Sunday Worship 29th October

 Sunday Worship

Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the 21st Sunday after Trinity. Our Church Services this morning are at the usual times of 9.15 am at St Agnes' and 11 am at St Thomas'.

If you're unable to be with us in person, you can find resources below to worship at home.

Our first hymn this morning is "Beauty For Brokenness (God of the Poor)"

Today's Gospel

Matthew 22:34-46       The Question about the Messiah

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus 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

I’m not going to try and fool anyone. The reality is that there are many questions in life that are hard. Not just when it’s about things that are very complex and theoretical like quantum physics, but also some things that are just beyond our ability to comprehend.

In today’s passage, Jesus is referring to Psalm 110 written by David 1000 years BC. It is one of the most quoted psalms in the bible and would have been widely used in the temples in Jesus’ time.

I mentioned in my last reflection how the Pharisees were considered by many to be hypocrites because they had a habit of interpreting the religious laws for the benefits of themselves and the government leaders of the day. That said, they were also extremely learned scholars who studied all the Jewish religious texts intensely. They were the experts regarding interpretation of the scriptures.

This event takes place when Jesus has been undergoing an examination and a series of challenging and questions from the Pharisees in an attempt to try and catch Him out and expose Him for blasphemy. Remember last weeks question about paying taxes to Caesar? 

But now, the tables are turned and Jesus has the opportunity to reverse things and ask them a question. It should be noted that Jesus wasn’t just challenging one or two pharisees, they were all gathered together, so he was giving them all the opportunity to draw on their collective and extensive knowledge of the scriptures.  He was taking them all on at once! It looked like He was giving them the ‘upper hand’.

When Jesus asks them, : “What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?”, they reply with, “The son of David.”  This is based, as we might expect, on the Scriptures, where King David was told, ‘When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom.’ [2 Samuel 7:12-13]. 

It shows their understanding that the Messiah will be a flesh and blood, human descendant of King David. The Pharisees get a tick, but unfortunately not the gold star because they haven’t answered the question fully. 

Jesus’ follow up question is far harder than a simple interpretation of Samuel. As we have seen, He quotes the actual words of David which were accepted by religious scholars to have been given to Him by God about the Messiah: ‘The LORD said to my Lord’. 

The learned scholars are now in a dilemma; they can maintain that the Messiah is just flesh and blood, but if they do so, how do they explain what David has said about the Messiah?  - because David refers to Him as LORD, and these words were given to David by God. How do they understand that a human being can also be God? So they just sit in silence – there doesn’t even appear to be any philosophical debate on the question.

The truth is that they are totally incapable and unprepared to accept that Jesus can be both human flesh and also divine. It’s a massive thing to conceptualise even for us. It’s a question that goes to the heart of our belief and requires faith in God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

Jesus did not just ask this question of the pharisees, He also asked the same question from His disciples, [Matthew 16:15-17], and it was Peter who replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" Jesus commended Peter and called him blessed because He knew, as with David, that knowledge had come directly from God. 

As I said at the beginning of this reflection, there some questions that are really hard, not least theological ones. There are some things that we must accept are beyond our ability as humans to answer on our own, based on our experience, knowledge or basis of proof. We have to understand and accept our limitations because we are not divine.

Nevertheless, the question that Jesus asked His disciples and the pharisees is one that we should all take time to reflect on. 

Jesus does not ask us to think about who other people think He is. He is asking each of us in person,  ‘Who do you say that I am’. 

It is something we need to pray on and ask God.  

The following quote from John 1:14 may help:  ‘And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth’.        Paul

Our Prayers

Holy and merciful Father,

We pray for your guidance in our understanding of your word.

As we read your Good News,

may we be filled with Holy Spirit,

and may our faith grow day by day.

In Jesus’ name we pray.

Amen

Today's final hymn is "Thou Whose Almighty Word"

Notices

On Thursday 2nd November we have our annual service for All Souls at St Thomas’. This is a gentle, reflective service where we light candles and pray for the souls of the dear departed. 

Sunday Worship 22nd October

 Sunday Worship

Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the 20th Sunday after Trinity. Our Church Services this morning 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 "As We are Gathered, Jesus is Here"

Today's Gospel

 Matthew 22:15-22                    Paying Taxes to Caesar

The Pharisees went and plotted to entrap Jesus in what he said. So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” They answered, “The emperor’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.

