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 Tony Blair: An example of a charismatic politician Source: commons.wikimedia.org | The word Charisma, when used today, means someone who is compelling, inspirational and has a great deal of charm; leaders, speakers, politicians or even comedians are all said to be charismatic. But this is a corruption of the original term as used by St Paul in his letters to the early Churches. When he wrote to the Romans and the Corinthians, Paul used the term to denote any gift that might built up the life of the Church and these are many and various: |
“Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness”.
Romans 12:6-8
Source: en.wikipedia.org Last week we took our Year 7 pupils to St Albans Abbey and the United Synagogue in St Albans. Both visits shared in common that they they were highly educational, experiential and gave pupils a chance to be immersed in the history and practices of Christianity and Judaism. At the same time they were vastly different in the size and grandeur of the buildings; The Abbey is an ornate Norman Cathedral, one of the largest buildings in the country and amongst the most beautiful. By contrast, the Synagogue is a small, unassuming building that lacks the splendour of the Abbey yet is no less loved by the community it serves.
Source: www.flickr.com The other striking similarity was the enthusiasm and devotion of the volunteers who looked after us during our visits. All had given of their time and talent to serve their community and their faith; in short, they used their charisma. Whether they were telling the story of Alban, teaching about Baptism or the History of the Abbey; or if they were showing us how Tefillin are put on, showing us the Sefer Torah or retelling the story of the Passover; they used their own gifts of teaching to enrich our pupils’ learning.
When thinking about this post I was worried that by using the term Charisma to describe the work of both the Abbey and the Synagogue volunteers I might cause offence by using such an overtly Christian term. But actually the term seems rather fitting; Paul was writing to mixed communities of Jews and Gentiles and he himself was a Jew by birth. He would have developed his understanding of the importance of community and the various roles that need to be played from his own Jewish community and transferred this structure onto the fledgling Church. There is a great deal of shared heritage to be celebrated here.
The challenge to my students is this: Where, in your own life and over the summer holiday, can you make the most of your own particular gifts? How can you use your charisma to enrich the lives of others, just like those who served us at the Synagogue and Abbey did?
The challenge to my students is this: Where, in your own life and over the summer holiday, can you make the most of your own particular gifts? How can you use your charisma to enrich the lives of others, just like those who served us at the Synagogue and Abbey did?
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