Context
This week the Turner Prize nominees have been announced. As ever, the announcement has been accompanied by cries of derision about the quality of the art, and this year in particular, the type of art – no paintings or drawings have made the shortlist.
Reflection
Love it or loath it, the Turner Prize, now in its 34th year, cannot be called dull!
Founded by then director of the Tate, Alan Bowness, it was designed to champion contemporary art. The exhibits are supposed to challenge and provoke a reaction. You’re not meant to walk away from the exhibition of the shortlisted art work and feel completely neutral about what you have been exposed to. The art is there to be discussed, judged and appraised – and not just by the professional art critics. Anyone can encounter the work and form an opinion. The poster for the 2004 display read ‘judge for yourself’. Whoever you may be, you are invited to be affected by what you see. The exhibition of the shortlisted artist’s work is open to a response from anyone, regardless of how much formal art training you have had.
In this week’s Gospel reading the disciples are concerned about the fact that a person unknown to them has been spotted casting out demons in Jesus’ name. The disciples appear to question who this unidentified follower was and whether they were really qualified to act in such a way. They initially present their intervention to stop this unknown person’s exorcism as an effort to look after Jesus and protect his name from being abused. So perhaps they are unprepared for Jesus’ response to their interposition. Instead of congratulating them Jesus endorses the stranger’s behaviour. Although unknown to the disciples the man in question had clearly encountered Jesus, been drawn into the life of faith Jesus expressed and was now acting in his name to relieve others of the demons that plagued them. His encounter with Jesus had not left him neutral, and although not in the inner circle, it was enough to send him out to do works in his name.
Perhaps this passage us tells us more about how the twelve disciples saw themselves – as the only ones who were authorised to use the name of Jesus. Their reaction is one of annoyance about an unknown person who they deemed too far removed from the inner circle to be behaving in a way that expressed an intimate encounter with Jesus. But they had missed the point. Like the Turner Prize, an encounter with Jesus demanded a reaction. Being part of the intimate circle around Jesus was not the qualification for acting in his name. Whoever you may be, you were – you are – invited to respond to Jesus. There is no special criteria for being a disciple. Jesus invites us to judge for ourselves.
Prayer
Invite the congregation to think about the following question:
- How did you first encounter Jesus?
You may wish to offer a time of silence while people reflect on this question or play a song (e.g. ‘Till I found’ or ‘I will follow you’). Once you have given people a suitable period for reflection read the following words as a finishing prayer:
When we encounter you Lord, we are changed.
When we meet you, and open our hearts, you draw us into your love.
When you find ourselves in your presence we are overwhelmed by your peace.
When we experience your power in our lives we are equipped by your Spirit to go out and show others your love.
Lord, continue to change us,
continue to show us your love,
continue to surround us by your peace,
continue to equip us, fill us with your Spirit and send us out.
Amen.
Questions
- Do we hold assumptions about who can do what when it comes to church life?
- Are there people who make us uncomfortable when they express their faith?
All-age activity
You will need clothes pegs, pens, and a temporary washing line strung up in the building. Provide everyone with a wooden clothes’ peg and a pen. Invite them to write the initials of someone they are currently praying for, to encounter Christ. Once people have initialled their pegs, invite them to put the peg on the line. When everyone has returned to their seats, ask them to look at the line and observe all of the pegs representing those in people’s prayers.
Encourage people to cluster together in groups of three. Ask one person from each group to come and collect three random pegs – there is no need to find your own. On returning to their groups, share the pegs out. Everyone should now have a peg with the initials someone else has written. Invite them to keep hold of the peg and pray during the next week that the person with those initials will encounter Christ.
Young people
You will need paper plates, and coloured pens. Give each young person a paper plate. Invite them to draw two concentric rings on the plate to divide it into three sections. (The inner ring should be around 7 cm in diameter). Using three different coloured pens, ask everyone to label the areas of their plate: the central ring – best friends; the middle ring – other friends; the outer ring – acquaintances. (Before the next part of the activity, you may need to check they everyone know what characterises an acquaintance). Next invite them to write the names of people in their life that fall into each category. Invite people to look at their finished plates, then to thank God for their friends, but also for those who are at the edges of their lives – in the outer circle of their plate.
Fiona Dorman is an Education Officer at Bristol Cathedral, and a freelance writer and educator.
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