Sunday Worship 23rd August

 Sunday Worship

Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity. 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 "Awake my Soul, and with the Sun"

Today's Gospel

Matthew 16:13-20                 Peter declares that Jesus is the Messiah

When Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Reflection

Jesus has been teaching and healing around Galilee for quite a while, but we are about to see him turn towards Jerusalem and His journey to the Cross.

Peter and the other disciples have been with Jesus for over two years, and witnessed everything he has said and done, including performing many miracles. Over that time they have, no doubt, constantly had to evaluate and re-evaluate their opinions of who Jesus is as well as revising their opinion of themselves. There must have been many times when they wondered why Jesus had chosen them to follow Him. 

And now at Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asks them, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” So they tell him that people are saying he is John the Baptist, and others think he is the prophet Elijah, or Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets. 

It might seem obvious that Jesus cannot be John the Baptist, as many people saw them together at His baptism. However, the theories that he was one of the previous prophets are perhaps not so radical – it was believed by many Jews that Elijah would return before the Messiah came. The prophet Malachi [Chp 5], declared the promise of God: “I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes”.

Next, Jesus asks the crunch question - “But who do you say that I am?” The other disciples are silent, perhaps lost for words, we don’t know. Maybe they’re wondering if there is a reason behind the question – could it be that Jesus is asking why are following me? Why have you left everything to follow a humble carpenter from Nazareth when you know nothing about me?

Then, as ever, Peter jumps in - “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus is obviously pleased with Peter’s response, so much so that He blesses him! Peter has hit the nail on the head, he understands in his heart that Jesus is not just another prophet in a long line of prophets. His insightful answer points us in the direction of the fundamental truth that Jesus is the living God – God with us.

All this has been revealed to them, not by flesh and blood, or because they have been told by Jesus, it is a revelation from God. Jesus’ own Father in heaven has revealed the truth through Jesus’ words and actions and the relationship they have built with Him.

For us it might seem obvious that we know about Jesus and who he is, because we know about Jesus from the good news of the Gospels. But the essence of the message here is not just about Jesus through what we have been told or read.  

Like the disciples, Jesus is looking for a relationship with each of us. It’s not about knowing about Jesus, it’s about actually knowing Jesus, and through Jesus knowing God. It about recognising what God, through Jesus, is doing right here and now in our lives and how we might see His power at work in our midst. Jesus is the key to our relationship with God and everything God has made and continues to do. 

When we build a relationship with Jesus Christ and have faith in His love for us, we can be formed into His likeness and follow His example and live His values. Through getting to truly know Jesus, we can experience the joy of a loving relationship with Him, and open the gates of heaven. 

Jesus’ church is built on the rock of the knowledge of the revelation that Jesus is the living God, the Messiah. The early Church that we read about in the Acts of the Apostles was built on faith and the formation of the people in the community, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

A Church built on faith in Jesus, and also people working together to bring what they had and building a community built on fairness and justice. It wasn’t just listening to what the apostles told them about Jesus, it was the desire to know Jesus and live as He did. It was about understanding how each individual should respond to His call. 

In Paul’s letter to the Romans, we are reminded that, as Christians, we are all joined in the body of Christ and that not everyone has the same function. We each have gifts to offer according to the grace of God. Rev. Kirsten and I were talking earlier in the week about the encouraging signs of people coming forward and offering their help, even if they aren’t always sure what that help looks like yet. 

As Paul says, it’s not always about ministry or leadership – it can be about showing compassion, listening, maybe practical skills or many other traits we have. 

It may even be you have a gift that hasn’t been revealed to you yet – something for example that you’ve always fancied having a go at, but never got around to doing. A gift from God that you will find really fulfilling.

Paul also reminds us that we all have strengths and weaknesses, but thanks to God, they are balanced out in the Christian community. We are called to work together and help each other, but we are not expected to have all the virtues or skills as individuals, or to excel at everything. 

