Messages from Rev Hilda Smith during the Coronavirus outbreak

Sunday November 1, 2020

It's been some week on the news, hasn't it? One thing that impacted on me was the earthquake in Turkey and the way in which the buildings just collapsed around people. How awful was that?

Can you imagine searching through the rubble looking for your family or your friends? Can you imagine being buried under all that debris and wondering if anyone will ever find you or if the debris will move while you are still trapped?

The newer buildings remained standing which just shows regulations surrounding building control were incredibly lax when the older buildings went up and the innocent have paid the price.
We can't sit on our laurels and judge. We have buildings that could turn into towering infernos very easily, as happened with Grenfell Tower, thanks to standards in our own country which have fallen short to say nothing of the faults which, allegedly, destroyed lives within what was considered to be a super hospital.

I don't know much about building regulations but what I do know is that it would be foolish to commit to building an extension on your house, if you hadn't established, first of all, that you had the wherewithal to see it through to the end. The job needs to be done properly and completed to a high standard or it's not worth doing at all.

I suppose that analogy rings true for many things. It is not wise to commit to doing anything until you know for sure that you can see it through. There is something I am planning, at the moment, but I daren't even mention it until I know that it is possible, or, at least, possible for me! You may hear more in the coming week so watch this space!

So what else was on the news? There was the killing of worshippers in France. There was the drowning of a family of refugees. So much of that suffering is because of man's inhumanity to man. There really are no words.

The other thing that was on the news, which is not really news any longer, is Covid and the rise in cases. Scotland has more cases per 100 people than the rest of Britain and the rest of Britain is rushing out to stock up on toilet rolls once again since they will all be in lockdown from Thursday.

Even here, we have had more cases since September than we had from the beginning of the pandemic until the end of August. That surely must make us stop and think.

It is quite daunting when we stop and think of the impact that Covid is having on the lives of ordinary people. Each death is a tragedy for the family affected but there are also wider implications.

I am now hearing of friends who sons have lost their jobs, of daughters whose jobs are incredibly precarious, of companies that have had to cut their workforce dramatically and of companies which will not survive the winter.

The run up to Christmas is a time when many in hospitality and in the retail industry depend on us spending a lot of money and depend on passing trade in the High Street and bookings for Christmas Dinner and nights out.

Little of that will be happening this year and those businesses which don't adapt, or can't adapt, will very likely go under with huge implications for every family affected.

But you know a Psalm that has always resonated with me is Psalm 46:

God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.

Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
He lifts His voice, the earth melts.

The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

What that Psalm says is that even if our whole world crumbles around us, there is hope. We are held securely in the hands of God, no matter what.

God is with us and His Kingdom is unaffected by Covid and every other disaster, unaffected, not in the sense that God is untouched or unmoved by what happens, but He cannot be harmed and His kingdom will stand forever.

It is not about hope when we die although we have that through faith in Jesus, it's about hope just now, in the midst of the pandemic, in the midst of natural disasters, in the midst of painful memories and fears and anxieties. God is with us and will never leave us and we will come through this, one way or another.

Let's pray this week for the people most affected, for those who live in constant fear of the virus, for those who have underlying health issues, for those who fear the health service being overwhelmed in the coming months and for those with no health care whatsoever, the poorest of the poor, even in the richest countries.

Let's pray that in the midst of this pandemic we will not lose hope, not lose faith, not lose our minds.

Let's pray for those who are struggling, for whatever reason and for those in Turkey who have an even greater mountain to climb, not forgetting refugees and asylum seekers and those who are persecuted for their faith.

Let's pray for ourselves. Tell God what you need, not what you want but what you really need, because He will listen and He will hold you securely in His arms, whatever you face and whatever your need.

May God bless you in the coming week and may we recognise His blessing on our lives. Amen.

Sunday, October 25, 2020

The last day of summer is behind us and we move towards long dark nights and, in Argyll at least, very probably many grey days! However, there is something strangely comforting about curling up on the sofa in front of a roaring fire with the curtains closed to shut out the cold and the darkness.

But what about when that darkness is within us and we live with it day in and day out, the black dog of depression, as it is sometimes called? I've always found that a strange description of depression because dogs can be a great comfort to many people. They can be great company, whatever colour they are, so why associate a dog with depression. Well. Maybe the following link will help clarify that for us. The video is provided by the World Health Organisation.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1613446675367376

A dog with no training, takes over our lives, rules the roost, demands attention every minute of every day. Dogs need to be kept under control, brought to heel.

There has been so much talk of people having mental health issues because of lockdown and restrictions on who we can see where and when, if at all. Many are suffering from feelings of isolation and loneliness but many suffered those feelings before the coronavirus raised it's ugly head and many will continue to suffer or begin to suffer from mental health issues long after the pandemic has been consigned to history. It will pass.

It is so important that during the winter months, while we face a second wave of the coronavirus, it's so important that we continue to reach out to people from the safety of our homes. What we don't want to do and what we must not do is make a bad situation worse by making the wrong decisions, even if for the right reasons.

Those of us who suffer from depression are not the first and we will not be the last. We are also not alone although it can feel that way when we are at a real low point in our lives.

We can feel abandoned by God. The Pslamist often cried out: Where are you, God? Why have you forsaken me? Jesus, Himself, uttered those words as He died on the Cross. He felt totally abandoned by God despite the fact that his mother and two or three of His friends were beneath the Cross, with Him till the end.

As the virus spreads once more, there are cries of 'How long will this last? ', cries from people whose livelihood is threatened or lost, from people who are unable to see their grandchildren or their sons and daughters because of travel restrictions and rules around visits from people who are becoming ill or living with health issues because of Covid, and of course there are those families who, sadly, lose a loved one. It is really tough and it may well get tougher but it will also pass. The sun that rises always sets.

The Psalmist felt abandoned by God. He cried out: How long will you turn your face from me? Hear my cries for help.' It is a desperate feeling to feel abandoned by anyone but if you have faith and you feel abandoned by God, that is beyond desperate. You suddenly have no hope left at all.

However, the struggle past for the Psalmist. 'You pulled me out of the miry clay and set my feet upon a rock.' Solid ground beneath our feet is a good feeling. Sinking sand is quite the opposite.
It's important to say that not everyone gets to the place where the black dog is controlled and we should never judge those folk because sometimes that dog is not alone. Sometimes there is a whole pack drawing someone down. Sometimes, depression is not the only mental health issue that someone faces but there is help and support out there if we take it, if we accept it, if we are open to it.

That support won't necessarily make the problems go away but we will not be alone, even if we think we are. Reach out and ask for help or offer help. Be there for someone, not to solve their issues, but to walk with them on a very dark and very frightening road.

Every minister in this area offered that kind of support at the beginning of lockdown. Every home in Lochgilphead got a card with contact details. You do not need to have faith in God to speak to us. We have faith in God and trust me, He will help to support us and you, if you need us.

My prayer this week is for those of you who are in a very dark place, a place where you are tortured by memories or a mind that plays tricks on you. May God hold you in the hollow of His hand. May you know His love surrounding you and protecting you from harm. God Bless each one of you reading this. Amen.

Sunday October 18, 2020

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? (Matthew 6: 26 - 27)

Look at the birds of the air... That's what I've been doing this morning from my study window. I got a new feeding station delivered yesterday to give me pleasure during the winter months when we will be pretty much shut in.

The last feeding station I had, which snapped during the week, was on the opposite side of the garden and I could see it when I was siting at the pond in the good weather but I doubt I'll be sitting there much more this year!

It was fascinating this morning watching the reactions of the different birds.

There were the wee birds that fought with each other to get into the feeders.

There were the bigger ones which threw threw most of the seed onto the grass but the wee birds got the benefit - a bit like the dogs who get the scraps from their master's table.

There were the big black boys who stood on the arms of the feeding station and couldn't reach the food. They flew off and I hoped that they had given up and gone elsewhere but no, they are nothing if not persistent. Back they came and eyed up the feeders once again.

At one point, I looked out the window and the feeder with the seed was on the ground! The crows never give up. They will persevere until they get what they want or what they need.

The collared doves weren't quite as persistent. They stood on top of the feeding station, hoping that something miraculous would happen and that the food would suddenly come to them! They are not as devious as the crows or as destructive. They did finally get some off the wee tray.

I've now tied on the feeders with plastic plant ties but it won't be long before the crows destroy them and get my feeders back on the ground.

There are such a variety of birds, all with different personalities, all with different preferences when it comes to food and all being catered for, one way or another.

If we were to compare ourselves to the garden birds, I wonder which ones we might be. At the moment, I'm probably more like the robin, just keeping myself to myself, not mixing with the crowd and doing my own thing. What would you be?

Whatever you are, know that each one of us is valuable and has a role to play in the grand scheme of things. My role will be different from yours but I can't turn myself into something I'm not, just to be part of the crowd.

Dare to be different. At the end of the day, the one you have to live with is yourself and the only one who really knows me as I am and as He has made me, is God. I don't need to be different. I need to value who I am and the gifts I have.

Worrying about how others might like me to be won't change anything and certainly won't improve the quality of my life or the length of my life, any more than it will improve yours or lengthen yours.

Value who you are and be who you are because like the different birds which are flocking around my feeders, each one of us is special and of value in the eyes of God. That said, those big black boys are back and studying the ties! They won't last long!

Anyway, at the end of the day, all they want is food and nourishment which we all need. Make sure that you get what you need at this time and God bless you in the coming week.

Sunday October 11, 2020

I have a friend who says, "Opinions are like noses. Everyone has got one". Ain't that true? But you know, just because my opinion is different from yours doesn't make me wrong and you right or vice versa. It's an opinion. We are all entitled to our own opinion and we do not deserve to be vilified or condemned or criticised for holding it.

On the world stage just now, there are people voicing opinions about all sorts of things, opinions which, often, do not show them up in a good light, but as long as we remember they are voicing opinions and not stating facts, whatever they may think themselves, that's fine. When we start believing all the opinions that are voiced, that is when we are in big trouble.

That is why those who have the power to influence others ought to tread very warily. They can sway a population and get to them to believe that what they are voicing is not an opinion but a fact and that is a dangerous road to walk.

Dictators use their power to suppress the opinions of others. Political groups use their power to make us believe that they are right and everyone else is wrong.

Even in the face of Covid, we all have an opinion about what we and everyone else should be doing but our opinion is just that. It's an opinion. Each of us has a responsibility to stay safe and to keep others safe, to the best of our ability, and that means making hard decisions, both in government, north and south of the border, but also within our Church community.

