Sunday Worship
Welcome to our Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish. Our Church services are at the usual times of 9.15 am at St Agnes' and 11.00 am at St Thomas'. If you're not able to be with us in person, you'll find the Gospel, a reflection and prayers below.
Our first hymn this morning is "Think of a World Without any Flowers"
Today's Gospel
Luke 12:49-56 Not Peace but Division
Jesus said, "I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided:
father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."
He also said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, `It is going to rain'; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, `There will be scorching heat'; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?"
Reflection
In recent weeks we have heard from Luke how Jesus has told us not to worry about our lives because if we trust in God he will be there for us, and not be afraid because the Father will be pleased to give us the kingdom if we do things to store up treasures in heaven rather than material things on earth.
That’s all good then, this is the nice side of Jesus who we all want to relate to alongside the Jesus that does all the miracle stuff!
Yet here we see a side to Jesus that makes us feel a little uncomfortable. We even hear that Jesus is stressed out! - as he pursues his mission to enlighten us about the kingdom of God. Yes Jesus wants us to love one another, but people don’t seem to get the whole message. In order to do that we need to fully embrace God and put him first and foremost in our lives and also make sacrifices. We must love God above all others, even our own families.
It's not just about us choosing the good bits and carrying on with the same old business as usual behaviour that we have always done. Jesus did not come to us just to spruce up a few things and polish the surface, no, he came to show us that His kingdom does not always fit neatly with our human perception. He needs us to know that there is much more radical change needed.
That was perhaps the source of some of His frustration, life is not just about trying to get along together or even saying what we think is the right thing to someone to make things easy. It’s about the values we live each and hour of every day. It’s not about some superficial niceness, but it’s about genuinely devoting ourselves to God and making sacrifices. That is far from easy and that is the message that Jesus wants to get across to us - that for us to fit into His kingdom will mean some serious disruption in our lives at times.
That will mean that sometimes we have to do things which upset other people including our families. It might mean telling our children that they can’t go to a concert because we have promised to attend a church event or volunteer to help someone, or it might mean forgoing a holiday or going on a cheaper holiday because we believe it is important to maintain a certain level of charitable giving.
Jesus, tells us that the kingdom of God is on our spiritual horizon, and just as we would take precautions if we saw clouds on the physical horizon we should also take heed and prepare for the coming of the God’s Kingdom. That may mean turning our lives and perceptions upside down somewhat. This week is also the Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary who expressed similar upheaval in the words of the Magnificat - where the poor will be elevated and the rich will be sent away empty-handed. Paul
