03/03/2014

Good morning. Actually, if you are a fan of the Oscars it probably feels a bit like the morning after the night before - all the razzmatazz is over for another 12 months. Some years, the big winners are foregone conclusions, sometimes there’s a real surprise, but whatever happens, the process involves pitching one individual or team against another. There have to be winners and losers.

Of course, we know the Oscars are not a fool proof guide to the quality of a performance or a production. It makes for fascinating reading to go through the list of those who never won an Oscar – Alfred Hitchcock, for one. And Richard Burton. Those who missed out this time round may find some comfort from being in such illustrious company.

But we don’t need to compare ourselves to others to be motivated to try hard. The sporting world may be ultra-competitive, but it’s also very good at reminding us of the concept of ‘a personal best’. An individual reaches a pinnacle of achievement that doesn’t require them to be compared favourably or unfavourably with anyone else.

The Christian scriptures take this one step further, in a parable Jesus tells about a vineyard owner hiring day labourers. Some do a full day’s work, others only an hour or two, and yet each get paid the same wage. it is the landowner’s conscious choice to reward everyone’s contribution equally. And to those who express surprise, he responds: “Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?”

God is generous, extravagant even, with the gifts he shares; his love is the prize for which all may strive, but for which none need compete.

Father God, you call us to shine as lights in your world: help us to treasure what is of true worth, to prize what is of lasting value, the love which sets us free to live as your sons and daughters, and inheritors of the kingdom of heaven. Amen.