What has been clear on the news is that not everyone likes the decisions that are being made. Not everyone can understand the decisions that are being made but the majority of people will not carry the can if Covid gets a grip and thousands more die. We don't need to carry the can. We have only to take responsibility for ourselves, not the rest of Britain.

Likewise within the Church, the majority will not carry the can if there is an outbreak of Covid within any of our congregations. It will be the ministers who will face the press, who will criticised for not keeping people safe and for taking what, at the moment, are, in my opinion, unnecessary risks with people's lives.

You don't need to agree with me but that is my opinion and I am entitled to have it. I am not prepared to risk the lives of people within my congregation. We saw in Uist how quickly the virus can spread around a small community.

There have been two potential outbreaks of the virus in recent weeks in our own area. We were very fortunate that the first of those was contained and I wait to see if the second will also be contained.

When we make unpopular decisions at this time, it is because we are playing with people's lives and with a virus that is deadly. I can't emphasise that enough right now but I will do my utmost to protect those for whom I will carry the can. I may not be popular with everyone but I would rather live with that than the consequences of the virus getting a grip in our Chruch community and beyond.

When Jesus was in Caeserea Philippi, He asked His disciples who people were saying that He was. People had all sorts of opinions so He said to them: Who do you say that I am? Simon Peter said: You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.

Everyone has an opinion but the one that matters to God is yours. Who do you say Jesus is? That is one we need to answer for ourselves. My opinion won't save you. You need to make up your own mind and, in this instance, you carry the can for your opinion!

Wherever you are throughout the world, no mater what opinions are being voiced, take responsibility for yourself, as all of us have been doing since March, and stay safe. God Bless you wherever you are.

Sunday October 4, 2020

After watching our favourite craft company, Claritystamp, on television this evening, a friend messaged me and said: In the words of Oscar Wilde, I can resist everything but temptation!

Well, there were quite a few of us in the same boat tonight when new groovi plates were introduced. This must sound weird to anyone who doesn't know about groovi! Groovi plates provide us with templates for the line art for parchment craft. They make life so much easier!!

Where Claritystamp is concerned, I fall from grace quite often. My bank manager might say, too often!! However, I am not alone! However, when we use that excuse in other contexts, it doesn't make a wrong right. That said, shopping is a harmless temptation. There are other temptations that cause pain and hurt to individuals and their families.

During Covid, there are also temptations that can cause harm not just to ourselves but to many others, as we have seen throughout our land in recent weeks. The rules that we are all asked to obey are there for a reason. When we break them, we take a risk that could put so many at risk.

However, when a rule is broken and temptation gets the better of us, Jesus would say: Let the one who has not sinned, not done wrong, cast the first stone.

It is so easy to stand in judgement over others who break the rules but I'm sure many of us will have slipped up somewhere, even if only by not being 2 metres away from everyone we see, whether in our gardens or in the street or in the shops. It happens.

For those of you who don't share my faith, there are other phrases which say much the same as Jesus said, for example, those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. That, basically, means that we shouldn't judge others because we also have our faults.

When we listen to the news, we find plenty of cause to criticise others, but if we want our world to be a better place, if we can't find anything good to say, we should perhaps say nothing at all.

That is not to say that we should never voice an opinion on something that is clearly wrong but when our criticism is of a person, we need to remember that we are all human and that we all make mistakes.

However, we don't all get punished for our mistakes by the media and by the public, as a public figure does, but we need to remember that we are all human and that we have no right to crucify someone anymore than anyone else has the right to crucify us.

We all pay in some way for the mistakes we make but understanding and empathy, and indeed forgiveness, go a long way towards creating a better world for all of us.

Maybe, what I'm asking us all to do this week, is just think about what we say and whether it builds people up or rips them apart. How would we want to be treated by others? Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Have a good week. God Bless.

Sunday September 27, 2020

I love how when I go on to Facebook, I get a message that says: This page is using significant energy. Closing it down may improve the responsiveness of your Mac.

Well, you know, it may well do but then how do I post on FB without opening it? I'm turning into a grumpy old woman! You're there already, I hear you say! Lol. Well, maybe but if I am then I need to turn that around and look for the positives which are there, just as the stars are there, even when they are hidden behind the storm clouds.

I wonder what we do that uses significant memory. Energy may be a better word. I suspect many people who are living with anxiety and depression use significant energy each day just to get out of bed and get through the day. It's tough but they do it because the only other option is to stay in bed and turn their face to the wall. Using less energy, in that instance, does not improve their responsiveness to life in general.

Many, during this second wave of Covid feel anxious and fearful, people who are normally calm and upbeat but we all need to keep going and we do that by being sensible and not taking unnecessary risks.

Maybe we do shut down, in that instance, batten down the hatches but we can continue to live in the security of our homes. However, even within our homes, anxiety can raise its ugly head. What do we do when that happens or to prevent that from happening?

We can be locked away but still live. We can still flourish. We can do things that we wouldn't normally do and you have read in the past of some of the things I have done, crafting wise and in the garden, during this pandemic.

Those things take motivation but they don't sap my energy like anxiety or depression would do. They energise me and they give me a focus which is other than the news and the complaints that this or that is happening or not happening. That just about drives me mad!

We choose how to get through this pandemic and what we choose to do will either energise us and allow us to respond in a positive way to life during the pandemic or it will deplete our energy and leave us feeling trapped.

People respond in different ways to the same situation but we choose how we respond. We are not helpless, even if we feel it. We may be fearful but we can take ourselves to a different head space by doing something that gives us pleasure and feeds our souls rather than draining them of the very life that sustains us.

What could you do when you feel yourself shutting down and withdrawing from everything as opposed to simply shutting yourself away to stay safe? There is a difference. What would take you to a different headspace? What would give you pleasure and energise you?

The seasons are changing. We may feel as if we are back where we were as spring began but we not in the same place, even though we are facing the same problems. We won't be able to head into our gardens and enjoy the warmth of the sun as did when we were planting up tubs and start weeding!

Everything is dying back and although we still have things to cut back and bulbs to plant, which remind us that we will go full circle, what are we going to do between now and then, because life is not going to change dramatically any time soon?

Many of us thrive when is the sun is shining but how are we going to get the sun to shine inner lives during those dark winter nights and the cold, grey days? Those cold, grey days will pass. We need to hang on to that and to realise that they will pass quickly if we do something constructive with our time, something that feeds our souls, energises us and keeps our thoughts positive. What would cause the sun to shine in your life during the autumn and winter months?

Card making, knitting - maybe even crochet again - and perhaps water colouring will do it for me. Don't start thinking that I will have an exhibition in the spring. I've only got as far as putting the colours on a piece of paper and naming them but with the help of my four legged furry friend, I may manage to paint a flower or, at least, a few petals before the circle is complete and it's time to plant up the pots once more! It's not the end result that matters - says the perfectionist! - but the process, the act of doing something!

When the storm at sea blew up, Jesus was in the boat with His friends. They felt abandoned by Jesus but He was with them. We might all be in different boats but we are all in the same storm and Jesus is still in it with us. We are not alone, even if we live alone. We are and always will be in the presence of God and we don't need a Church building or even Sunday worship for that to be true.

I don't believe that God caused Covid but I do believe that He is using it to get us all to re-evaluate what is important in our lives and to give us time to find those things that give us pleasure and purpose, even in the midst of a pandemic, maybe particularly in the midst of a pandemic.

What do you see God doing in your life? What have you learned from this opportunity we have had to stop and listen to our hearts? What is important to you as we move forward into autumn a time of beautiful colours and frosty mornings?

My faith is still at the heart of my life but how it is expressed is different from how it was expressed before lockdown and for me, it's better. Life is good and God is good and faithful and with me in this storm.

Take time to reflect today or during the week on how you plan to get through the storms of the next few months, whatever happens, and may you know God's peace as you do so. Amen.

Sunday September 20, 2020

I was watching Gardener's World earlier. I really know how to live life in the fast lane!! Monty Don was repotting a plant at one point and it got me thinking. The plant was pot bound and as he repotted it, he broke the roots to stimulate new growth.

I wonder how many of us have almost literally taken root and just do the same thing, day in, day out! I wonder how many of us have become pot bound because we have been sitting in the same soil. the same pot for years, for so long that we are struggling to grow and to flourish as individuals or as Christians.

What would it mean for us to be repotted? What would repotting look like for our lives? What would happen if our roots were broken to stimulate new growth? What holds us where we are and what would offer us new life?

Those are big questions which perhaps have no easy answers but I just wonder how many of us are happy to just plod along, pot bound, with the life slowly being squeezed out of us.

It's a cheery thought for a sunny Sunday afternoon but it's one, I think, that we all need to consider at some stage in our lives, maybe even now, as we have a sense of finding ourselves back where we were at the end of March with the number of Covid cases rising again and more and more restrictions being placed on our lives once more.

If we fear being stuck in our pots for another few months, at least, what do we need to do for ourselves to inject life into the pots in which we sit. What would be like a dose of Baby Bio for us? What would new compost look like and feel like? What would the bigger pot be like, the one that would give us room to grow even although we would still be confined within it?

Jesus came that we might know life in all its fullness. What would that be for us? Does fulness of life depend on our closeness to family and friends? Does fulness of life depend on our job or our hobbies? Does fulness of life mean being able to get out and about and see the world?

Lockdown, or restrictions on our movements, could rob of us of many of those things but Jesus' promise still stands. He came that we might have fulness of life in or out of lockdown, living with or without restrictions, being confined to the house or exploring the world around us.

Fulness of life is something deeper, something spiritual, that is hard to put our finger on but it brings a sense of peace and contentment, a sense of being fulfilled and of being able to grow.

Fulness of life might only be realised in our lives if our roots are broken and we are given the opportunity to grow and to focus on what feeds our souls.

The hymn that has just come to mind is this one:

My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus' Name.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
all other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness seems to veil face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
in ev'ry high and stormy gale,
my anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

Do you think, maybe, that in the midst of this pandemic, Jesus is repotting us, breaking our roots, making us reach out into new soil that we might grow in faith?

Even if our roots are broken, the support we need, the frame we need to reach upwards is still there and still holds us securely as our roots become established in new ground.

Well, that gives us all something to ponder in the days to come. How ready are we to be repotted?

My prayer is that we all find fulness of life as promised by Jesus in the days and weeks ahead. God Bless each one of you peace and life. Amen.

Sunday September 13, 2020

Well, it's that time in the week again. At different times during the week I have seen posts about Tesco deliveries and how none of us seems able to book a slot! It's so frustrating.

A moment ago, I read a post asking if it was worth paying £7.00 a month to Tesco and that seemed to be the way forward for some.

