Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on Easter Sunday. Today we have just one service, a Parish Eucharist at 10 am at St Thomas' Church, led by Bishop Mark.
If you are unable to be with us in person, you can find today's Gospel, a reflection and prayers below, along with a couple of hymns.
Our first hymn this morning is "Jesus Christ is Risen Today"
Today's Gospel
John 20:1-18The Empty Tomb
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.
Reflection
“Woman, why are you weeping?”
Mary is asked this twice in close succession.
I wonder what I might have replied in Mary’s place. Think about the emotions that Mary must have experienced in the last few days. From the ups and downs at the trial of Jesus, with Pilate wanting to release Jesus but then the crowds and Pharisees insisting that He be put to death.
Then the anguish and trauma of His death. Not any execution but the harrowing and undignified suffering of being publicly tortured and killed by crucifixion.
Then, the realisation that Jesus is dead. Jesus the one she and so many others had believed was the Messiah, come to save the world.
They didn’t even have time to bury Him properly and placed His body temporarily in a tomb. So here is Mary, at the crack of dawn, filled with despair and feeling racked with remorse and ‘hopelessness’, coming to finish embalming the body of her Lord.
Next, to make matters worse, she arrives at the tomb and the body of her beloved Jesus is gone. Perhaps it’s grave robbers, come to steal the expensive spices and linen that the body was wrapped in? But wait, this doesn’t make any sense, all those things are still here, only the body is gone. Perhaps some of those nasty leaders from the temple have stolen and disposed of the body. This is just awful, what on earth will happen next?
No wonder Mary is crying her eyes out. She feels things are well and truly hopeless. She must have been in a place where all her hopes and expectations have been destroyed. Because that’s what the meaning of hopeless really means, devoid of hope.
Everything she had ‘hoped’ for was now gone and now even Jesus’ body was gone too. Her whole life has been turned upside down. The only small piece of hope that she had was that someone might tell her where the body was so that she could finish tending to the corpse and give Jesus a proper and dignified burial. It’s no wonder Mary was a mess that morning.
Then here is Jesus, asking, “Woman, why are you weeping?” In my imagination these words are said with total love and compassion. This was the same Jesus who had recently wept when he saw the grief of Lazarus’ family. This is the Jesus that knows what is in all our hearts. Gentle and merciful Jesus, full of empathy.
Part of the mystery of this encounter is that Mary has no idea that it is Jesus. Some people think it is because it was not yet daylight, whilst others suggest it is because Mary’s eyes are obscured by endless crying. Many believe that Jesus blocked her eyes similar to the disciples on the road to Emmaus. We only know that she did not recognise Jesus until her spoke her name, ‘Mary’.
Then just like Jesus does, he turns everything back upside down. In that instant Mary’s whole world was changed; all the despair and heartache was turned into insurmountable joy as she recognised the miracle of the risen saviour. The wonder that God has raised Jesus from the dead and her eyes were truly opened to see His power and glory. The Son of God who was fulfilling His promise to save her from her sins.
But it doesn’t end there, because the most glorious news is that Jesus died and was raised again to redeem the whole world for all of time. He is alive and willing to be with us when our lives feel like a mess and we too feel ‘hopeless’. So when things seem bad, remember Jesus will be there with you in his understated way, and He will whisper and call you by your name. He wants to ask you "why are you weeping?"
Like Mary and disciples on the road to Emmaus, listen and feel the presence of the risen Lord when you need Him most. Let Jesus reassure us that he is alive and with us for eternity.
Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on Palm Sunday. 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 resorces below to worship from home.
Our first hymn this morning is "Ride On, Ride On, in Majesty"
Today's Gospel
John 12:12-16Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King
The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord— the King of Israel!” Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written: “Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion. Look, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!” His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him.
Reflection
Here we are at last! The forty days of Lent are over and we look towards the tumultuous events of Holy Week that will culminate with Christ’s death on the Cross and His glorious resurrection. But before all that, we read about Jesus’ triumphant entry in Jerusalem on His way from Bethany after He raised Lazarus from the dead.
Many of the people present were not there to see Jesus but there for the great feast of The Passover, a major religious festival of thanksgiving for the Jewish people. However, there were also plenty of people who had come especially to see Jesus because they had heard of the miracles that Jesus had performed and listened to His teachings. So, by the time He arrived, word had got around and the atmosphere was fervent with excitement as people looked for the coming of the Messiah. Someone who would overthrow the Romans, and bring peace and redemption to the people of Israel. Someone who would bring justice, reconciliation and freedom to the people who had been exiled and oppressed for long.
