Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the second Sunday in Advent. Our church services are at the usual times of 9.15 am at St Agnes' and 11.00 am at St Thomas'. This afternoon we also have a Christingle Service at 3 pm at St Thomas' Church. All are welcome to come along to this lovely family service - all you need to bring is an orange.
If you're not able to be with us in person, the Gospel, reflection and prayers can be found below.
Our first hymn this morning is "On Jordan's Bank the Baptist's Cry"
Today's Gospel
Matthew 3:1-12 John the Baptist Prepares the Way
In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,
“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’”
Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
“I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Reflection
In this second week of Advent, we focus on John the Baptist, the one who jumped for joy in the womb of his mother Elizabeth, in the presence of the unborn Jesus. He is often referred to as ‘The voice in the wilderness’ a direct reference to the prophesy of Isaiah (40:3) and is also sometimes referred to as the last of the Old Testament prophets.
He came to herald the coming of Christ the Lord. His preaching in the wilderness paved the way for the ministry of Jesus Christ. He came, ‘to make His paths straight’. He came to ask people to repent of their sins so that they could be re-united with a merciful God. He baptised them with water as symbol of cleansing. He asked the people to look at themselves and truthfully examine their behaviour, then to repent of their sins. For the way to straighten the path for Jesus was to be truly sorry for their transgressions and ask to be cleansed.
John the Baptist was not one to mince his words either, as he made clear when addressing the Pharisees. He calls them out for their shallow holiness and smug sense of security and superiority, His point being that you need to do more than be seen to be good, you need to be good at heart as well.
Through his preaching and by baptising people in the Jordan, John turned many sinners into righteous people to pave the way for Our Lord’s first coming.
For ourselves, we need to make sure that we are also prepared for the Lord’s second coming. To do so we need to put Jesus at the centre of our lives, rather than ourselves, and take heed of John’s warning not to be complacent or self-satisfied. We need to look at our lifestyles and ask ourselves; where might we have wandered form the straight path. What are we not doing or not caring about that we should be doing? What are our daily priorities and what are or who are we neglecting in the world? We can ask Jesus to help us to be honest with ourselves and then ask his forgiveness and to help us change our hearts.
Most people reading this will have been baptised, and we should remember that we were baptised not only with water but also with the Holy Spirit. As part of our baptism, promises were made to renounce sin and serve God. Maybe today, we should take a little time to renew those promises and take our lead from the Holy Spirit to reflect on how we are serving God and preparing for Jesus coming again. Paul
Our Prayers
Merciful Lord, you came to us as a weak and dependant infant,
May we be willing to follow in your vulnerability
To strip away selfish material needs that we hide behind, and let it burn like chaff.
May our lives and way we live, bear fruit that glorifies you, and clear the way for your coming again.
Amen.
Today's final hymn is "Lo, He Comes With Clouds Descending"
