Church Services Coming Up over the next month
Sunday 23 July – 10:30 at Grosmont, St Matthew, Holy Communion
Sunday 30 July (Fifth Sunday) – 10:30 at Egton, St Hilda, Holy Communion
the Summer Fair at St Matthew’s in Grosmont is happening on this day from 11 am – please do come along and support it if you can – the Grand Prize draw is at 3 pm.
Sunday 6 August – 10:30 at Goathland, St Mary, Holy Communion
Sunday 13 August – 10:30 at Lealholm, St James, Holy Communion
Sunday 20 August – 10:30 at Egton, St Hilda, Holy Communion
followed by refreshments/lunch in The Vicarage (note that this was originally going to be on 30 July but we have moved it so that we can go to the Summer Fair) – 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 16 July
follow these links to view the readings:
Sermon for Sunday 16 July at St Hilda, Egton
I might have told some of you that Sam is the green fingers in our house. I can do garden infrastructure to a certain degree, and I tend to stick to that. But anything green would be at grave risk if I touched it! It’s well known to people like Sam, who grow things, whether in a window box, allotment, field or garden, that the soil needs to be nourished so plants can grow and flourish. We can see amazing results if we dose a small potted plant with liquid fertiliser, if we replenish the soil in our window box, if we dig compost into the allotment, if we fertilise the fields. But however good the seed quality is, a rich harvest cannot be achieved without good soil in which to sow our seeds.
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In Jesus' day sowing seed was somewhat haphazard. Weeds, most commonly a kind of thorn, were not cleared first, but ploughed straight into the ground. The paths through the fields became hard like roads, and seeds were scattered everywhere: on paths and edges where the underlying limestone was very near to the surface, making the soil very thin. So, to his listeners, Jesus’ description in today’s gospel reading would have been instantly recognisable. Jesus was illustrating his teaching with everyday events, through the language of work, of weather, of nature. Jesus knew that if he spoke in the dull and boring language of the priests, of the Temple or synagogue, the people would not hear what he had to say. And there’s a lesson there for people like me!
Jesus grew up in the countryside, and much of his teaching involved the use of symbols taken from nature; he spoke the people's own kind of language, and so they listened to him. It’s easy to become distracted when people speak in a way that doesn’t relate to us, our needs or our lives;
it’s easy to listen but not absorb what’s said,
it’s easy to miss the crucial heart of a message.
But despite Jesus’ down to earth approach, it still wasn’t everyone who listened to him. People still became distracted – that’s what happened to many of Jesus' listeners:
some listened but didn’t want to know;
some heard but didn’t understand;
some listened and heard but were too frightened to take up the challenge and respond.
But Jesus gives everyone the best chance of hearing the message. He prepares the ground in the way a person of the earth would do, with symbols which speak to the experience and hearts of his listeners. He valued each person in the crowd in our reading. And when we value someone, we take the trouble to approach them at their own level.
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So, what does this mean for us? How well do we listen to others? How often do you telephone someone and know, by the noise in the background, that the television or radio is claiming half their attention? How often do we ask people how they are because of social convention, without thinking, rather than wanting to know the truth and the detail of their answer?
If someone listens to us attentively, we feel valued.
And when someone speaks to us in our own language it feeds and enhances the person that we are, helping us grow. This, I think, is how Jesus listens to us and it’s how we need to listen to him, not only in our prayers but as he speaks to us through others. And I think the only way we can hear Jesus through other people is by being fully present to each person we speak to: hearing each and every spoken and unspoken need. This deep listening is our spiritual fertilisation. When we enter into it, it nourishes the life of God within us. God is with us in the great and in the minute events of our lives. God speaks to us in gentle tones and in language we understand. We need to listen to Jesus: he is the sower. But Jesus is also the seed and the food for growth.
If we listen carefully to those we meet, then perhaps the harvest will take care of itself? Because by listening to others we are listening to Jesus.
I’ve been attempting to do that since I started here, and I’m working my way round gradually speaking to as many people as I can. But my task is almost impossible, there are too many people: there are limits to what one set of ears can hear! Maybe part of our journey together over the next few months is for all of us in our church communities to listen to others that we know, that don’t come to church, but we think might give it a try. We could each listen to their answer to a simple question:
what can the church do to help you?
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I wrote a piece for August’s parish magazines yesterday in the midst of a completely disorganised and untidy vicarage, jam packed full of boxes. Sam, Amy, Meru and Malkie plus two very large removal vans arrived on Wednesday, and everything is now in the vicarage. It feels like an impossible task to get everything sorted out in the house! But my experience is nothing new. I’m sure most of you will also have faced the challenges of moving house or starting a new job, or both, and will have survived the experience. And there are so many challenges facing us, personal and the collective challenges we face in our world.
Moses, his son, Aaron, and the ancient Israelites, also faced difficult challenges, both personal and collective, around 3500 years ago. God was acutely aware of those challenges then, just as God is acutely aware of our challenges today. In the Book of Numbers, God speaks the words of an ancient blessing to Moses.
Maybe we need to pass that blessing on to others we meet?
Why not go and visit that person you know well, but before you ask them…
what can the church do to help you?
…maybe have a cup of tea and then remind yourself, and your friend, all about the amazing blessings we receive from God: say the ancient words of God’s blessing from Numbers to yourself and your friend, quietly and slowly:
‘The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.’
You both might then be able to listen to Jesus more clearly. And if we listen carefully to those we meet, then perhaps the harvest will take care of itself? Because by listening to others we are listening to Jesus.
Amen.
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these two books, edited by Jane Williams, were again 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
web: middleeskmoor.org
blog: thoughtsfromegtonvicarage.org