windows secure, appliances turned off, boiler set etc.). Nothing could go wrong. But during the day I couldn’t resist the urge to check my work email; (even though I was on holiday). Before I realised it, I had got involved in all sorts of issues at work. Eventually a couple of hours before I was due to leave, I sat down for five minutes to have a brew and relax. An hour later I heard the doorbell. I must have fallen asleep and the taxi driver was waiting outside.  

All the planning and good intentions were for nothing. I was plunged into a state of anxiety and rushing around. The first part of my holiday was just overtaken by stress and utter panic. Fortunately my preparation did just about leave me enough time to get to the airport.

In the parable of the ten bridesmaids, Jesus warns us that we must all be ready for his return. It is set in the context of a Jewish wedding feast. It was common at that time for such feasts to last several days, even a week. There was point in the festivities where the bridegroom would come and collect the bride and the bridesmaids and they would process to the main feast and ceremony although the exact time would not be known. However, whenever it happened, at this time, everyone was expected to be ready. The underlying message of this parable is not a criticism on the foolish bridesmaids for falling asleep, but a judgement that they failed to prepare for something really special that they knew was going to happen.

The wise ones have equipped themselves with enough oil to keep their torches burning no matter how long they had to wait. The foolish ones had not thought that far ahead and had only brought a small supply of oil. The judgment of the parable is this: The five foolish bridesmaids have left it too late to prepare for something they knew was going to happen, even if they didn’t know exactly when.

Jesus has made it clear that he is coming again to meet us and we must be ready and prepared for his coming again, even though we don’t know when that will be.

 

But what does being prepared mean? It is more than having a case packed as though we are going on a trip. Maybe with a bible, a few prayer books and some religious symbols such as a cross. 

Being prepared in the way Jesus means is a bit more complicated. I suspect none of us can truly feel that we will be fully prepared for when he arrives, nor do we understand what to expect. I also  suspect that we may feel unready because of our failings and weaknesses.

So what then might we do to be as prepared as we can? Be prepared in this case is not a single event, or task we need to do like buying a ticket or packing sun lotions. It’s a journey – a journey of preparation that helps us grow in faith as we wait. It’s about the things we can do to grow spiritually and looking for ways to become the people God wants us to be. It's about making time in our lives to learn about the message of the Gospel and living the values that Jesus showed us. 

What we can do, is to remember we are always on the journey throughout our lives. We can always be looking for ways to grow spiritually and towards becoming the people God means us to be. We can always be learning more about God, about the message of Jesus and about living out that message in our daily lives.

No matter how busy we may be, we need to make time to prepare for when Jesus returns. In our busy lives it is often the case that the things we put off or set aside are the things that are most important to our well-being. 

One of the things we cannot afford to put aside is our spiritual well-being. As Jesus says, “be ready because you don’t know when you’re going to be called upon to meet me”. After more than two thousand years it perhaps seems difficult to grasp that Jesus Christ could return at any moment. But we simply do not know – as Matthew says in the previous chapter; “no one knows the day or the hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” [Matt. 24:36].

Jesus encourages us to watch and wait, and to continue to prepare ourselves and our souls spiritually by continually building our faith in God - because when the time comes we cannot borrow someone else’s faith. We will either be prepared or we won’t. Let us therefore watch and wait and prepare every day for the time when we know we will all encounter God in Jesus. Let us be wise and not foolish.                 Rev Paul

Our Prayers

Heavenly Father,

Help us to grow in faith day by day.

Fill our lamps with the oil of faith, love, and perseverance. 

Guard our hearts from the distractions of life;

Help us to prepare for our Lord’s return.

Give us wisdom to set aside time for prayer, 

obedience and reflection on your word.

In Jesus name we pray.

Amen

Today's final hymn is "Lead us, Heavenly Father, Lead us"

Notices

Next week is our 'Everyone Together' Service at St Thomas' Church at 11.15 am, and there will be no service at St Agnes'.

Sunday Worship 1st November

 Sunday Worship

Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Fourth Sunday before Advent. 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 inable to be with us in person, you will find resources below to worship at home.

Our first hymn this morning is "Ye Holy Angels Bright"

Today's Gospel

Matthew 5:1-12 The Beatitudes

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Reflection

Today we celebrate All Saints day which is also known as All Hallows Day. But have you ever taken a moment to think about what it means and how the feast originated. 

