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| Hamed Abdalla, Defeat, 1963, Tate Gallery |
Start:Stop at St Stephen Walbrook enables busy people to start their day by stopping to reflect. Ten minute reflections are repeated on the quarter hour, from 7.45am until 9.00am every Tuesday morning, beginning with a reading from scripture, followed by a reflection based on an event from this week in history, with space for silence and prayer. You can hear a recording of this week’s reflection at this link and read the script below.
Good morning and welcome to St Stephen Walbrook where on Tuesday mornings we start the day by stopping to reflect.
During Lent our Start:Stop reflections are inspired by the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Lent Book, ‘Failure’, written by the Bishop of Kensington. Today we consider what the bible teaches us about learning to live with failure.
We begin with a short reading from scripture, which you can find on page
fifteen of the New Testament.
Bible Reading - Matthew
13.18-23
‘Hear then the parable of
the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand
it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is
what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the
one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person
has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution
arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what
was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the
world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for
what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands
it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another
sixty, and in another thirty.’
Reflection
Vilfredo Pareto, an
Italian polymath, died one hundred years ago this year. He is best known today
for giving his name to the Pareto Principle - which you might know as the 80/20
rule - because it states that eighty per cent of the output in any given
situation is the result of just twenty per cent of the inputs.
Pareto is credited with
helping to transform economics into a scientific rather than purely
philosophical discipline, but his principle has been applied far more widely.
Here in the City for
instance, management consultants use it as a guide for new business strategies
on the basis that eighty percent of sales come from twenty percent of clients.
Coaches use the Pareto Principle to help busy executives prioritise their time
on the basis that twenty percent of tasks result in eighty percent of the days
achievement.
The Pareto Principle has spawned a whole industry offering strategies for
identifying the “vital few” – what it calls the more productive twenty per cent
– and making it work even harder. Countless blog posts and instructional videos
flood social media explaining how such “life hacks” can pay dividends. Life
hacks which, at global scale, are feted through systems that measure success
based on the economics of productivity.
By tradition, Pareto is said to have discovered the
principle after noticing that twenty percent of the pea pods in his garden
produced eighty percent of the peas.
In telling the Parable of
the Sower, Jesus doesn’t specify what proportion of seed fell on the path and
was eaten by birds, neither how much landed on rocky ground, nor the quantity
that ended up in the thorns or the amount that fell on good soil. But, I think
it seems reasonable to assume that most of the seed didn’t flourish. However, a
minority of seed does produce a significant yield - sometimes a hundredfold
return, sometimes sixty, sometimes thirty.
On this basis, the Parable
of the Sower seems to be the precursor of Pareto’s Principle.
But there’s a big
difference in how these economics are applied.
Jesus doesn’t encourage
the sower to invest in exploratory surveys to identify the optimal ground
conditions to increase future yields. There is no sense in which he seeks to
streamline their seed-scattering strategy according to what produces the
greatest return for the least effort.
Jesus hasn’t come to offer life-hacks – to focus on the twenty per cent - but
to bring life in all its fullness.
In the present time, this means accepting that a great deal - perhaps the
majority of seed - will be eaten by animals, scorched by the sun or choked by
weeds.
On those terms, the parable
doesn’t sound much of a success story – and the disciples don’t get it.
Jesus explains that understanding Parable of the Sower means coming to terms
with the new economics of the Kingdom.
Sitting the disciples down, he describes how the seed represents the Good News.
Some people will hear it and not understand. Some will hear but not take its
message to heart. Others - a minority perhaps - will hear and understand – and their
discipleship will bear fruit. But the Good News will continue to be
proclaimed to all.
Because, unlike the power
structures of the world, the economics of the Kingdom are predicated not on
productivity - but on possibility.
In
the economics of the Kingdom the “vital few” are not privileged over the “trivial
many”. The imbalance is reset. All become vital. All have the potential to bear
the fruit of the Spirit.
In the Parable of the Sower Jesus shows us how to come to terms with the
failure that is, for now, all around us. By facing up to the reality of the
situation and offering hope that things can and will be different. Seeing
the world not through a lens of deficit but from a perspective of plenty.
Facing up to the reality
of the situation means learning to live with failure. Not rushing to downplay
its significance. To embrace the 80% - not mask it by trying to squeeze more
success out of the 20%.
Facing
up to the reality of the situation means acknowledging our errors, mistakes and
failures, which puts us in a better position to forgive others for theirs.
Facing
the reality of the situation means coming to terms with our inability to be
self-sufficient. To accept that most of the seed we scatter may not bear fruit –
yet, no matter how hard we try. But trusting in the saving grace of God,
nothing is impossible.
Learning to live with
failure helps us to grow in faith.
A few moments of silence
before we pray.
Prayers
In our prayers the
response to: Lord, may we learn to live with failure is: and grow in faith.
Lord, may we learn to live
with failure;
and grow in faith.
Merciful
God,
grant us the courage to acknowledge our errors, our mistakes, our failures.
We bring before you all that for which we wish to repent.
As you forgive us, so may we learn to forgive ourselves and each other.
Lord,
may we learn to live with failure;
and grow in faith.
Eternal God,
give us the strength to persevere, even when it seems our efforts to grow are
stunted.
We bring before you all our hopes and challenges for the day and week ahead.
Banish our fear of failure by placing our trust not in the works of our own
hands, but in the work of your Spirit.
Lord,
may we learn to live with failure;
and grow in faith.
Loving God,
help us to see each other
as you made us – not as units of productivity but as people of infinite
possibility.
We bring before you our families, friends, neighbours and work colleagues; especially
those we find hard to love.
Help us today to
acknowledge the worth and encourage the growth of all those we meet.
Lord,
may we learn to live with failure;
and grow in faith.
Blessing
May the blessing of God
Almighty,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
remain with us this day and always.
Amen.
Thank you for joining us for this weeks Start Stop reflection
which will be repeated again in a few moments. I hope you have a wonderful
week.
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