Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Fourth Sunday before Advent, and also All Saints Day. 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'll find resources below to worship at home.
Our first hymn this morning is "For all the Saints, Who from their Labours Rest"
Today's Gospel
John 11:32-44Jesus Raises Lazarus from the Dead
When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, ‘Where have you laid him?’ They said to him, ‘Lord, come and see.’
Jesus began to weep.
So the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’ But some of them said, ‘Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?’ Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.
Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, ‘Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead for four days.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?’ So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upwards and said, ‘Father, I thank you for having heard me.
I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.’ When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.
Reflection
Today we celebrate All Saints Day in the church although it actually falls on the 1st November.
It is a day where Christians remember all saints and martyrs, known and unknown, throughout Christian history.
“This invites us to turn our gaze to the immense multitude of those who have already reached the blessed land, and points us on the path that will lead us to that destination.” Pope John Paul II.
We are called to remember the many who have passed through earthly death and have eternal life with the Father. In the scripture reading we hear of Lazarus who Jesus raised from earthly death to walk again as a mortal amongst his friends and family.
Lazarus was raised as a sign so that the Jews might believe that Jesus was the Son of God and moreover to understand the glory and power of God.
But there is much more to this story than the miracle, that Jesus asked the Father to perform in raising Lazarus. Aside from the great power of the Son of God we see the humanity of Jesus exposed before us.
We learn of how when he saw the grief of Mary, Martha and their friends, “He was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved”. Some translations of the Bible use the words, “He groaned in the spirit and was troubled”. Then we are told that Jesus began to weep.
We might wonder why Jesus felt such anguish and wept; after all, He knew what He was about to do; that in a few minutes He would raise Lazarus from the tomb and bring him back to life. Is it because Jesus is showing us His deep compassion and the empathy that He feels for us all in our times of grief and suffering? Mary, Martha and Lazarus were close friends of Jesus, it is only human nature to feel for our friends in times of pain and sorrow. We should not forget that Jesus is human as well as divine.
He might have wept because he felt sorry for putting them through the ordeal instead of saving Lazarus – as some of them said, ‘Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?’ Whilst Jesus knew that this was all part of the predestined plan that would foretell His own death and resurrection in the days to come, He could still feel sorry for the hurt it caused.
Some biblical scholars believe that there is a much deeper significance for Jesus’ tears. He is weeping for the fact that mankind, (who God had created to be perfect and not been intended to suffer or face death at all), now has to suffer in this way. Death is a consequence of the fall of man in the Garden of Eden because of Adam’s sin. He is weeping because there is still death in the world and mankind continues to sin in so many ways.
Maybe, when the mourners asked Jesus to come and see where Lazarus was laid, they were also inviting Him to come and see the state of humanity and consequent suffering. Wouldn’t that be enough to make your inner spirit groan?
Or perhaps He is weeping because He knows that this will all be repeated in the near future and own friends, disciples and family will be grieving when He dies for us on the cross. They will mourn deeply even though they should have known that Jesus has power over death and would rise again as He had told them and demonstrated by raising Lazarus.
Jesus raised Lazarus to show us the ‘Glory of God’. We can see this when we put our faith in Jesus in the midst of our tears and when we refuse to give up believing that Jesus, through His compassion, weeps with us and one day will wipe away all our tears. [Isaiah 25:8]. Paul
Our Prayers
Almighty and eternal Father,
We thank you that you sent your Son to show us your glory,
and to be by our side when we feel pain and sorrow.
Strengthen our faith and belief
That we will hear Jesus call our name
and be invited out of our tombs,
and into the light of everlasting life.
with all the saints in heaven.
Amen
Today's final hymn is "Ye Holy Angels Bright"
Notices
Next Sunday is Remembrance Sunday, and we will have a Parish Eucharist at 9.15 am at St Thomas’, with no service at St Agnes’. Please see the poster below for full details.
The Tuesday morning Services of Holy Communion are at 10 am at St Thomas’, and Worship for all Generations is at 6.30 pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at St Agnes’.
On Monday we have our All-age Worship Singing at 4.30 pm at St Thomas’.
Also on Monday, there will be a Service for All Souls at 7 pm at St Thomas’ Church. This is where we pray together for the souls of all those known to us who have died, and everyone is welcome to attend. If there is anyone who you wish us to pray for by name, please let us know in church, or by contacting Neil or Paul.
