Still Quarrying 150: Back To Different.

It was when the National Lottery was introduced and the Church of Scotland’s Board of Social Responsibility was discussing gambling at one of its conferences.   I pointed out that since the War there had been a succession of reports to the General Assembly opposing gambling in principle.  One young buck chimed up: ‘What war was that?’  Cue much laughter.  If he was trying to make me feel old he succeeded.  

But there is a serious point here.  For most people of my generation there was only one ‘War’.  Our parents served in it or at least lived through it.  They had memories of friends and relatives who had suffered or died.  And it became a big element in the consciousness of those who came after them.  My father rarely spoke of his experiences in the Royal Navy but the War was in the books and comics I read and in the movies I watched.  War heroes were held up to us in Church and school as role models.   So for me it will always be the War and why I appreciate times of commemoration like today.  It’s an opportunity for grateful remembrance but also for wholehearted commitment to work and pray for peace.

Much has been written about the effects of the war on the British people, leading some commentators to speak of ‘The Greatest Generation.’  Others have respectfully offered some caveats but no one could deny that six years of austerity, danger and loss can shape a people in some way.  Perhaps not everyone came through it well but it was a time when many were challenged as to future priorities and aspirations.  

Endless comparisons have been made between the War experience and what we are going through now.  A few voices are cautioning us not to push this too far.  But there is surely no doubt that there has never been a time since the War when the UK as a whole has been under such pressure at so many levels from a single source.   What will be the effect upon us?

An American comedian Alex Watt wrote and article for a recent New Yorker magazine entitled ‘When This Is All Over.’  It’s one of those light hearted pieces that makes serious points.  Here is his opening paragraph:

‘When this is all over, I will never turn down an invitation to a party.  Not that I get many, but, hey, maybe that will change when everything is back to normal.  Well, not normal.  Back to different?  The new normal I guess.’  

He has certainly got something right.  When this is all over it will be ‘back to different’.  The interesting thing throughout the article, however, is how he sees himself changed.  Some of it is frivolous and good for a laugh but the message is he cannot avoid being changed by this experience.  

His final words:

‘When this is all over, I will appreciate everything . . . the little things.’  

We will be changed.  No doubt about that.  But what kind of ‘changed’?  Getting back to that man Paul again.  He did not just speak about the possibility of men and women being changed, he spoke about men and women becoming a ‘new creation.‘   In 2 Corinthians 4: 6 he takes us back to the dawn of Creation when God said: ‘Let there be light.’  He sees the follower of Jesus as someone who has received this light in their hearts in order to see the revelation of God in Jesus.   This is as much an act of Creation as that which brought about the Creation of the Universe.  Something new has happened in the inner life of the believer, a new relationship with God and the blessings that flow from that, not least the  possibility  of transformation in their lives.  It is on this basis that Paul can say:

‘If anyone is in Christ they are a new creation.’  (2 Corinthians 5: 17)

There will inevitably be many visions of what the future holds post-Covid-19, many of them hinging on political change.  What must not be forgotten is that vision that comes from the promise of the Lord Jesus.  It reveals the purpose of God through the whole of human history, what might be called the Great Project.  Jesus said:

‘I will build my church and the gates of Hell will not overcome it.‘  (Matthew 16: 18)

We’ve been singing about this for decades.  Sometimes we get carried along by a tune without reflecting on the words.  But Julia Ward Howe has entered into the purpose of God in ‘Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord’ when she has us sing: ‘His truth is marching on . . . Our God is marching on.‘   As Paul might put it the labour pains are now being experienced throughout this ‘old and weary earth’ but a New Creation is coming in which a new humanity will dwell.

In a recent press briefing Andrew Cuomo, governor of New York, said: ‘The bad news isn’t just bad.  The bad news is actually terrible.’  The followers of Jesus may have said something like this on Good Friday.  But Easter was coming.  

Still Quarrying 149: A Made Day.