So, as Rev. Kirsten mentioned a few weeks ago, if there’s something niggling you and you think that God might be nudging to do something – then please think and pray about it or come and have a word with us.

Peter was probably not the most obvious candidate to be the leader of the early church. He could be quite outspoken and, as we will hear next week, he was quite capable of getting things wrong and putting his foot in his mouth. Peter’s main qualification was that he could recognise the activity of God when he saw it and could understand that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. That was all that was needed to start to build Jesus’ church.    Rev. Paul

Our Prayers

Heavenly Father,

Help us to recognise your power and hand at work in our lives and the world.

We pray that we may discern your will 

and the part you are calling us to play in building your kingdom.

Help us to come to truly know Your son Jesus Christ 

and be daily transformed into his likeness, and receive the keys to heaven.

In Jesus name we pray.    

Amen

Todays final hymn is "Lord, for the Years"

Sunday Worship 16th August

 Sunday Worship

Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Eleventh Sunday after Trinity. 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 "As the Deer Pants for the Water"

Today's Gospel

Matthew 15:10-28           That Which Defiles & The Faith of the Canaanite Woman

Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, ‘Listen and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.’ Then the disciples approached and said to him, ‘Do you know that the Pharisees took offence when they heard what you said?’  He answered, ‘Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.’ But Peter said to him, ‘Explain this parable to us.’ Then he said, ‘Are you also still without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?  But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander.  These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.’

Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, ‘Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.’ But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, ‘Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.’ He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’ But she came and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, help me.’ He answered, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’ She said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.’ Then Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.’ And her daughter was healed instantly.

Reflection

"Momma Bear"

Can any of you think of a time when someone has excluded or hurt someone we love? How does that moment feel? How have we reacted? When someone hurts one of my family, I have the potential to flip into ‘Momma Bear’ mode. And it isn’t just my human family. I remember many years ago, I got a Blue Merle Border Collie pup. It did not end well. If ever a lesson was to be learned about buying dogs in pet shops (which you still could then), I learned it when I bought ‘Bluey’. He was beautiful – like a little polar bear with piercing blue eyes. One of his first walks after his jabs was to Tandle Hills. The pup jumped up at a man, (a proper ‘man mountain’ I recall), who promptly kicked out at him. As he went in for a second kick, the red mist overpowered me, and I launched. I can remember vividly, even 30 years ago as it now was, the verbal tirade I directed at this man, who towered over me, and the way he visibly shrank with each word. It was not pretty, it was certainly not what my Nan would have described as ‘ladylike’ and I suppose really, I took a risk – he could have retaliated, but he didn’t. I think he recognised the wrath of a ‘Momma Bear’ as it verbally hit him between the eyes – a bit like Mrs Weasley’s ‘Howler’ she sends to Ron when he has displeased her, (if you are familiar with the ‘Harry Potter’ stories)!

Today, Jesus encounters the Canaanite Woman, who is ready to turn ‘Momma Bear’ for the sake of her child. It is a strange reading today – it is certainly not one that brings instant comfort as some do. Matthew brings us face to face with a moment where Jesus sounds—at least at first—quite cruel. A desperate mother cries out for help, and Jesus seems to ignore her, dismiss her, even insult her. It is a story that makes us wince, and at first hearing, his harshness does not sound like the Jesus we know and love. 

Jesus begins by challenging purity rules. He says: “It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles, but what comes out.”

But the disciples are nervous - “Jesus, you’ve offended the Pharisees” – and they are aware how risky that might be! But Jesus presses on: the things that ruin society are not dirty hands, but dirty hearts. 

And then, as if on cue, someone arrives who tests whether the disciples truly believe what he has just told them – a ‘Canaanite Woman’.

