Anger, Discernment and Action

by Mar 4, 2024Sermons

John 2:13-22

The Cleansing of the Temple

I can remember as a child having a horrendous temper. I think I was a relatively calm person normally. But every now and again I would boil over with emotion. There was one occasion, when overwhelmed with furry at being told I had to wear my bike helmet. Throwing it at my mother’s feet. The furry rapidly turned to guilt and upset as I realised what I had done and how much worse it could be.

Of course, emotions are part of how we are made. Anger, like love and compassion is a gift from God. But like any emotion, when Anger is uncontrolled and overwhelming, it can make it very difficult for us to make wise decisions. Today’s Gospel passage is a reassurance for anybody who is concerned about being angry. Here we have Jesus – who we are told is without sin – who gets so angry at the state of the temple, he drives out the cattle, overturns tables, pours out money, while holding a whip that he has made. It is, perhaps, a little surprising, even shocking compared when we compare this passage to the Jesus we know elsewhere in the Gospels. There are a number of ways to read and interpret this passage – many of them have merit. I am going to offer you three in an attempt to see what Jesus was angry about.

In the Jewish revolt, which overthrew the Roman forces in 66 AD – only around 35 years after this incident, they reportedly went into the temple and burned the ledgers of debt and elected a peasant as High Priest. There is something, then, about the practices in the temple which were far from fair. The transactions were likely paying Roman Taxes. Paying for the Empire to continue oppressing them. This is where anger can be important and helpful.  Anger can drive us to challenge injustice. Jesus’ actions in the temple are driven by an anger that he feels about the oppression and mistreatment of individuals who have come into the temple. The animals being sold would have been for sacrifices, the people were coming and buying them, seeking to atone and to make good their relationship with God. Taking from them as they tried to conduct this noble act. Funding the very empire which oppressed them. Jesus was seeking for Justice, for an end to this system which saw the rich getting richer at the hands of the poor.

This story is one of the only ones which appears in all four of the Gospels, only this version from John comes at the very beginning of his story, just after the wedding at Cana, unlike the other Gospels which have this passage at the end of the Gospel, after Jesus entry to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Among the other differences between this and the other Gospels is Jesus refers to the Temple being a market-place. There is something there perhaps about the importance being placed on money. In our Old Testament reading we are told, among the commandments, not to worship any other gods and not to make idols which we can then worship ahead of God our creator. Money is, and has always been, one of those idols that we can make for ourselves – something we put ahead of others, something we even worship ahead of God. In this time of Lent when we are trying to clear out the things which distract us from loving God, money, or at least our use of it, should definitely be one of the things we consider. Jesus is angry because he seeks people so focussed on the wrong priorities, on wealth and power and status, that he wants to clear out the distractions. As Paul puts it in his letter to the Corinthians. We get confused between our human understandings of power and wisdom and the kind of power and wisdom that God wealds – power that comes from making the divine humbling himself to become human  and wisdom which sees vulnerability and death on a cross as the route to salvation.

Finally, the other bit of John’s version of this story which differs from other Gospels is that Jesus talks about the temple being his’ Father’s house. It shows an intimacy in the relationship between Jesus and God the Father. It also means something quite special when at the end of our passage Jesus refers to his own body as the Temple. The desire of the people to atone and be in right relationship with God is at the heart of our Christian faith. Here in the Temple people are completely caught up in the sacrificing of animals to atone for their sins. During lent, in Morning Prayer, we read a canticle form the 1st Book of Chronicles which ends with the lines: ‘For loyalty is my desire and not sacrifice, 
and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.’ As the passage points ahead to Christ’s passion, alluding to Christ’s body being the temple where God resides and that it is in his death and eventual resurrection that will bring us truly into right relationship with God. Jesus’ action in clearing away the material of the industry of Temple sacrifice he is driving out the dependance on this system and offering himself as the new temple where this forgiveness and atonement can be finally won.

In each of these three readings there is a placing of an idol before God, whether that be the power of an oppressive Empire,  human wisdom and trust in money and stuff, or the dependence on the mechanisms of ritual sacrifice, In each of these three readings of this passage Jesus’ anger is driving him to respond to the injustice which he sees before him in the house of God. Injustice driven by putting other things before God. A God which in our reading from Exodus defines Godself by the saving act of freeing God’s people from Slavery.