They longed so much for change and so as they waved their palm branches, they shouted and screamed, ‘Hosanna, Hosanna’, which means ‘save us’. But of course, Jesus is not a leader who brandishes a sword and leads an army of warriors to slay the enemy. Rather, He is a leader who shows us how we need to make change happen through love and compassion for one another. That can be hard for many, because whilst following Jesus will undoubtedly bring positive changes to our lives and make us feel better, it also comes with a challenge. It is hard sometimes to love those who might do us harm or disrespect us. It not always easy to give what we have to those who have less, and maybe we justify that by telling ourselves we have what we have because we have earned it. Why should we give money or other things away?
I am sure when we look around the world, many of us hope and pray for transformation; an end to war, poverty and suffering and so many other bad things. Our challenge is not to work miracles but to do what we can to help one another and not be tempted in our frailty and weakness to stay with the status quo where we feel comfortable. Jesus wants us to be resilient and follow him, not be tempted to follow the crowd and do ‘U-turn’ like the crowds in Jerusalem did when faced with uncertainty. As we begin this Holy Week, we should recall that Jesus knew exactly what lay ahead – pain, suffering, abuse, mockery and finally death. But He chose to face it all and stand up for love and grace on our behalf. He was willing to put His life on the line for each of us. As we head through the week, perhaps we might reflect on how we might stay the course and follow Jesus who has prepared the way for those willing to follow Him. Paul
Our Prayers
Loving Father, thank you for the grace and love of your Son,
who gave His life that we might be saved.
Give us hearts of kindness, love and gentleness that we may follow Him,
to live together in your love and shine as lights in the darkness to reveal your glory.
AMEN
Today's final hymn is "Make Way!"
Notices
Below is a list of our Church Services for Holy Week. We also have our usual Tuesday morning service of Holy Communion at 10 am at St Thomas' Church, and special Holy Week Worship for all Generations at 6.30 pm at St Agnes' on both Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. We hope that you will be able to journey through Holy Week with us.
Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Fifth Sunday of Lent. Our Church Services to day 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 material below to worship from home.
Our first hymn this morning is "Just as I am, Without One Plea"
Today's Gospel
John 8:1-11 The Adulterous Woman
….. but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
Reflection
In our modern day and age how big a deal does society think adultery is? What are your thoughts? Of course it is morally wrong and can be deeply hurtful and to a loving partner, sometimes leading to unrecoverable damage to relationships and families.
But in Jesus’ time it was a much greater deal, right up there with idolatry and murder; it was a capital crime punishable by death. So this was a big deal.
John tells us that this was a trap set for Jesus by the Pharisees. They knew that he was a friend of sinners and associated himself with those on the margins rather than the well-to-do and privileged. He proclaimed a message of forgiveness, but if he declared that the woman should be set free then the pharisees would challenge that he was breaking the law of Moses. They would undermine Him and humiliate Him.
Whilst we know little about the woman, her background, age, previous relationships or indeed if she is married; all we are told is that she was ‘caught in the act of adultery’.
For many scholars, there is a view that because the whole thing was an intentional set up, the woman is as much a victim as a sinner. One key question people often ask is, what about the man in all of this? Was He not as guilty? Some would argue that he is more so, as he would have been expected, as a man, to have more spiritual accountability and leadership in God’s eyes. Perhaps he had been set free as a collaborator in the plot. But he too should have been brought for punishment? According to the law: ‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbour—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death. [Leviticus 20:10].
The answer is, we do not know? however it increases the speculation that all of this was an elaborate set up.
That said, the woman does not deny her sins. Neither does she attempt to justify her sins by making excuses saying that there are extenuating circumstances; perhaps a bad upbringing or that she has been abused by her husband, maybe he also had affairs. She just accepts that she has sinned and despite her embarrassment, it seem she is willing to accept the judgement of her accusers.
But what about the Pharisees? Jesus could clearly see through their plan and evil intent to malign His reputation. Moreover, they were willing to publicly humiliate the woman and have her executed to achieve their malicious agenda. They did not care at all for the woman.
Who was the greater sinner? The adulterous woman, or the Pharisees who were eager to point the finger at others, knowing they too were guilty of sin. For some, it is easier to highlight the wrongdoings of others than to look in the mirror and examine our own shortcomings and failings.
It is easier to expose and condemn others than to expose our own weaknesses. To say, perhaps we have done bad things, but others have done worse. Does that make our sins any less in the eyes of God? Does pointing the finger in any excuse reduce the impact of our sin in God’s eyes? No.