It’s important for us to understand that ‘The Canaanites’ are portrayed as historic enemies of Israel, because they occupied the land before Israel and were associated with rival religious practices. But by Jesus’ time, “Canaanite” was not a current ethnic group — Matthew uses the term deliberately to demonstrate the old hostility and feelings of animosity. So in first century Lebanon (where Jesus is, in this reading – in Tyre and Sidon), it is a choice of phrase used by Matthew to demonstrate that this woman, who has the courage and temerity to approach Jesus, is not ‘one of them’! And the disciples revert to those old hostilities, encouraging Jesus to ‘send her away’. They do not believe her ‘worthy’: She is a foreigner, a woman, a heritage long considered an enemy, and she is persistent and loudly seeking help for her daughter!

And Jesus says what the disciples expect him to say: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” And then the line that makes us flinch: “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”

It sounds cruel. It feels cruel. But actually – Jesus is exposing the disciples’ ignorance and exclusion. The woman, though, has full ‘Momma Bear’ mode activated - (remember back to the story from Tandle Hills earlier). She refuses to be silenced.

She kneels. She persists. She argues. She takes Jesus’ exclusion and says ‘so what if it is wrong to feed us – ‘the dogs’ before your children, and says “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”

Her courage in arguing with Jesus – can you imagine in that time in history, a foreign woman doing that? And Jesus responds: “Woman, great is your faith.” (Interestingly, the only time in Matthew’s Gospel where the faith of anyone is described as ‘great’ – and it’s an accolade bestowed upon a foreign woman)!

Her daughter is healed instantly – which was never in question. But Jesus teaches his disciples through this entire interaction that the dismissed outsider becomes the one gathered in.

So what does this mean for us today? It certainly poses some tough questions:

Who are we tempted to send away? Whose voices do we wish could be silenced? Who do we judge is deserving of God’s mercy? Who might God be gathering that we have not yet welcomed?

But the reading also offers great hope:

Sometimes the person we least expect becomes the one who teaches us what faith looks like. 

Matthew shows us what that looks like: A ‘foreign’ woman kneeling at Jesus’ feet, refusing to let go of the justice and mercy she seeks. 

Have a blessed week - Reverend Kirsten x

Our Prayers

Heavenly Father, 

We pray that we may always be a community that listens to the voices on the margins. 

May we strive to learn from unexpected teachers. 

And may our churches and our homes always be a house of prayer for all peoples. 

Amen

Today's final hymn is "In Christ Alone"

Sunday Worship 9th August

 Sunday Worship

Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Tenth Sunday after Trinity. Today we have just one service in the Parish - our 'Everyone Together Service' at 11.15 am at St Thomas' Church, and there is no service at St Agnes'.

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 "Be Thou My Vision"

Today's Gospel

Matthew 14:22-33                                 Jesus Walks on the Water

Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking towards them on the lake.  But when the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out in fear.  But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.’

 Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came towards Jesus.  But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’  Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’ When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’

Reflection

As you are all getting to know me better, you may be realising I am so interested in the Saints – who they were, what they did and how they touched people’s lives in order to be considered significant enough to be Canonised following their death – sometimes many centuries after their death.

One such Saint is Saint Brendan. His ‘feast day’ is the 16th May, so we have missed it this year. He was born in County Kerry, Ireland in the 5th Century. He is often referred to as ‘Brendan the Navigator’, and his story involves the building of a wooden boat covered in animal hides, tanned and soaked in butter, and sailing off the edge of the horizon with 16 other monks on board after fasting for 40 days and nights. They were in search of the ‘promised land of the saints’, or as we might think of it, ‘The Garden of Eden’. They were pioneers, charting and mapping where none had knowingly gone before. Allegedly, after 7 years, they found what they believed to be the promised land, and then returned to Ireland, where they formed monasteries and convents, taught and converted and changed the lives of many people. His reputation travelled all around the world, and there are towns and places named after him throughout Europe, Africa, North and South America, Greenland and even Australia. There are such tales of bravery, sea monsters and fantastical creatures that we must assume folklore has mixed with fact, but for me the simple fact that most resonates is his unswerving faith. A prayer the crew prayed has remained and is as follows: ‘Christ of the mysteries, I trust You to be stronger than each storm within me. I will trust in the darkness and know that my times, even now, are in Your hand’. The faith that allowed Brendan and his band of monks to set sail into the unknown, not knowing what they would find when they reached the horizon, must have been immense, as they acknowledged that whatever they encountered, Christ was still bigger than it. I often wonder how much faith I have compared to such as Brendan, as I worry and catastrophise about possible outcomes.