‘This is the day the Lord has made;

 let us rejoice and be glad in it.’  (Psalm 118: 24)

This is one of those Scripture verses that readily comes to mind,  very likely borne along by the tune of the popular hymn it inspired.  It’s a verse that we we would love to have on our lips every morning when we wake up, a wholehearted thanksgiving for a new day in the Lord’s service.  If you don’t always feel that way then I am glad I am not alone.  It’s not always easy to say it and mean it.  At the time, however, it was easy for the Psalmist.  It’s not clear what were the actual circumstances but it was a time of national celebration for deliverance from an enemy.  We read of ‘shouts of joy and victory’ resounding ‘in the tents of the righteous.’ (v. 15)  And there is repeated acknowledgement of God’s goodness and the endurance of His love.  (v.1 and v. 29)

So how does this apply to me today? I wake up to my own personal challenges but also to a world in lockdown, people unable to work, disrupted education, families and friends rendered untouchable.  And this is apart from those who face another day of sickness or the heartache of bereavement.   ‘Let us rejoice and be glad in it’?   That could sound in many ears as a whistling in the dark.  How is it possible to sustain that attitude to life in these Covid-19 days?

Let’s be clear, this does not involve facing the world with pasted on smiles and manufactured jollity.  That is shallow and in the end just gets on people’s nerves.  We need to go deeper, to connect with the heart of the faith which speaks of a victory we can celebrate every day.  In that great Chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians Paul works out the implications of Jesus’ Resurrection.  He looks forward to that time when:

“ . . . the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”  “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”’ (verse 54-55)

This is the destiny of the new humanity of which Jesus is the prototype.  A humanity no longer disturbed by sin and terrorised by death.  A humanity destined to share in the victory of Jesus.  No matter what our personal circumstances or the condition of the world in general that great purpose is unfolding.  That is surely the prospect Jesus is opening up to His disciples the night before His death:

‘Do not let your hearts be troubled.  Trust in God; trust also in me.  In my father’s house there are many rooms.  If it were not so, I would have told you.  I am going there to prepare a lace for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.’  (John 14: 1-3)

In this darkest of all moments in the history of humankind the Son of God stands with His promise.  A promise which will be confirmed by His victory over death.

This is what carried the early followers of Jesus through their worst of times.  They were part of a community which knew the reality of the Resurrection and the blessings that flowed from it: the eternal presence of Jesus, the forgiveness of sins, life beyond the grave and the fulfilment of the Kingdom of God.  It is a mixture of present and future blessings which enabled them to say with the dawning of every new day: 

‘This is the day the Lord has made;

 let us rejoice and be glad in it.’ 

Still Quarrying 148: Weak But Strong.

It’s a familiar story in the lives of men born in the early decades of the twentieth century.  They were making their way in their chosen occupations or studies and then the War broke in and a whole new experience of life began.  This is much in the national consciousness again with the forthcoming commemoration of VE Day.  Nothing should prevent us being caught up in the joyful images of that day especially in these times in which we are living.  We will inevitably find encouragement in the story of a people liberated from years of restriction and danger.  It should not be forgotten, however, that the War left physical and mental scars in some men which they carried for the rest of their lives.   Life after victory was still a struggle.

Alistair Urquart’s book  The Forgotten Highlander tells his story of his capture by the Japanese in 1942 and the three years of living Hell as a slave working on the construction of the Burma Railway.  It was an eighteen hour day punctuated by starvation, disease and torture.  He returned to Scotland broken in mind, spirit and body.  He suffered nightmares, claustrophobia, depression as well as a variety of physical problems.  Despite finding a way forward with a good job and a happy family life he speaks in the last paragraph of his book of the ‘ghosts’ that remained with him.  Speaking by nickname of the worst of the guards on the railway he writes:

‘The cruel faces of the Black Prince, Dr Death and the Mad Mongrel have stalked my dreams for more than six decades now.  And in my thoughts and prayers I will never forget the faces of all those young men who died looking like old men, those prisoners who endured terrible deaths in a distant land.’  

There cannot be much doubt that  Paul carried physical and psychological scars throughout his life as an apostle and an evangelist.  Scattered throughout his letters are references to his sufferings in a field of service he often likened to warfare.  It was a spiritual battle but in its way just as demanding as the real thing.  You can read about his experiences in some detail in 2 Corinthians 11: 16-30.  Imprisonment, physical attack, varieties of torture, near death experiences from exposure,  deprivation of sleep and food.   These are just a few of the sufferings he had to endure.   Any one of which could lead to what nowadays would be classified as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.   And the question arises, how can you carry on under the accumulated weight of experiences like this?

