Still Quarrying 66 - Held.

Before I was discharged from the hospital I had to satisfy the physiotherapist that my muscles were functioning, that I could walk and that I could manage stairs.   I was in no doubt about either of these but it was all part of the care provided.   I couldn’t help coming out with a few funnies around never thinking I would see the day when I needed to be assessed on my ability to climb stairs and the physiotherapist entered into the spirit of things.  But I’m sure she also had experience of Smart Alecs like me who thought there was nothing wrong with them only to find themselves unceremoniously dumped on their butts.   That was why during the whole procedure she stayed close, especially on the stairs. 

Psalm 73 provides a vision of a God who stays close.  The Psalmist is going through a crisis of faith but finds resolution as he joins the worshippers in the sanctuary and celebrates his personal relationship with God:

‘Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.  You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.  Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.’  (verses 23-26)

This stands against those who speak of ‘the God of the Old Testament’, distant, cold, wrathful, judgmental.  Here He is holding His servant by his right hand and guiding him towards a future glowing with His goodness and love.  Along the way this God will supply His servant with all the resources that are needed for every challenge.  ‘You hold me by my right hand.‘  

Later Jesus as the Good Shepherd would say:

‘My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.’  (John 10: 27-29)

When the physiotherapist is putting us through our paces we need to know that her support is there.  God’s Word assures us that every moment we are held by our Heavenly Father.  

Still Quarrying 65 - Extravagant Care.

I suppose the work had to stop from time to time in the Easdale quarries of my ancestors.    Bad weather, accidents, perhaps even the odd labour dispute.  Certainly there hasn’t been much work done in this quarry for the last week or so.   Mainly due to the effects of the chemotherapy which pulled me down quite a bit but then a complication arose which meant I had to spend a few days in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.  Things are fine now.  It just has to be put down to another one of the challenges that have to be gone through.  

The hospital was a new experience.  In and out of hospitals regularly visiting people over the years I have never actually been a resident patient.  From admission to being settled in a room there is of course a procedure that carries you along but there is no doubt that everyone involved does their best to reassure you.  Doctors, nurses, auxiliary staff, porters, physiotherapists, technicians - everyone was patient and had a kind word when it was needed.  The QE may have had its problems in recent days but the quality of care is of a high standard.  

I’m slowly reading through Luke’s Gospel in my daily devotions at present and on Monday reached Chapter 10: 25-37, the story of the traveller who was mugged on the Jerusalem to Jericho road.  Often when I read this I remember a famous sermon of Martin Luther King’s when he homed in on the ‘extravagance’ of the care given by the Samaritan.  His pity was expressed in tending the traveller’s wounds, taking him to an inn, paying for his accommodation and promising to pay more if it were needed.   Too often I have stopped at pity and not moved into the area of practical help that could really make a difference.   But if you are working in a hospital dealing with vulnerable and anxious people then there can be no stopping short.  And that of course is demanding.  From now on my prayers for hospital staff will have the extra fire of personal experience.  

Still Quarrying 64 - Listen and Live!

It’s strange when something you are reading connects with what’s going in in the nation or the world at large.  In Robin Jenkins novel A Would-Be Saint the success of Lendrick Rangers Junior Football Club is generally recognised to be due to the skills of two very different men, Gavin Hamilton and Grunter Houliston.  Gavin is the perfect role-model:

‘He had never been known to utter a bad word on or off the field, he drank nothing more intoxicating than Iron Brew, he did not smoke . . . and he was Superintendent of St Andrew’s Parish Church, Auchengillan.’  

This led some people to wonder if his skill as a footballer was connected to his ‘clean living’.  On the other hand, however, Grunter:

‘ . . . cursed and blasphemed, drank heavily, smoked 40 fags a day, and fornicated with loose women.‘   

This leads the writer to aver:

‘It had to be accepted therefore that there was no necessary connection between a man’s private morals and his public performance, whether as a footballer, a clergyman, or a politician.’  

If you listen to the news or read a newspaper then this will sound familiar.  The latest shadow to fall on Boris Johnson’s private life has led some people to question whether he is morally fit to be Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.  But there is no shortage of people who would argue that nothing that has been revealed about Johnson’s character should disqualify him from high office and many examples of effective Prime Ministers and Presidents have been cited whose private lives have not measured up very well to the highest standards.  