Perhaps a good place to start would be with the word Hallows. Depending on which dictionary you use, Hallow means to make something Holy or set it apart or sanctify it. The Saints are those who have gone before us and are considered to be set aside because of their holiness. The word saint comes from the Greek word “hagios” or in Latin, “Sanctus”,  which means exactly that - consecrated to God, holy, sacred.  ‘All Saints Day’ is therefore a time for Christian believers to remember all saints and martyrs, known and unknown, throughout Christian history. 

Remembering saints and martyrs and each year has been a Christian tradition since the 4th century AD, but it wasn't until 609AD that Pope Boniface IV decided to set a day aside to officially remember all martyrs. That is those people who had suffered and died for their faith. 

Later, in 837AD, Pope Gregory IV extended the festival to remember all the saints and changed its name to Feast of All Saints. This expanded the scope of sainthood to recognise all people of exceptional holiness and devotion to God. This shift acknowledged that not all saints were martyrs, so a broader commemoration was needed.

As I was thinking about the saints, I realised that there are of course we know quite well like St, John, St. Thomas & St. Agnes and some of the more famous Saints like St. Joan of Arc or St Francis of Assisi might spring to mind. But there are also lots of Saints that are unknown to us but are just as important. Because Sainthood is not just about those recognised or nominated by a group of important religious leaders, sainthood is granted by God Himself  - I’ll come back later.  

I wonder, what do think about when hear the term Saint? We understand that they are people set apart as Holy but what does that mean and how might we recognise a saint? The reality is, they don’t walk among us with golden halos above their head. 

The saints are those whose actions, the way they lived their lives and in some cases died, demonstrate a Christlike way of living that sets an example for us to follow. They point to the way we are called to live as Christians and to build up the body of Christ. 

Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians (4:11-12), Christian leaders are called to equip the saints for the work of ministry of building up the body of Christ. But when Paul talks about Christian Leaders, he is not only referring here to ministers and prophets – rather he is calling on everyone to use their spiritual gifts to invite and encourage others to be part of the fellowship of Christ. Part of the Church of God. He is encouraging every believer, including you and me, to grow in spiritual maturity and make disciples of others.

Every one of us is called to follow the examples of the saints and in doing so we are also called to live our lives in a righteous and blessed way,  so that when the time comes, we too may have a place with them in the kingdom of heaven. 

Now you might be thinking that sainthood is unattainable for the likes of you and I. Unattainable because we all find it impossible to be good all the time and of course we all lapse into sin. But God understands that we are not perfect. And as I mentioned earlier, it is ultimately God who will decide who His saints are.

To be a saint we are not expected to be perfect like Jesus, but we are called to live a life that embodies a transformative relationship with Christ. We are asked to think about the example Jesus and the other saints have given us in the ways we live, think, behave and interact with one another as we go though our daily routines.

In Matthew’s account of the Sermon on the Mount - Jesus describes the blessings, (beatitudes), that God is willing to bestow on us so that we might be transformed and live more righteous lives. 

If ever I manage to be pure in heart, it’s a gift from God, and I should be grateful for it; if I have a heart that cares enough about people so much that I mourn for them when they pass away, that’s a gift, too, and I thank God for it. 

If we are able to mediate and find peace where there is discord that’s a gift just as much as someone who shows another person mercy. 

When we see people living and sharing these gifts from God we are all blessed by their goodness and the positive effect it can have on us and the rest of the world.  

If we are willing to accept the gifts God wants to give us, to be righteous and be transformed by the example of Jesus, then we also will be blessed.  God reckons as righteous those who believe in Him. The one who raised Christ from the dead. When we are willing to be transformed by Jesus and live our lives with faith and trust in Him, then we too will be called to stand with Jesus and the saints in heaven. 

Paul’s letter to the Corinthians [Cor. 1:2], assures us that ‘all followers of Christ are called to be saints’.  This assurance comes not from our personal perfection, but from God’s faithfulness, grace and abounding love for us. Because God can make the unattainable – attainable. Rev.  Paul

Our Prayers

Heavenly Father,

We give thanks for the all the saints in heaven.

Who by their example have shown us that through Your grace,

and by faith and belief in You, holiness is possible for every one of us. 

Help us to be transformed and walk in the light of Christ

to follow a path of holiness and join you with all the saints in heaven.  

Amen

Today's final hymn is "For all the Saints"

Notices

Next week is Remembrance Sunday, and we will only have one service in the parish - at 9.15 am at St Thomas' Church.

Please see the poster below for details of the Act of Remembrance at the war memorial in Lees Cemetery.