It made me think of during the war years (not that I was there!) when people used to be able to get anything on the black market if they paid through the nose for it. There are always those who will profit from others when times are hard.

Well, the good news is that you can book a slot in heaven and there is no charge. The price has already been paid for us by Jesus who paid the price for us with His life. Acceptance of Jesus, a relationship with Jesus, is all we need.

When you go the SEC to Craft Fayres, you get a stamp on your hand which proves that you have already got your ticket. At the gates of heaven, the stamp of Jesus on our lives is what we will need. That is what will give us entry. We cannot buy our way in or barter with God.

God sent His Son to open the way for us. The way is so familiar to us as I speak of it at almost every funeral. Jesus said: I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father, but by Me.

We need Him more than we perhaps even realise.

Jesus goes on to offer His friends His peace, a peace that is ours when we have that stamp of Jesus on our lives. My peace I give you. Not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Those are words that we perhaps need to hear as once again the number of Covid cases is rising. We need the peace that Jesus offers because there is nothing in the world of politics, the world of finance or the world at large that can give us peace that is everlasting.

As we enter a new week and you continue to try and book a slot with Tesco, maybe you will take time to reflect on the one slot we will all need one day, the one for which there is no price we have to pay.

God bless you in the coming week, whatever this week brings.

Amen.

Sunday September 6, 2020

I caught the tail end of Alice Through the Looking Glass the other night, just as she was about to head back through the mirror.

There are some amazing quotes in the film, quotes like:
A very important thing about family is that you only have one.
The only way to achieve the impossible is to believe it's possible.
Time is many things but he is not money and he is not the enemy.

The quote that struck a chord with me was almost Alice's last words to the Mad Hatter: "I used to think time was a thief. But you give before you take. Time is a gift. Every minute. Every second."

That quote got me wondering how we view time and what we do with it.

I probably spend nine hours in bed most nights, that's more than a third of the day. I spend very little of each day outside the house and sometimes no part of the day - could do better!!

As a perfectionist, I spend a lot of time thinking rather than doing. Is that good use of the gift that we are given because while I'm thinking, time is slipping away and time is the one thing that we cannot get back?

I would say that time is a gift from God. He gives us life and he offers us eternal life, so more time than we can ever imagine but like all gifts, time is something we have to accept from Him and use to show Him how much we appreciate it.

We also have to thank Him for His gift. It is pretty awful when we give someone a gift and they don't even acknowledge it. Well, God also has feelings. We need to thank Him.

Many realised the importance of family time during lockdown but we are God's family and so time spent with Him is also important. How deep is our relationship with Him and what would help us to deepen that relationship? What helps us to deepen any relationship? Time spent together, I would say.

There is nothing more hurtful than to be ignored by a close family member but I wonder how God feels when we ignore Him. All He asks is that we acknowledge that He's there, that He's here with us and Jesus is the key that opens the door on that relationship with God. He is our brother and God is our Father, the one who gives us life and time in abundance if we accept that precious gift from Him.

There was so much that I did before lockdown that now seems pretty meaningless. Lockdown made us all re-evaluate our lives so what changes will we make as we move forward?

Lockdown showed us how quickly time passes! We wouldn't have believed it at the start. When folk thought they were going to be stuck in the house for 12 weeks, they were nearly demented but it was a lot longer than that and in some ways, we are still in partial lockdown. I am, anyway. I don't go where I don't need to go and I don't see many people because to me it's safer, particularly now as the number of positive Covid tests is rising once again.

But you know, even those of us who live alone, are not alone because God is constantly with us, the unseen visitor in the room. Do we take time to acknowledge Him or do we ignore Him? Maybe we all need to take time to reflect on that in the coming week.

God bless each one of you as He meets with you today and as you meet with Him today and in the days to come. Amen.

Sunday August 30. 2020

The one thing lockdown gave me was plenty of time to think, particularly about my own life and what I want to do with what remains of it.
I've mentioned before about the doodling sessions I shared in on Facebook live with about 500 other people. We started by doodling birds on a wire! It was so basic but many of us had been given the message in school that we were rubbish at drawing and so we believed it and had given up simply saying: I can't. That was echoed around the group every day that we tried to do something new but we persevered. We all stood in judgement of what we did.
However, gradually we progressed to more complicated drawings, like geishas and landscapes, kites, hot air balloons - that was a laugh. There were a lot that would never have got off the ground but we persevered and got there in the end. Each things was broken down into its component parts, simple shapes, so that we could do it.
We learned to colour and add shade, not to be experts, but to have the confidence to try new things and get pleasure in them without anyone judging us. We even moved on to using watercolour pencils and just recently I signed up for online botanical watercolour tuition. Let's just say that putting a paintbrush in my hand is a whole new ball game!
I'm not yet planning an exhibition, lol, but let's say, that although my first attempt at a petal and leaf was pretty disastrous - I am my own worst critic - I am approaching this with the confidence that I can learn, just as I learned to colour.
A long time ago, I was in a group where the speaker held up a detailed pencil drawing of an old man's face and asked if we would like to be able to draw like the artist who drew the picture.
"Absolutely," was the reply from all of us, to which the speaker said, "Not enough or you would do something about it."
That stuck with me. I am no artist but I can lose myself in colouring and maybe even one day, in watercolours!
We all have that ability to keep going and persevere until we master something or, at least, until we are confident enough to use the skill we have learned.
Let's imagine ourselves as toddlers for a moment. When we went to take our first step and inevitable landed on the floor, we didn't just sit there, we persevered until we could confidently put one foot in front of the other. We learned to read and to count and to do countless other things because we didn't give up at the first hurdle.
What would you really love to learn to do? Never mind the message in your head that tells you'll never do it. What would love to learn to do and what stops you from giving it a go apart from the message you tell yourself that you will never be able to do? Imagine what we could achieve if we persevered.
I challenge each one of us to learn to do that thing that we would love to be able to do. If it's climbing Everest, we might not make not make it past base camp, if we even get that far, but we might still mange to learn to appreciate a walk in the countryside! We don't all need to be professional mountaineers any more that we all need to be professional artists if we start to learn to draw or colour or paint. It is about giving ourselves pleasure in the process.
Each one of us is made in the image of God, a wonderfully creative being who kickstarted evolution. We are not going achieve that level of creativity but we are creative beings and we all have skills that we can nurture and we are all capable of encouraging each other to keep trying.
One of the biggest hurdles we all face is the fear of being judged. We are not here to judge others. We are here to encourage each other and to develop the skills that are within us if we would just take the time to nurture them.
My journey began in the SHAC Shack with Barbara Gray of Claritystamp in Kent at 10 a.m Monday to Friday for an hour. SHAC stands for safe, happy and creative or Stay Home and Craft.
Everything we have learned is available on youtube. Tomorrow is day 106 and we will be colouring once more. WE doodle one week and colour the next. We have been to Japan, to Africa, to New Mexico, to Holland. We have been under the sea. We have been in the woods all from the comfort of our own homes. We have coloured blue tits, nut hatches, flowers, silver birches and much more. Last week we were drawing snowflakes and Christmas baubles introducing light and shade.
If you are stressing about anything, be it Covid 19 or life in general, the SHAC Shack will take you out of your head and encourage your creativity as you also learn to relax and enjoy yourself as part of a community that will only ever encourage you. If you cannot meet at 10 a.m., you can join in at anytime of the day.
You are beautifully and wonderfully made in the image of God who is a wonderfully creative being. Take a risk and learn that skill, whatever that is, that thing you have always longed to learn. It's not about the end result or about being the best. It's about enjoying the process and using the God given gifts we have, even if we don't yet know what they are.
May you know the blessing of God on your journey of creativity.

Sunday August 9, 2020

 

 

I watched Pointless Celebrities on TV last night and at the end of the show one of the celebrities, whose name I cannot remember, sang Bring Him Home from Les Misérables. I just love that song. I have to say, I loved the film, too, when I saw it in the Screen Machine. It was like watching our very own stage production. There was silence at the end. No one moved but we really wanted to clap. It was so powerful.
The opening words of the song stuck a chord with me last night. Jean Valijean, in the musical, offers to exchange his life for the life of a younger man. The opening lines are:
God on high
Hear my prayer
In my need
You have always been there
He is young
He's afraid
Let him rest
Heaven blessed.
Bring him home
I couldn't help thinking that in the Lebanon, many a mother, many a father, would have cried out in anguish to God in these last days. They will have pleaded with God to bring their child, their son or their daughter, home safely from the devastation that is in the Lebanon which, in reality, we can't even imagine.
It's a song that strikes a chord with many who have sons and daughters in the armed forces. Those are words that may also resonate with parents whose children have disappeared from home and are simply classed as 'Missing Persons'.
They are words that could resonate with parents who have a child sick in hospital and who do not know what the next day or even the next hour may bring.
The first four lines of the song are words that any one of us could utter at certain times in our lives. They speak the truth that God has always been there. You have always been there. In my need, hear my prayer.
They are words that may be uttered by many as the number of Covid-19 cases begins to rise again, albeit in clusters at the moment. God on high, in my need, hear my prayer. The order of the lines doesn't matter. It is what they express that counts, a belief that God is with us in our need and hears our prayers.
The Psalmist often cries out to God. He speaks of God as His refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. In Psalm 46, the Psalmist says that he will not fear even in the whole world crumbles around him, because God is with Him.
God is in the Lebanon in that devastated world. He hears the cries of His people. He is their refuge and strength.
God is in Aberdeen as Covid-19 finds a foothold once again. God is in Lochgilphead, whatever happens in your lives or in mine, in the coming weeks.
I leave that thought with you for the next couple of weeks as I go on annual leave. God is with you. Always has been. Always will be. Call out to Him in your need and He will answer.
And may you know the blessing of God, daily in your lives, and may you experience His peace, His strength and His comfort, come what may. Amen.