Reflection

Some of you will I am sure have a reasonable idea of who the Pharisees were; to recap briefly, they were members of a Jewish religious sect that were often considered to be hypocrites because they professed the highest standards of piety and adherence to religious law but put themselves above everyone else.  

But who were the Herodians? The Herodians were a political party of Hellenistic, [Greek], Jews who wanted to restore a Herod to the throne in Judea. They were supportive of the Romans who were an occupying force in Judea and surrounding regions, and as such were despised by the common people. They were also strongly opposed to the Pharisees because they wanted a descendant of David on the throne rather than a descendant of Herod. 

However, in today’s reading we see a dubious alliance between the two opposing groups. The common denominator being that neither group particularly liked Jesus and what He stood for. So between them the Herodians and Pharisees attempt to lay a trap for Jesus with what might be described as a lose - lose situation. 

They started by trying to lull Jesus into a false sense of security by flattering Him, perhaps trying to seduce him into believing that they were beginning to be won over by His teachings. Then they pose a trick question that they hope will trip Jesus up.   

Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” If Jesus, answers ‘No’, then the Herodians will report back the Roman authorities and no doubt have Him arrested. Whereas if Jesus says ‘Yes’, He would risk enraging His followers who have been persecuted by the occupying Romans and heavily taxed, especially the poor who had to suffer more disproportionate levels of tax.

But as we know, Jesus is not normally one to respond with a simple Yes or No. He is unwilling to play their game, so he ‘ups the ante’. By asking the question, “Whose head is this, and whose title?”. 

Jesus is highlighting that the coin, as well as being a means of payment, is also a sign of idolatry. It is stamped with the image of Caesar. It is made by human hand for the use of humans and for paying the emperor.  

We are told that, ” When they heard this, they were amazed”. On the face of it, it might seem like Jesus has simply deflected the question with a cleverly worded response. He had found  a way of sitting on the fence and not upsetting anyone. But that is not what makes this so amazing. If we look a little deeper we can hopefully see a greater significance. 

When we consider the ministry of Jesus, we do not see a person who is openly hostile towards the government of the day, despite the extensive corruption and maltreatment of the poor. Similarly, he is certainly not supportive of the authorities, neither the emperor nor the religious leaders of the time.

It is fair to say that there were many who had hoped that the Messiah would be someone of great power and strength like King David. Someone who would lead armies and rebellions to overthrow the Romans. 

But that is not Jesus’ way. Jesus shows us that, despite how good or bad the system is, and the circumstances we find ourselves in, we need to work within it. Yes, we have a duty to challenge through reasonable means, using the system itself, but we are not called to rebellion every time we object to the government, be that a democratic or autocratic regime. 

So, Jesus does not jump in with both feet and take the opportunity to openly condemn Caesar and the government, no matter how much the people may resent them. Instead He reacts with wisdom and restraint. 

In His response He shows us that there is a way to respond to the needs of others whilst remaining within the restrictions and even inequities that are imposed on our daily lives.

He is reminding us that we have a far higher duty that goes beyond paying what is demanded here on earth. 

The coin that was handed to Jesus was made by the Romans and stamped with the image of the Roman emperor. Jesus is reminding us that we are all created by the God, the Father, we are all stamped with God’s image [Genesis 1:26], made in His likeness. 

Jesus is clear that we are to, ‘give to God the things that are God’s’. I believe that means….

We are to give ourselves to God. To worship and praise Him for His grace and mercy. We are also called to give back to God by loving one another and looking after each other. Our gifts can be evaluated by our actions, how we support communities and those who are needy in the world. When we bless others, we are giving to God what is God’s.             Paul

Our Prayers

Most Merciful Father,

We thank you for your grace and mercy.

We pray that we may give to you what is yours.

Give us wisdom to understand what pleases you,

and to live our lives in a way that blesses others.

Amen

A prayer for peace in Israel and Gaza

Today's final hymn is "Jesus is Lord, Creation's Voice Proclaims It"

Sunday Worship 15th October

 Sunday Worship

Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the 19th Sunday after Trinity. Our Church Services today 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 resources below to help you worship at home.

Our first hymn this morning is "Longing for Light, We Wait in Darkness (Christ be our Light)"

Today's Gospel

Matthew 22:1-14            The Parable of the Wedding  Banquet 

Once more Jesus spoke to the people in parables, saying: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.’ But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.

“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.” 

Reflection

In this parable, Jesus uses very exaggerated allegories to paint the picture of the King who is shunned. In brief, Jesus is describing the behaviour of the Jews who failed to recognise the message of God’s kingdom of heaven and salvation that He had come to deliver.

