Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Second Sunday after Trinity. Today we have only one service in the parish, at 11.15 am at St Thomas' Church, and there is no service at St Agnes'.
If you are unable to join us in person, you will find resources below to worship at home.
Our first hymn this morning is "I Danced in the Morning"
Today's Gospel
Matthew 9:35-10:8 Like Sheep Without a Shepherd
Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.”
Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.
These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not take a road leading to gentiles, and do not enter a Samaritan town, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Cure the sick; raise the dead; cleanse those with a skin disease; cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.
Reflection
‘Like Sheep Without a Shepherd’
I watched the first instalment of the new Clarkson’s Farm on Amazon the other evening. During the episode, Jeremy Clarkson decided to take part in the Farmer’s Protests that took place in London last year. The farmers were fearful and protesting about the Inheritance Tax changes to farms. There was genuine fear, distress at a lack of leadership they felt they could trust, and genuine alarm at how they could fulfil their commitment to feeding our country in the current climate. Sometimes, we can’t help but wonder, ‘are people actually aware where the food on their plate is coming from’. Is the connection between farming and feeding the family always made?
I don’t particularly have a vested interest in anything specific that Clarkson might say, but I do enjoy learning about agriculture and making the obvious comparisons that arise as Christians as we encounter and reflect on our Good Shepherd.
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus looks at the crowds and doesn’t see troublemakers or complainers. He sees people who are “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” It’s a line that could just as easily describe many in our society today—farmers facing impossible margins, families stretched thin, communities feeling unheard, and a nation often more divided than connected.
Jesus’ response to this is incredible - he doesn’t turn away, or blame them for their misfortune, he doesn’t harden his heart. He is moved with compassion.
And then he does something even more incredible, by sending his ‘ordinary people’ - fishermen, tax collectors, the unqualified and the undesirable – telling them to be the answer to the very prayer he asks them to pray. “The harvest is plentiful… go.”
In a world where loud voices overshadow and frustration and anger spill out so easily, Matthew invites us to rediscover this rhythm of discipleship:
•See people as Jesus sees them - not as problems to solve, but as neighbours to love.
•Feel compassion rather than contempt - especially for those whose lives look different from ours.
•Step into the harvest - bringing healing where there is hurt, hope where there is despair, and generosity where sometimes there seems to be none.
We may not be able to fix national policy or calm every storm, but we can choose to be the kind of people Jesus sends: people who mend, who listen, who lift up, who give freely because we have received freely.
The world is still full of crowds longing for shepherds. And Jesus still whispers the same invitation: “Go – and be my compassion in the places that feel forgotten.”
Amen.
Rev Kirsten
Our Prayers
Heavenly Father,
We thank you for the guidance of Jesus and the obedience of the disciples.
We pray for all the times we are like sheep without a shepherd,
and we especially pray for those in our world who are without leadership,
and who do not yet know that Jesus is the only shepherd they will ever need.
Amen.
Today's final hymn is "In Christ Alone"
Apologies to everyone who likes to read the words, but this is my favourite version by Celtic Worship, and I wanted to share it with you all. The bagpipe solo at the end is amazing!
Notices
We are really pleased to announce that we now have a date for Rev Kirsten’s Licensing Service, which is to be at 7.30 pm on Tuesday 14th July at St Thomas’ Church. More details will follow later.
On Saturday 4th July, our Harvest Queen Grace is 'At Home' - please see the poster below for details -
Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the First 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 "Jesus is Lord, Creation's Voice Proclaims it"
Today's Gospel
Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 The Calling of Matthew
As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.
And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax-collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax-collectors and sinners?’ But when he heard this, he said, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.’
While he was saying these things to them, suddenly a leader of the synagogue came in and knelt before him, saying, ‘My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.’ And Jesus got up and followed him, with his disciples. Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from haemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, for she said to herself, ‘If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.’ Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, ‘Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.’ And instantly the woman was made well. When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute-players and the crowd making a commotion, he said, ‘Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.’ And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. And the report of this spread throughout that district.
Reflection
‘Follow Me’
I don’t know about you, but I have found the news this week particularly difficult to watch. The court case relating to the death of Henry Nowak has been harrowing to say the least, and the bile and hatred that has spewed forth ever since is equally sickening. Sometimes it is hard to wonder where God is in a situation, and for me, this week, I have been searching for where God is or was when Henry was murdered.
The most moving moment I saw came from Henry’s Father, who announced ‘We do not want [Henry's] death to be used to create further division, hatred or tension. We want his story to help make our streets safer for everyone’.
In our Gospel reading for this Sunday, Matthew is instructed by Jesus to ‘follow him’. The choice of Jesus to eat with tax collectors and sinners is a matter of grave concern to the Pharisees. In answer to their criticisms, Jesus advises them that people who are not ill do not need a doctor, only those who are sick. He tells them he desires mercy and not sacrifice.
In the midst of his grief, Henry’s father asked for calm, not retaliation – mercy not sacrifice. Mercy is not passive or weak, it is not something to be sneered at. It is the courage to choose compassion when anger feels easier.
Henry was the one murdered and badly treated. His father’s voice - steady, compassionate, refusing to let pain become vengeance - echoes the very heart of Christ. It was the voice of mercy, the voice that heals rather than harms.
In that moment, I recognised where God was in the situation. He was with Henry in his final moments of life. He was with Henry’s family as they received the news no parent would ever want to hear, and he was with them still as they requested peace and calm, and not the rage and hooliganism that their plea was met with. Violence and rioting from people who will barely remember Henry’s name in 6 months’ time, as his family will only be scratching the surface of navigating life without their child.