There are times when I read a bible passage and just itch to know more and this is one of them. John says, “Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.” He then stands up and after saying, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone”. He writes more and then they all leave. Wouldn’t you just love to know what Jesus was writing? Maybe he was writing a list of the sins of the accusers, or writing down the Ten Commandments or other laws from the Old Testament. Unfortunately, we don’t know, but it is clear that it struck ‘close to home’ with the religious leaders. John also mentions that the older ones were the first to leave – this might leave us to conclude that they had biggest burden of sin.
We are then left in that intimate moment where Jesus is alone with adulterous woman and we see Jesus doing what He does best. He treats her with compassion and dignity. He knows that she is aware of her wrongdoing and is sorry for what she has done. So Jesus shows His grace and forgiveness. Unlike the pharisees, who only had the power to condemn the woman, Jesus has the power to give her hope and set her on a new path. To wipe the slate clean and give her new direction and purpose by putting her sin behind her. To become a new person.
We too have the opportunity to put our sins behind us and become new people with a better outlook on life. To do that, we must first take the time to reflect on our lives and what where we have sinned. We have to be honest and admit our wrongs and bring them to Jesus in prayer. Because through God’s grace we can have a wonderful future if we come to Christ and trust him as our Lord and Savior: For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. [John 3:17].
Paul
Our Prayers
Most merciful Father,
We pray for honesty and integrity,
to examine our lives and hold before you where we have gone astray.
That by your loving grace, You will lead us to foot of Jesus
Who has the power to forgive, and renew us
And lead us to better life.
AMEN
Today's final hymn is "At The Name Of Jesus"
Notices
Next week is Palm Sunday, so please see the poster below for details of all our Church Services during Holy Week and Easter.
Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Fourth Sunday of Lent, which is also Mothering Sunday. 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 from home.
Our first hymn this morning is "I Cannot Tell Why He, Whom Angels Worship"
Today's Gospel
John 3:14-21God So Loved The World…….
Jesus said, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”
“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”
Reflection
Today’s gospel passage contains probably the most well-known bible verse in the world.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life”.
I’m sure if you look around you will see it on bookmarks, necklaces and car stickers. I remember once seeing it sprayed as graffiti on a wall in Glasgow, although to be honest, I’m not sure a message as powerful as this should be considered as ‘graffiti’.
These wonderful words from John are so totally nourishing to followers of Christ. They provide inspiration and encouragement to raise us all up, whatever troubles we may face. The words remind us that God unconditionally loves everyone in the world.
It is sometimes easy to overlook the opening verse, where Jesus talks about a serpent in the wilderness. But this goes to the heart of His message. Jesus is referring to the time when the Israelites were ungrateful in the wilderness and spoke against both God and Moses. God then sent a plague of poisonous snakes which killed many of them. After praying to God, Moses was told to make a bronze serpent and lift it on a pole. Then when anyone who had been bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake on the pole was saved and they lived. (Numbers 21:4-9).
Jesus was using this image to foretell His death, where He would be lifted on the cross. Moreover, He was making it clear that everyone who looks on Him in faith will receive eternal life. That was not just a message for those who were physically around to witness His crucifixion, but applies to us all today. We too are called to turn to the light of Christ, believe in Him and follow Him in our deeds, then we will have eternal life.
Let’s look once more about verse 16:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”
More than anything, this articulates God’s wonderful plan for the world. He loved his creation and mankind so much that He gave the most extravagant gift to us that we could possibly imagine. He gave His one and only Son to demonstrate His love and to rescue us.
So what does God want in return for this most generous gift? It’s simple, God doesn’t ask for anything but for us to have faith and believe in His Son Christ. That’s about us genuinely wanting to make Jesus part of our lives, longing to be in his presence and experience his light and love!
We are all sinners in some way or another - that is sadly in our nature. But that’s the whole point of God sending Jesus to save us from our sins by His death on the cross. Because when we, as people who have sinned, believe in Jesus and trust that He died in our place, we are saved by Him. We need to embrace that God’s love for us is immeasurable and that when we look for the ‘light’ that is Jesus and yearn to open our hearts and minds to Him we will be saved and feel the reality of Jesus’ presence.
We are now half way though Lent and whilst we face the solemnity of Holy Week on the horizon, I think it is reassuring to have this reading today which brings us back to the overriding message of the Gospel.
GOD LOVES US ALL
Paul
Our Prayers
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for your love.
We marvel that you loved us enough to send Jesus,
We are so grateful that as we open our lives to you,
You pour your love into our hearts.