Astonishingly Paul believed that all of his traumatic experiences fed into his work as an evangelist and made him more effective.  It’s worth reading how he works this out in 2 Corinthians 4: 7-12.  Speaking of the Gospel that had been revealed to him he says:

‘But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.  We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;  persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.  We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.  For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body.  So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.’

The pressures he has experienced have stripped him of all his natural resources.   But what is left is his reliance on the ‘all-surpassing power’ of God.   It is in this power that he preached the Gospel that brought life to others.  

Let’s be clear that this was not a psychological trick.  We are all familiar with slogans like ‘No Pain No Gain’ and ‘What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Strong.’  There may be some truth in these at a physical or psychological level.  But Paul is going deeper.  He knew that winding up your natural resources of physical toughness and mental resilience was not the way forward for a Christian evangelist.  In 2 Corinthians 4 he goes on to speak of his faith in the resurrection of Jesus.  It is because of this and the power revealed in it that grace ‘is reaching more and more people’ through his ministry.  In a way he is saying that his personal weakness is giving the Holy Spirit the opportunity to make his preaching effective and to bring more people to faith in Christ.  

No one in their right mind would wish Paul’s experiences in their lives.  But it is a comfort to know that when negativity breaks into our lives we are not diminished as disciples of Christ and may in fact be made more powerful in His Spirit.  

Still Quarrying 147: Walking The Path.

Walking around the garden is part of my daily exercise.  Vanity will out of course and you’ll forgive me for saying there are other things I do to keep ticking over.  But I noticed a while ago that I was beginning to wear a path through the grass in our back area.  It’s my path.  No one has travelled this way so frequently in recent days.  Which is a bit like our life’s experience.  We may go through similar ups and downs to many others but no one has experienced them quite like you or me.  Someone once said: ‘God doesn’t make carbon copies.‘  That was before the days of photocopies and computer print outs but you get the idea.  We are all unique individuals.  There has been no one like you in the history of humankind.  

And yet it can be comforting and encouraging to know that others and their experiences have beaten a path before you and have done so with faith in the God revealed by Jesus.  I consider my myeloma experience has been made easier in knowing that others have been here before me, have come through it, and are doing well.  It has been a particular blessing keeping company with Father Pat Currie of St Joseph’s himself a myeloma sufferer whose cheerfulness and faith have been an encouragement.   It’s good to know you are not entirely on your own.  

That is surely what the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews had in mind when he wrote to a number of Christian communities under pressure.  He reminded them of those who had beaten the path of faith before them.  He describes faith as ‘being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.’  (Hebrews 11: 1)  And then he provides what has been described as a ‘roll of honour’ of those who have embodied this faith.  He refers to them as ‘a great cloud of witnesses’ who stand as an encouragement to all Christians as they seek to live faithful lives, ‘to run with perseverance the race marked out for us.’  (Hebrews 12: 1)  But then he shows how this is done by pointing to Jesus, the greatest encourager of all, ‘the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.’  (Hebrews 12: 2)  Then the call to perseverance and the One in whom this can be maintained:

‘Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.’  (Hebrews 12: 3)

He has walked our way before us, beaten a path where pain and death were known and yet in the end were overcome by the power of His resurrection.

Perseverance is not just gritting your teeth and ‘getting on with it.’  It may seem like that many a time but what makes the difference for believers is the awareness of those who have travelled this way before us and trusted in the promises of God.  And even greater than that is the knowledge that Jesus has travelled this way, that ‘he was tempted/tested in every way, just as we are’ and has enabled us to ‘find grace to help us in our time of need.’  (Hebrews 4: 15-16)

Still Quarrying 146: Getting Back.

News today that many churches in Germany were open for worship although with restrictions.  Worshippers will have to wear masks, social distancing will be respected and there will be no singing for fear the virus will be spread.  Floor markings will be in place for those congregations whose tradition is to go forward for Communion.  I’m not sure how the bread and wine will be dispensed hygienically but no doubt that too has been thought out.  

