Christmas Rev

21/12/11 | Posted by Ian Black

This series of the TV sitcom Rev has been a mixed offering. But the last few have been profound. None more so than the end of the Christmas Special on Tuesday (20th December). In it we saw the central character, Adam, the vicar, rushing around from service to social project to event to pastoral crisis. He meets himself coming back.

 Clergy collar

It ended with Christmas Day and a lunch in the church for an unlikely collection of people.  The last shot was of the trestle tables at the front of the church and as the characters took their seats the camera panned back to give a modern take on Leonardo da Vinci’s painting ‘The Last Supper’.  The image was powerful.

When we want to ask not ‘what would Jesus do’ but what did he tell his followers to do in remembrance of him, the gathering of community, made up of God’s rich variety of people, is at its heart.  Do this - gather together, rich and poor, old and young, educated and those who struggle to read, the injured and those who injure, those who make a fool of themselves at times - which is just about all of us.  All have an equal place because all have an equal need.  All have a place because all have extraordinary qualities inside them which can flourish when accepted, shown dignity and loved.

Just like a mixed group find a place for awe and wonder at his crib - shepherds drop by and wise men make a special trip - so those who follow him are urged to find places for everyone.  When we want to know what 21st century disciples would look like, look around at who’s near by.

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