When Jesus describes the slaves being mistreated and murdered He is referring to the prophets in the Old Testament who were ignored and in some cases killed by the Israelites. 

Up until Jesus’ time, the Israelites had been considered as the chosen people of God, from as far back as Abraham. God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, [Deut. 7:6]  Here, Matthew is addressing his gospel to the Jewish-Christian readers who should have recognised Jesus’ words, ‘those invited’, to mean the people of Israel.  

Yet, during Jesus’ time on earth and also during the early growth of the Christian church, many of the Israelites failed to follow Jesus or accept His message and teachings. To use an appropriate phrase, they just didn’t want to come to the party.

 

God, (the king in this parable), then says, invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet…..the good and the bad.  This is seriously good news for all of us. Jesus is saying that from now on, we are all invited to follow Him. We are all invited to God’s kingdom in heaven.  Being called to be God’s people is no longer the sole privilege of Israelites, but also the gentiles, the Greeks and everyone else - even sinners! 

This is reiterated explicitly by Jesus when He commissions His disciples; Go into the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. The one who believes and is baptised will be saved and the one who does not believe will be condemned. 

However, there is more to it than us just saying we are followers of Jesus, we also have to act as disciples in our love for one another and live in a righteous and obedient way. It’s not just about turning up to the party but also doing what is expected, like wearing the right clothes. Paul

Our Prayers

God of love and Mercy,

Thank you for inviting us all to be part of your heavenly kingdom.

Help us to clothe ourselves with righteousness

and so to follow the teachings of your Son, Jesus.

Lord we pray that we will make time to be true disciples

To proclaim your Good News and invite others to your eternal banquet.

Amen

A special prayer from the English Cathedrals

Today's final hymn is "The Lord's My Shepherd"

Sunday Worship 8th October

 Sunday Worship

Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish as we celebrate Harvest. Today we have a Parish Eucharist at 11 am at St Thomas' Church, and there will be no service at St Agnes'.

If you are unable to be with us in person, you can find a Gospel reading, reflection and prayers below.

Our first hymn this morning is "We Plough the Fields and Scatter"

Today's Gospel

Luke 12: 16-30

Then he told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’  But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’  So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”

He said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, you of little faith! And do not keep seeking what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. For it is the nations of the world that seek all these things, and your Father knows that you need them.

Reflection

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear.” 

I wonder how many of us have ever worried about money or financial matters? It is, we are told, a sign of our times that things are so hard for many; high inflation pushing up the cost of basic necessities and energy prices still at eye-wateringly high levels, forcing people to choose between ‘heating or eating’. On top of that there is the increasing cost of borrowing and levels of debt. 

For some of the older people, I’m sure many of you will have seen this all before, for example the austerity after World War 2 and the seventies when there was record unemployment, and even higher rates of inflation and interest rates. 

I guess against that background, it is only human instinct to worry about things. It is also in our nature to look ahead and plan for success. Is that inherently wrong? For those facing retirement, we are told it is even more important to make financial plans to ensure that we have enough to live on for our foreseeable future. 

Having read the parable, we may ask our ourselves a couple of questions:

1) Is it wrong to earn lot of money and have success?

2) Is it wrong to plan ahead?

I do not believe that Jesus is saying it is wrong to earn money or be a very productive farmer in this case. However, when people say, it’s my money, I have earned it and have the right to do with it as I wish, how true us that?

The farmer in the parable was very successful and it is inferred that he has been so for many years. Perhaps some of the reason for his success would be his skills and knowledge as a farmer, knowing what to plant where and when, and how to look after his crops during the seasons, and applying the best methods of farming known at the time.

Yet there is a feeling that in his self-satisfaction, he has failed to see the hand of God at work.  God the great creator who is still at work each and every day. The rich man does not seem to acknowledge and give thanks or even appreciation to God. 

The same could be said for others in today’s world. Some people are very successful, go to university and hopefully get good jobs. Some of us without the benefit of a degree, are also very successful and have promotions as we work out way ‘up the ladder’ to more senior roles with bigger salaries. For the self-employed, some small firms may become large corporations.

Jesus is not saying any of this is wrong. But when we fail to recognise the hand of God in our lives and show Him appreciation, we too are guilty of self-satisfaction. How often do we stop to think about how lucky we are to have been born into a relatively comfortable part of the world, with all the infrastructure and educational support available to us? To give thanks for what we have, compared to millions in the world who have virtually nothing? 