Whatever you feel about this what is beyond doubt is that character was very important to Jesus.  Consider his parable in Luke 8: 16-18:

“No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light.  For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.  Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they think they have will be taken from them.”

His disciples have to recognise that they are called to shine as lights in the midst of their community.  And to remember that in the presence of God they have no private lives.  Nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nothing concealed that will not be brought out into the open.  The way forward to authentic discipleship, to consistency in living according to Jesus’ ways is to listen carefully, to allow the teaching of Jesus to take root in the depths of their being,  to shape their character and make their witness effective.  

It is interesting that this parable is sandwiched between the Parable of the Sower and the story of Jesus‘ mother and brothers coming to see him while he was teaching but unable to get near Him because of the crowds.  The Parable of the Sower speaks of seed that fell on good soil which stands for ‘those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.‘  (Luke 8: 15)   When Jesus is told that his mother and brothers have turned up he says: ‘My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.‘  (Luke 8: 21)

So listening to the Word is of vital importance, that listening that results in lives that are shaped by the Word and can stand up to scrutiny.   How deeply has the Word taken root?  

It may well be that the private lives of sportsmen, actors, singers, politicians do not have a negative effect on their public performance but for the follower of Jesus there is no hiding place.  Sadly the history of the Church is littered with examples of those who performed the Christian life in public but in private were very far from the ways of Jesus.  There is a sense in which none of us is totally consistent in our character.  That’s why it’s important for us to continue to listen carefully and as a consequence live fruitfully.  

Still Quarrying 63 - Solid Rock

When I was minister of Stevenston: Ardeer I often visited members in Crosshouse Hospital.   It was a time when I would regularly bump into colleagues from all over North Ayshire.  One of those was Alex McIlroy who was minister of Darvel Parish Church.  Alex had been brought up in Stevenston and was always interested to hear how things were in the town and with Ardeer in particular.  

I began to notice that I hadn’t seen Alex for a while and was quite shocked to learn that he had been diagnosed with bowel cancer and was facing major surgery.   I was able to visit him when he was recovering and celebrated with him and his wife Tina when the surgery was deemed to be successful.  However, the experience had taken so much out of him that he decided to retire early on health grounds.   That brought him back to Stevenston and he and Tina became members of Ardeer.  

I remember many of Alex’s stories but one in particular has stuck.  He told me that after his surgery he awoke in the recovery room and everything was dark.  He had a moment of panic.  Where was he?  What had happened?  Had he died and this was it?  He said: ‘It was then the words of a hymn came into my head - and it’s not even a hymn I like: “When darkness seems to veil his face,/I rest on his unchanging grace . . .’  

The hymn is ‘My hope is built on nothing less’ written by Edward Mote in the early nineteenth century.  It was left out of the latest revision of the Church of Scotland hymnary and it could be argued that the language is very much of its time.  But reading it again it’s not totally beyond comprehension and I for one am grateful for the opportunity to state in the words of the refrain:

‘On Christ the solid rock I stand

 All other ground is sinking sand.’

And there are surely times for us all when we can connect with the final words of verse 3:

‘When all around my soul gives way,

 He then is all my hope and stay.’

There aren’t too many hymns that acknowledge that sometimes the darkness of human experience seems to veil the face of God and that sometimes we experience the collapse of our inner life.  But these are realities for us which require us to gather everything we know about our God.  And what we know about our God has been revealed supremely in the life and ministry of Jesus.   There are times when we cannot be led by feelings however powerful they may be.  We need to stand on what is true.  Jesus has made it possible for sins to be forgiven.  Jesus has promised His Spirit to those who trust Him.  Jesus has prepared a place for all His people in His Eternal Kingdom. 

‘On Christ the solid rock I stand

 All other ground is sinking sand.’

