John Lewis and Waitrose set the scene...and now our Christmas assemblies have begun! We're halfway through a week in Notley High School and Ramsey Academy presenting our take on Wishing vs Hoping.
Using Bartimaeus as the main thread to the message, we have been challenging students to ask whether he hoped to be healed when asking Jesus, or whether he simply wished for it. Wishing, it seems, is an expectation for something to happen when it is almost certainly impossible. Hoping on the other hand requires a degree of effort on our part, with a feasible degree of likelihood.
Bartimaeus probably wished to see every morning he woke up. That morning was different; He heard Jesus was within shouting distance from him as he walked past. He shouted out for Jesus to heal him - an indication of his belief that it would happen - and it did! His hoping was preceded by action, and he was rewarded with the result.
So, what about us? do we wish for things, or do we hope for them? The scenarios we present to the students range from restoring friendships to expecting great GCSEs; if we don't attempt to make contact, smile, or build bridges to friends we've fallen out with, we can only wish for things to be better. Similarly with our GCSE results, if we revise well, keep on top of coursework and devote the right dose of time and effort into preparations, we can hope to get the grades we deserve.
We finish the assembly by explaining how we believe Jesus is our HOPE for the world; we expand on the saying, and explain how we hope to put Jesus at the centre of our celebrations over Christmas....while enjoying the Bond movies, family gatherings and brussels sprouts!
So there you have it. Another assembly. A different message. Our everlasting God. We hope you will join with us in praying for the assemblies to make a positive impact in schools over the coming weeks....but I wish the car wasn't so cold first thing in the morning!