Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the 8th Sunday after Trinity. Our Church Services are at the usual times of 9.15 am at St Agnes' and 11 am at St Thomas'. If you are unable to be with us in person, you can find today's Gospel Reading, a reflection and prayers below.
Our first hymn this morning is "Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God"
Today's Gospel
Matthew 13:31-33,44-52 Parables about the Kingdom of God
Jesus put before the crowds another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
“Have you understood all this?” They answered, “Yes.” And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
Reflection
There are five short parables contained in this passage from Matthew. In them Jesus is trying to explain to his followers and disciples something that is very hard to grasp – The Kingdom of God.
In the first two parables, Jesus is talking about growth and how the Kingdom will grow from very small beginnings. How the apostles will start to grow the church from a small number of believers to become a huge worldwide church that will continue to expand across time and generations to come.
But it is much more than just the growth in numbers of believers; it is about how our own actions, however small, can make a real difference in our communities and the world. When we as everyday ordinary folk, serve and help others be that the sick, elderly or lonely or maybe helping the homeless or giving to charities. All these things are actions that serve the Kingdom of God and yes it often means making sacrifices, be that financial, emotional or taking time out from other things we may prefer to do.
Like the tiny mustard seed or the yeast in the bread, such things could easily go unseen in and of themselves - but it is the impact that they ultimately have in building God’s Kingdom that is significant. It is the difference we can make when we chose to listen to what Jesus is saying and when we place God’s will at the centre of lives, like the yeast at the centre of the flour making a real difference albeit not always immediately obvious to the naked eye.
The second two parables describes our human attitude to finding things, whether are actively searching for them or discover them by accident. Moreover, it causes us to think about what we might do when we find them.
Both the hidden treasure and the magnificent specimen of the pearl have great material wealth in human terms, so much so that the finders are willing to give up everything in order to obtain it.
There are similarities here with Jesus’ words to the rich man: “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me” (Matthew 19:21). This on the face of it, this is uncomfortable to accept, but we should not take this literally, because God does not demand that we ignore all our needs - it is more about challenging how we use our material belonging and time purely for self serving purposes.
Besides, we should remember that the Kingdom is something God is doing that is to be received as a gift and not acquired or bought by selling material gifts. It is a body into which we are invited to enter. The parable is, however, telling us that we must be prepared to follow Jesus wholeheartedly and be fully committed to be part of God’s kingdom. There are no half measures if we are to let God’s kingdom consume every aspect of our lives. So yes, this may mean going against our instincts at times. It may mean turning the other cheek, loving those we don’t particularly like or who others may think don’t deserve helping, and it may mean changing our priorities. But we also need to remember that all these things are storing up treasures in heaven where the reward is eternal.
Last but not least, the final parable echoes last weeks parable of the tares and the wheat.
As disciples, we are called to spread the good news of God’s Kingdom as far and wide as we can in our communities, workplaces and to everyone we meet. It is not for us to judge who is worthy or assume that people will come to God when they are ready. There are so many people who have not really heard the message of God’s grace and love for everyone.
It is our duty to cast the net as wide as we can. There will be some folk who may seem undesirable who will grow into true Kingdom people, and others who show promise and potential but will turn their backs on God. Let us catch them all and in the end the judgement will be His to make. God is wholeheartedly for us and just wants us to become wholeheartedly His. Paul
Our Prayers
Almighty God,
You offer us the keys to your Kingdom
We pray that your Kingdom will reign in our lives
Give us the confidence to spread joy, hope
and your good news to people in all walks of life.
Help us to set aside our self-centred ways
to open our hearts more fully to receive you
to grow in faith and love to do your will.
In Jesus name we pray,
Amen
Our final hymn today is "Spirit of God, Unseen as the Wind"
