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'.
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 5:1-12The 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.
Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Twentyfirst Sunday after Trinity. Our Church Services this morning are at the usual times of 9.15 at St Ahnes' 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 "New Every Morning is the Love"
Today's Gospel
Matthew 22:34-46Whose son is the Messiah?
When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. ‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ He said to him, ‘ “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’
Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: ‘What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?’ They said to him, ‘The son of David.’ He said to them, ‘How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying,
“The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet’ ”?
If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?’ No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.
Reflection
In Matthew 22 we reach the climax of a series of encounters between Jesus and the Pharisees and Sadducees. Both deem themselves to be theological experts in the Tanakh (the Jewish Bible), albeit they disagree fundamentally on some matters such as resurrection. Both are also determined to undermine Jesus’ teaching and moreover are trying to manipulate him into committing blasphemy so they can arrest him.
As the public questioning continues Jesus turns the tables on his interrogators with a question of his own. Whose son is the Messiah?
In asking this question we can see the subtlety in how he deals with arrogance of the these so called learned theologians and lawyers. He does not go all out to prove his argument and belittle the experts. He has already proved his knowledge of the Bible in the previous encounters.
Rather, he takes a much more nuanced approach to help them, and more importantly those around, work out for themselves the significance of who the Messiah is. He does not openly proclaim that he is the son of God, instead his question challenges them to analyse the words of the scriptures and work it out for themselves.
He turns the encounter from a contest into an exercise in helping all those around to interpret the scriptures for themselves. So he draws their attention to Psalm 110 written by David many years earlier. The experts’ response is to think in human terms, that the Messiah is a descendant of David. They were unable to make the connection which David himself had foretold, that the Messiah would not only be a human descendant of David’s line but also at the same time David’s Lord – Jesus was providing them the answer from their revered holy scripture in the expectation that some of them would weigh the words of the psalms and join the dots - that the Messiah was not merely the earthly Son of David, but was God himself made flesh. That the Messiah was both fully human and also fully divine. For us we are also called to believe in the mysteries of God and accept the truth that with God, nothing is impossible. Rev. Paul
Our Prayers
Heavenly Father, we thank you for your divine mystery, which we sometimes struggle to perceive.
Help us to accept the wonder of all you are and to trust and love you,
with our whole hearts, and souls and minds.
Amen
Today's final hymn is "We Have a Gospel to Proclaim"
Notices
Upcoming events can be seen in the posters below -