It makes you wonder what it will be like when we get back.  I’m sure many of us will have cherished a joyful surge back to the buildings we love but I can’t see that without some restrictions.  And that will inevitably cause some people to hesitate.  

It may yet be a while before we are back to what we recognise as ‘normal’.  Mind you the message I am hearing from many Christian broadcasts is that that is the last thing we want.  We must pray that what we are learning and experiencing in this time of lockdown will be carried into the future and we will meet a changed world as a changed people.  I don’t disagree with this.  Thinking about the Church in general there was much about our ‘normal’ that was good.  The Gospel was preached, we had fellowship, we had projects, there was caring and mission.  But perhaps we had become too comfortable with it all.  Now something has happened to us, catastrophic for some let us not forget, but an opportunity not just to patch up what we have left but to rebuild.  

The original plans for the present building of Milngavie: St Paul’s contained a tower.   That didn’t happen due to lack of funds.  So in an architectural sense it is an unfinished project.  Not a bad thing for a church building to be because the Church which Jesus has promised to build will always be unfinished this side of eternity.  We are called to be the Church in our time and in a particular place and that means always being on a stretch to tell the story of Jesus and to share His love with those in need.  A task that is always unfinished but must be carried through whatever our circumstances.  

When we get through these Covid-19 days we will find a changed world.  I am not sure what Church life will be like but if we use this time to pray and to meditate on God’s Word then the Holy Spirit has an opportunity to change us and to prepare us for the challenges ahead.  Paul calls on those who live by the Spirit to ‘keep in step with the Spirit.’  (Galatians 5: 25) It is His vision to lead a changed people to engage with a changed world.  

Still Quarrying 145: The View From The Gate.

I am not permitted to stray much beyond the garden gate so my perspective on the world is limited.  Even so it is clear that traffic flow and footfall are both increasing.   In a roughly ten minute period the other day at least six cars went up Buchanan St (the Milngavie one) which would be about normal pre-Covid-19.  I can also see patches of Station Road and Strathblane Road and traffic would seem to be more frequent over the past week.  

Groups of people are wandering around.  Some obviously families out for their daily stroll but there is at least one group of about six who regularly gather for a jog.  Ever anxious to cut people as much slack as possible, it is possible that they all live in the same house.  Somehow I doubt it.  

I suppose it is understandable that people are becoming restless even impatient with the lockdown, especially in this period of fine weather.  I’m sure I am not the only one who has had a flash of some place it would be nice to go.  But the message still going out from government as advised by scientists is: ‘Stay At Home.  Protect The NHS. Save Lives.’  

Rev Richard Coles is probably the most high profile clergyman in the UK.  He co-hosts the weekly radio programme Saturday Live and has even participated in Strictly Come Dancing.  He was on the Today programme this morning paying tribute to his sister-in-law who died on Wednesday.  She had been diagnosed with cancer at the turn of the year and then fell victim to Covid-19.  In a restrained but pointed way he was critical of the complacency beginning to be shown by some people during this time.  He mentioned one man who told him that he was rather enjoying the lockdown.  ‘It’s like an extended bank holiday weekend,’ he said.  

We are all seeking to make the best of this time and no one should be denied any enjoyment that might be found despite the circumstances.  But complacency and carelessness could rub out all the advances that have been made against Covid-19.   I am making my way slowly through Charles Dickens’ Bleak House at present.  One of the many characters is Matthew Bagney, an ex-soldier, whose watchword in every aspect of life is: ‘Discipline must be maintained.’  That may resonate negatively for some people but is there any other way forward in these days?

When I received the nine page letter from the Scottish Government advising me that I was  in a vulnerable group and had to observe total lockdown I must admit there was something within me that resisted.  Not allowed out even for one walk?  Come on!  But then came the call from my local Surgery and the sensitive but firm insistence that non-observance of the restrictions could put my life and those of others at risk.  

It’s not an attractive word.  I’m sure someone has found a softer word or phrase but it hasn’t reached me.  It is all about ‘discipline’.   And like everything else it begins within us.  The Apostle Paul saw himself in a spiritual battle against the values of the ‘world.’  By that he meant the world without Christ.  His mission was to ‘demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God.’  (2 Corinthians 10: 5)  The crucial step in achieving this  was ‘to take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.’  In other words, every idea had to be measured against the truths revealed in Christ and accepted or rejected accordingly.  

