Church Services Coming Up in July TODAY - Monday 10 July – 18:00 at Egton, St Hilda, Confirmation with Holy Communion please come along and support this, if you can, as we celebrate two children from Egton School making the decision to be confirmed – Bishop Paul will be presiding and there will be refreshments and cake after the service in The Vicarage. Sunday 16 July – 10:30 at Egton, St Hilda, Holy Communion Sunday 23 July – 10:30 at Grosmont, St Matthew, Holy Communion Sunday 30 July (Fifth Sunday) – 10:30 at Egton, St Hilda, Holy Communion followed by refreshments/lunch in The Vicarage - please do come along – we’ll be having an extended ‘house warming party’ all afternoon (until 5 pm) - Just bring yourself and any friends/family too, all welcome! Readings for Sunday 9 July follow these links to view the readings: Romans 7:15–25a Matthew 11:16–19, 11:25–30 Sermon for Sunday 9 July at St Matthew’s, Glaisdale Our gospel reading ends with this verse: " Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” I’d like us to focus three words from that this morning: “…learn from me...” --- Egton CE Primary School, which is just up the road from me, is due an Ofsted inspection imminently. The headteacher and staff there are all organised and ready, and they do a sterling job day in day out providing an excellent standard of education for their primary-school-aged children. They got outstanding in their Church School inspection, or ‘SIAMS’ inspection, earlier this year and it is a wonderful school. So, they shouldn’t have anything to worry about. But they are just so very stressed. And that all brings to mind the very sad death-by-suicide of the headteacher Ruth Perry, who, before she so very sadly died, was told that Caversham Primary School in Reading would be downgraded to inadequate. Whatever we might feel about the pros and cons of how we run our school inspections, I think it would be impossible not to feel the level of anxiety when you walk into the staff room at Egton School at the moment. And, alongside that, I think it would be fair to say that teaching has taken quite a lot of criticism in the UK in the past few years. Researchers point towards an increase in verbal and physical violence in the classroom in secondary schools, which paints quite a depressing picture. Back in 2005, some researchers attempted to alleviate these issues by asking famous people for the names of any teacher who’d inspired them. A tsunami of names came forward as a result! Every person they asked could remember at least one or two teachers who’d had a profound influence on them: to change, or certainly add to, their lives and futures. Sometimes it was their academic gifts, but it was more likely to have been their ability to inspire their pupils, to give them a special something which spurred them on to achieve their very best, even to reach heights previously unimagined. Think for a moment, who were your inspirational teachers? I have one that springs to mind: Mr Sweeney – a really good A level maths teacher, but an even better careers teacher who got me into Sheffield University back in 1988: I have such a lot to thank him for! --- No one can overestimate the influence of a good teacher; even if we cannot remember a thing they actually taught us! Good teachers will be remembered with fondness long after their words have been forgotten. That’s because people are more important than words. Qualities like kindness and generosity are always more enduring than an ability to teach about principles or rules. In today's Gospel, Jesus offers himself as a teacher: "learn from me", he says. At this point in his ministry, Jesus must face up to being rejected by the religious leaders and the "wise" people of his time: his message found no place in their hearts. Becoming experts in the Law had prevented them from recognising the coming of God's Messiah: the coming of God's kingdom. Instead, Jesus found a ready audience among the people that were considered social outcasts: the tax collectors and sinners, those unable to keep the Law in all its detail, but those that welcomed Jesus' message and the hope it brought. Unfortunately, the experts were so preoccupied with following the intricate details of the Law that they’d largely lost sight of the Law’s purpose: to lead people to God. They were no longer open to hearing the word of God, because they did not need it. They placed the Law above every other consideration, even above people: the Law became an end in itself. But Jesus offered a different "yoke", a simpler one. We don’t have to worry about hundreds of laws, or keeping the minutiae of rules and regulations: Jesus simply offers himself as the role model to follow. He alone is the way to God. Follow him and we’ll find God. Like a good teacher, the lasting impression Jesus makes resides more in who he is, rather than in anything he says. Jesus asks us to be like him, to be gentle and to acknowledge our need for God. And it’s only when, like the tax collectors and sinners, we’re open to the words of God, only when we admit our dependence on God, that we’re able to receive God's mercy. And, like them, we experience God's love and mercy, not by mindless obedience, but by meeting a person: Jesus, God's own Son, face to face. --- Jesus says his burden is light. We can be burdened with all kinds of things: the opinions of the moral watchdogs who claim superior knowledge of God, telling others how to live, what to do and think, even when and how to pray. They forget that rules in religion are only useful if they lead us towards God, towards the love and freedom he offers. We have the burdens that come from living in an increasingly secular society. We have the burdens of unreasonable expectations and demands to live with: overbearing parents, the demanding boss, the inquisitive neighbour. We could also say