Context

• Phillip Schofield came out on live TV on 7 February – having grown through 27 years of marriage to the point where he felt he needed to be honest about who he realised he was. He did this with the support of his wife, children and his mother. 
• The Oscars film and television award ceremony on 9 February followed in the footsteps of the BAFTAs, one week previously, in showing up the whole industry once again for a lack of diversity of nominees in terms of gender, race or LGBT rights.

 

Reflection

Much loved British TV chat-show icon, Phillip Schofield, was commended for his bravery on announcing live, on the very show he co-presents with Holly Willoughby, that: ‘With the strength and support of my wife and daughters, I’ve been coming to terms with the fact that I’m gay’. As someone who remembers watching Phillip when he began in children’s television back in the mid 1980’s, I also remember that our world was a very different place back then. Many like to think of the United Kingdom as progressive, but it wasn’t that long ago that what Phillip did this week would have been unacceptable to the entertainment establishment. Many of his friends and colleagues supported him this week, as his inner strength and conviction seem to have matured to the point where he felt able to share something so personal. Does his announcement change him fundamentally as a person? No. But maybe it does say something about a change in the diversity of our society, that an individual can at last feel able to grow to the point where they are able to be honest with themselves and those they love most about who they are.

At the Oscars awards it was Oscar and BAFTA ‘Best Actor’ award winner, Joaquin Phoenix, whose admittedly off-the-wall acceptance speech was almost worthy of award itself in the eyes of many. At the BAFTAs, both its host Graham Norton and awards presenter Rebel Wilson also commented at the lack of diversity being celebrated. When the nominations for this year’s BAFTA film awards were announced, there was criticism that all the nominees in the four main acting categories were white. And Best Director nominees were all male for the seventh year in a row. Prince William, as president of BAFTA, gave a speech during the ceremony in which he said: ‘we find ourselves talking again about the need to do more to ensure diversity in the sector and the awards process. That simply cannot be right in this day and age.’ Joaquin Phoenix was upset that some of his worthy fellow actors were not getting the same recognition as him, while he was also honest enough to admit to not having done enough himself in the past to make sure the films he worked in were diverse. He said, ‘I’m grateful that so many of you in this room have given me a second chance. I think that’s when we’re at our best: when we support each other. Not when we cancel each other out for our past mistakes, but when we help each other to grow. When we educate each other; when we guide each other to redemption – that is the best of humanity.’

Paul might well begin by berating his brothers and sisters in Corinth for their divisions, but it might also be that he is celebrating the diversity which is bringing them to the maturity of recognising their oneness in Christ. In 1 Corinthians 3.1-9, Paul begins by referring to the already dramatically changed individuals, who together make up the new community, as immature. Their disunity, rivalry, jealousy and quarrelling lead him to comment that it’s as if they’re still restricted to baby food. He knows that they’ve come a long way from their old pagan, multi-god beliefs, but he also acknowledges that they still have a lot of growing-up to do. This they must do before they will be ready to appreciate the significance of being part of a mature fellowship of Jesus Christ. Maturity, it seems, is about not getting side-tracked onto the importance of individual teachers (e.g. Paul or Apollos), but instead being able to focus only of Christ. Paul uses both planting and watering as metaphors for the Gospel from which the Corinthian church will grow towards redemption.

In Matthew 5.21-37, Jesus implies that maturity involves more than simply obeying basic or obvious laws. It is instead about having the right heart – a heart for God. Whether it be about more than not murdering someone, but having restraint over your anger in the formation of right relationships; or about commitment to honest, loving, just and equal relationships with you partner; or about the negative impact of making false promises – maturity means treating others equally fairly, while recognising and valuing diversity.

Diversity is not an excuse to do whatever we want to do. But it can be a recognition that we might be mature enough to learn from one another and to recognise that it is God who enables us to grow to the fullest potential of who we can be.

 

Prayer

This is a simple personal prayer of self-acceptance, which can either be offered individually or collectively. Alternatively, it might be altered and offered for another individual who might need to be helped to know that they are loved.

Great Creator who birthed me,
help me to grow in knowledge of who you have made me to be.

Great Saviour who walks with me,
take my hand and give me the courage to accept the person I am called to be.

Great Spirit who watches over me,
guide my steps along life’s road, that I might see the potential of the path laid our for me.

Creator, Saviour, Spirit,
help me to love me for who you know I am.
Amen.

 

Questions

• What might you consider to be ‘mature’ Christian reactions to topics in the news this week?
• Does growing in diversity always relate to growing in maturity? Consider issue in the news recently when this might or might not be the case.
• In what ways do you feel mature enough to accept diversity in the community in which you live? Does this differ from how you might have felt twenty or thirty years ago?

 

All-age activity

Friday, 14 February is St Valentine’s Day, a day when individuals traditionally share a message of affection with someone they love. In groups, make Valentine cards for individuals in your community or in the public eye in the media, who have been given a hard time and who need to be shown love this week. Write a message inside which might help them to know that God loves them and wants them to be able to grow and move on from the difficult situation they find themselves in. If appropriate, share their names or simply offer their cards as part of your prayers for others.

 

Young people

Together, search through recent media stories for examples of individuals who have shown great bravery or maturity in standing up for who they are or what they believe in. How do these people make you feel? How might their stories help you to discover who God has created you to be?

 

Tim Lowe is a minister of the United Reformed Church, serving with St Andrew’s Roundhay, in Leeds. Tim is interested in all forms of visual media as expressions of exploring what we believe as Christians. His family have finally let him have a dog, after twenty years of pleading: Lola Lowe, the lurcher – and he thinks that her name makes her sound like a media star!

 

 

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