Sunday August 2, 2020

What's in the heart comes out of the mouth or put another way, the things that come out of a person's mouth come from the heart. Those were Jesus' words to His disciples and they got me thinking.
What comes out of our mouths? Let's think of the conversations we have had in the last week, be they spoken words or written words on Facebook or in Messenger or inemails. What did they reflect from our hearts?
Were the messages loving and caring or foul? Were we critical of others or crabbit? Were we supportive and encouraging? Were we downcast or were we bright and cheerful? What comes out of our mouths reflects what is in our hearts.
Was fear reflected from our hearts, or anxiety? What caused whatever emotion was there and if it is still there, what can we do about it?
I got ratty during the week because of people who were on holiday in Spain in the midst of a pandemic. I wast ratty, not because they were there in the heat wearing a mask, but because they were complaining because the rules had changed and they were having to self-isolate on return.
We have been well warned that the rules could change in the blink of an eye and we have been warned only to make journeys that are essential but do you know what? My annoyance was a complete waste of energy because I cannot control what other people do. The only person whose actions I am responsible for are my own. What others do is not my responsibility and so why should I let their actions alter my mood and basically poison what is in my heart?
There is no doubt that my anxiety levels are slightly raised with the relaxation of the rules and the copious amounts of paperwork that is being produced concerning the reopening of the Churches but for my situation, and perhaps for yours, Jesus had something else to say.
He said: Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
But worry was clearly quite a common problem, as it still is and it is as common among Christians as it is among non-believers.
Paul in a letter to the Church in Philippi said: The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
I asked what we could do about whatever negative emotion was in our hearts. Well, in that letter to the Church in Philippi lies the answer. We can take our anxiety, our concerns, our fears to God in prayer. The Lord is near. He will hear us and He will fill us with His peace.
My prayer for each of us this week is that we will know the peace of God that passes all understanding. That peace is ours when we allow God to influence what is in our hearts. Without Him, we are pretty much a lost cause. God Bless each and every one of you. Amen.

Sunday July 26, 2020

As I write this, I am sitting watching the sun setting behind the hills as another day draws to a close.

It's almost the end of July and despite the relaxing of many of the restrictions that were placed on us back in March, we are still in the grips of Covid-19 with no real idea of how many people have contracted the virus or even of how many deaths there have been due to the virus. It all depends who is counting and how they are counting but what we do know is that there have been countless cases which have gone undiagnosed.

Restrictions have been relaxed in different countries and already there are spikes appearing. There are spikes in our country, too, and we need to know that it won't take much for the virus to get a grip and so we all still need to be careful and stay safe.

When no one was moving around, our area was relatively safe but there are a lot of visitors in our area now and there are a lot of people from our area who are travelling around the country and overseas, so if there is a spike here, we need to be careful not to blame others who are visiting our area. The virus could just as easily be brought back here by any one of us.

The sun setting reminds me that no matter what tomorrow holds, the sun will rise again. We may even see it thought the clouds!

The writer of Ecclesiastes said:
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens.
The writer also said that there is nothing new under the sun.
Whatever is, has already been,
and what will be, has been before.

It has been said that he suffered from depression which may well have been the case but there is a truth in what he says. There is a time for everything, for living and dying, for building and tearing down, for dancing, for laughing, for crying and God holds everything in His hand. No matter how the future unfolds, no matter what impact the virus has on us in the future, we are safe in the hands of God.

That is true whatever our circumstances. In death, as in life, Jesus reaches out to us. To the thief on the Cross who died beside Jesus, but who called out to Jesus and asked to be remembered by Him, Jesus said: "Today, you will be with me in Paradise." We have to call out to Jesus. He doesn't force Himself on us but He hears our call and He welcomes us into His presence in life and in death.

Even when the sun sets, the sun rises again with the promise of life and that is true not only of the sun but of the Son, of God's Son. He was buried but rose again offering hope and life to each one of us when, in God's time, the sun finally sets for us.

In your prayers tonight, I would ask you to remember those in our community who have lost loved ones in recent weeks. May God fill them with the hope of a new day, not just a new day of the week but the hope that as the sun set on their loved one, a new day began for him or her in God's eternal presence.

And may each one of us know the peace of God in our hearts, a peace that passes all understanding. Amen.

Sunday July 19, 2020

Earlier on today, I felt as if I were rearranging the chairs on the Titanic but tonight I'm beginning to think I might make it into the lifeboat after all!

I thought about tackling my study. I've frequently thought about tackling my study but having looked at it and measured bookcases and my desk and the sofa and everything else that is in there, not forgetting the width of the walls, for the last two days on and off, I decided that today wasn't the day to rearrange furniture. If I had, I'd probably have gone down with the Titanic!

Instead, I decided to tackle my wee room, the one I've not been able to get into most of the time I have been here because of the stuff that was piled in there! Shocking, I hear you say!!

I started to clear out stuff - the bin is nearly full and I've more than a week to go before it will be emptied! I came across a bag full of old photographs which meant so much to someone else but which have no meaning for me at all, I was about to put them back in - rearranging the chairs on the Titanic - but then I decided I had to bite the bullet and get rid of them, or most of them, but it got me thinking.

I wonder how much stuff we all hoard. I know some people are very good at clearing out stuff and could be accused of not having a sentimental bone in their body but that's not me. I find it really hard to dump stuff! However, as I said, it got me thinking.

One day, someone will come into my house with black bags and the things that I have treasured on earth, for sentimental reasons, will be binned or taken to a charity shop or the dump.

My real treasure, no one can take from me, though, and that will come with me when I depart this planet.

In Matthew 6, Jesus says: Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

What do you treasure that no one can take from you? For me there is only my faith in Jesus. No one can ever take that from me and so it is not only worth more than any material things I have but it is something that I can keep and share at the same time to encourage others to store up treasures in heaven.

What is it that you treasure? What do you have that no one and nothing can ever take from you? It's a sobering thought, isn't it?

We can lose everything and during lockdown, many people suffered a tremendous sense of loss because they were separated from what they treasure in life but God was with us. He never left us and that is priceless. He never left us and He never will.

Tonight, I would encourage you to store up for yourself treasure in heaven. We can't buy our way in to heaven. We don't need to buy our way in because Jesus paid the price, bought our ticket, with His life and offers each of us that ticket but we need to accept it. We need to accept Jesus.

He is a treasure worth having and He is treasure that will never be taken from us. What's more is that He will keep our hearts safe and secure with Him. Where our treasure is, there our hearts will be also.

I would encourage you to reflect on where your treasure is as you close your eyes tonight. It is well worth a few moments of your time.

May God bless you with the knowledge of His presence now and always.

Sunday July 12, 2020

Last week I spoke about the film Touching the Void. Today, as I have tried to prepare something to say, I have felt as if I was in that void. There's a confession for a minister. I have nothing to say tonight or, at least, as I write, I have no idea what I will be led to say. It certainly won't be down to me!

I've just watched It's a Fair Question where Martin Fair spoke to three black people about how they have been treated in our country. Check it out on our Church website. It's quite an eye opener. It was incredibly emotional to listen to their stories and it left me wondering how judgemental I am, or we are, of others who are different from ourselves in whatever way.

How do we speak about those whose life style is different from our own, whose life choices make no sense to us, whose political opinion differs from our own, whose culture or faith is different? What are our prejudices and how do they affect how we relate to other people, all of whom are made in the image of God.

This afternoon, I listened to a contemporary service from Upper Tay and Tenandry in which the minister, the Rev Neil Glover, opened up a bit about his own life and I am left wondering tonight how hard that must have been for him to do. Was he judged by the listeners? I truly hope not because he was honest and genuine and if we can't be those things in our Christian community, what kind of community is it? I would recommend his service to you - the contemporary one. I haven't listened to his traditional service - yet.

Pain is what was evident in both It's a Fair Question and in Neil's sermon. Suffering because of the colour of your skin or because of life events and life choices ( good and bad) is so prevalent in our society and so much pain is bottled up because no one dares to speak out for fear of being judged. Is that the kind of Christian community we want to share in? Is that even the kind of secular community we want to live in. Surely not!

All of us are made in the image of God, as Rev. Mandy Ralph, the black minister from Annbank and Tarbolton Parish Church in Ayrshire, said when being interviewed by Martin.

You are made in the image of God, as am I, as is the person suffering from addiction, as is the homeless person, the asylum seeker, the murderer, the criminal, the person whose life has been torn apart by whatever life events. All of us are made in the image of God, those in work, those out of work, those who are well and those who are sick in mind, body or spirit.

All of us are made in the image of God and until we all realise that and see our need of Jesus and of God in our lives, we are truly a nation without hope. Love, which is of God who is love, is what will transform our world and our attitude to others who are the same or different from ourselves.

I would reckon that we are all prejudiced in some way but knowing what our prejudices are is a real step forward. Often we are blind to who we really are. This week, from the void, I challenge each of us to reflect on what I've said to see how well we really know ourselves.

And may God, in whose image you are made, surround you with love and bless each one of us with understanding of and with love for others who are also made in the image of God.

Sunday July 5, 2020

Did any of you watch Touching the Void the other night? What a fantastic film/documentary on what was an amazing and, at the same time, terrifying experience for Joe Simpson and Simon Yates. They set out to climb a face of the Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in 1985 which could have resulted in the deaths of both climbers and very nearly did. If you didn't see the film/documentary, I would highly recommend it.

Having successfully climbed to the top of the Siula Grande, something no others climbers had succeeded in doing, the men headed back down the mountain. On the way down, Simon Yates fell and broke his leg very badly.

Joe Simpson decided that he couldn't leave his pal. He had to find some way of lowering him down that mountain which he started to do. The weather closed in and unbeknown to Joe, he had lowered Simon over a precipice. He was hanging like a dead weight on the end of the rope. They couldn't hear each other or see each other and both risked dying.

Cutting a long story short, Joe took the decision to cut the rope and believing his friend to be dead, after a night on the mountain, he headed back down to base camp.

Simon wasn't dead but he was alone and he was on an ledge in a deep gulley. If he had fallen a few feet to the right, he wouldn't have survived. He would have disappeared into oblivion.

As it was, Simon had a choice. He could stay where he was and die or he could fight for survival and that is what he chose to do. With the use of the cut rope, he lowered himself further into that gulley because he could not climb out. He was heading into the unknown but it was his only chance.

When he finally reached what was an unstable ledge, he looked up and saw daylight and using his arms, his ice picks and one leg, he managed to climb out of that gulley and eventually drag himself back down that mountain. Every movement was agonising but he made it and got back just in time to the Base Camp.

Simon didn't condemn Joe's actions but simply said that given the choice, he would have done the same. The only thing he was really angry about was the fact that Joe had burned his clothes!

Why am I telling you this story?

It's a really good analogy for where we are as a Church right now, I think. The Church is on the end of the rope and for a long time I have felt that I was holding the other end. It was dragging me down. I was drained. I was burned out, perhaps.

I felt that I was holding a rope and was unable to pull the Church back to life but I wasn't brave enough to cut the rope. It was going to be the end of both of us. We would both have died on that mountain, not physically, perhaps, but spiritually, maybe.

But what would happen if I cut the rope? For me, that would be letting go of things that don't have a future, the Church of Scotland as we know it, the parish system as we know it, the traditions, my expectations of myself and the expectations of others. What would happen if I cut that rope?

