PostScript

PostScript: John’s ‘Bushtucker’ challenge

John challenges people to change their ways (Matthew 3.1-12).

Introduction

John was a ‘celebrity’ preacher to whom people were attracted. His preaching challenged and while some responded, others rejected him.

Context

The king or queen of the jungle is crowned on Sunday on I’m a Celebrity. Having endured bugs and snakes and various indignities, one of the celebrities will come out of the jungle as the winner.

Ed Balls’ run on Strictly Come Dancing came to an end last weekend. For many people Saturday nights will not be the same.

The nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year have been announced. Some are wealthy and famous, others much less so.

Fidel Castro, father of the revolution in Cuba, died last week. Responses have been varied.

A number of people have waived their right to anonymity and have reported that they were sexually abused by football coaches.

A plane carrying members of a Brazilian football team has crashed in Colombia with few survivors.

Reflection

Craig Revel Horwood’s judgements on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing are known to be the harshest of the Strictly judges, but so far – unlike John – he has refrained from comparing anyone to a snake. John’s connection to contemporary culture is most obvious in his diet, which bears comparison with the meals provided by Ant ‘n’ Dec in ITV’s celebrity jungle. However, it could be said that, like Ed Balls, John was ‘voted out’ in a ‘dance off’ when he was no match for Salome’s samba.

While people came to listen to John, his was a message that divided. The same could be said of Fidel Castro: mourned by the Cuban people and fellow revolutionaries; condemned by a president-elect; and sympathy for his people given by an out-going president. The ‘one who came after’ Fidel Castro is his brother Raul. It was Fidel Castro who proclaimed and led the revolution in Cuba. It remains to be seen whether Raul will interpret the revolution in a new way and lead his people into the ways of peace and in harmony with the world.

The announcement of the nominees for Sports Personality of the Year is, like the publication of the Christmas Radio Times, one of the high points in the secular celebration of Advent. This year’s list has been expanded from 12 to 16, but such was the success of our Olympians this year there is still no place for a triple Tour de France winner, our most decorated Olympian or a world heavyweight champion boxer. The short list is compiled by a panel, but the winner is judged by public vote and other events this year have warned us not to pre-judge the result.

John doesn’t appear to have been desperate for approval. In contrast, popular television shows are now full of people seeking love from the public. Ed Balls’ success in a dancing competition had little to do with his footwork, but the public loved him for his trying and for entertaining them. It is suggested that he could make a triumphant return to parliament, and appearing on an entertainment show has certainly not harmed Boris Johnson’s career.

The Bible includes stories of ‘personalities’ who have courted popularity – yes, Hananiah (Jeremiah 28), I’m looking at you – or who have used popularity for their own ends – it’s no use looking the other way, King David (2 Samuel 11–12) – and another who seemed to have had no interest in what people thought of him – well done Jeremiah (Jeremiah 11.18-23)! We might also think of Jonah and Samson as ‘celebrities’ who wanted ‘out of here’.

The Saville inquiry showed that celebrity and status can give immunity from the usual rules to a person intent on doing wrong. It is too early to say whether this is the situation with the Barry Bennell case involving young footballers, but it appears that a similar situation may pertain. Certainly other footballers have been tempted to behave in ways that were inappropriate and sometimes illegal.

Nearly all the members of the Brazilian football team Chapecoense were killed when their plane crashed on the way to Colombia for the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana final. The team’s rapid rise to success has seen them compared to Leicester City in the English Premier League. Britain has known a similar disaster when the Manchester United team were involved in a plane crash in Munich in 1958. John’s message called people to make a decision in their lives and the Colombian plane crash reminds us that no one knows when life might end.

Prayer

Our God,
we pray for those who have become famous.
Some of these people will have sought fame and power,
while for others this will have come
as a product of their role or their achievements.
We pray for those who have been forced
into the limelight and find this difficult.
We pray for those who crave the affection –
whether true or false –
that they believe comes from celebrity.

We pray for the people of Cuba,
many of whom are mourning for the leader of the Cuban Revolution.
We pray for those who lead now,
and especially for Raul, Fidel Castro’s brother,
that he will lead his people in peace
and with a hand of friendship extended to Cuba’s neighbours.
We pray for those who have been affected by the plane crash in Colombia:
for the families of those who died
and for all associated with the football club
who have been shocked by what has happened.

We pray for a swift end to the military actions
against IS in Iraq and various oppositions forces in Aleppo.

Our God, we pray for peace in our world.
Amen.

Questions

Are we too easily influenced by someone’s personality into following their lead?
Some people have responded to Donald Trump because he appears to be ‘straight talking’, while others have warmed to Boris Johnson because they find him amusing. Do we have the same reaction to Biblical characters? Do we see Peter as ‘attractively bumbling’ while Paul is an aggressive ‘know-it-all’?

Action

If you have a group who like to go to the cinema, you might like to go to see A United Kingdom, a love story that challenged the social code of the day and gives an example of incarnational mission.

Young People

Sports Personality of the Year rewards great athletic achievement. This year’s list contains the name of a number of less well-known Paralympians. Who in your church, school or local community do you think is deserving of an award for great achievement, but who is often overlooked?

Simon Carver is a Baptist Minister in St Albans and takes a particular interest in film and sport.