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Up-to-the-minute jumping-off points for sermons, linking the reading to the latest news and global issues
Preferment?
Following the institutional church or following Jesus (Mark 9.35b)?
Context
- Except for notable exceptions which prove the rule, the institutional church has long abandoned the notion of real servant leadership. Much hurt has been the result.
- Happily for humanity, God can use those who are not part of organised religion. Manchester United’s forward, Marcus Rashford, has used his privileged position to advocate for the elimination of childhood food poverty via Fareshare. Although this link is an advert, Rashford has teamed up with Google to encourage curiosity as a way to tackle and overcome the atomisation and division of our society.
Reflection and ideas for a sermon, talk or conversation
- The gospel of preferment/prosperity is nothing new. In Mark 9 we see the disciples squabbling over who was the ‘greatest’. Are we not guilty of the same? The Church of England leaves itself open to such criticism due to the practice of ‘preferment’. For non-Anglicans let me explain that a clergy-person’s name is put forward, usually to a bishop, stating that said person is ‘worthy’ of preferment to a higher ecclesiastical position. This, of course, means preferment over his/her colleagues. The person being preferred then has to write a letter explaining why he/she deserves preferment. (Is this not the selfish ambition of which James (3.14) writes?) But before we go knocking the Anglicans, let us admit that every denomination has its form of preferment. It seems the institutional church is no stranger to “Britain’s Got Talent”! We just use more arcane terms and methods to keep it quiet—just as the disciples mumbled amongst themselves and were embarrassed to openly tell Jesus what they were discussing.
- Jesus explains to his disciples – more than once – that preferment or ‘career advancement’ is not his way. His is a way of service…and even sacrifice. It’s about the other. Not oneself. The church, as an institution, is modelled on corporate society, with bigger houses and higher salaries as one advances along the ‘career path’. Is it any wonder those outside of the church see us as hypocrites?
Questions for discussion
- How can the church be more transparent in its appointments? Does secrecy have a place in the culture Jesus came to share with us?
- How can a congregation/parish/diocese/District know whether they are being presented with candidates NOT pre-sorted by gender, colour, theology, political persuasion, etc?
- Where does real service appear in our local churches? (Our budgets will tell us more than we might want to know about our actual priorities!) What about Jesus’ teaching that where our treasure is, that’s where our hearts (concerns, passions) will be? How much does this matter to us?
Rev Dr Jack Lawson is a free-lance writer and author of four novels: Doing Time, No Good Deed, Criminal Justice and The Woods (to be released 30 September, Wings ePress). For more information visit Jack’s web site or blog.
Check-in
Connecting faith with everyday, real-life issues for young people
What does it mean to be the greatest? In this week’s passage, Jesus gives us his answer: the greatest is the one who is humble enough to be the least great, to be the servant of all.
This is challenging for those of us who live life online. Whether gloating over fallen enemies in an online battle royale or sorting the fabulous from the frumpy at this year’s MET gala, the entire internet can feel like a competition which everyone wants to win. While gaming and celebrity gossip might not seem significant, there are places where this desire to be the greatest might have more of an impact.
On Tuesday, the government announced that vaccines would start being rolled out to 12-15 year olds before the end of the month. Whether to take the vaccine is a subject on which everyone has an opinion, but who should we listen to when making our decision? Doctors? The government? Nicki Minaj?
Vaccines can only effectively stop a pandemic when enough people take them, so is getting the vaccine part of what it means to be a good citizen in 2021? And, as some people are unable to take it, do those of us who can take the virus have a responsibility to those who can’t?
These are questions which everyone must decide for themselves. But remember: while we all want our opinion to be the greatest, greatness is found in humility and a willingness to put others first.
David Wadsworth is a storyteller and poet, and writer-in-residence at Cambourne Church. More information and examples of his work can be found at www.wadsworthcreative.com
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