Help us to experience your love today and every day
AMEN
Today's final hymn is "Longing for Light, We Wait in Darkness (Christ Be Our Light)"
Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Third Sunday of Lent. Today is the end of our Generosity Week, and we are celebrating with a Parish Eucharist at 10 am at St Thomas' Church, followed by refreshments and the opportunity to meet with the people who help to keep our churches growing and thriving.
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 "Be Still for the Presence of the Lord"
Today's Gospel
John 2:13-22 Jesus Clears the Temple
The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” The Jews then said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking of the temple of his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
Reflection
I wonder what your immediate reaction is to this passage. What image comes into your mind when you read about Jesus ‘losing it’ in the temple.
Is this a Jesus that you feel comfortable with? It’s perhaps not the calm and loving image of Jesus that usually springs to mind. I wonder also what you think about Jesus making a whip of cords. How do you picture this whip? It is a huge leather whip like the Romans might have used to punish and torture people or a whip made from rope?
If we look at the literal translation from the ancient Greek, it would have been more accurately described as a collection of handful of twigs or reeds loosely bound together or held in a bunch. If you look closely at the picture, you might be able to distinguish what it may have looked like.
When we read John’s gospel carefully, we can see that Jesus wasn’t using the whip to strike the people or the animals and birds. We are told that he used it drive them away, rather like you might roll up a newspaper to wave it at a wasp or a fly to encourage it to go away.
So to read into this story that Jesus was hurting people would be unfair. Given that clarity, we may not be as uncomfortable with this uncharacteristic image of Jesus. Nonetheless, Jesus still appears to get angry. Can this be described as ‘righteous indignation’? A sort of anger some that Christians believe is justified and therefore not sinful, similar to how we may react today when we see examples of exploitation and social injustice.
Next, maybe we should think about why Jesus got angry.
Let’s put ourselves in Jesus’ shoes for a moment. Here He is, just before the huge Jewish feast of Passover, going to the temple along with hundreds, if not thousands of other preparing for this most Holy festival. As he looks around He sees that the temple, rather than being a place dedicated to worship, is in reality a huge marketplace with all kinds of trading and commerce taking place. We’re not talking about a few trinkets and souvenirs being sold, but all manner of commerce. It’s not a handful of stalls selling things in church, but more like a full scale retail park.
Very little that’s happening in the Temple is about worship and thanksgiving to God, nearly everything that’s going on is a distraction from what the Temple is really about.
What then do you think provoked this reaction from Jesus? After all, he wouldn’t really have been shocked by what was going on, He would have been to the Temple many times and seen this all before.
So, if it wasn’t what was going on that triggered His reaction, maybe it was the fact that there was an acceptance that this was alright. This sort of behaviour had been allowed to flourish and change the whole purpose and function of the Temple and people had just accepted it as the norm. People had become blind to what was happening and lost a sense of purpose about why they were supposed to be coming to the Temple in the first place.
How do we relate this to our lives today?
When I worked as a change manager, there were people who would always ask, how do we make sure that what we are changing has as little as possible impact on business as usual? I would bite my lip, and wonder at the absurdity of the question, because change after all is about doing something differently. To be fair, underlying the question was a sense of not wanting to upset anyone.
But sometimes business as usual means we are not living our lives to the fullest. We allow ourselves to sleepwalk through life on auto-pilot, doing the same old things each and every day, be that at home, at work or at church. When we do that, we can become complacent, or bored, and we can forget what life’s about.
We forget that we are created in God’s image and when He created us He said that ‘it was good’. We forget that Jesus was made flesh and came among us to show us how to live and that He sacrificed himself on the cross to save us. The same Jesus who wants us all have a fulfilled and rewarding life. Who wants us not only to live our lives for ourselves, but for others and for Jesus’ sake.
Lent occurs in Spring when we see renewal all around us in nature and in new growth. It’s also a time for us to look at ourselves and ask the question ‘what do I need to clear out or change in my life to see new growth?’ Do I need to change some of my routines and give my life a metaphorical shake up? Maybe overturn a few tables of my own.
How you go about that is up to you, but of course you can always ask the Holy Spirit for guidance. As Jesus reminds us, we are the Temple of God that was rebuilt in Him in three days. Let us allow Jesus to re-invigorate us and overturn a few tables in our lives in this season of Lent, to prepare for a new life in Him. Paul
Our Prayers
Almighty Father, creator of all things,
Help us to make time during Lent to examine our lives,
Give us the courage to change what needs to be changed,
That we may do Your will and become closer to You.
AMEN
Our final hymn today is "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling"
