Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Second Sunday before Lent, which is also Racial Justice Sunday. Our Church Services this morning are at the usual times of 9.15 at St Agnes' and 11.15 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 I Needed a Neighbour"
Today's Gospel
Matthew 6: 25 - 34Do Not Worry
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear.
Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.
But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you - you of little faith?
Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the gentiles who seek all these things, and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
“So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
Reflection
Do not worry!
Perhaps that is easier said than done. I have to admit I am a natural worrier at times. We all worry about our health and wealth; our families, be that young children or aging relatives. We worry about our future and our job security and so many other things. It’s human nature isn’t it?
So what is Jesus saying here? It almost seems impossible. Don’t worry about the basics in life, food, drink clothing, and first and foremost seek the kingdom of God. That is more important than anything else. I wonder how easy that is to do for people who are starving around the world, or the homeless and those having to rely on foodbanks for their next meal?
It feels like a really hard message. Someone once told me that worrying never helped anything, it just makes us feel bad and sad. Indeed on their 1985 album – Brothers in Arms recorded a poignant song called Why Worry? It contained the following lyrics:
Why worry?
There should be laughter after pain, There should be sunshine after rain
These things have always been the same, So why worry now?
It is a message of hope not despair.
If you ask your doctor, I’m sure he or she will tell you that worrying is one if the worst things you can do unless you want high blood pressure, a heart attack or an ulcer.
Jesus is not saying that food and drink are not important, but endlessly worrying about the future does nothing to make our lives better. Neither is he saying that we can just sit at home doing nothing and just hope that God will feed us. God feeds the birds but that doesn’t mean they don’t have to dig the worm out of the earth or peck the seeds from the ground.
What Jesus did teach His disciples is that our relationship with God is to be the paramount focus of our lives – seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness. It’s about getting our priorities right. When we are consumed with fret over our circumstances – whatever they may be – that wrongly becomes the priority of our lives above God. When we succumb to worry, it demonstrates our lack of faith, and our inability to appreciate what the hand of God has provided today, because we are fretting about what He may not provide tomorrow. We need to remember that ultimately everything we have has come from God by His grace.
It is no coincidence that just before Jesus tells us not to worry, He shows us how to pray to the Father in the words of the Lord’s Prayer. We start by recognising God’s name is to be hallowed and pray that His kingdom may come and His will be done, before we ask for him to provide our Daily Bread. Seeking the kingdom of God is our priority. Jesus reminds us to hunger and thirst for righteousness and to put God and His work before our own needs.
By stating that we should seek “first” the kingdom of God and his righteousness, Jesus is not saying we should not seek anything else, provided the first thing we seek is God’s kingdom and righteousness. God wants us to put Him first and not treat Him as the icing on the cake after we have everything else we want.
There is more to life than worrying about what our lives will be like in the future, although this may be difficult for some. God will and does provide.
Jesus wants us to put our energy into things that give more meaning to life. We need to strive to discern how God is working in the world and how to participate in acts of justice, to build His kingdom here on earth to look after one another. When we do, other things will come naturally. Paul
Our Prayers
Loving Father
Amidst all the strains and stresses of our lives,
we pray that we can look past the distractions of this world.
That we may appreciate all that you do for us,
and count our many blessings.
Help us trust in you with all our hearts and minds.
In Jesus’ name we pray.
Amen
Today's final hymn is "Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God"
Notices
Bellringing is making a comeback at St Thomas' Church. We haven't been able to ring the bells at St Thomas' for quite some time now due to lack of ringers, but we have started up again from Tuesday 3rd February from 7 to 8.30 pm. Our Tower Captain is Eric Whitehead, a former ringer at St Thomas', and we will have help from ringers at local towers to start our own band of ringers here. New learners of all ages (9 - 90) are most welcome to join us in this traditional and skilful activity, which is particularly great for families.