Retaliation can only multiply suffering. Jesus consistently interrupts cycles of violence – as he tells the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane ‘Enough now - Put your sword back.’ Jesus’ words point to God’s instinct to move toward the injured, not to inflame the crowd.
Grief and anger are valid human emotions – we are designed to lament, especially where we feel helpless. In moments of public pain, people look for direction. Henry’s father chose the path of dignity and restraint- mirroring the God who desires mercy and guiding the community towards peace. Justice will be done where it is needed, judgement will be made in this life and in the next. Henry’s family need a community and a country surrounding them in love, not more bloodshed and horror. Let us pray that those leading with rage will follow the path of Henry’s Father, because that is the only path where we will find what we might be searching for. Amen
Rev Kirsten
Our Prayers
Heavenly Father
We pray today for the victims of crime and suffering.
We lift before you those who are hurting.
We pray they can turn their anger into mercy
And their rage into empathy for those who grieve.
We pray for all families who have lost a child, that they can be upheld in your love and the love of the people around them.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Today's final hymn is "Dear Lord and Father of Mankind"
Notices
Next week we have only one service in the Parish, our 'Everyone Together Service' at 11.15 am at St Thomas' Church, and there will be no service at St. Agnes' or Sunday School.
Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on Trinity Sunday. 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 "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty"
Today's Gospel
Matthew 28:16-20 Jesus’ Great Commission
The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Reflection
Today is Trinity Sunday, and in the Gospel passage from Matthew we read about Jesus addressing his disciples in Galilee before he leaves them. It comes at the very end of Matthew’s gospel, as from Matthew’s perspective it is the conclusion of Jesus’ time on earth in human form.
The disciples have gathered on a mountain in Galilee. This is not insignificant, because in Matthew’s narrative, the end of Jesus’ ministry finishes at the same place where it started, when Jesus called his first disciples – the place where fishermen left everything they had to follow him. And now he’s brought them back.
Jesus is about to empower his followers to pick up the baton and radically make new disciples by baptising them in the name of the Father, and the Son and Holy Spirit. The Holy Trinity. The mission that began quietly is now expanding outward. What started in obscurity will now reach the nations.
This passage in the bible is often referred to as The Great Commission! The risen Christ sharing his vision with his followers before ascending into heaven.
Jesus is calling on his disciples to go and make more disciples across all nations. And as we heard last week at Pentecost - he will send the Holy Spirit to help with this.
But for a moment let’s ask the question, what does it mean to be a disciple, or moreover what did it mean to be a disciple of a Rabbi in the first century?
You may know that a Rabbi was a learned teacher and to be a disciple might to some extent be compared to being an apprentice.
People became a disciple of a rabbi to learn what he knew and to do what he did. Just like you might in today’s world become an apprentice car mechanic – watching and gradually upskilling until you were able to do the work without supervision. And eventually you would be able to cope on your own and become competent.
But the essential thing to note in this is that you don’t just watch and learn, you have to do the doing. To practice what you preach for want of a better phrase.
When we look at the lives of the disciples who walked alongside Jesus in his ministry – they had listened to his teaching and learned from him and they also did the things he did. Remember in Matthew 10, where Jesus sends out the twelve to cast out demons and heal disease and sickness?
Similarly, when Jesus commissions his disciples to go out and make new disciples across all nations, he also gives them the guidance they need to do to the job.
He tells them to baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit – and to teach people to obey everything that Jesus has commanded them to do.
In other words, don’t just tell people about the Good News of the risen Lord who is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit – Jesus is commanding them to teach new disciples that they must also obey Jesus’ commandments and do as Jesus did. To live their lives in the same way according to God’s will.
To 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, and to 'Love your neighbour as yourself as he loves us.
Jesus doesn’t just want people to know about the Kingdom of God, he wants them to inhabit the Kingdom - To do God’s will on earth as it is in heaven - and to lead by example and live according to his commandments.
It is not enough to know how Jesus wants disciples to live their lives, they have to get on and do it.
And as disciples, followers and Christians, we share that same commission that Jesus gave his disciples in Galilee over 2000 years ago.
We too are called to live as disciples and also make disciples of others.
We are called to bring people to faith. People of all kinds, irrespective of ethnicity, race, gender or any other type of diversity. Even maybe people we may not particularly like.
We are called to invite people to become Christians through baptism in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
We are called to invite people into a loving relationship with God and be part of God’s family.
And as disciples we are also called to live as Jesus showed us and commanded us.
And that can sometimes be hard - because none of us are perfect, and we all fall short in God’s eyes from time to time. We all sin and get things wrong.
But here’s the good news ..… at the end of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus promised us that He will be with us always until the end of the age. Jesus who died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. And when we invite the Holy Spirit to live within us, we can be reconciled with the God that loves each and every one of us. Our relationship with God – the Father, Son and Holy Spirit can be restored.
Paul
Our Prayers
Lord, we commit ourselves to Your Great Commission.
Guide our words, actions, and hearts as we make disciples, baptise, and teach.
Remind us daily that we are never alone, for You are with us always.
May our lives glorify You and draw others into Your kingdom, now and forever.
Amen
Today's final hymn is "I, The Lord of Sea and Sky"
Notices
We had a fantastic day last Sunday as we celebrated the Feast of Pentecost with a joint Eucharist at St John's, a Procession of Witness around the village (stopping to sing along the way), and then a Churches Together in Lees and District joint service at St Thomas', followed by a special cake to celebrate the birthday of the Church. You can see some photos below, but there are many more on the Facebook pages -
