Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany. 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 worship at home.
Today's Gospel
Mark 1: 21-28 Jesus Drives Out the Evil Spirit
Jesus and his disciples went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?
I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.
They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.
Reflection
There are two key themes to Mark’s account of Jesus at the synagogue, His teaching and the casting out of the unclean spirit. It is usual for the sermon to focus on the casting out of demons but I thought I would write about the former theme of Jesus’s teaching.
Writing a sermon or reflection is certainly not easy. I’m sure any of the visiting priests who are kindly supporting us at the moment will undoubtedly share that view. I know of some folk who start their sermon on Monday reading up what various scholars say as well as researching the background behind the passage and learning about how things were at the time Jesus was around.
There are many different approaches to preparing a sermon but by far the most important aspect is to pray and seek the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to guide and provide some divine inspiration.
We read that when Jesus was preaching and teaching in the synagogue, he taught as ’one having authority’. It is also clearly implied that He had much more wisdom and knowledge than the scribes and church elders.
At the risk of stating the obvious, that is hardly surprising is it? He is the Son of God, He is God incarnate and filled with the Holy Spirit. One would expect him to speak with total authority.
Yet, we know from the bible, that even Jesus often escaped from the crowds and His disciples to spend quiet time alone praying and talking with God the Father. He immersed himself in scripture, meditation and prayer. For anyone who has a teaching role, be it at work, school or in church, we can only do this if we have the base knowledge and spend time researching. But to teach with authority and confidence requires an additional element of dedication and commitment.
The gift of wisdom and ability to teach authoritatively are not just the result of many years of hard work, they are also gifts from God who will reward our commitment and requests for guidance.
I know from listening to comments from people after the service, that there are occasions when the sermon really seems to hit the mark, whether that’s the style of presentation, charisma of the priest or the underlying message that resonates with us. Whatever the reason we should be grateful to God for the blessing of those who bring the Word of God to life. Equally, we should also take a little time to say thank you to the vicar who has spent so much time preparing and praying so that they can speak with authority.Paul
Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Third Sunday after Epiphany. 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 worship at home.
Our first hymn this morning is "O Thou, Who at Thy Eucharist Didst Pray"
Today's Gospel
John 2:1-11 The Wedding at Cana
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to me and to you? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.
He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the person in charge of the banquet.” So they took it. When the person in charge tasted the water that had become wine and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), that person called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.”
Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee and revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.
Reflection
Before I start this reflection, my thanks go to Ruth who gave me a lovely book at Advent called the Preacher’s Companion, which has in part inspired some of my thinking today.
In John’s gospel, he recounts the first of all of Jesus’ miracles. The scene is set at a wedding, a time and place of happiness and joy. It’s also a scene that is ordinary, something that we are all familiar with. But then disaster seems imminent - all the wine has gone! We do not know why Mary was the one to deal with this issue, but it is clear that she had no doubt whatsoever that Jesus could resolve the embarrassing issue.
To be honest, it appears thatJesus’s initial reaction is quite dismissive, almost rude to his mother when he effectively says, ‘so what?, what’s that got to do with us?’
Nonetheless, Mary is resolute and tells the servants to do whatever Jesus tells them. Then Jesus, without any fuss or fanfare, turns the water into gallons of the finest wine. This indeed is a miracle and the first of many signs that Jesus is the Messiah. He takes the ordinary and makes it extraordinary.
But the most amazing thing is that ‘How did Mary know?’ There has been no previous signs or inkling that Jesus had the power or will to do anything like this. Through the grace of our Lord, she instinctively knew that it was Jesus’s time to step into the limelight. You will hopefully recall that Mary stored and treasured what was said about Jesus just after He was born, [Luke 2:19] and likewise she heard and marvelled at the prophesy of Simeon in the temple. We should not therefore be surprised that Mary might expect Jesus to do something miraculous when his friends needed help. She was fully prepared to expect the unexpected.
Most of you will remember David Halford who was our associate priest for many years, and he would regularly remind us in his sermons, that when we have faith and expectation, we can all see the wonders of God at work in the ordinary every day things in our lives. So too, we can also see the work of Jesus in the everyday, even mundane things in our lives; we just have to set our expectations, observe and recognise His hand at work. Perhaps when something good comes out of a bad situation, when someone unforeseen or a stranger helps us out, or just those times when everything just works out fine first time. We should not be afraid to ‘join the dots’ and wonder if Jesus was providing a helping hand.