What would happen to the people of God on the end of the rope because in reality that is what is hanging on the end. That is what the Church is. It is the people, lovely people, people I love deeply, just as Joe loved his best climbing friend, Simon - but he cut the rope because he either went under with him or he let go.

Now, my question is this. What if I cut the rope? What would you do as the people of God? Would you sit where you landed in that crevice until there was no life left in you or would you fight for survival, for the survival of your faith, and find new ways of doing things?

Path of Renewal has always challenged us to think about what is really important for our life and witness to Jesus and to think about what is so precious that we think it will never change.

Above the door of a Church in America, carved in the stone, was what the people thought would never change: Morning Worship 11 a.m. Evening Worship 6.30 p.m. Evening worship no longer takes place in that building. What do we think will never change?

The thing is that in the light of Covid 19 and a break with tradition, there is no going back. We are different people with different priorities so the question is what will Church be like post Covid? The Church, remember, is not the building. It is the people. How will we be post Covid?

What have we missed about our life before Covid and what could we easily give up? The answer may well be different for each of us but I think I have cut the rope so how do we move forward?

There are things I no longer want to do that I did before because they sucked the life out of me as I held onto that rope. What will you do now that I have let go? (By the way, I'm not leaving, I don't think! Lol.) What do you need to do to survive? What are you willing to do to survive, even it is is extremely painful for you as it was for Simon with his badly injured leg. Remember, it was only after the rope was cut and Simon took that step to go deeper into the gulley that he saw the light.

Jesus called the fishemen and others to follow Him. Leave your nets and follow me and I will make you fishers of men. Jesus calls us to follow Him and one of the problems we had before Covid was that we refused to move. We shut ourselves away in our buildings and wondered why we were dying on our feet.

Well, as someone once said, if you keep doing the same things, you will always get the same result. What do we dare to do differently, post Covid, that we may truly seek God's will and follow His Son? If we just go back to me holding the rope, the battle is well and truly lost.

I would encourage each of us to pray about the way forward so that the only expectations we are meeting in the future are those of our God.

That is my prayer as we move into a new week and consider some of those questions and as you pray, may you know the peace of God which passes all understanding.

Sunday June 28. 2020

I signed in to Facebook tonight to start writing my reflection for today and I saw "It's a Fair Question' (See below) which was posted by Ian Davidson a few days ago and it has taken my thoughts in a completely different direction, that and a phone call I had, earlier in the week, from someone who said:

We are not Social Workers in the Church. We may well support people with many different problems but we approach those problems from a different angle. We come from a position of faith and whatever else we might offer people, first and foremost, we are here to share our faith and introduce people to Jesus, a solid foundation for life, our hope now and in the future, our peace, our life, and we are here to pray for people. That is what makes us different and that is what the Church is. It is a people who pray and whose foundation in life is the Lord Jesus Christ.

I don't apologise for what I'm saying. It is who we are called to be and if we are something else, I would question whether we are fulfilling our calling as Christians.

If you haven't already stopped reading this reflection, please listen to the life stories of the two men being interviewed. Their lives were transformed by what some would call a power higher than themselves but what they call and what I call, Jesus.

They are powerful stories, and heartbreaking for the families concerned, but those men have come out the other side - with faith and dependent on the risen Christ.

So many people are bound in chains by their past. The Hymn "Amazing Grace' is an example of one man's story. It is perhaps particularly poignant just now with so much focus on racial equality.

The writer of the hymn, John Newton, was conscripted into the Royal Navy and ended up involved in the Atlantic Slave Trade. A violent storm one night resulted in him calling out to God for mercy and a few years later, he ended his life on the sea and started studying Christian Theology and entered the ministry.

No one is perfect but he knew he needed forgiveness for his past and he received it, as we all do, whoever we are and whatever we have done, when we cry out to God for mercy, for forgiveness, for salvation.

Those are not really words we use every day but there is nothing truer than we need saving from ourselves.

I went online to a service in Killermont Parish Church this morning and during it there was a recording of an interview with Donald Trump - not by the minister, I hasten to add! In it, Donald Trump claimed to be religious, but didn't use the word Christian, and during the interview he claimed that he had never asked God for forgiveness. He didn't see the need. He just tried to do better.

If all we needed to do was better, there would have been no need for Jesus to die on the Cross. He died because we often don't get it right and we can't earn our salvation simply by trying harder. We need Jesus. He is the bridge to life, to eternal life, and to any kind of relationship with God.

Even with faith, we will still get it wrong, but Jesus hears our cries for mercy, for forgiveness and offers it to us. Is that not something that is worth shouting about, worth sharing, worth grasping with both hands?

God loves us. God loves you and me and is the power which will transform all our lives, if we let Jesus in. That has nothing to do with religion and everything to with faith. That is Christianity.

Let me know your thoughts on the interview with the two men or on anything else I've said.

May God bless you in the coming week.

Sunday June 21, 2020

Gratitude is the name of the game today. I am grateful that I live where I do, that we are in some kind of bubble up here which pretty much isolates us from the madness in the world around us.

I am grateful for the sun which has been such a blessing during lockdown and for the rain which came last night which meant I didn't need to spend an hour to an hour and a half dragging a hose around the garden watering pots, areas of garden and greenhouses!

I am grateful that so many of our older members are enjoying the worship that is being provided on television and I am grateful for the opportunity to listen to other ministers in different parts of the country online, as are many others.

I am glad to have had two willing volunteers(?) who delivered all the booklets of reflections to all our members in the area. You did a grand job. To those of you who are members but who live outwith the area, you will get one very soon. We have not forgotten about you.

I am grateful for prayers for others that have been answered.

I am grateful to be well and to have had space and time to reflect.

I am just grateful.

If you were to list three things for which you are grateful, what would they be?

Paul, when he wrote to the Church in Philippi said:

Don't worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart. And God's peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus.

I think we have discovered during this pandemic that there is a big difference between wants and needs and we have learned to be grateful for what we have, maybe because of what we miss.

When we are grateful or thankful to God, we find peace, a peace that comes from His Son and which is different from any peace the world can offer.

Jesus said: My peace, I give you, such as the world cannot give. Let not your hearts be troubled. Neither let them be afraid.

There is much in our world to fear, but to deal with all our fears, we need the peace that Christ offers us. Ask him for that peace if you are troubled by anything at this time and trust that you will receive it.

My peace, I give you.

It is a gift He offered his friends as His own death approached. It's a gift He will give us now whatever our situation but we have to be willing to accept it, unwrap it and use it. What are we waiting for?

My prayer is that each person who reads this will experience that gift of peace, now and as the future unfolds. May God bless you and hold you in the hollow of His hand.

Sunday June 14, 2020

At the beginning of John 8, we read these words:

At dawn Jesus appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered round him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.

5 The Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?’ 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, ‘Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’

8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.

10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’

11 ‘No one, sir,’ she said.

‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life of sin.’

As I began thinking about what I might write this week by way of a reflection, it came to me that it is very easy to take the moral high ground but I just wonder if any of us is so perfect that we have the right to judge others which, I suppose, is what I'm doing even as I write this.

I am judging deliberate vandalism and disregard for social distancing which has been drummed into us for months now.

I am not excusing what gave rise to the demonstrating - absolutely not - but I am horrified that the wrongful killing of individuals has been used as an excuse to riot and destroy.

We don't have a history to be proud of, of that there is no doubt, but we cannot change the past or the wealth that was pumped into our cities and from which we have all benefited. What we can change is our own attitude to others.

We may not consider ourselves racist but can we honestly say that we treat everyone the same? Can we honestly say that we have no prejudices where others are concerned?

Jesus loves everyone the same. He is the perfect example of love. He may not love the sin but He loves the sinner and each one of us is a sinner, whether we like it or not.

To each of us, Jesus would say: Take the plank out of your own eye and then you will see to take the speck out of your brother or sister's eye.

There is no doubt that there are injustices in the world. There is a caste system in India. The better off in Malawi have servants, some better treated than others. There are people starving to death, people with no homes or access to education or medical care while we spend what we have, by and large, on ourselves and our well-being.

There is no place for brutality in any profession or on our streets but as my mum often said when I was a child: Two wrongs don't make a right.

Of course, we have to work to create a better world where all lives matter but it has to start with us, with you and me in our own community looking at how we, at times, treat each other and indeed examining the prejudices that we hold ourselves. They are so much part of us that we are often unaware of them.

Change begins with me...and you. Peace begins with me....and you. Are we open to change taking place in our own lives? If we are, it won't be easy and we will not be judged by God for trying or at times, even failing. He knew we would fail and He knew we could never be perfect. His solution was His Son, Jesus, who walks with us and gives us help along the way and the courage to get up again and try again when we fall by the wayside. That is love, perfect love, the perfect love that surrounds us and is within us.

My prayer this week is that there will be change but that it will begin with you and me where we are. My prayer is that there will be peace and justice and that it will begin with you and me, where we are. My prayer is that those who suffer most from injustice and prejudice will experience the love of neighbours and that through the change is us, our world will become a better place where all lives matter to us, as they do to God. God Bless each and everyone of you.

Sunday June 7, 2020

Someone I know said the other day: You think it can't get any worse and then it does. She was talking about America and all that has happened there is recent days. How horrendous was that and it doesn't seem to be all that uncommon there, or in other places, including it would seem, in our own country.

I will never understand how any human being can treat another human being in that way but then a lack of respect and common decency is not uncommon in many circles in this day and age.

Closer to home, we heard that someone was being investigated in connection with the murder of Madeleine McCann and another wee German girl. Who knows what those children went through!

Someone once said that no news is good news and I can't help thinking along those lines just now. The news and the speculation and the recriminations that follow just annoy me and so most days, I don't watch the news.

I read a book many years ago which centred on a child who had been diagnosed with leukaemia. The consultant, who had faced the same news about his child as the parents faced in front of him, said to them regarding treatment: Whatever happens, know that you will make the best decision you can with the information available to you at the time. We do not have hindsight until after the event. That was wise counsel and perhaps something that we all need to take on board.

It is easy to criticise and to judge but none of us is perfect and each of us is responsible for our own actions and the decisions that we make our ourselves. I cannot control what other people do or the decisions that they make. I can only take responsibility for myself and my actions.

Lockdown is gradually being relaxed but the virus has not gone away, so I would encourage each of us to be careful and to avoid crowds and travelling to places that we do not need to visit. No government is responsible for the decisions I make or you make. I am responsible and you are responsible no matter what we are told we can do.

Paul writing to the Church in Rome - before the days of Catholic and Protestant - said to the Christians there: Do not conform to the pattern of the world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.

