A Sunday reflection from Selby.

I attended the Sunday morning family service today at Selby Abbey, and the service sheet began with a reflection by the Reverend Paul Finlinson, also available online, which I found quite thought-provoking..

It begins as follows:

"Whenever a person is interviewed for a job, one of the questions which is often asked is, not surprisingly, 

'Why do you want to do this job?'

Why do you want to be a teacher? A member of the police force? A social worker? A public servant or a Member of Parliament?

Rarely do candidates for these positions, and many other similar ones, say that they want these jobs because they want to be made fun of or criticised by members of the public. 

And yet, as a consequence of wanting simply to serve others, many of us who have chosen these jobs have at times fallen victim to the ridicule and even hatred of others. It seems so unfair when all you wanted to do was to hopefully bring good to the people you have chosen to serve.

Doubtless many of you watch programmes such as Mock the Week and you read the hurtful gossip in newspapers and magazines. These days there are the anonymous comments on Twitter and Facebook as well, and seemingly everyone feels that they are entitled to be as rude about everyone else as they like - with no comeback at all.

If you think that all this is new, however, think again."

The full piece is currently available as the first item on the weekly notices page of Selby Abbey's website which you can find by clicking on the link below:

notices.pdf (selbyabbey.org.uk)

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