Miracles happen, and the ordinary can become extraordinary when we do what Jesus wants us to do and humbly trust in Him. Paul
Our Prayers
Loving Father
We give you thanks for the presence of your son Jesus Christ.
Who watches over us and reaches out to help us.
Help us to recognise His hand at work in our lives.
and to give Him thanks and praise.
Amen
Today's final hymn is "Rejoice, the Lord is King"
Notices
This afternoon at 3 pm, we join our fellow Christians from the local area in the Churches Together in Lees and District service to mark the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. All are warmly invited to join us.
Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Second Sunday after Epiphany. Church services this morning are at the usual times of 9.15 at St Agnes' and 11.00 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 "O Worship the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness"
Today's Gospel
John 1:43-51 Jesus Calls Philip and Nathaniel
Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
Reflection
Today is the second Sunday after Epiphany and the wise men are making their way back having come to see the infant king at Bethlehem.
In chronological terms the passage above happens some thirty years later, just after Jesus has been baptised and He is starting his ministry. Up to that point there is nothing really to tell about Jesus, other than the story of His birth and presentation at the temple. He is just a stranger from Nazareth. on earth in human form.
But Jesus is starting His divine mission here on earth. He is starting to call His disciples and build the church. He approaches Philip and says to him, “Follow me”. That’s all we know, there is no scripture that describes Philip’s reaction or record of any debate where Philip asks, ‘who are you?’ We are just told that Jesus asked Philip to follow Him and we assume that’s exactly what he did.
Next we are told that ‘Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.”’ Nathaniel’s response is somewhat dismissive, even jokingly offensive when he replies, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” In response, Philip just replies, “Come and see.” Again there is no record of any long debate or Philip going to lengths to explain why Nathaniel should go, but clearly he goes with Philip to see Jesus.
The fact that Jesus tells Nathaniel that He saw him under the fig tree is far from earth shattering news. Neither is what Jesus says to Nathaniel about him not being an deceitful person. Yet Nathaniel’s reaction in identifying Jesus as ‘The Son of God’ is astonishing. The impact of meeting Jesus in person seems to be phenomenal.
Jesus isn’t stood there with a huge crown and robes, or veil of visible light around Him. He doesn’t have a big badge on his cloak saying, ‘Messiah’ or ‘Anointed One’. We aren’t told that Jesus has a magnetic personality or terrific wit, yet everyone who is called is not only content, but happy to follow Him. The beginning of His church is coming into place and from that point people will follow Jesus, not because they have met Him in person but by people telling each other about Him. To a large extent that’s the way the church has grown over two millennia and continues to grow at a pace in Africa and parts of the Far East. By word of mouth and people inviting others to ‘come and see’ just as Nathaniel did and also the Wise Men.
That might seem incredible at a time when many are bemoaning the fact that in the West, there seems to be an overall decline in Christianity. As we continue our Christmas journey through the season of Epiphany, there is a clear call for us to encourage others to ‘come and see.’ Like Philip, we should not feel we have to extensively explain why people need follow Jesus. Rather we just offer them the invitation and let them ‘come and see’ what Jesus is doing in the world today! Paul
Our Prayers
Most Loving and wonderful Father,
we thank you for the gift of your Son Jesus who took human form,
and walked amongst us, growing His church here on earth.
Help us to follow Him and spread the good news of your kingdom,
To all who have ears to listen.
Amen
Today's final hymn is "Will You Come and Follow Me"
Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the First Sunday after Epiphany. 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 will find resources below to worship at home. The focus of today's Gospel and reflection is the Baptism of Christ, but if you prefer to follow an Epiphany order of service, our good friends at St Barnabas Clarksfield and Holy Trinity Waterhead have kindly agreed to share theirs with us. You can find the full service transcript here - Medlock Head resources Epiphany
Our first hymn this morning is "We Three Kings of Orient Are"
Today's Gospel
Mark 1:4-11 The Baptism of Jesus
John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
Reflection
In today’s Gospel we hear the marvellous story of the Baptism of Jesus in the wilderness.
A strange place to have a baptism you might think, but to the Israelite people of that time the wilderness had a huge significance. To many it was deemed to be a Holy place where God dwelled and had looked after His people when they left Egypt and wandered for forty years in search of the promised land with Moses. A place where God had provided water from the rocks when they were thirsty and heavenly food, (Manna) when they were starving.
