Dear friends,
Welcome to this week’s update. Please do drop me an email and let me know if you are finding these weekly updates useful: [email protected].
Please find below a reminder of our services and events coming up across our Middle ESK Moor church communities over the next couple of weeks, and a copy of the readings and my sermon from this morning’s service at St Mary’s in Goathland.
Please note below the three events coming up next weekend, on Friday evening at St Matthew’s, Saturday afternoon at Egton Village Hall and Sunday morning at St James. It will be another busy harvest weekend - you are more than welcome at any and all of our events!
If there’s anyone you think would find this update useful please ask them to subscribe to our email version via this link: http://eepurl.com/izDueg.
With prayers and all good wishes,
Anthony
Church Services, Events and Meetings Coming Up
Friday 6 October – 6:00 pm at Grosmont, St Matthew
Mel Supper and Harvest Thanksgiving
With pie and pea supper and entertainment from The Hawsker Village Band. All are invited from across Middle ESK Moor (and beyond)!
Contact Tammy to reserve food on [email protected] or 01947895309.
Saturday 7 October – 12 midday to 5:00 pm, Egton Village Hall
‘Where next? Charting the future’
A time to reflect on where we are and imagine what a sustainable Middle ESK Moor family of church communities might look like in 2030. Please come to this if you can – it will be an important event in the development of our church communities. There will be a bring-and-share lunch – if you are planning to come, please would you let us know.
Contact Anthony to confirm on [email protected] or 01947899843.
Sunday 8 October – 10:30 am at Lealholm, St James
Harvest Thanksgiving and Holy Communion
Tuesday 10 October – 6:30 pm at Alum Garth Farm, Eskdaleside, Sleights. YO22 5ES
Sharing Space
A new informal discussion group open to all - we will be thinking about ‘the language of faith’ - contact Anthony for further information and/or to arrange lifts. We intend that this group will meet fortnightly.
Wednesday 11 October – 9:00 am at Grosmont, St Matthew
Breathing Space
A new venture for those wanting to slow down for 45 minutes, including space and time for contemplative prayer in silence - again, please contact Anthony for further information. We intend that this group will meet weekly.
*every other Tuesday* (next session on 3 October) – 10:00 am to 12:00 pm at The Village Hall, Goathland
Goathland Community Space
With special guest speakers and delicious treats and refreshments to enjoy – again, please support this if you can.
*every Thursday* – 10:30 am to 3:00 pm at Grosmont, St Matthew’s,
Grosmont Community Space
Please support this if you can, there’s a selection of more delicious sandwiches, cakes and drinks to buy, and additional volunteers would be most welcome.
Today’s Readings
2 Corinthians 9:6-end
The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each of you must give as you have made-up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. As it is written,
‘He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor;
his righteousness endures for ever.’
He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us; for the rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God. Through the testing of this ministry you glorify God by your obedience to the confession of the gospel of Christ and by the generosity of your sharing with them and with all others, while they long for you and pray for you because of the surpassing grace of God that he has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
Luke 17:11-19
On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’
When he saw them, he said to them, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’
And as they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, ‘Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’
Then he said to him, ‘Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.’
Today’s Sermon
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts together be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our rock, and redeemer. Amen.
A question for us to ponder today, as we celebrate the harvest: how good are we at supporting those in need in our communities?
Harvest is wonderful time, isn’t it? It’s a time when we celebrate God’s abundance and overwhelming blessings in the world, a time when we marvel at the wonders of creation, and we give thanks for all that is good, all that God has given us. We see that celebrated in this beautiful church building, decorated with all the beautiful flowers. And we must give our grateful thanks to all the wonderful flower people who have excelled themselves this year! I’ve also seen all that is good in our special Harvest Festival services, in partnership with Glaisdale and Goathland Schools so far. We await Egton’s in St Hilda’s on Friday afternoon, but we’ve had wonderful contributions from many of our amazing primary school children so far. We’ve seen all that is good:
celebration, creativity, abundance, passion, wonder, hope, love!
And we’ve also seen significant contributions gathered for the Whitby Food Bank. Generous gifts have been given to pass on to those struggling financially, those really struggling to put food on the table. It's wonderful to be able to support families through the Food Bank in this way.
At Grosmont on Thursdays each week a team of volunteers run a community café, and they've raised a substantial sum of money to support the Farming Community Network, a charity that looks after our local farmers and their families, tackling some of the consequences of not being able to put enough food on the table:
mental health issues, loneliness, isolation, hopelessness.
We have representatives from the Farming Community Network coming to our Harvest Thanksgiving and Mell Supper at St Matthew’s on Friday evening. We’ll be giving them a cheque to help them with their work.
So, bearing all that in mind, how good are we at supporting those in need in our communities?
