AGE:
Secondary |
THEME:
'There's no success like failure... and failure's no success at all'. |
PREPARATION: |
| The various sections of the following collective worship are best acted-out and amplified where appropriate - though no elaborate preparation is necessary. The title is from Bob Dylan's song 'Love Minus Zero'. |
INTRODUCTION: |
| NARRATOR 1: |
I was doing Grade 5 guitar. I was really good at practising. I spent time each day. I was good at all the technical stuff - scales, arpeggios - but, most important of all, I could play all three pieces really well. I don't know what happened in the exam, though. Outside in the waiting room I could play everything well. But when I got into the exam room my hands started to shake. I played the first piece really badly. I was supposed to be playing from memory, but I forgot it completely. After that I just went to pieces. I knew I'd failed. When I went home, my mam asked me how it'd gone but I just went up to my room. I didn't want to talk about it.
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| NARRATOR 2: |
I was playing snooker with my friends. We were just mucking about. There were lots of people there. I've never been good at sport of any kind - I'm the sort of person who isn't picked for a team, even by my friends. Anyway, on this night I suddenly had the perfect run. I potted everything. My score built up. Everyone was watching. Somehow, there was only the black left. If I could pot it I'd reach the magic 147. I knew I could do it. I put the cue in position. I knew that, at last, I was going to wipe the smile off everyone's face. The ball skimmed towards the pocket but - I couldn't believe it - it just went a degree or two wrong. It hit the sides and rolled back towards the centre. People didn't laugh - they were sorry - but they didn't cheer either. |
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DEVELOPMENT: |
| LEADER: |
Two stories of everyday failure. You all know what failure's like...Only one person can be a winner. Everyone else is second, third, fourth, fifth... it gets worse! Everyone likes a winner. When a goal is scored, everyone clusters round - partly to congratulate and maybe also in the hope that some of the luck will rub off on them.
We all have our small failures and, to be positive, our small successes - the goals we have scored, the exams we have passed, the beautiful boy/girl who has agreed to go out with us. But it's the way we handle failure, or rejection that is perhaps the really important skill or quality we need in life.
Think how much worse it is to fail spectacularly in the public eye! Who won the recent American election? Yes, George W Bush. Who lost? Yes, John Kerry. Who won the American election before last? Yes, George W Bush. Who lost? Erm...yes... it was...Al Gore. We remember the winner, but the person who comes second soon becomes a footnote in history. What must it have been like for John Kerry when he realized he'd failed - all those millions of dollars wasted, all that effort for nothing, and the certain knowledge that history books will label him a failure, if he's remembered much at all.
And what about the Olympics. Think of the contrasting fortunes of Kerry Holmes and Paula Radcliffe. Kerry ran once - and won. Everyone remembers that look on her face as she stared up at the screen and suddenly realized she'd got Gold. Then she ran again - and got Gold again. On the other hand, before the Games it was on Paula Radcliffe that all Great Britain's hopes were pinned. She was definitely one of the world's top Marathon runners. But then, on the night, the energy and confidence just drained out of her. She gave up. The press was baying at her - why? 'What made you fail so spectacularly?' She pulled herself together and had another go - only to pull out even more humiliatingly than before. What would you have felt like in her running shoes?
And then there's David Beckham and that penalty in the shoot-out against Portugal in Euro 2004 (the ball was later sold for £19,000 on eBay!)... How many other great failures can you think of? Or do you remember only the successes?
What's to be done when you fail? If you went to see your parent, or a counsellor, or a friend, what might you hear?
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| DEPRESSED PERSON: |
I feel really depressed. Nothing is going right. I'm a failure...
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| FRIEND: |
Don't be so negative - get real! Stand outside yourself and measure things with a more accurate ruler. Coming second, or third, or fourth isn't, after all, that bad - in fact it's pretty good. Not everyone is Mozart or Einstein (and even they had failures). You mightn't be David Beckham, but then David Beckham isn't Pele. Recognize that, objectively, you do have great strengths and achievements.
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| DEPRESSED PERSON: |
But I still came second!
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| FRIEND: |
Put things in perspective. OK, you didn't win the Nobel Prize for Brain Surgery, but is that really important? Some successful politicians, show-biz celebrities and the rest can be pretty unpleasant. You are kind and helpful, you cheer people up, you make a difference to the world about you...
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| DEPRESSED PERSON: |
But that's not good enough - I still want to come first!
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| FRIEND: |
OK - then keep trying. Just keep trying to do your best. If you fail, try again. If you fail again, have another go. Paula Radcliffe failed in the 2004 Olympics, but she's just won the New York Marathon. Don't give up!
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| LEADER: |
You've probably all been given this advice. In the middle of a sense of depression and failure it can be very difficult to listen to. But it's worth listening all the same!
Is there anything to be added from a religious point of view?
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| READING: |
Luke 20:45 - 21:4.
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| LEADER: |
This is told to remind us that we don't exist just in the eyes of other human beings. God is watching! A bit scary, but it can still be a source of strength. There's a whole different set of values at work here - a whole different perspective on the meaning of 'success' and 'failure'.
Not that the church itself always lives up to this perspective! There's a lot of squabbling there too - only one (male) person can be the Pope or the Archbishop of Canterbury. And who decides who gets called a 'saint'? Some 'saints' seem distinctly unattractive!
But throughout his life, Jesus constantly assured the lowly, the outcast and those who were aware of their failings that they were loved. At the same time he put in their place those who were proud about their wealth, status or piety. It's a theme that Mary sings about right at the beginning of Jesus' story, even before he is born:
'My soul praises the Lord
And my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour...
He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones
But has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
But has sent the rich empty away.'
(Luke 1:47-53)
What is important in the eyes of God is not necessarily the same as what is important in the eyes of humankind.
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REFLECTION / PRAYER: |
Father, we thank you for the talents and strengths that each one of us possesses. Help us to be able to face times of failure with confidence, persistence - and even good humour.
And help us to remember that we have value in your eyes for reasons that have nothing to do with our success - or unsuccess - when measured by the values of the world.
Amen.
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SONG: |
'Jesus take me as I am, I can come no other way', David Bryant, © 1978 Kingsway Thankyou Music.
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