Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Eighth Sunday after Trinity. 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 "When Morning Gilds the Skies"
Today's Gospel
Luke 12:32-40Do Not Be Afraid, Little Flock
Jesus said to his disciples, "Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
"Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.
"But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour."
Reflection
The opening of this passage picks up where we left off last week, [Luke 12:39] talking about generosity and sharing what God provides with others.
But wealth is not the only thing we need to consider and this is addressed in the rest of Jesus’ message above. Arguably the most precious commodity we all have is time. Time is something we all have – but we can’t buy or sell time, We don’t know how much time we have, “none of us by worrying add a single hour to our life”, [Matthew 6:27]. None of us know how much time we have, which is what makes it so precious.
Just as what we do with our material wealth is up to us, it is also up to us what we do with our time and how we value it. We can choose to use it wisely or waste it – it’s up to us.
There are similarities here with the parable of the ten virgins who were told to remain dressed with their lamps burning waiting for the groom to return [Matthew 25:1-13], where we are warned to stay alert for the return of Christ.
But it is not just about being ready for when Christ returns, it is also about what we do with our time and lives whilst we are waiting. We are not expected to idle our time away while we wait and then pretend that we have been living righteous lives while doing so.
We are expected to be alert and active doing God’s will every day. Willing to read and share His word with others and worship God not just on a Sunday but every day. That doesn’t necessarily mean going to church every day but it does require us to recognise and acknowledge His presence and role in our lives and to pray to Him.
Even when we are weary, we still need to be ready so that when God calls us to action, we can seize the opportunity to do His will and spread the good news.
Last Wednesday (6th August), was the feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord. In Luke’s account he describes how Jesus’ appearance changed and his face and clothes became dazzling white as He was joined by Moses and Elijah. He then describes how Pater, John and James, although weighed down with sleep, had stayed awake, and as a result witnessed the glory of Jesus’ transfiguration and the meeting with Moses and Elijah.
The theme is the same, where by staying awake they were rewarded for their faithfulness.
At the time when Luke was writing this, many people in the early church had been expecting Jesus to return imminently, and some were weary and impatient for his second coming.
It is now over two millennia and we are still waiting, but as Jesus tells us, “You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour."
Only God knows when that will be, but it is still as important as ever that we remain vigilant and ready, watchful and prepared, because when He does return and finds us ready, we will be rewarded beyond our wildest dreams.
When the time comes, Jesus says "Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Paul
Our Prayers
Father God
Like watchmen in the night,
we await the coming again,
of your Son Jesus Christ.
Help us to remain diligent and faithful,
Trusting in your promise of eternal life
and the pleasure of your kingdom.
Amen
Today's final hymn is "The Spirit Lives to Set us Free"
Notices
Next Sunday we will be celebrating the 80th Anniversary of VJ Day at St Thomas' at 12.30 pm.