Still Quarrying 62 - Tired And Wired

‘Tired and Wired.’  That was my response to the nurse’s question.  I said it might be a good title for this chapter in my life.  She laughed and said it was a good description of the chemo experience.   I’ve read so many descriptions in the last three months or so and they all struggle to nail it.   For me the big thing is the physical fatigue that makes you think twice about the shortest walk co-existing with the constant buzzing in your head that takes your thoughts in all directions.  At least there is the reassurance that this is not normal, that it is drug induced, that this is the way to better health, and it is working.  

At a deeper level, while this is going on, it’s good to focus on a verse or verses of Scripture  that point to the presence of God in the midst of every circumstance, dark or bright, pleasing or painful,  happy or sad.   The Psalms bear witness to this and are a constant source of strength.  Just this morning I read the powerful Psalm 51 which is associated with David’s response to being confronted with his adultery with Bathsheba.  Overwhelmed by his sense of failure he prays:

‘Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.’  (v. 10-12)

Despite the consequences of his sin and his inner turmoil David is assured that God is present and He is the source of renewal and restoration.    

Max Lucado once turned his quirky perspective on the story of Jesus calming a storm.  You can find it in Mark 4: 35-41.  Remember, Jesus and his disciples are sailing across a lake and a ‘furious squall’ blows up.  Things are not looking good, the boat is in danger of being swamped, the disciples are panicking and, remarkably,  Jesus is sleeping in the stern.  ‘Don’t you care if we drown?’ scream the disciples.   Jesus responds by speaking to the elements!  He rebukes the wind and says to the waves: ‘Quiet! Be still!‘   ‘Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.’  

It’s what Jesus says to the disciples that burns itself into the mind: ‘Why are you so afraid?  Do you still have no faith?‘   More than anything Jesus called men and women to trust Him for who He is.  In their moment of fear the disciples see Him as one who does not care.  They need to grow in their knowledge and experience.   They are getting there when they ask ‘ Who is this?  Even the wind and waves obey him!‘   

In the end, what I am faced with is God in the midst of storm, fear, panic, disorientation.   Maybe I don’t feel it but this is the truth that can keep my spiritual equilibrium.

Here’s Max:

‘Christ-followers  contract malaria, bury children, and battle addiction, and as a result, face fears.  It’s not the absence of storms that sets us apart.  It’s whom we discover in the storm: an unstirred Christ.’  

Still Quarrying 61 - Rubbish!

The nurse said to me: ‘How are you feeling?  Rubbish?’  That’s how many people describe the chemotherapy experience.  Rubbish.  Something you don’t want, something to be discarded, something you want to be distant from.  Most of what I am experiencing I thought I was prepared for but it’s one thing to hold it in your head and quite another to actually live it.  I long ago came to the realisation that the Christian response is not just to grit your teeth and get on with it which is just as well because there are days when I feel I don’t have the strength to grit my teeth.  But that is not a bad thing because it’s then that I am driven to follow the example of the Psalmist in one of his darkest days when he prays:

‘Let your face shine on your servant;

 save me in your unfailing love.‘    (Psalm 31: 16)

He wasn’t just winding up all his natural resources but turning to the God he knows for his strength and his sense of purpose.  David was a strong man but there were times when he was brought to the end of himself and realised that the strength he needed could only be found in the God he knew.  That has to be the direction all believers must take.  If God has come to us in Jesus, lived our life, dealt with our sin, defeated the power of death and promised His Spirit in every circumstance - then the way forward is to keep our lives firmly oriented towards this God.  To make David’s prayer our own:

‘Let your face shine on your servant;

 save me in your unfailing love.‘  

It may not always work in the sense that power and peace surges in but while I am being still, meditating on the Word, enjoying the fellowship of friends I am reminded of the unfailing love that surrounds me however rubbish I may be feeling.  

Still Quarrying 60 - Yellow

The thing is

Yellow is not my favourite colour,

Despite the magic Vincent drew out of it.

But in the Beatson it’s everywhere,

In the shop t-shirts, mugs, pens, badges.

Yellow.

Not to mention the decor.

But then someone wrote:

‘Yellow is the brightest colour of the visible spectrum, and is the most noticeable of all colours by the human eye.  It means happiness and optimism; it is the colour of the sun shining, or bright light or creativity.’

I get it Vincent.