Of course Jesus also spends time discerning and praying, 40 days in the wilderness, before his anger manifests in the way it does in today’s Gospel. There are lots of things in this world to be angry about. Injustices inflicted by despots, and the person next door. So God calls us to spend time to discern how we should act – where we must shine God’s light and when we should speak up in our anger and thirst for righteousness.

The Reverend Robin Sims-Williams

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Privacy Notice

Privacy Notice – General

Your personal data – what is it?

“Personal data” is any information about a living individual which allows them to be identified from that data (for example a name, photographs, videos, email address, or address). Identification can be by the information alone or in conjunction with any other information. The processing of personal data is governed by the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (GDPR) and other legislation relating to personal data and rights such as the Human Rights Act 1998.

Who are we?

This Privacy Notice is provided to you by the Parochial Church Council (PCC) of All Saints’ Child’s Hill which is the data controller for your data.

The Church of England is made up of a number of different organisations and office-holders who work together to deliver the Church’s mission in each community. The PCC works together with:

  • the incumbent of the parish (that is, our priest-in-charge);
  • the bishops of the Diocese of London; and
  • the London Diocesan Fund, which is responsible for the financial and administrative
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As the Church is made up of all of these persons and organisations working together, we may need to share personal data we hold with them so that they can carry out their responsibilities to the Church and our community. The organisations referred to above are joint data controllers. This means we are all responsible to you for how we process your data.

Each of the data controllers have their own tasks within the Church and a description of what data is processed and for what purpose is set out in this Privacy Notice. This Privacy Notice is sent to you by the PCC on our own behalf and on behalf of each of these data controllers. In the rest of this Privacy Notice, we use the word “we” to refer to each data controller, as appropriate.

What data do the data controllers listed above process?

They will process some or all of the following where necessary to perform their tasks:

  • Names, titles, and aliases, photographs;
  • Contact details such as telephone numbers, addresses, and email addresses;
  • Where they are relevant to our mission, or where you provide them to us, we may process
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How do we process your personal data?

The data controllers will comply with their legal obligations to keep personal data up to date; to store and destroy it securely; to not collect or retain excessive amounts of data; to keep personal data secure, and to protect personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access and disclosure and to ensure that appropriate technical measures are in place to protect personal data.

We use your personal data for some or all of the following purposes:

  • To enable us to meet all legal and statutory obligations (which include maintaining and publishing our electoral roll in accordance with the Church Representation Rules);
  • To carry out comprehensive safeguarding procedures (including due diligence and complaints handling) in accordance with best safeguarding practice from time to time with the aim of ensuring that all children and adults-at-risk are provided with safe environments;
  • To minister to you and provide you with pastoral and spiritual care (such as visiting you when you are gravely ill or bereaved) and to organise and perform ecclesiastical services for you, such as baptisms, confirmations, weddings and funerals;
  • To deliver the Church’s mission to our community, and to carry out any other voluntary or charitable activities for the benefit of the public as provided for in the constitution and statutory framework of each data controller;
  • To administer the parish, deanery, archdeaconry and diocesan membership records;
  • To fundraise and promote the interests of the Church and charity;
  • To maintain our own accounts and records;
  • To process a donation that you have made (including Gift Aid information);
  • To seek your views or comments;
  • To notify you of changes to our services, events and role holders;
  • To send you communications which you have requested and that may be of interest to you. These may include information about campaigns, appeals, other fundraising activities;
  • To process a grant or application for a role;
  • To enable us to provide a voluntary service for the benefit of the public in a particular geographical
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  • Our processing also includes the use of automated systems when you visit our website including cookies to help improve your experience when browsing our website and personal identifiers from your browsing history to enable us to assess the popularity of the webpages on our website, further information about our use of cookies is available on our website (https://www.allsaintschildshill.com/cookie-policy/)
  • Our processing also includes the use of CCTV systems for the prevention and prosecution of crime.

What is the legal basis for processing your personal data?

Most of our data is processed because it is necessary for our legitimate interests, or the legitimate interests of a third party (such as another organisation in the Church of England). An example of this would be our safeguarding work to protect children and adults at risk. We will always take into account your interests, rights and freedoms.

