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:
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...”
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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The Reverend Anthony Bennett
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Interim Minister & Deanery Enabler
Middle Esk Moor | Whitby Deanery | York Diocese
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email: [email protected]
landline: 01947 899843
mobile: 07484 735284