Thoughts for the Day

When Jesus entered the Temple the Chief Priests and the elders of the people came to Jesus as he was teaching.......Jesus said, ‘What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, “Son, go and work in the vineyard today.” He answered, “I will not”; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, “I go, sir”; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?’ They said, ‘The first.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, the tax-collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax-collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.'

(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

The parable of the two sons reminded me of something that I had been a part of in a couple of organisations, and that is Mission Statements. A mission statement provides the what, who and why of a company. So for instance Instagram's mission statement is 'To capture and share the world's moments', and the Coca Cola company says their mission is 'To refresh the world, to inspire moments of optimism and happiness, to create value and made a difference'.

Christian groups often make Mission Statements as well. SPCK (The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge) is a 300 year old Christian Society, and it's mission statement is:

'To promote Christian knowledge by:

• communicating the Christian faith in its rich diversity;
• helping people to understand it and to develop their personal faith;
• equipping people for mission and ministry.'

But Mission Statements need to be assessed periodically - for instance, are they true reflections of the company or society - and it's the same for people. We say in our Creed each Sunday "We believe in......", but we can then fail to carry our what we believe, rather like the second son in the parable. As Christians we need to assess our beliefs and actions periodically as well, and ask ourselves 'What do I believe?' and "Does that belief result in action?'

Lord God,
help us to carry out what we
sometimes say so blithely
and confidently in worship,
but forget to live in our daily life.
May we review our values and beliefs,
as well as our actions this Advent
Amen.