Some of our processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation. For example, we are required by the Church Representation Rules to administer and publish the electoral roll, and under Canon Law to announce forthcoming weddings by means of the publication of banns.

We may also process data if it is necessary for the performance of a contract with you, or to take steps to enter into a contract. An example of this would be processing your data in connection with the hire of church facilities.

Religious organisations are also permitted to process information about your religious beliefs to administer membership or contact details.

Where your information is used other than in accordance with one of these legal bases, we will first obtain your consent to that use.

Sharing your personal data

Your personal data will be treated as strictly confidential. It will only be shared with third parties where it is necessary for the performance of our tasks or where you first give us your prior consent. It is likely that we will need to share your data with some or all of the following (but only where necessary):

  • The appropriate bodies of the Church of England including the other data controllers;
  • Our agents, servants and contractors. For example, we may ask a commercial provider to send out newsletters on our behalf, or to maintain our database software;
  • Other clergy or lay persons nominated or licensed by the bishops of the Diocese of London to support the mission of the Church in our parish. For example, our clergy are supported by our area dean and archdeacon, who may provide confidential mentoring and pastoral support. Assistant or temporary ministers, including curates, deacons, licensed lay ministers, commissioned lay ministers or persons with Bishop’s Permissions may participate in our mission in support of our regular clergy;
  • Other persons or organisations operating within the Diocese of London including, where relevant, the London Diocesan Board for Schools and Subsidiary Bodies;
  • On occasion, other churches with which we are carrying out joint events or activities.

How long do we keep your personal data?

We will keep some records permanently if we are legally required to do so. We may keep some other records for an extended period of time. For example, it is current best practice to keep financial records for a minimum period of 7 years to support HMRC audits. In general, we will endeavour to keep data only for as long as we need it. This means that we may delete it when it is no longer needed.

Your rights and your personal data

You have the following rights with respect to your personal data:

When exercising any of the rights listed below, in order to process your request, we may need to verify your identity for your security. In such cases we will need you to respond with proof of your identity before you can exercise these rights.

  1. The right to access information we hold on you
    • At any point you can contact us to request the information we hold on you as well as why we have that information, who has access to the information and where we obtained the
      information from. Once we have received your request we will respond within one month.
    • There are no fees or charges for the first request but additional requests for the same data may be subject to an administrative fee .
  1. The right to correct and update the information we hold on you
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    • When we receive your request we will confirm whether the data has been deleted or the reason why it cannot be deleted (for example because we need it for our legitimate interests or regulatory purpose(s)).
  1. The right to object to processing of your data
    • You have the right to request that we stop processing your data. Upon receiving the request we will contact you and let you know if we are able to comply or if we have legitimate grounds to continue to process your data. Even after you exercise your right to object, we may continue to hold your data to comply with your other rights or to bring or defend legal claims.
  1. The right to data portability
    • You have the right to request that we transfer some of your data to another controller. We will comply with your request, where it is feasible to do so, within one month of receiving your request.
  1. The right to withdraw your consent to the processing at any time for any processing of data to which consent was sought.
    • You can withdraw your consent easily by telephone, email, or by post (see Contact Details below).
  1. The right to object to the processing of personal data where applicable.
  2. The right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Transfer of Data Abroad

Any electronic personal data transferred to countries or territories outside the EU will only be placed on systems complying with measures giving equivalent protection of personal rights either through international agreements or contracts approved by the European Union. Our website is also accessible from overseas so on occasion some personal data (for example in a newsletter) may be accessed from overseas.

Further processing

If we wish to use your personal data for a new purpose, not covered by this Notice, then we will provide you with a new notice explaining this new use prior to commencing the processing and setting out the relevant purposes and processing conditions. Where and whenever necessary, we will seek your prior consent to the new processing.

Contact Details

Please contact us if you have any questions about this Privacy Notice or the information we hold about you or to exercise all relevant rights, queries or complaints at:

The Data Controller,
All Saints’ Church
Church Walk, Child’s Hill
London, NW2 2TJ
Email: vicar@allsaintschildshill.com

You can contact the Information Commissioners Office on 0303 123 1113 or via email https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/email/ or at the Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.

If you have any question regarding our privacy policy, please contact us.