He goes on to say: Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honour one another above yourselves....Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practise hospitality. (A bit difficult just now!!)

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

If we all lived by this code, none of the situations above would ever have happened. There would be no racism. There would be no brutality. There would be no harm done to children or women or men.

Paul finishes by saying: Do not let evil defeat you; instead, conquer evil with good.

Something to ponder, perhaps, as we move forward.

What I see is life beginning to go back to normal, to what it was before lockdown. Are we going to go back to what we were before?

Surely we will learn from lockdown and will take with us, into the new reality, the things that truly matter. Let's leave the rest behind. Life is too short and too precious. Let's value each other and find new ways, together, of being a people of faith because God has been there for us all through this pandemic and He is going nowhere. He will never leave us but it would be such a shame if we simply forgot all about Him once this crisis is over.

Take care of yourselves this week. Stay safe.

God bless you.

Sunday May 31, 2020

This morning, there was a service led by the Moderator, Martin Fair to celebrate Pentecost, the day we celebrate the coming of the Spirit after Jesus returned to His eternal home. (I spoke about the different names for the Spirit last Sunday.)

Pentecost is considered to be the Church's birthday because it was with the arrival of the Spirit that huge numbers of people came to faith and the Church, the people of God, not the building, began to grow.

I posted the link to the service on the Church's FB page this morning. It began with a manse family singing: I am the Church, you are the Church. We are the Church together. The focus was on the people and not the buildings.

The service was really good and it was felt to be a way of bringing the whole Church together. That was the idea behind it.

Of course, we weren't all together. We were all in our individual homes living in a way that has become the norm for us.

What struck me, as I started to write this, is that many people over the last two months, have celebrated their birthdays alone. Others have been able to celebrate with their families via zoom or Skype or FaceTime. Many have worshipped in the same ways. Some alone. Some on zoom or FB.

Many found it really hard that they couldn't be together physically but it's a reminder to us that there were many, before lockdown, who celebrated birthdays, Christmas, Easter, New Year alone and there will be many, after lockdown, who will still be alone, and will still celebrate alone, just as there will be many who will still worship alone. If nothing else, lockdown has given us a glimpse of what reality looks like for many people.

Even the fact that many have felt trapped in their own homes when they were so used to getting out and about gives us a glimpse of what life is like for the countless numbers of people who are housebound.

Many were trapped in their own homes, before lockdown, because of infirmity, because of illness and disability, because of anxieties and fears that control their every waking moment.

Lockdown has given us much to reflect upon and even though there are signs of lockdown being eased, please remember that just because we are allowed to do something, it doesn't necessarily mean that we should. The virus is just as much of a threat as it was before lockdown and that should be a warning to each of us, not to instil fear in us but to encourage us to stay safe in the coming weeks and months.

If we go back to the way things were, there will have been little point to what we have we are living through at the present time.

Stay safe, folks. God Bless you.

Sunday May 24, 2020

When I switched on the TV this morning to the service, as I have done quite often during lockdown, Rev. I. M. Jolly came to mind and that has happened every time I have switched on to a traditional service. For those of you who may too young to remember him, Google Rev. I. M. Jolly and he will brighten your day. He was so funny.

But what makes him funny, like the Vicar of Dibley, is that what the sketches and the scripts portray is not that far removed from reality.

There is our obsession in meetings with things that really don't matter and despite how few meetings we are having, the world is still turning and is the better for it! I'm so glad I'm not suicidal while listening to ministers who sound like ministers and who have faces and a message as cheery as Rev. I. M. Jolly because it would push me over the edge.

Why do ministers use a voice and an intonation that they would never use if they were carrying on a conversation with us? It drives me nuts. If that is how I come across in Sunday worship, it's time to go and it would certainly explain why so many of our Churches have no young folk and dwindling numbers of older folks.

If you're having a bad day, Sunday worship on TV would do nothing to cheer you up! However, I am not dismissing the message that is delivered or the effort that people are making to give a semblance of normality to those who value it.

This morning, online, I went to Killermont and to Balljaffray - and I hasten to add, my comments above are not comments about the ministers in those Churches. They are based on what I see in Sunday worship on TV. I have to say that Reflections from the Quay is a bit better but despite all I have said, I am so glad that time is being given to worship on the BBC for those who miss gathering for worship and who have no internet access.

Today is known as Ascension Sunday, the day that commemorates Jesus returning to heaven. There has been a cartoon around this week on FB, Jesus with the caption: Working from Home. It's brilliant.

That is indeed what Jesus does. He works from home and from what, though faith in Him, will be our eternal home. That cartoon reminds me of how much Jesus has achieved working from home. He was only 33 years among us in person and His ministry on earth was only three years but look at the impact He still has, working from home. His love has reached far more people since He returned home that it ever did when He walked among us and I would suggest, His love has reached far more since we started working from home.

That challenges me in terms of ministry. My weekly reflections reach far more people now that I am working from home than they ever did when I was behind closed doors in the Church building and that is something, I think, that as a Church we need to take on board.

I also know that our traditions were sucking the life out of me, which is what happens when I watch traditional worship on television, whereas working from home has energised me. Again, food for thought.

When Jesus returned home, God sent His Spirit among us, which could be everywhere all at once. The Spirit is described as the Comforter, the Healer, the Intercessor (the one who is within us and prays for us even when we cannot put into words what we would want to say. He is described as the Dove (a symbol of peace) and as the presence of God.

God is not out in the universe somewhere, separate from us. God is with us, within us, around us, behind us, in front of us, wherever we are and whatever we are doing. Is that not a cause for giving thanks even in sadness, even in lockdown, even in isolation, even in times of fear and anxiety, and maybe even more so during those times?

I have heard people say in the past that they were searching for God. If you are one of those people, stop searching because God has found you. He is with you through the power of His Spirit who prays for you and who comforts you and who strengthens you and who gives you peace as He does me.

May you recognise Him with you, whatever you are doing and wherever you are, and may God bless each and every one of you today and in the coming week. Amen.

Lord God, it's good to know that you are with us and that even when we lose sight of you, you never lose sight of us for you are with us, journeying with us, through the good times and the challenging times.

Fill each one of your people with your peace today, those who are ill, those who unemployed, those who have realised they face an uncertain future, those who are caring for others at home, in homes and in hospitals, those who serve us in whatever way, those who struggle to find a new 'normal' and who hope and pray that the old 'normal' is gone for good.

Bless each one and assure each one of your presence with them, now and in the coming week. Amen.

Sunday May 17, 2020

Well, the forecast was rain and we got it! The garden has given a huge sigh of relief but this must be the first day in the last seven weeks of lockdown that the rain has been on all day and the mist down over the hills. Haven't we been really fortunate? I take it, it's not St Swithen's Day! Rain for 40 days! Definitely not. There will be another high creeping in to push away the low and we will be all smiles again before we know it.

It's just as well Heart and Soul was cancelled in Princess Street Gardens. That would have been pretty miserable in the rain. Heart and Soul, for those who don't know is an annual event on the Sunday of the General Assembly in Edinburgh. It is usually very good and it's a great place to meet friends from all over the country who have gathered in Edinburgh for the Assembly.

The Assembly is also cancelled this year, for the first time in 350+ years, and believe it or not, the world is still revolving. All those things that were thought to be so important before Covid-19 really don't impact all that much on life at all, if we ever thought they did.

Martin Fair, minister of St. Andrew's Parish Church in Arbroath, was installed as Moderator yesterday in a near empty Assembly Hall. He has a blank canvas on which to work this year which is brilliant because he will be instrumental, I suspect, in redefining that role. Trips abroad are cancelled. Visits to congregations are cancelled and he is self-isolation along with the rest of the country.

What an opportunity for Martin whose focus, this year, will be on Mental Health. He has a real concern for the number of young men who take their own lives and so, in his own parish, did something to help those with mental health issues. If you want to know more about that, look up the website for St. Andrew's Parish Church, in Arbroath and I'm sure you will be able to read all about his work there.

That focus on Mental Health and mental well-being could be all the more necessary in the coming months as people struggle with the impact Covid-19 has had, and will have, on their lives and the lives of their loved ones.

This talk of mental health issues is a reminder that some people are walking a very dark road right now. They struggle to see the light at the end of the tunnel, even though we know, deep down, that this will pass and that there will be a brighter future ahead, but timing is everything.

When we are in that dark place, we need hope, or we need others to have hope for us when we cannot grasp hold of it ourselves.

In the Servant Song, one of the more modern hymns (although it is rapidly ageing too!), we read:

I will hold the Christ-light for you

In the night-time of your fear;

I will hold my hand out to you,

Speak the peace you long to hear.

I will weep when you are weeping.

when you laugh, I'll laugh with you.

I will share your joy and sorrow,

till we've see this journey through.

Those are words that can assure us that we are not alone on that dark road, as indeed can the words of, what for many, is a old favourite:

Abide with me, fast falls the eventide.

The darkness deepens. Lord, with me abide.

When other helpers fail and comforts flee,

Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Maybe my mood is a bit greyer today because of the weather, although I've not had a bad day. However, it doesn't do us any harm to remind ourselves that whatever the weather and whatever the journey we make, we are never alone. There is one who walks with us each step of the way, and for that, I am truly grateful. Jesus said: I will never leave you or forsake you.

There are many people who tell me that they pray every night. Well done, if you are one of them. I would tend to fall asleep! However, for those who may struggle with prayer or may not feel the need to pray, I have a wee suggestion which on a grey day, may well help.

In the evening, sit down somewhere quiet and think back over the day. What was your day like? What were the good things that happened? It might be something simple like seeing a wee robin in your garden, or feeling the warmth of the sun on your face (not on my list today!). It may be a phone call you received or a letter you got through the post. It may just be a smile from someone in the street that brightened your day. Note down all the good things that happened.

Then, have a wee think about the things that didn't go so well. How did you feel about them? Note them down.

I told the story of the Two Wolves a few weeks ago, the good wolf and the bad wolf, which fight within us for power over our minds. If you missed it, google it, because the wolf that wins is the one we feed.

Let the bad thoughts go because they will take control of our mood. Don't feed on them. Reflect again on the good things that happened and simply say thank you for them. That is prayer. It doesn't; need to be a lot of words because God already knows what is in your heart and your mind.

A head full of positive thoughts will lead to a good night's sleep and a much more positive mood. Feed the good wolf, no matter how grey the day.

Dear Lord, thank you for all that makes us smile and for all that feeds our souls whatever is happening in the world at large or in our own personal world. Bless us with rest tonight and with peace now and always, Amen.