So what better place to call people to in order to repent and be cleansed of their sin as they looked for God’s presence.
And the people flocked from far and wide to this strange person in the wilderness; some because of John’s growing reputation, some because there were rumours that he was a prophet or even perhaps the promised Messiah and some because he was talking about the one who would be much greater and come after him, [Mark 1:8]. He was giving a message of hope to the Israelites who had been exiled and badly treated for generations. They desperately wanted God’s intervention once again so they turned up in the hundreds even thousands.
John’s activities and preaching were so powerful that those who came to repent and be baptised included people from neighbouring regions who were not Israelites.
In the midst of this we see Jesus coming to be baptised by John in the river Jordan. To everyone except John the Baptist, Jesus was no one special or out of the ordinary. He had not yet started His own teaching ministry or performed any miracles. He was to all intents and purposes, just a regular person like the rest of us. A stranger from Nazareth.
In those days, baptism was by total immersion, by which I mean, it wasn’t just a splash of water on the head, it involved being totally submerged – head to foot in the river. In some places this still happens.
When Jesus comes up out of the water everything changes. Mark describes how the heavens are ‘torn apart’. This is not like a little break in the clouds on a dreary day, it is an earth shattering manifestation. ‘It’s as though an invisible curtain, right in front of us, was suddenly pulled back, so that so that instead of the river, the sandy desert and the crowds we, are standing in the presence of a different reality altogether.’ The heavens referred to here are the heavens that God made in the beginning, when he created everything. That is, ‘a dimension beyond our comprehension’, where God and the angels dwell.
But as dramatic as this is, it’s just the overture for what is to follow, as the Holy Spirit then descends on Jesus in what resembles a dove. The Holy Spirit that hovered over the waters when God first created the earth at the very beginning of the bible, [Genesis 1:2].
As if that isn’t astounding enough, Jesus then hears the actual voice of God from heaven, telling Him not only that He is God’s son, but also praising Him and saying how pleased He is with His son.
Those who witnessed the event were in the presence of all three components of the Trinity, God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. How momentous is that?
For myself, this is one of the most powerful moments of Mark’s gospel, but what does that mean for Jesus and for us?
The baptism is the keystone in the life and ministry of Jesus. The empowerment by the Spirit to be God’s Servant, and the declaration from heaven, “You are my Son”, enable Jesus not only to speak and act for God but as God.
It is the starting point of Jesus’ mission on earth, that will be played out through the rest of His story and end at the cross where He will die for the redemption of all our sins.
For those who have already been baptised I suspect that the occasion felt somewhat less dramatic. That does not mean it is less significant!
I wonder how many of you can remember getting baptised or what day you were baptised on. For myself, I can easily remember the date because I was baptised on my birthday. Not any old birthday but my actual birthday - the day I was born. If you don’t know the date you were baptised you may want to try to find out, because like our birthdays, it’s a special day to celebrate. Even if we can’t personally remember it, it’s just as special and important as the day that Jesus was baptised.
It’s the day when our sins were washed away in Holy Christ-filled waters.
It’s the moment when through the power of the Holy Spirit and by the grace of God, we are welcomed into God’s church.
The point where we are reminded that through Jesus actions, we have passed from darkness into light and where we are invited to follow Him who said, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” [John 8:12].
Above all, it is a time when the living God looks at us, and says, “You are my dear, dear child; I’m delighted with you”.
Bishop Tom Wright suggests, ‘That you try reading that sentence slowly, with our own name at the start, and reflect quietly on God saying that to you, both at your baptism and every day since.’
How spiritually reassuring and full of love is that?
Jesus’ baptism was the starting point for His mission and our baptism is the starting point of our journey with Him.
Just as the Holy Spirit hovered over God’s creation in the beginning, he hovers over us at our baptism to make us a new creation in Jesus Christ.
For anyone who hasn’t been baptised yet, the good news is, that baptism into God’s church is available to everyone who wants to follow Jesus and believe in Him. We are all invited to be filled with God’s grace and the Holy Spirit and to follow Jesus. Paul
Our Prayers
Loving Father,
We give you thanks for your son Jesus Christ,
Who through the power of the Holy Spirit,
You empowered to fulfil his mission and win for you a people on earth.
Grant that we who have been baptised, may follow Him
and daily shape ourselves in His image.
Amen
Today's final hymn is "Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning"