That same faith is on display in another watery situation in today's Gospel reading, as Jesus walks on the water. His disciples on the boat are already uncomfortable when, into the early morning gloom, a ghostly figure walks towards them on the choppy sea. Peter, (who so often aims high, but regularly misses the target), challenges Jesus – ‘if it is really you, tell me to walk on the water, and I shall’. Jesus calls him and Peter's faith carries him into achieving the impossible, until his own fear and worry end the moment. Jesus then affectionately berates him, if only you had continued to believe, you would not have entered the water. Nevertheless, that moment of pure trust and faith allowed Peter to do something which no other human has ever been able to achieve. Simply beautiful - no wonder he became the rock on which the church was founded.

Peter knew that the waves were high, the wind was loud, and the boat felt like the only safe place. But when Jesus called his name, Peter did something extraordinary. He stepped out. Not because he was brave, but because he trusted Jesus who was already on the water.

Centuries later, St Brendan the Navigator stood at the edge of the Atlantic. He didn’t know what was out there. No maps. No guarantees. Just a small leather boat and a big God. Brendan pushed his boat into the unknown, trusting that God’s world was bigger than his fear.

Peter stepped out of the boat. Brendan set his boat free. Both trusted Jesus more than the waves.

When you stand at the edge of the sea, something happens inside you. It’s beautiful… but it’s also big. It’s the kind of place where you realise how small you are, and how much you cannot control. I think most of us acknowledge that we are in no position to tackle the sea, with its unpredictability and sheer power compared to us.

This week is our ‘Everyone Together’ service, and we are going to each make an origami boat. Our boat will symbolise something different for each one of us as we think about what we will put into our boats – maybe an area where our own faith is lacking. Maybe our boat carries a worry. Maybe it carries a hope. Maybe it carries someone you love. Maybe it carries something you’re afraid to try.

Whatever you place in your own little boat, remember this: Jesus meets us in the waves, not just on the shore. He reaches out when we sink. He guides us when we set sail. And he never leaves us alone in the deep.

When I first started discerning what God was asking me to step out and do, someone recommended a book to me. It’s by an American theologian – John Ortberg. We certainly do not share all the same theological perspectives, but his book, ‘If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat’ had a profound effect on me. I bought the audio book and used to listen as I drove along to work (which was usually a long journey as I travelled to my teams across the North West). The author invites you to consider in what ways might Jesus be telling you (in the same way as he did Peter) ‘come’. What did he say to Brendan as he prayed and pushed off his boat into unchartered territories? 

I know what he said to me as I worried, doubted and catastrophised about his call on my life – and I also know how patient He was as I took my time and tried to bargain with him…but that’s for another day!

So, what is he calling to you? Where are the waves lapping at your toes? Are you ready to head into the shallow water and test it, or are you still stood on the sand? Wherever you are, tell people about Jesus and let him meet them and let him lead you, even if only into the paddling pool or a shallow puddle! He loves you and will never let you go! Amen.  

Have a blessed week - Reverend Kirsten x

Our Prayers

Jesus, you meet us in the middle of the waves. 

You call us to step out even when we feel unsure. 

You guide us when we set sail into something new. 

Take the hopes, worries and fears we may place into our own boats and hold them close. 

Strengthen our courage and grow our trust, 

And lead us safely, faithfully and joyfully, wherever you call us next. 

Amen.

Today's final hymn is "Shine, Jesus, Shine"

Notices

From Tuesday this week, Morning Prayer will be said at St Thomas’ Church at 9.00 am and Evening Prayer at 3.30 pm every Tuesday, and at the same times every Thursday at St John’s. Anyone who would like to attend is very welcome, but there is no obligation.