Last night (as I write this) was the occasion of the annual school production by older children in the Primary School where I am a Governor. As I watched I thought about the privilege of supporting an event that encourages children but with whom I have no directly vested interest.
All around in the auditorium parents, guardians, siblings, grandparents and friends of families were fixed on the performance. For most there was an object of their fixation, namely, the child or children they were there for. I well remember those days; hoping for success, the avoidance of embarrassment and waiting for the momentary appearance on stage that would either fan to flame the future of a thespian or confirm that another career would be the better choice.
Not having the single object of attention allows one to see the show as an entity, and thus gain an appreciation of everyone’s efforts. What we saw was how everyone plays their part and without them all there is no show. What was also clear was that when one performer is slightly more confident than the majority all the cast gain confidence simultaneously and the show is enhanced.
So much of life is about mundane, routine, and doing a good average job. There are many people who like that. In Jesus’s day the authorities fought to ensure that their routines were honoured and nothing disrupted the status quo. When Jesus came on stage the scene got more interesting. There was a change in the atmosphere and people soon saw that something bigger than routine was in play. Saint Paul summarised it in his address to the Synagogue in Pisidian Antioch (in modern Türkiye), a place he visited on his first missionary journey. (Acts 13:26-41).
Prayer
Lord, show me when if and when it is the right time to stand out from the average, and when it is, give me the courage and gifting I need to do so. You see everything and you get the whole picture; give us the grace to let you guide the show, your church, and not to plan for ourselves what we think should be next. Amen.