It’s that kind of inner discipline that we all need to practise in these days.  Not everyone acknowledges the authority of Christ over their thought processes but the call to establish the welfare of others as our priority is often heard in His teaching and that of His closest followers.  So I see adherence to government guidelines with regard to Covid-19 as part of my Christian discipleship.  In fact, ‘discipline’ and ‘discipleship’ come from the same Latin root.  ‘Discipulus’ means ‘someone who learns’.  What an indictment on a generation if it was said that it just would not learn.  

Still Quarrying 144: Change Comin' On?

Petula Clark, Sandie Shaw, Helen Shapiro, Jackie Trent.  I hope you remember them then I won’t feel so old!  They were all brought together on Radio 4 in 2012 for an episode of the Reunion series to share their experiences as 1960s girl singers.  The programme was repeated this morning.

Inevitably it was something of a nostalgia trip.  I could remember most of the songs featured and some of the events that shaped individual careers.  Interestingly, Petula Clark was the only one still recording and performing.  Sandie Shaw is a psychotherapist, Jackie Trent is now dead but at the time was involved in writing and production.  Helen Shapiro spoke about a complete turn-around in her life.  She said: ‘In 1987 I became a believer in Jesus and that changed everything.’  I don’t know the whole story but since she was raised in the Jewish faith it would be worth hearing.  She now records Gospel songs and is involved in a range of Christian work. 

I suppose it was the simplicity of her words that grabbed me and yet they encapsulate one of the great truths of the Christian faith.  ‘In 1987 I became a believer in Jesus and that changed everything.’  That doesn’t mean that a particular conversion experience is necessary but it does highlight the dynamic of faith in Jesus.  It involves change in the life of the individual.  

Wesley’s hymn ‘Love divine all loves excelling’ is often sung at weddings but it’s not about romantic love.  It concerns the love that all followers of Jesus are called to practice and which is only possible through the grace of God.  The last verse is a powerful plea:

‘Finish then thy new creation:

 Pure and spotless let us be;

 Let us see thy great salvation,

 Perfectly restored in thee,

 Change from glory into glory,

 Till in heaven we take our place,

 Till we cast our crowns before thee,

 Lost in wonder, love and praise.’  

I once made reference to that in a sermon and how it is God’s great purpose for our lives that we should be changed according to the pattern of Jesus’ life, a process that will only be complete when ‘in heaven we take our place.‘   A lady said to me afterwards: ‘I’ve been singing that hymn for over 70 years and didn’t know what it meant.’  I’m sure she is not alone in that.  How many hymns have we cheerfully sung whose meaning escapes us?   But Wesley’s point is one we need to grasp.  Faith in Jesus means being open to the changes God wants to make in us in order to bring glory to His Son.  

In his book Prayer: A Biblical Perspective Eric Alexander comments on Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian Christians that they will know ‘(God’s) incomparably great power for us who believe.  That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, not only in the present age, but also in the one to come.’  (Ephesians 1: 19-21)

Eric writes:

‘Do you see now why the literal, physical resurrection of Jesus lies at the heart of the Christian revelation?  It is here above everywhere that we see God’s demonstration of his incomparable power.  It is here too that we see what has happened to us who have believed: the same divine energy which brought Christ from the grave has been at work in us when we were ‘dead in trespasses and sins’ to make us alive in Christ.  Beloved, we have not just been convinced of gospel truth, won over by gospel love, and drawn to repentance and faith by gospel grace.  We have been resurrected by gospel power to become new creatures in Christ Jesus.’  (Italics mine.) 

Bob Dylan has a song ‘I Feel A Change Comin’ On’.  In these days of Covid-19 many people are having feelings that way.  At so many different levels life has changed and will never be the same again.  But how far, how deeply will people be changed for the better? Faith in Jesus offers a completely new orientation to life.  You cannot experience anything more radical than the resurrection power that changes ‘from glory into glory/Till in heaven we take our place.‘   Pray for a new people for a new world.