Sunday May 10, 2020

As some of you know, I deal with a craft company down in Kent called Claritystamp. Barbara Gray, who owns the company, writes a daily blog and tonight it was about thoughts.

A friend phoned her yesterday and asked her: "So what is it in this whole pandemic crisis that makes you the most anxious?"

What she said in reply was: "It depends where I let my thoughts settle."

I wonder how you would answer that question. I had a friend down south who over the last couple of weeks has had the virus. That rattled me a bit especially when three of four days went by without a message! However, the good news is that she is on the road to recovery, as is her husband.

I have to say, though, that I feel remarkably at peace throughout this, maybe because of where we live, maybe because I have no family to worry about, maybe because I realise that I can't change anything by worrying about it. Equally, worrying about what might happen is a waste of energy and spoils the present time. Why worry about what may never happen?

Jesus said: "...do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Earlier in the same passage from Matthew 6, Jesus said: "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?"

Sometimes, however, even the birds need a helping hand. I had two wee sparrows in my greenhouse this afternoon. They had gone in the window and couldn't find the way back out. I opened the door and off they flew, one immediately and the other a short while later.

We are not meant to be islands and totally self-sufficient. There are times when we need each other.

While I am very relaxed in the midst of the crisis, there are others who are anything but, people locally who have days when they really struggle. They are a bit like the sparrows, at times, trapped in a place from which they do not know how to escape, stuck in their heads because their thoughts have taken control.

Who will open the door for them, so to speak? Could I be that listening ear? Could you be that listening ear for a neighbour, for a friend, even for a stranger? Maybe, but not everyone will reach out when they are in that place. Not everyone can.

Through it all, there is one who knows our thoughts, who sees our pain and who reaches out in love. Jesus says, "Come to me..... and I will give you rest."

Jesus also says: "My peace I give you, not like the world, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

That peace is ours. It's offered to us and in Jesus we will find it and on the tough days, He will hold us securely in the palm of His hand.

Lord God, gift to each one tonight your peace, especially those whose minds are like a washing machine, going round and round and round, over and over again. Calm their minds. Calm their thoughts and help each one to find a way to let their thoughts settle on something positive and creative and good for the soul.

Bless each one who reads this and all those whom they love, in Jesus' Name,

Amen.

Sunday 3 May 2020

What a beautiful day today! I sat in the garden this afternoon listening to the water running over the waterfall from my wee pond to the large pond. It's great to have the new pump installed. The fish are much happier as well!

It was bliss sitting up there. It was warm. There was a gentle breeze. The birds were singing. It was peaceful (till the lawnmowers started - but not for long so I forgave them! Lol.) and the words that came to me were from the second verse of How Great Thou Art and specifically the last two lines of the verse. I hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze.

When through the woods
and forest glades I wander,
I hear the birds
Sing sweetly in the trees,
When I look down
From lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook
And feel the gentle breeze,

Then sings my soul,
my Saviour God, to thee,
How great thou art.

That was my worship today. It was not in a building. It was not surrounded by other people. It was as I sat alone with God and the beauty of nature around me. As the poem says:

One is nearer God's heart in a garden,
than anywhere else on earth.

That was so true for me today. I found a peace that I never got from any of the online services I dipped in and out of this morning. As I listened to some of the hymns that were being sung on TV and looked at the faces of those who had been wheeled in for the recording of previous episodes of Songs of Praise, my heart sank. That's not a comment on the age of the congregations, by the way! It is simply a comment on how I felt as I listened, albeit briefly, to different services.

The day is rounded of beautifully by a gorgeous sunset and clear blue sky.

I was in my real world today and it was amazing.

I haven't heard the news today but I did read on FB that, Robert, the paramedic who died, was a friend of a friend. It brought home to me that while my world was perfect, other worlds were crumbling.

There was a siren. Trouble came to someone's door this afternoon. Many are in hospital for different reasons. Many are bereaved and living with loss, not only because of the virus, but because of other illnesses or tragedies which have struck families.

Today, my prayer is one of thanks and of gratitude for what I have enjoyed but also a prayer for those who are struggling, those who are ill and those who feel as if their heart has been ripped right out.

May God hold you all in the palm of His hand.
Amen.

Sunday 26 April

I usually post a reflection on a Sunday morning but today there were several different things buzzing around in my head so I decided to take time out before posting a reflection.

This week, I had my first two funerals since the lockdown. It is strange for us, in our community, to have such small groups of people at a funeral but they were incredibly meaningful because each one was very much about the immediate family and their relationship with their relative.

We have always placed so much importance on a funeral and it is important but it struck me today that Jesus didn't have a funeral as such. He was simply taken from the Cross by those who were closest to Him and laid in the tomb. Those closest to Him were pretty much alone with their grief, as are so many these days.

There was no big celebration of Jesus' life. The crowds who had welcomed Him to Jerusalem were not there. His friends were alone with their memories and their pain.

Those who weren't there but whose lives Jesus had touched would be aware that He had been killed and in their own way, maybe through quiet reflection, maybe through sharing their stories, would pay their own tribute to the man they had loved.

So many of those stories were recorded years later and have been passed on down to us in the Bible. I doubt very much that people will read about our individual lives 2,000 years from now but that doesn't matter.

What is important is how our friends and families remember us. What is important is the time we spend with them while we can and the memories we create. Time is precious and life is for living, even with restrictions.

Just as Jesus spent three years with those who were closest to Him, many are being given that gift right now, that gift of time with those closest to them. Treasure this time you have together.

Others, of course, are separated from family members but the bonds of love still tie us together in ways that truly matter. Thanks to the slower pace of life, those of us not with family have time to reflect on by gone days and on the people and events that were important in our lives.

The time we have just now is precious as it gives us time to grow in ways we may not have done if life had gone on as normal. All of us will emerge from this time with different ideas and different priorities.

I'm so aware just now of the new life that is bursting into being in our gardens. Seeds that were planted are growing and being planted up. There are signs of new life everywhere we look and it reminds me of the new life that came through death, through Jesus' death, and resurrection.

I can't help wondering what signs of new life you see around you and, indeed, within you. Growth is inevitable at this time of year and in these days of uncertainty and hardship for many.

New life will emerge but what will our lives be like? What seeds are beginning to germinate within you and within me that will burst forth into new life?

I'd love to hear your comments. Stay safe, my friends.

Lord God, it's been great to have time to slow down and examine our lives and our priorities. We know that it is incredibly tough for so many around us but there are good things around, too. Help us to notice those things, the things that we have taken for granted and which we now realise mean so much to us.

Help us to see signs of new life within ourselves while we also enjoy the signs of life in our gardens, the blossom, the seedlings, the buds, the birdsong and the warmth we have enjoyed, even the light nights and the glorious sunsets.

Let us experience all those things as real blessings in our lives, things that encourage new growth and new life within us till we finally emerge from the darkness to light.
Amen.

Sunday 19 April 2020

What a glorious week it has been! It really lifts our spirits to see the sunshine and feel the warmth on our faces. It has been a great week for getting out for a walk - not that I have done that - but when I have been out in the garden or down the street, it has been lovely to see a few familiar faces at the Co or coming out of Tesco and also at Danny's. We are going to have some of the best gardens in the country by the time this is over!

It is hard to imagine what is going on in the rest of the world while we live in our wee bubble here, protected in many ways from what so many are suffering.

The news from Malawi, where we have a partner Church in Lilongwe, is that there have been sixteen confirmed cases in the Church and two deaths. There will be far more in the country but those figures are not available to me.

As of now, there are no more Church gatherings in Malawi of any kind and in a culture where people always shake hands when they meet, they really are having to adapt to a new culture but one that is definitely not as safe as ours. To compound the situation, their doctors have gone on strike because of a lack of safety equipment. It make me feel even more grateful for the dedication of our medical staff and nursing staff and carers who work on despite the risks to themselves.

We all have the internet and if we don't, that is a choice we make. We have the opportunity to attend worship in different parts of the country or not, to Face Time or Skype or use What's App to communicate with friends and family. I even had a blether today with a group of people from Baljaffray Parish Church who did coffee by Zoom after the service.

I was at a quiz last night with three others from our Church and there was another team of two took part from our Church with people from all over the country. We are so fortunate to be living where we are and to be able to share in good times amidst the horror of what is unfolding in the world around us.

News travels fast in our world but back in Jesus' day news travelled by word of mouth. We know the dangers of that. There can be so many rumours abound that often we don't know what to believe.

Well, on the evening of that first Easter day, a couple of people were heading back to Emmaus from Jerusalem on foot. It was about seven miles away and on the journey they were talking about the events of that weekend. They had heard that Jesus had been crucified and there were stories spreading that He was once again alive. They were reports from different people, some women and some men.

That must have scrambled their brains, a bit like all the news reports we hear at the present time, if we choose to listen to them.

But this was good news that was spreading, even if it was incredulous. No wonder they were talking about it. Jesus was alive. How could that be?

While the pair were heading home to Emmaus, a stranger joined them and challenged them. They didn't recognise Him but He shared with them all the passages in the Old which spoke about Him, still not revealing to them who He was. He tried to show them that history backed up the events of that first Easter.

When they got back to their home, Jesus made to keep walking but it was already late and so the couple invited Him in to stay. He accepted and sat down to dinner with them.

After dinner, the stranger broke bread and shared it with them and in that simple act, they recognised Him and they knew He was alive.

Jesus sits with us right now. He walks with us right now, as always, on what is a difficult journey for many of us. He shares with us in the trials of the present age, even if we don't recognise Him.

I want to share with you a reflection shared by Liz Crumlish, another minister, on the passage from Luke's Gospel that we considered this morning. It talks of our journey just now and of how that conversation might go in the present age. Please read it.

Luke 24:13-16 The Walk to Emmaus

Now, on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognising Him.

Two family members
from the same household
walked a necessary journey
to spend lockdown together.
As they walked, a stranger drew near,
too near, and walked beside them.
They eyed Him with suspicion
and asked Him to stay 2 metres apart.
As He took up a socially distant position
He asked them what was troubling them?
Why the face mask and gloves?
Incredulously, they told Him about the virus,
about the carnage it was wreaking
and the isolation measures being imposed.
How could He not have heard?

He told them about the homeless woman
He’d just met who, for the first time,
was being given a place to shelter,
She didn’t know the rules
of social engagement or of distancing
and could not settle into a new reality
for fear of what awaited her at the other end
when, inevitably, she’d be back on the street.

He told them of the young nurse
who, every day, dropped off his children at school
while most of their friends were home,
so that he could go and hold the hands
and adjust the masks
of those who were fighting for life,
and of his terror that he would
bring the virus home.

