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In touch

Up-to-the-minute jumping-off points for sermons, linking the reading to the latest news and global issues.

 

Holding onto a hero

Heroes like Joseph can give us hope in our darkest times (Genesis 37:1-4,12-28).

 

Context

• “And there’s more.” This was the catch phrase of comedy legend Jimmy Cricket who died this week. As a contemporary of the likes of Paul Daniels, Frank Carson and Cannon and Ball from the 1980’s comedy circuit, Jimmy had a distinctly gentle style of clean comedy. From his attempt at a formal but clown-like dress code – a battered old black hat, paired with black bow-tie and tails, with trousers cut too short and wellington boots labelled L (left) and R (right), on the wrong feet – to his kind simpleton character, I remember admiring him fondly as a child. My parents even met him on one occasion and said how genuinely lovely he was. What is not so well known about him was his strong Catholic Christian faith, which must have influenced his unique style of clean, inoffensive comedy. He was even given the honour of a papal knighthood by Pope Francis in 2015. Following his death he received many tributes, including from fellow Christian comedians Tim Vine and Milton Jones. Jimmy’s humble comedy character seems to have been much like he was in real life, according to friends and family. He was full of childlike joy, even through his brief illness, right until the end. They said of this comedy hero: “He believed that death is not the end and was looking forward to eternity, so really… And there's more.”
• ‘Brand New Day’ is the latest Spider-Man movie, which broke box office records upon its release last weekend. This latest release form the Marvel Universe picks up the story of Peter Parker (AKA Spider-Man) in a world that doesn’t remember who he is. He has to watch his old life as an outsider, as his friends move on without him. But this time the friendly neighbourhood super hero has to grow up to face many new challenges and transformations in his life, whilst he continues to battle villainous crime.

 

Reflection and ideas for a sermon, talk or conversation

Joseph’s story sees his popularity range from hero (in the eyes of his father, Jacob) to zero (in the eyes of most of his brothers). As a child Joseph was one of my favourite heroes, as I saw him through the colourful images in my Lion Children’s Bible and Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s technicolored musical, which I’ve seen performed more times than I can remember. As a child my aunty made me my own amazing technicolour coat out of an old deck-chair seat and I would act out the story, singing along to the record of the original London cast soundtrack in our living room – me as Joseph and my dad as Pharaoh. I’ve even been in stage versions of the story twice in my lifetime too. Heroes and their stories are important to us as children, but their influence can have a lasting impact that stays with us as we mature and grow.

Spider-Man has always been one of the most popular comic book super heroes, since his inception in the 1960s. There’s a lot for young people to relate to in the working-class kid from Queens, New York. He’s ordinary. Well, at least until he is bitten by a radio-active spider, giving him extraordinary sensory and physical abilities. He didn’t seek greatness. Nevertheless greatness was thrust upon him. And as his Uncle Ben reminded him at the start of his super hero career: “With great power comes great responsibility." 

The RCL reading for Proper 14 Year A misses out the verses (Genesis 37:5-11) that tell of Joseph’s early use of his super power – his ability to foretell the future through his dreams. However, the effects are felt by the brothers in the second part of this week’s passage (Genesis 37:12-28). Already grinding their teeth at the very thought of their daddy’s-boy seventeen-year-old kid-brother, his dream-telling pushes them over the edge, leading them to literally push him over the edge and into a pit. Rather than kill him (thanks to their eldest brother, Reuben) they almost follow the model of a stereotypical movie villain, letting fate decide by tying their victim to a train track or strapping them to rocket, finally settling on the deep dark pit option.

In his most recent movie, ‘Brand New Day’, Spider-Man’s character has definitely matured. After being sold into slavery, Joseph has time away from those he knows in order to contemplate his future. We see his character mature as his story skips to chapter 39, time passes and he learns to use his God-given power more responsibly for the benefit of himself and, in time, his people. It is sometimes easy to forget that Joseph’s story takes place over many years and that his rise from zero to hero takes a long time, a lot of waiting and hard work. Holding on to hope, he rises from the darkness of slavery and, despite setbacks along the way, he is eventually given great responsibility. Holding on to hope he is eventually restored to a new position in a more mature relationship with his family. His abridged story is also told in Psalm 105:1-6,16-22.

Heroes, or people who are legends in their own lifetime, can give us hope that there is always more to life. As Jesus tried to show Peter and disciples (Matthew 14:22-33), faith in God leads to hope for more in this life and into eternity. As Jimmy would have said: “And there’s (always) more.”

 

Questions for discussion

• Who are the heroes or legends whose stories have influenced our lives? What was their impact on our lives?
• Jimmy Cricket was a comedian whose humble and gentle character brought joy to the lives of many. Who might we say are the quiet legends in our own lives, people who have had a kind, cleansing influence upon our souls?
• Joseph’s story has many dark turns and pitfalls (literally). Can we reflect on the darker moments of our own lives and identify where we were holding on to hope and see where God used those times to restore us to the light?

Tim Lowe is a minister of the United Reformed Church, serving in the Leeds URC Partnership, but secretly wants to be a superhero with a technicolour cape when he grows up.

 

Check-in

Connecting faith with everyday, real-life issues for young people

This week saw the release of the Scottish Highers results. A levels and GCSE results will come out over the next 2 weeks in the rest of the UK. This is a time of upheaval for our young people - for some it will be exciting whilst for others it may feel disappointing and difficult. All of them will be experiencing uncertainty about what the future may hold.

Reading the story of Joseph being sold into slavery, he must have been very scared - this did not feature in his dreams! I wonder how difficult it was for him to recall God’s promises to him and to hold on to his hopes for the future?

It has been said that fear is not a worthy enemy - it is hopelessness we need to be wary of. Fear can be overcome if we have hope. Some of our young people will have their hopes dashed by their exam results and for those with everything to look forward to, the future may look daunting.

How do you hold onto hope in your life when times are difficult?

How do we help our young people to hear God’s promises to them?

This cohort of students are still being impacted by the COVID 19 school closures, they might feel that life is unfair. How do we encourage them to trust God and hold onto their hope?

Victoria Etherington is University and Young Adult Chaplain in the York Methodist Circuit.

 

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