Dear friends,

I do hope all is well with you this week? Welcome to this week’s newsletter, which I hope you will find useful. Do get in touch if there’s anything I can help you with.

With blessings and all good wishes,

Reverend Anthony
middleESKmoor

Tomorrow (7th March) 10:30-3:00 Vi's Community Cafe in Grosmont
including 1:30-2:30 Play Space

Mothering Sunday (10th March) 9:00 Holy Communion Service in Lealholm
and 10:45 Holy Communion Service in Glaisdale

"Mothering Sunday on a Monday" Service 9:15 (11th March) in Egton

Thanks for all the replies to the survey. The response has been amazing so far! Please bear with me as I work through all the responses. If you haven't done so yet, I would be really grateful if you could complete the survey online by clicking this link. Alternatively, please email me back and I’ll email you a copy of the survey for you to print out and return, or give me a ring on 01947 899842 to arrange for me to discuss with you.

Please follow this link for the Readings and Prayers.

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.

I wonder what things you’re really passionate about? What gets you out of bed in the morning? What things drive and motivate you?

I’ve certainly heard a lot of passion and enthusiasm over the last nine months that I’ve been here with you. I mentioned last week that a few of us were going on the first of our Learning Community days at Wydale Hall. We met up with another five groups of churches from across the Diocese. We had a strong sense of common purpose and ‘great expectations’ but, of course, that was set alongside the many common challenges we face. I think it would be fair to say that we came away from the day feeling quite positive. We sensed a real passion to see the church grow and flourish across this beautiful part of the world. And it’s wonderful to see all the different ways people are connecting with our church across Middle ESK Moor: our two Sunday services; our midweek service in Goathland; our two community cafes, in Goathland and Grosmont; Play Space, Fellowship Space, Sharing Space…

All those wonderful opportunities, run by a host of dedicated and passionate people.

And our four PCCs and advisory council leadership team, run by a host of dedicated and passionate people.

I wonder what the passions are that motivate each of us? What drives us to get involved with church, community, and a range of other activities? I guess our passions arise, in part, by the experiences we’ve had in our lives. One of my passions drove me to train to be a Priest. Some of you will know that I was brought up as a Roman Catholic, but I married an Anglican and that caused quite a few problems in my family.

Some people weren’t going to come to our wedding. But eventually they did, encouraged by my Grandma. She played the organ for decades at our local Roman Catholic church on Walney Island, where I grew up. My Grandma saw herself as a Christian in the Universal Church, serving God and her community. She didn’t like labels such as ‘Catholic’ or ‘Anglican.’ My Grandma was quite an inspiration. She helped nurture in me a real passion for Christian Unity.

Over the last few months we’ve started a new monthly support group for Christian ministers across the Whitby and Esk Valley area. It’s been wonderful getting to know folk from other denominations and traditions, and to begin to see where we might be able to work together. The whole experience is really quite exciting. I find myself motivated and fired up ready to go along each month and see what opportunities are beginning to arise. And, I’ve been looking forward to preaching about this today, so that I can tell you all about my passion for Christian Unity, a passion that certainly got me out of bed this morning, just like the passions that get you motivated each day.

In our Gospel reading we heard the story of Jesus turning the tables of the moneychangers and chasing the animals out of the Temple. What’s Jesus’ motivation here? What’s he passionate about? On the face of it, it seems like Jesus acts on impulse. Is he angry? Is he frustrated? Jesus got angry with Peter in our reading last Sunday, and we talked about that last week. Is Jesus’ response here similar? Well, I don’t think so. I think Jesus has carefully planned this intervention. He’s making a significant statement at the start of his ministry.

Just prior to this story, in John’s Gospel, John tells us about turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana. Jesus miraculously and exuberantly makes more than enough of the best quality wine possible, so ordinary people can have an amazing party and celebration, one they wouldn’t have been able to have otherwise. And, throughout John’s Gospel, Jesus is intentionally and continuously announcing new ways of doing things. Jesus is turning the tables on the way the world works, turning everything upside down. Jesus Christ, fully human and fully God, is motivated by an all-encompassing and exuberant love for the world and the universe he’s created.

Jesus is passionate about people. He wants to pour out his love on everyone, on people just like us! In the Temple, Jesus’ passion for ordinary people leads him to purposefully disrupt the way things worked. This is a symbolic action that temporarily brings a halt to the temple system; a powerful sign that the old ways of doing things are now obsolete. There’s a new temple.

Our reading from John connects the Temple building with Jesus: crucified, resurrected and ascended. Jesus is our new Temple: the risen Jesus; the Body of Christ; the Universal Church. "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up," Jesus says.

Through Jesus, an exuberance of love is poured directly into the hearts of ordinary people. The barriers of the moneychangers, the barriers to God’s love for all people: those barriers are removed through Jesus. The tables are turned. The world is turned upside down. The world is transformed. That’s Jesus’ passion; a passion to transform the world. That’s what motivated him.

I wonder whether our passions can be channelled into transforming the world too? There are so many things that can motivate and drive us; so many passions we can follow. Some of those passions will have brought you to this place, to connect with our Church across Middle ESK Moor and the wider Universal Church in this place.

I wonder what things you’re really passionate about? What gets you out of bed in the morning? What things drive and motivate you?

My prayer for all of us today, is that God will guide us to work out what it is that really drives us.

I pray that God will call us by name to follow him; that the exuberant love Jesus pours out will permeate our lives, now and always.

I pray that Jesus’ passion for bringing the love of God to ordinary people, people just like you and me, will inspire us to make the right choices and help us to transform the world into the world God wants:

a world where the tables are turned and the love of God is shared passionately amongst all people, everywhere, always.

Amen.

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The Reverend Anthony Bennett

Interim Minister – the Benefice of Middle ESK Moor
middleESKmoor.org

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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 A, B and C.’ Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, London, UK.