Well, those examples are wonderful ones of course. But, since starting here in May, I’ve found at least a dozen people that used to be connected with the church that have lost touch. All elderly, all isolated, all lonely; some facing illnesses and struggling with mobility problems. What can we do to support those people in need?
Isolation. Loneliness. Illness.
When we face challenges like those, we really do need the presence of another human being who will care for us. Simple gestures like making a cup of tea or preparing some soup will help to raise spirits. We don't expect our families or friends to provide a miracle cure for us, but their kindness and support can help us to feel more positive. A listening ear can bring us some hope. The goodness and support of someone who’s willing to be close to us when we are at our weakest can be healing and truly affirming.
When the ten lepers in today's Gospel story approached Jesus, they weren’t looking for a miracle cure. They simply wanted to be acknowledged by Jesus in their struggles. They wanted to be accepted by Jesus. That’s all.
I’m struck that they didn’t ask to be healed. They asked for mercy. They were really quite humble. Because of their infectious condition the lepers stood some way off from Jesus to shout, "Have mercy onus!"
Lepers were the untouchables of society; they always remained on the fringes of a community, shunned by everyone. They were outcasts. Abandoned. Through his actions, Jesus shows his followers the importance of accepting and embracing those who live on the fringes, those who’ve been rejected, those who’ve become untouchables. And, like the lepers, those who live on the edge of society don't have the confidence to walk forwards to meet others. They stand some way off. They have to shout at Jesus to make themselves heard.
Jesus didn't shout back at them. He drew near to them and spoke to them, treating them with all the respect and humility any human being deserves. His words gave them the ability and the confidence to re-enter society when he said, "Go and show yourselves to the priests."
For nine out of the ten lepers that might have been the end of the story. We don’t know what happened to them. Perhaps they were so shocked at being healed that they simply forgot to say thank you? Maybe. But one of the former lepers, on seeing what had happened to him, was filled with praise for God. Jesus' love and acceptance had touched him at much more than a superficial level. That love and acceptance had changed his heart, and he wanted everyone to know about God's mercy upon him.
The response of that one man was what Jesus had hoped would be the response of the others. But their inability to see what had really happened to them saddened Jesus, and his words reveal his humanity, his capacity to be disappointed: "The other nine, where are they? “ We can hear him sigh.
Jesus didn't want thanks for himself. Jesus wanted the lepers to acknowledge the mercy and love of his Father. Jesus healed people not simply for the sake of it, but to show them how much God loves them. It was only the Samaritan, the outcast, the one of many despised by the Jews, who came back to thank Jesus. That reminds and teaches us that the healing power of Jesus extends to all people: everyone we meet:
all those struggling to put food on the table;
all those struggling on the edges of society,
on the edges of our church communities;
all those facing difficult challenges across our rural area.
Isolation. Loneliness. Illness.
So, as we continue to celebrate the harvest this week, let’s think about how good we are at supporting those in need in our communities. We do some good work. Let’s acknowledge that. But what else can we do together? What else can each of us do individually? There aren’t many lepers around today in this part of the world, but in our parishes there may be many people that feel ignored. There may be many who feel unwelcome and isolated: those struggling to tackle some of the consequences of not being able to put enough food on the table:
mental health issues, loneliness, isolation, hopelessness.
We’re called to embrace those who feel they’re outsiders, to give them confidence to be active members of our communities. We’re called to accept people, not to exclude them. Like the Samaritan, those who live on the edges of society aren’t just looking for healing; I think they’re seeking understanding and acceptance. That’s a message for us from today’s Gospel reading. And in that reading, Jesus shows us that his love and concern are not restricted to those from a particular group in society. No, God's love and mercy are freely given, and they’re never-ending. God’s love and mercy are available for everyone. And so our kindness, friendship and acceptance should also be available to those who feel that they don't belong anywhere.
Like Jesus, we might feel disappointed at times with our efforts along the way. But the genuine cultivation of real love, friendship and acceptance will have surprising consequences we cannot possibly imagine. As Paul says, let’s “…give thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”
The indescribable gift of all that is good:
celebration, creativity, abundance, passion, wonder, hope, love!
Let’s give thanks for the harvest!
Amen.
---
The Reverend Anthony Bennett
Interim Minister – the Benefice of Middle ESK Moor
middleESKmoor.org
---
these two books, edited by Jane Williams, are continuing to be very helpful with planning my sermon writing:
Williams, J (2009), Ed., ‘Lost for Words, A Sermon Resource for the Anglican Three Year Cycle,’ Redemptorist Publications, Chawton, UK.
Williams, J (2011), Ed., ‘Lectionary Reflections, Years, B and C.’ Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, London, UK.