Susan's Gift

He who sings prays twice,” said St Augustine, and to my mind a good singer is a good singer, as Susan Boyle proved to be. Susan Boyle, of Irish immigrants, the youngest of 4 brothers and six sisters from Blackburn, West Lothian, Scotland, and nicknamed “Susie Simple” at school came to international public attention this year after she appeared as a contestant in the television show Britain's got Talent. She sang I Dreamed a Dream from Les Misérables in the competition's first round, broadcast in April this year.

In the final of the show, Susan finished in second place, behind dance troupe Diversity. Within nine days of her televised debut, videos of her audition, subsequent interviews and her 1999 rendition of Cry Me a River had been viewed over a 100 million times on the Internet. Although in second place she is now estimated to make a personal fortune of over £6 million. She has gone from singing in her local catholic church and at karaoke to being the most downloaded woman, so far at least, in history.

Susan was an unlikely star. When she came on stage to sing, in a new dress, leather jacket and chunky necklace the judges and audience laughed at her awkward, dumpy appearance, and buried their faces in their hands. Was she going to squawk like a duck? But when she opened her mouth the mood changed. You could see a wave first of confusion, then guilt, then wild applause. Her performance was a victory for talent and artistry in a culture obsessed with physical attractiveness and presentation. Far from being a comedy loser, a freak show entertainer, a Shrek to a My Fair Lady, Susan’s performance was a triumph for "women of a certain age" over a youth culture that often dismisses middle-aged women.

Susan had a rare and beautiful gift – which overcame poverty and adversity - she could sing – and she sang from the core of her being. Millions testified to her special gift. Like Susan, we too are given gifts; called gifts of the spirit, special abilities provided by the Holy Spirit to Christians for the purpose of building up the body of Christ, for building up others in a life of faith. The gifts of the Spirit enable believers to do what God has called them to do, they are part of the "everything we need" to fulfill His purposes for our lives. He will equip us with whatever gifts of the Spirit we need to accomplish the task or tasks.

It is the experience of Christians over the years that the Spirit usually harnesses one's talents in the service of the purpose for which the gifts are given. Yet sometimes, the spiritual gifts seem to work against a person's natural endowment. This is, after all, the same God who led his people out of Egypt using a stammerer named Moses, made a shepherd boy/musician named David into a renowned warrior and king, and turned rural fishermen into leaders who left a mark on the course of history. There are examples everywhere of people who don't have training, aren't highly skilled, have no particular knack, aren’t particularly attractive or beautiful but when the time comes for them to benefit others, the gift is there. Just like Susan Boyle. The Spirit takes pleasure in surprises and on turning the tables on the expected. It is wise to leave ourselves open for such action!

As well as Susan’s singing gift, there is one other thing that can remind us of Susan - Susan – and that is her looks. She reminded me, or the press did, of the way the Gospels speak of Jesus, identified with the broken figure from the book of Isaiah. One “with no beauty that we should desire, despised and rejected of men, one from whom men hide their faces.” In spite of her her looks I hope Susan will keep her peculiarity, her mysteriousness, her vulnerability, her inner gift. We have these treasures, says, St Paul, in earthen vessels. As my parents and Sunday School teachers were often to say “It’s not what’s on the outside but what is on the inside that matters.” Either way I hope that Susan hangs on to her God given gift, and if she is changed by her celebrity status she in addition will changes us.

Ray Anglesea