Sunday Worship
Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Twentieth Sunday after Trinity, when we will be celebrating the Feast of St Luke.
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 "As the Deer Pants for the Water"
Today's Gospel
Luke 10:1-9 The Mission of the Seventy
After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace to this house!” And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the labourer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.”
Reflection
Today the church celebrates Luke the Evangelist – the writer of the Synoptic Gospel of the same name, and also widely believed to be the writer of the Book of Acts. Luke was believed to be a gentile, a doctor who lived in the Hellenistic city of Antioch in Ancient Syria, born of a Greek family (although some scholars and theologians think Luke was a Hellenic Jew – that is a Greek non-orthodox Jew) - either way he was very different from the other Gospel writers.
Whether Luke was a Jew or a gentile, he was one of the most highly educated of the authors of the New Testament. His Greek knowledge and writing surpassed anything else written. Luke was a great friend and companion of Paul, and in his second letter to Timothy that is todays first reading, we learn that Luke remains with Paul, who is writing this letter on his deathbed. ‘Do your best to come to me soon’ writes Paul, as ‘only Luke is with me’. Luke was with him to the end, his friend and his doctor. I wonder if Luke, sitting at the deathbed of his dying companion, anointed Paul before he dies? It is such a privilege as a priest to be with someone as their earthly life draws to a close, and to anoint their forehead – ‘ I anoint you in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ’, as the oil lifts the veil between earth and heaven, taking them closer towards the cross and the story of redemption. The story that Luke crafted and shared so amazingly that it still exists today, being shared and retold the world over. Luke was certainly responsible for trying to heal and tend to Paul in his sickness, but in anointing him (which we might presume he did, as it was very customary throughout this time), took responsibility for his very spiritual healing also. And what a huge healing that was for Paul, who started his journey with Christ as Saul, condemning and putting to death Christians, before his conversion on the road to Damascus to Paul. (I have included Paul’s letter below, as it is so important to our Gospel reading today).
As we celebrate all that was good and true about Luke today, may we remember those who heal and treat the sick, those called to be doctors, nurses, pharmacists, technicians, carers and countless others in the medical profession, as well as those who heal spiritually as well as physically.
But most importantly, may we always remember to tell the story of the redemption of the cross, the good news of Jesus Christ, and the scholarly words crafted by Luke which ensure the story continues today as much it did when he wrote them.
As we heard in our gospel reading today from Luke, let us be amongst the multiplying ‘70’ sent out by Christ, to disciple and to glorify his name to those we encounter. However we do this, we will be walking in the most awesome yet most humble of footsteps. Amen
Rev Kirsten x