that in the Church of England, in this place, we carry the burdens of unreasonable expectations and demands: declining congregations, increasing costs, greater demands on PCCs and their members. And then there’s ourselves: there’s our own guilt, our own low self-esteem, the unattainable tasks and goals we set ourselves each day. We can become overwhelmed by all these burdens. But Jesus' yoke is easy: it fits us perfectly, it’s tailor-made for each individual. And I think that’s because the task Jesus sets us is simple – we just need to be ourselves: we need to, each of us, be the person God wants us to be: using Jesus as our teacher. And Jesus teaches us to: be gentle, with ourselves and others; be humble, acknowledging our need for God; be creative, working with God to build the kingdom; be passionate, focusing on the important issues and values that matter to each of us. And we shouldn’t think that we must do everything all by ourselves, because God, the Holy Trinity, created us to work in deep relationship with each other: just as the Holy Trinity is a deep relationship between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus teaches us to work together: each of us as his hands and feet, using the gifts and talents we’ve been given. We need to resist becoming overburdened by any unreasonable demands: maybe we can do that best by working and sharing together? And maybe we need to do that in such a way that we focus all our work on getting to know Jesus, the person, first and foremost? Because, if we learn from Jesus, we will find rest. Amen. --- these two books, edited by Jane Williams, were very helpful with planning this week’s 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. --- The Reverend Anthony Bennett --- Interim Minister & Deanery Enabler Middle Esk Moor | Whitby Deanery | York Diocese --- email: anthony@egtonvicarage.org landline: 01947 899843 mobile: 07484 735284
Church Services Coming Up in the Next Month Sunday 9 July – 10:30 at Glasidale, St Thomas, Holy Communion. Monday 10 July – 18:00 at Egton, St Hilda, Confirmation with Holy Communion please come along and support this, if you can, as we celebrate two children from Egton School making the decision to be confirmed – Bishop Paul will be presiding and there will be refreshments and cake after the service in The Vicarage. Sunday 16 July – 10:30 at Egton, St Hilda, Holy Communion Sunday 23 July – 10:30 at Grosmont, St Matthew, Holy Communion Sunday 30 July (Fifth Sunday) – 10:30 at Egton, St Hilda, Holy Communion followed by refreshments/lunch in The Vicarage - please do come along – we’ll be having an extended ‘house warming party’ all afternoon (until 5 pm) - Just bring yourself and any friends/family too, all welcome! Readings for Sunday 2 July follow these links to view the readings: Romans 6:12-23 Matthew 10:40-42 Sermon for Sunday 2 July "Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me:" I’d like us to focus on those words this morning. --- Picture the scene. It's the final of the 4 by 400 metres relay in the Olympic Games. We're all together in the stadium cheering our team on! Each person in the relay runs their lap, pushes themselves to the limit. The baton gets handed on smoothly each time. The exhausted runners stumble from the track and watch their teammates continue the race. At the finishing line they're cheering on the last runner as loudly as we are! And we've done it! All the hard work has been worth it: our team has won! An outstanding team effort, against all the odds. Now it's time for the medal ceremony, and all four of our team are on the podium. Our flag is raised, the National Anthem is sung loudly. Our whole country celebrates! --- There's maybe something of a relay race in today's Gospel reading. Jesus is handing the baton on to his disciples. The baton is passed on from generation to generation of disciples down through history. The baton reaches the Church of England in 2023; York Diocese; Whitby Deanery; The Benefice of Middle Esk Moor; The Parish of Goathland. The baton arrives with us this morning! 2050 years ago, Jesus sent out his closest disciples to continue his own mission of both proclaiming and putting into practice the good news of the kingdom of God. And we’ve been working our way through the last chapter of Matthew’s gospel over the last few weeks. Matthew recalls how Jesus named the twelve apostles. And Matthew records the instructions that Jesus gave them for their mission: they were to heal the sick, drive out evil spirits, bear witness to Jesus, and announce that the kingdom of God was near. It would be a difficult task. They would need to risk hardship, have to cope with disagreements with their loved ones, and their very lives would be in danger. Why, then, should they bother? Well, in this final passage of the chapter, short as it is, Jesus sums up the whole purpose of their mission. The people who listen to them, the ones who welcome the good news they bring, will receive a reward: a prophet's reward, and the reward of the righteous. A prophet's reward is to see their prophecy come true. And the reward of the righteous, as Jesus made clear in the Beatitudes during the Sermon on the Mount, is nothing less than a place in the kingdom of heaven. This, then, is the ultimate purpose of the mission: those who are listening to the disciples will know that the disciples' words come from God; those people, too, will be welcomed into nothing less than the kingdom of heaven. There is a sequence here, almost like the handing on of a baton in a relay race: God reveals his love in Jesus, Jesus passes that love to the disciples, the disciples spread that love on to those who listen to them, Jesus is welcomed into the lives of others, the church grows, disciples multiply. But I think there are some important differences between the model of the relay race