Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Second Sunday before Lent. Our Church Services this morning are at the usual times of 9.15 at St Agnes' and 11.00 at St Thomas'.
If you are unable to be with us in person, you will find resources below to worship at home.
Our first hymn this morning is "Lord, for the Years"
Today's Gospel
Luke 6:27-38Love for Enemies
Jesus said, "I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.
"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
"Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back."
Reflection
Jesus has bit of reputation. Not a particularly good one!
That may seem like an odd statement to make about someone who is without sin and came to redeem mankind. But at the time He was teaching in His ministry, there were many who disliked and despised Him and what He stood for – so much so in fact that they would eventually crucify Him.
Part of the reason they hate Him so much is that He lives in this upside down world where He challenges normality. Jesus cares for the downtrodden and the persecuted, the outcasts and poor.
He feels for them and is not ashamed to be seen with them, despite how much He is criticised and pilloried. More than that, as He addresses them in His ‘sermon on the plain’, He blesses them and promises future blessings on them.
But now, He really starts to ‘up the ante’. It is one thing to show love to the persecuted and encourage them to love one another, but now He’s asking them to love their enemy!!!
What sort of teaching and ethic is this? Surely it’s an impossible thing to ask. Modern day folk might say, ‘He’s thinking outside of the box’ or His thinking is, ‘out of this world !’
But Jesus isn’t just speaking to an individual or a small group of people, He’s speaking to the multitudes – a large crowd of people.
He is encouraging them to think in terms of community and social behaviour. He is describing a blueprint for how we can all work together. If only one or two people change their behaviour, it is unlikely to make any real difference, but if many of us change the way we act towards one another then we can change the world for the better.
It agree that some of the examples feel hard to swallow, and it’s still so in modern times. We have culture that says, when somebody transgresses the law or hurts our feelings, they should be punished or we should retaliate in some way.
How often is it that our first thought is about caring for the other person instead? Do we even stop to think about their circumstances? Or do we immediately assume that there is a selfish or malevolent intent behind their actions.
But what if the person stealing a loaf of bread or a tin of beans is doing so to feed a starving child because they simply don’t have any money. Because they can’t get work or have been ill or lost their job. It is one thing to support charity by giving money or food to a food bank but charity also includes having a loving and understanding attitude and looking for the good in people instead of the bad. In fact, isn’t that what we are expected to do as Christians, ‘look for the good in people’? Jesus says, “anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt” – doesn’t that suggest that we should consider that the other person may have a greater need than us?
But Jesus is going much further than that. He is pointing out, that when we are only willing to deal with people we care about or those we trust, everything we base our lives upon is purely transactional. Think about it, if you only give or lend to those who you expect to get something back from in return, it’s just a transaction.
Where is the love and generosity in that? Where is the risk? In the financial and business sectors there are people who talk about risk and reward. In other words, if I am only prepared to take a small risk or do something that is relatively safe, I expect a small reward in return. On the other hand, with higher risk I hope for greater return, albeit that does not always follow otherwise it wouldn’t be high risk.
So, here’s the message; when we are prepared to help those who we dislike or those who have wronged us, we are not risking anything. What is done, is done! But when we are prepared to forgive someone instead of condemning or judging them, we are showing them the mercy that Jesus would show them.
When we give or lend and do good to others and expect nothing back, we are showing the same mercy and grace that we hope for from the Father.
That is a reward that is, ‘out of this world!’
Paul
Our Prayers
Heavenly Father,
We pray that we may live and grow more like our Lord Jesus in the choices we make.
We know that it is not easy to forgive our enemies;
and so we pray for the strength
to love our enemies as Christ loved those who nailed Him to the Cross.
Give us the grace to be forgiving,
That your example of love may be reflected in what I do.
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen
Today's final hymn is "What a Friend we have in Jesus"