He told them of the young man
whose wife had just given birth to their first child
who could not bring the child to be held
by his parents or octogenarian grandparents
and who was learning the skills of parenting
through WhatsApp and FaceTime.

He told them of young people
unable to undertake the rites of passage
that mark their movement through
all the phases and seasons of life.

He told them of folk of all ages
at risk, isolating alone,
relying on strangers and neighbours for support.

He told them of the pain of families
whose loved ones had died
without family by their side,
unable to perform the rituals
of grief and mourning.

He told them story after story,
not to diminish their own fear and loss,
but to enable them
in the midst of it all
to sense community,
to honour sacrifice,
to catch a glimmer of hope
and to know
that all that they were being asked to endure
could not last forever,
that all that they learned
and the beauty that they witnessed,
in the present and in the emerging,
would not be lost
when the virus was conquered
and the world would be changed forever
as care
and compassion
and love
and connection
became gifts
that were celebrated beyond price.

And, when He disappeared from their sight
they found that He had left
on the doorstep
for them
bread and wine.

And the law
and the prophets
and the theologians
and the liturgists
no longer mattered,
whether virtual or real
or physical or spiritual.

Christ was present in the sacrament they shared
and in the hope and promise
they clung to
for the future.

As you sit alone or with your families and consider the news in our world today and the news that spread on that first Easter day, I would encourage you to take bread and grape juice and to simply welcome the unseen guest, who is Jesus, into your homes and into your lives. He won't come uninvited. He will walk on but for now, He is journeying with us and standing at the door to our lives.

Eternal God, we thank you in the simplest way for Jesus and for the hope and the promise He offers us of life and friendship, of companionship on the journey.

He knows all that is happening in our world and in our own lives. We know what happened in His. May our worlds meet and may we know the blessing of having our eyes opened as we share bread and the juice of the grape with those we love, even though we are apart.

Journey with us, we pray. Help us to journey with you, now and always.

Assure those who frightened, despondent, lost, sick and bereaved of your companionship and your love on their journey. Assure them of our prayers and our compassion and our love for them. Assure those on the frontline of your protection and of our appreciation of all that they do.

And now, bless each one who is separated from loved ones and those who are surrounded by family, those who sit alone and those who seek peace. Grant to each one your peace and your healing touch in these troubled times. Amen.

Easter Sunday 12 April 2020

On that first Easter morning, Jesus' friends, His disciples, were behind closed doors, locked away from the world in fear of their lives, as many are today for such different reasons.
They were grieving the loss of a friend, who had suffered an agonising death, as many do today.
They were suddenly in a very dark place and, as far as they were concerned, a very unexpected place, as many are today around our world.
There was shock.
There was fear.
There was panic.
There were tears.
There was death.
There was silence.
We have more in common today with Jesus' friends and we are more in touch, perhaps, with the emotions of that first Easter morning than ever before, so perhaps the events that followed will take on a far greater significance for our lives than maybe they have in the past.
On that first Easter morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb to anoint Jesus' body. She saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance, so she ran to Peter and John and said to them: "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have put Him."
Peter ran to the tomb and saw with his own eyes that Jesus' body was gone. All that was left were the cloths that had been wrapped around Him. None of them had any inkling of what had really happened to Jesus, so the men returned to where they were staying.
Jesus was gone.
There was shock.
There was disbelief.
There was confusion.
There was more pain than ever.
The darkness was even greater than before.
Mary was abandoned by the men at the tomb. She stood outside the tomb crying. She was devastated. She was alone in her grief, as many are today.
Mary looked into the tomb and saw two angels in white seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and one at the feet.
They asked her: "Woman, why are you crying?"
"They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put Him." At this she turned round and, through her tears, saw a man standing there but she did not realise that it was Jesus. Why would she?
He asked the same question of her: "Woman, why are you crying? Who is it that you are looking for?"
Thinking He was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have put Him, and I will get Him."
And at that, Jesus called her by her name. In that moment she recognised Him and cried out in Aramaic: "Rabboni!" which means "Teacher").
What did Mary do then? Did she rush forward to throw her arms around Jesus? Did she fall at His feet and make to hold on to Him? We are not told but Mary definitely made some move towards Him, as is only natural.
However, before Mary was able to grab hold of Him, Jesus said to her, "Do not hold on to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father".
That most natural expression of human love and of utter relief was denied Mary, as it is denied many today, but her fears were gone. Her tears were now tears of joy. The darkness had been dispelled and the light shone through.
Jesus was alive. That is good news.
Jesus was risen. That is good news.
Nothing would ever be that bad again, no matter what Mary had to face in the future because Her Lord was alive and her hope was rekindled.
She ran to the disciples and, in a burst of emotion, told them, "I have seen the Lord."
All the rules were broken.
Death was no longer the victor but life. That is good news.
The risen Lord, as He did before His death, welcomed all into His presence. Mary Magdalene, despite her unsavoury background, was the first person to meet the risen Jesus. That is good news.
There is hope for all of us, whoever we are and whatever we have done. Each and every one of us is valued and precious in the sight of Jesus, the risen Lord of Easter. That is good news.
It is good news, not fake news, something we need today maybe more than ever, good news that brought Mary peace and hope, a peace and a hope that is offered to us right this moment because death has no power over us, whatever happens. We have life and life in abundance through Jesus Christ, the risen Lord of Easter, our Lord and Saviour.
Blessed Lord God, on this Easter morning when darkness abounds but the sun still breaks through, when hopes seem dashed, when plans fall through and life seems ever so fragile, we thank you for the risen Lord.
We thank you for good news, for light in the darkness of our lives, for peace in the midst of trouble and anxiety, for hope beyond what we, now, can see.
Help us to focus on those things that truly matter and to take life one day at a time knowing that your Son walks with us into what for us is the unknown. Let us go forward in His strength which is made perfect in our weakness.
And may the blessing of God rest upon us and on everyone we love.
May the blessing of God rest on the stranger, on the carers, on the medics and nurses, on ambulance crews, on teachers, on shopkeepers, on delivery men, on bin men, on those in power, on parents and children, on grandparents, on those with disabilities separated from loved but not understanding why.
May the blessing of God rest on every individual, at home and abroad, in what are difficult days but resurrection days, days of hope and peace and power.
Amen.

Good Friday 10 April 2020

It's Good Friday and that feeling of isolation, that was spoken about yesterday in my post, intensifies today. Jesus has been mocked and spat upon and the crowd has turned on Him.
His friends fled when He was arrested. Peter followed at a distance but then denied his Lord three times.
Jesus was left alone despite the people who were around Him in the Temple Courts and on the walk to Calvary. He was left alone with His own thoughts. He never shared them. He never said a word. He was like a lamb to the slaughter.
Jesus was left to carry the Cross to which He would be nailed and as He suffered the pain and humiliation of such a death, He felt truly abandoned by God. He cries out: My God, why have you forsaken me?
There is silence.
At His baptism, God said: "This is my Son with whom I am pleased. Listen to Him." but now there is nothing but silence and pain.
I heard today of the death of the wife of a good friend, a lovely lady who died alone in hospital, like so many others, alone but surrounded by a multitude of caring, compassionate staff.
That pain of isolation is understood by our Lord. That feeling of abandonment that some must feel even though they understand why their loved ones are denied their wish to be with them.
Families must feel as if they have abandoned their loved ones, too, even though they, too, understand why those rules exist. The pain is not made any less by understanding.
Jesus understands. He has walked that lonely road, that painful road and He knows suffering. He knows what it is to suffer alone and in silence.
There is nothing good about Good Friday except that cry of dereliction: It is finished. Those were Jesus' last words. His feeling of abandonment was over. His loneliness was at an end and His suffering was in the past.
We still face suffering on our journey. We still feel pain. We may even still feel abandoned but we are not alone, not now, not ever.
We remember tonight those for whom it is finished and those for whom it has only just begun.
Eternal God, we give into your care those you have called home and those who are left behind. May they never feel abandoned, even those who are unable to express themselves. May they never feel isolated and lost in this crazy world in which we live.
Lord God, surround each one with your loving arms and hold each one close. Even on this Good Friday which might be more aptly named Black Friday, we pray that light will break through the darkness with the promise of hope and life in the days to come.
And the blessing of God and the peace of God rest upon each one we know who walks that lonely road and upon each one who reads this post and this prayer, tonight and always,

Amen.

 

Maundy Thursday 9 April 2020

On the Thursday of Holy Week, the disciples gathered with Jesus in a room in a house in Jerusalem where He shared a meal with them, the last meal they would eat together in this life.

We are each in a room in our own house as I write this and as you read this. Some of you will be with family members. Some of us will be alone.

Jesus was not alone but He was almost certainly alone with His thoughts. We don't know how He felt as He shared in that meal because we are never told but He knew what lay ahead of Him.

He knew that Judas would betray Him. He knew that He would be arrested within a short time. He knew He would be tried and that He would be put to death.

He faced, in isolation, the imminence of His death as He shared in that meal with His friends.

At the end of that meal, Jesus reached out to His friends and gave them a way of remembering Him, a way that has been passed down through the generations to us today.

Even living with the pain of what lay ahead of Him, Jesus reached out to His friends in love. He broke bread with them and shared with them the fruit of the vine without them really understanding what He was saying.

Jesus told them that His body would be broken and His blood shed for them for the forgiveness of their sins.

Judas was part of that group. Jesus was speaking to Him, too, when He spoke to the others. There is no one beyond God's love. He reaches out to each one of us where we are, no matter who we are or what we have done.

When Jesus and His friends left that room, Jesus led them to a garden, the Garden of Gethsemane. I wonder why He chose that spot. Was it because of the healing we find in the peace and the quiet of a garden surrounded by the beauty of nature? Was it because there was space there for Him to be alone with His thoughts and with His Father? Was it because He knew that He would be undisturbed there, at least for a time? I suspect all of those are true.

What we do know is that Jesus was troubled as went to the garden. He told those closest to Him, but not all of the disciples, that He was deeply saddened. He was struggling as He faced His own death.

He moved away from His closest friends at that point and He fell on His face in that garden and He prayed. "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will." Jesus took His troubles to God, the things with which He struggled in isolation.

He poured out His heart to God, knowing that God would hear Him, knowing that God was with Him whatever the outcome.

My friends, as we sit in isolation this evening, we, too, can pour out our hearts to God and know that He will hear us because He is with us. We can tell Him those things that trouble us and whatever the outcome for us, we will be held securely in the palm of God's hand.

On this Maundy Thursday, may each of us know the peace of God which passes all understanding. Amen.