Carol Singing Service Sermon:
The Power of Being There
This message draws on the parable of the Good Samaritan, to help us
understand how much of a difference choosing to be there for
someone can make to their life.
Today’s message, if you would like a title, is called “The Power of Being There”.
I want to begin today by telling you a story. One day, a man was walking down the road, when, out of
nowhere, a gang of robbers jumped out at him. They beat him up and stripped of his clothes, before
leaving him on the roadside to die. As he lay in the dust, a priest came walking by, and, seeing the
man on the floor, decided to cross over to the other side of the road. A little while later a Levite
passed by. Seeing the man on the floor, he too decided to cross over and continue his journey.
Fortunately, a Samaritan man saw the man lying on the floor and took pity on him. He cleaned him up
and put bandages on him. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn where he
would be taken care of. The next day, the Samaritan paid the innkeeper some money and asked the
innkeeper to take care of the wounded man, promising to come back and pay any more that might be
needed for the cost of his hospitality.
Many of you will probably recognise this story as the parable of the Good Samaritan. You may be
wondering what any of this has to do with our carol singing service. Well, it actually has a lot to do
with it. You see, in stopping to help the wounded man, the Samaritan demonstrated the power of
being there. He shows us the difference that choosing to be there for someone can make to a
person’s life. It is our hope and desire as a church/school that in celebrating carol singing, we will
make a difference to the lives of thousands of children in this country in need of help and support.
When you think of “being there” for someone, what do you think of? Well, if we take the story of the
Good Samaritan, the first thing we learn is that being there for someone is about more than just being
present in space and time. . Both the priest and the Levite who walked past the wounded man were
“there”, weren’t they, in the sense that they were physically present at the scene. But in choosing to
cross over to the other side, they weren’t really there at all. Many of us will know what it’s like to be
somewhere physically, but not really be there. You might be at school or at work, in a meeting, or
talking to someone, but not really present in your mind. Even now, some of you might be thinking
about lunch/dinner/how, or how soon you can eat the sweets on your carol singing…you get my point.
Being there has to be about more than just being physically present – it requires decision and action.
As a church/school, holding this carol singing celebration is our way of saying that we too will “be
there”. There to support thousands of children in this country that no one else will, by giving them
time, guidance and a listening ear. Like the man who was beaten in the parable, these children need
someone who still stop and help them. Now of course, we can’t possibly be there for every single
child in this country who needs our help. But, the funds we raise from our carol singing service,
through the money you children collect in your candles and donations in the envelopes means that
The Children’s Society can continue working to help as many children as possible.
What is interesting, and no doubt very deliberate about the parable, is the fact that the first two people
to walk by were a priest and a Levite – both of whom would have been responsible for carrying out
religious duties in the temple and would most likely have been held in high esteem by their
communities. I wonder if any of us have ever been let down by someone that we would have
expected to help us? Sadly, this is also the experience for a number of the children that The
Children’s Society works with. Some have faced abuse and neglect at the hands of people they would
have expected to take care of them. Others have found themselves disappointed and let down after
asking for help in times of need.
Whilst it may be easy for us to think badly of the priest and the Levite, or parents and others who
haven’t supported children and young people as they should, I am conscious that there may have
been times when we ourselves have chosen to ignore a situation. So I ask the question – what makes
us walk by? Is it because we don’t care? I don’t believe that’s the case. Is it because we’re fearful of
what may happen to us if we help? Possibly. More than this though, I suspect that the reason we walk
by in some situations is because we either don’t realise or believe how much power we have to make
a difference. Our newspapers and TV screens are often flooded with negative stories and images of
terrible things happening around the world. We can be left feeling sad, or angry; but more
dangerously than this, we can feel helpless to change things.
But I want to encourage you all that you can make a difference. Last year, The Children’s Society
helped over 18,000 children and young people through their services, and positively impacted 5.6m
children as a result of their campaigning and lobbying work. This could only happen thanks to the
funds raised by people like you, who chose to do something to support children who are in desperate
need of help. The money raised from carol services alone raised over £130K, which is highly
significant in enabling The Children’s Society to continue doing its work. Not to mention the countless
number of prayers said, and time sacrificed to support The Children’s Society through volunteering.
We may not always feel like it, but through all of these activities, we are doing our bit to be there and
walk side by side with children who would otherwise have no one to turn to. Children who, like the
man on the road, may have run into the wrong people, and are left hurt and wounded. Children who
have had their childhoods taken from them, but with one to one support from The Children’s Society’s
project workers, have been able to reclaim their childhood and move forward with their lives. That’s
the power of being there.
As I started today with a story, I’d like to end with one. This is the story of a young girl called Megan.
Megan and her mum had a falling out when Megan was just 10 years old. Megan was then placed in
care and moved around different foster families. Altogether, Megan was moved around 15 times. She
found moving around really hard, so would often run away from these families, and ended up staying
with people that she didn’t really know.
Megan then met someone called Nick. She fell in love with him and she would go to his house every
day. Nick was 25 and Megan was 15. Although Megan wasn’t entirely comfortable with Nick’s age, he
was the only person she had in her life, so she continued her relationship with him.
Sadly, things turned bad. Nick became threatening, demanding that Megan get him drugs, threatening
to beat her if she didn’t.
Fortunately, Megan was referred to one of The Children’s Society’s projects by the police. It was there
that she met Zoe, her project worker.
To Megan, Zoe became more like a big sister, than a worker. Zoe would often call Megan to make
sure she was ok and never gave up on her, even when Megan didn’t feel like talking. Before she
came to The Children’s Society, Megan had never had anyone to rely on or trust because she was
put in care and moved around so many times.
Thanks to the support she’s received, Megan has rebuilt her relationship with her mum – something
she didn’t have before. She also gets on much better with the rest of her family and now goes over for
tea to spend time with them. This type of healing, restoration and reconciliation could be the
experience of so many more children and young people thanks to the funds we are raising at our
carol service.
By joining our celebration, each one of you is playing a vital part in changing the lives of children
across the country who would have no one else to turn to otherwise. Thank you so much for helping
The Children’s Society to be there for them.