Readings:

Exodus 20: 1-17;
Psalm 19;
1 Corinthians 1: 18-25;
John 2: 13-22

Collect:
Eternal God,
give us insight to discern your will for us,
to give up what harms us,
and to seek the perfection we are promised in Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Reflection 

I love this time of year as the days slowly become longer, the trees start to bud, the flowers beginning to burst into bloom and the birds beginning to build their nests.  This week saw the beginning of meteorological spring. Spring a time of new birth, of life and of hope.  This year, more than any other in recent years, we are in need of this hope as we slowly begin to emerge from what has been a really hard lockdown for everyone.

As we enter this spring, we do so with hope mixed with just a little trepidation about what lies ahead.  A strong desire to see things return to ‘normal’, but cautious about making too many plans just in case our hopes get dashed.  Along with this is a realisation that we can’t go back to what life was like because everything has changed, including us.  In some ways this is no different to how we often hanker back to the ‘Good old days’, when we see things through rose tinted glasses, except that this year the change has been much more dramatic and noticeable.

Change is always hard and it can hurt at times, but we live in a world that is constantly changing.  Spring and the season of Lent is also about change.  How often do we talk about spring cleaning, sometimes when we’re not even in spring.  That process of having a good sort out.  This last weekend the children were having a good sort out under their beds.  Going through all the stuff that they have squirreled away over the months.  Making decisions about what to keep and what to throw away.  There are times when we all spend time getting rid of the clutter that builds up in our houses/flats/rooms.  If you’re like me you put the task off for as long as possible, but when eventually I get around to doing it I feel an enormous sense of satisfaction and surprisingly lighter.

Lent, if you like, is about spring cleaning our Spiritual lives.  Encouraging us to think about the baggage that we carry around with us, that gets in the way of our relationship with God.  The baggage that stops us from growing in confidence and in faith.  It’s about working out what things/practices we need to stop and get rid of, and what things are supportive and we need to keep or adopt.

The cleansing of the Temple is in some ways Jesus’ version of Spring cleaning.  The Temple courts had become a marketplace almost, full of traders and money changers and this was stopping people coming to pray.  It is this that made him angry.  The Temple courts were where anyone could go and pray and worship God, only a select few could go further into the Temple itself.  A bit like in a church like St Mary’s where anyone could sit in the nave, but only a select few (those in good standing according to the book of common prayer) could pass through the gate into the chancel to receive communion, and the sanctuary was the place reserved for the priest.  Thankfully we have moved on from this practice and the whole of the church is open to all.

Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple to me was about removing some of the physical and structural things that, over time, had built up and were separating God and the people that God lovingly created.    

It seems to me, that this Spring we have a unique opportunity not only to spring clean our own lives but to seriously and prayerfully spring clean the spiritual life of our Partnership.  If we have learnt anything over this last year, it has been that prayer, worship and teaching is not confined to a building but that sometimes the buildings can get in the way and exclude people.  As we move forward it is important that we don’t just refill the Spiritual life of the Partnership with what we were doing last year but we do that Spring cleaning of keeping what is helpful, removing what is dragging us down and developing new opportunities as we open ourselves up to the prompting of God’s Spirit.

As we spring clean our lives and the life of our Partnership may we find a sense of peace, a lightness of spirit and joy and excitement as we walk together with God.

Mike Morris