Whatever we have, it is right to recognise the hand of God, and the mercies He has given us throughout our lives and continues to do. Moreover, it is our duty to give Him thanks and praise Him.

When we recognise that what we have is not all of our own doing, it prompts the question, what should we do with what we have? 

That brings me to my second question, is it wrong to plan ahead? Again, Jesus wasn’t intrinsically condemning planning for the future as a bad thing. Indeed, a key message of this Gospel is that we all need to think carefully about eternity, and you can’t get much further ahead in planning than that! 

So why did Jesus refer to the rich man as a fool? If you look at the passage carefully you will see that the rich man refers to ‘I’ 5 times and to ‘my’ 4 times: “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods, etc... Not only is the rich man self-satisfied, but he is also self-centred. Not once does he think about how he can use some of what God has given him for the benefit of others. Moreover, because he has stored up all his grain, it is highly likely that he has pushed up the price of grain for the poorer people because of a scarcity of supply. Think again about cost of energy due to supply being restricted from Russia and the price of wheat due to supplies being restricted from Ukraine.

If we are to be more God-centred we need to be rich towards God.  That is to appreciate Him and give Him thanks and credit for His mercy towards us. We also need to be thoughtful towards God’s people in our actions and how we share what we have. Because by being rich towards God, we are planning for eternity.  If you look at the rich man and think it is a tragedy that he died when he had so much wealth, then you have missed the point. The tragedy is that he lived an earthly life oblivious to God and he would, therefore, live an eternity without God. He thought his soul belonged to him and did not realise it belongs to God.                           Paul 

Our Prayers

Most Merciful God of all creation, 

At this harvest time, we give you thanks for all your gifts 

and the abundant mercies you provide for us throughout our lives.

We pray for those less fortunate than ourselves both at home and across the world.

Guide us as to how we may best help  those who are struggling,

and save us from the foolishness of being self-centred and self-satisfied. 

Amen

Today's final hymn is "Harvest Samba (Cabbages and Greens)" 

Sunday Worship 1st October

 Sunday Worship

Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the 17th Sunday after Trinity. Our Church Services today 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 a Gospel reading, reflection and prayers below.

Today's Gospel

Matthew 21:23-32                   The Authority of Jesus Questioned 

When Jesus entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” And they argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet.” So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

“What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ He answered, ‘I will not’; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, ‘I go, sir’; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.

Reflection

By pure coincidence, I was looking at John 1: 11-12, last night;  'He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God'. Take a look at Jesus’ last sentence above. Do you see the similarity?

Following  Jesus is a choice. We have free will and it is up to us what we do and how we do it. But what does following Jesus mean? What do you think it means to you?

Is it about reading scripture, praising God and going to church? Is it about being seen to be a follower of Jesus? Or is it something more than that?

Naturally, going to church and making space in our lives for regular prayer are indeed righteous and good things. But if that is all we do, are we just paying lip service to our faith? Are we truly serving others as much as we should and doing what is required to establish God’s kingdom here?

This is part of the message that Jesus is making here; He was of speaking to the senior Israelite community representatives, to the learned and revered members of society. They were the religious leaders who claimed to have the authority of the prophets who originally received God’s word. The sort of people that everyday people didn’t ever question, let alone challenge.

To use a modern colloquialism, Jesus was ‘calling them out’ for their hypocrisy, because despite their words and messages, their actions just did not align with their words. To use another common phrase, it was a case of, ‘do as I say, not as  do’.  

On the other hand Jesus recognised that some of those who were despised in society were not only willing to listen to John the Baptist and Jesus; they were readily and willing to change. To repent and set their hearts and actions on righteous ways of living. These were like the first son that Jesus mentions. All right, so they weren’t immediately willing to say yes and do what was asked, but they were willing to listen and ultimately come to Jesus. They were willing to understand what the Father asks of them and do His will.  Paul

Our Prayers

Merciful Father, 

We ask you to forgive us when we fall short of what you ask us to do.

Fill us with the power of your Holy Spirit,

That we may recognise what more we need to do, 

and make us impatient to follow you and do God’s will. 

With a joyful and glad heart. 

Amen

Notices

Next week we celebrate Harvest, and on Saturday our long-serving Harvest Queen Annie retires (please see poster). Then on Sunday, we have our Parish Harvest Eucharist at 11 am at St Thomas' Church, and there will be no service at St Agnes' on that day. The service will be followed by a bring-and-share Harvest Lunch.