The best seats are those that are near to others. It’s easy to fill up seats at church like a tube carriage, dotting ourselves around the room, leaving big gaps. On the tube, it would be weird to go and sit right next to the only other person. But, church isn’t like a tube carriage. We’re not strangers, but brother and sisters.

The subject of seating doesn’t sound very spiritual. But Jesus tells us it is. He said the Pharisees desire the “best seats” in the synagogue (Matthew 23:6). With that comment, Jesus puts his finger on the spiritual nature of our seating arrangements at worship. Every Sunday that we walk into church, we face a spiritual decision. The later you arrive, the less choice you’ll have, but, when you have a choice, which seat will you pick and why? In Jesus’ day the “best seats” were probably the most prominent ones – towards the front, maybe even up on the platform; the “best seats” gave you social status.

Now social status doesn’t operate in the same way today. Church attendance doesn’t give you the same kind of kudos. But we do still select what we think are the “best seats”. We have our opinions. 

Imagine if we operated church seating like booking theatre tickets. At the theatre, the best seats are the most expensive, and the price is based on the visibility of the stage. The better your view, the more expensive your seat will be. The cheapest seats are usually far away, and some of the view is blocked. 

But which would be the priciest seats at church? For lots of people it would be the seat nearest the exist. Sitting at the back feels “safer”, and an easy route out is highly prized. Some like sitting next to a heater in the winter, or a window in the summer!  Others like sitting near certain people. Families will usually choose the seating, which works for their children; it could be somewhere they hope their children won’t distract others, or that allows them to easily reach the toilet. We are all creatures of habit. Most of us could draw up a seating plan of church in advance and quite accurately predict where people in church will be sitting next Sunday. We develop our traditions, don’t we? Whatever our precise rationale, we tend to get comfortable with our choice. My choice becomes what I “like”; it’s where I feel most comfortable. 

But which does Jesus say is the best seat in church? In Matt 23 Jesus contrasts his disciples with the Pharisees. In v.11, Jesus says: “The greatest among you shall be your servant”. So, the best seat in church is where I will do the most good to others. So, Jesus doesn’t want me to choose where to sit by thinking about “me”. I’m not to make my seating choice based on personal preference, but on serving others.

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