and the reality of mission and ministry in any particular place. When we hand on the baton of God's love, we don't lose touch with it ourselves! The Holy Spirit keeps us full of God’s love – full to overflowing! Love, especially the love of God, is so amazing that it can be kept and passed on at the same time. And, as you might have experienced yourself, those who listen to the good news often hand it back, polished and shining, as a gift to enrich our own lives. That’s certainly my experience. As I’ve started this role here, I’ve found that a good number of the people back in Haworth, that I tried my best to serve and love, are now supporting me, encouraging me to pass the baton on: visiting, sending messages, checking up on how I’m doing. --- The relay race of love is like a divine dance. It goes on and on, round and round the track of our lives. God's love flows through Jesus, through the action of the Holy Spirit, through the Church, through us as individual Christians, into the lives of those who hear about that good news for the first time. And God’s love then flows back to God in our worship. We’re caught up in the dynamic which is at the heart of God the Holy Trinity: love in action. --- We’re the disciples; we’re the runners. And, if the baton that’s passed to us is so good, surely we should want everyone to have a chance to hold it!? Like dedicated athletes, we’re not coerced into this race: we choose to enter it. Each of us has chosen to be here this morning. It’s a free choice for us to be part of God’s church in this place. And the reward for this race, not earned but freely given by God, is nothing less than eternal life! Isn’t that amazing! Isn’t that something so very precious that we simply must share it with others? Like the original disciples, we’re called to spread the good news of the kingdom of God, the good news of God's love. What a privilege! But what a responsibility too! Talking about it isn't enough though, we need to do the sharing, like the early disciples did 2050 years ago. Are we good at sharing the good news of the kingdom of God in the Church of England in 2023? Are we winning the race? Does it sometimes feel like were running a 4 by 400 metre hurdles race rather than a standard relay race? In my time here over the last 5 weeks I’ve discovered a number of hurdles. Maybe you’ve discovered some too in your time here? Maybe our visitors this morning have already spotted some? --- I think there’s another important difference, between the model of the relay race and the reality of mission and ministry in any particular place. It comes down to time. I was having an interesting discussion with some of you about time after last week’s service. It got quite complicated, and I’ve been thinking about time this week. There’s essentially two kinds of time identified in the Bible: The first is Chronos, chronological time, the time that we measure using our watches, the time that we can use to determine who has run a relay race, even one with hurdles in it. We can measure our progress; determine we have won or lost, down to very precise measurements. But, I wonder, can we actually accurately measure how good we are at spreading the good news of the kingdom of God? Can we measure our progress along the relay race, when that very race is enveloped in a divine dance with the Holy Trinity? I don’t think Chronological measurements work too well in the church. I don’t think we’ll be able to define enough key performance indicators to measure our progress accurately. What we need is another way of looking at time. There’s also Kairos, God’s time, in the Bible. And this is a time that elapses and envelopes us in a way that we can’t measure: a time that points us towards things that we can see and things that are currently unseen: a time that holds us within God’s love in the present moment: a time that’s controlled by the Holy Spirit: a time that can’t be rushed but a time that measures out God’s love: a time that exists outside of our understanding of space and time. If we accept that there are various hurdles facing us here in our church community, then maybe we need to take the time to discover them slowly and carefully. And, maybe if we can try our very best to do that, then we’ll notice the ways that the Holy Spirit is guiding us around the hurdles and showing us new ways of spreading the good news of the kingdom of God? Maybe if we slow down and pay attention, we will notice the amazing surprises that the Holy Spirit has in store for us as a church in this place? In our celebration of Holy Communion together today, maybe we should remember that Jesus didn't just preach about the kingdom of heaven: Jesus has opened the door to the kingdom of heaven for us! And we meet Jesus today in God’s time. It’s not a race to come forward and receive the holy sacrament. It’s a slow divine dance: It’s love in action. Jesus welcomes each of us into that divine dance, slowly and carefully. Jesus helps us to remove the hurdles: Jesus helps us welcome others as he welcomes us. Like the original disciples, we’re called to spread the good news of the kingdom of God, the good news of God's love. What a privilege! But what a responsibility, too! Amen. --- these two books, edited by Jane Williams, were very helpful with planning this week’s sermon writing: Williams, J (2011), Ed., ‘Lectionary Reflections, Years A, B and C.’ Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, London, UK. Williams, J (2009), Ed., ‘Lost for Words, A Sermon Resource for the Anglican Three Year Cycle,’ Redemptorist Publications, Chawton, UK. --- The Reverend Anthony Bennett --- Interim Minister & Deanery Enabler Middle Esk Moor | Whitby Deanery | York Diocese --- email: anthony@egtonvicarage.org landline: 01947 899843 mobile: 07484 735284 web: middleeskmoor.org blog: thoughtsfromegtonvicarage.org
