Still Quarrying 143: The Quarry?

The title of this blog was inspired by an Elder in St Paul’s who was brought up on the Isle of Harris.   Angus had an uncle who when he was particularly moved by the preaching on the Lord’s Day used to say: ‘Aye the minister was a long time in the quarry last night.’  

I loved that image of the man in his study chipping away at the Scriptures to bring forward a Word for his people.  Even more so when I discovered that I am descended from at least three generations of slate quarriers on Easdale Island.  There was a time when Easdale slate was exported to Scandinavia, Canada, the United States, New Zealand and Australia.   Mary Withall has written a book entitled: Easdale, Belnahua, Luing & Seil: The Islands that Roofed The World. That is really no exaggeration.  

I have a chisel on the wall of my study which was found in one of the now redundant Easdale quarries.  I call it my Grandfather's Chisel and although there is a degree of poetic license in that it is a reminder to me of my heritage.  It is a reminder, also, of the nature of my work.  

The American poet Archibald MacLeish once spoke of the process whereby he produced a poem:

'I chip away like a stonemason who has got it into his head that there is a pigeon in that block of marble.  But there's a delight in the chipping.  At least there's a delight when your hunch that the pigeon in there is stronger than you are carries you along.'  

That's not unlike bringing a sermon to life.  You come to the work in the faith that there is something in that passage or text that is stronger than you and once you have connected with that Word it carries you along to that moment when you deliver it to God's people.  

So when I am getting ready for the Lord’s Day I am ‘in the quarry’.  

But according to Joni Eareckson I have been in the quarry in another sense.  I wrote about this in yesterday’s blog.   In a conference talk she made reference to 1 Kings 6: 7 and how the stones for Solomon’s Temple were ‘dressed’ in a quarry:  ‘. . .  no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being used.‘   Joni took the quarry to be our present experience where we sometimes have to endure the hammer and the chisel in order to be worthy of the peace of the Kingdom.  The times of battering and chipping away although heartbreaking can be the very ones that shape us and mould us according to the pattern of Jesus’ life.  

Joni would say I have been in the quarry in that sense over the last year.  There is a sense in which Covid-19 has placed us all in the quarry.  Part of our response as Christians must surely be that quarry time is not wasted time and that God is working in our lives to draw us closer to Him and establish us more firmly in His ways.   George Macleod wrote this prayer:

‘O Christ, the Master Carpenter,

 who at the last through wood and nails purchased our whole salvation;

 wield well your tools in the workshop of your world,

 so that we who come rough-hewn to your work bench may here be fashioned to a truer  beauty of your hand.’  

Still Quarrying 142: The Quarry And The Temple.

If during Holy Week you were following the events of Jesus’ last week on Earth you may have been struck by how often the Temple features.  According to the traditional chronology Jesus visited it on Palm Sunday, ‘cleansed’ it on Monday and frequently taught there probably until Thursday.  There cannot be any doubt that despite the way it had been neglected and misused Jesus held the Temple in high regard.  It symbolized God’s presence in the midst of His people; it spoke of His forgiveness through the sacrificial system; it called upon the people to give thanks expressed in ritual for His blessings.

When originally built by Solomon the Temple was an impressive place.  In 1 Kings 6 you can read the detailed instructions that had to be followed which included much gold ornamentation.  It’s one of those passages of Scripture that could make your eyes glaze over in face of all the detail given.  Reading it recently I asked myself how I could preach this!  Well, you could focus on verse 7:

‘In building the Temple only blocks dressed at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being used.’ 

There has been some scholarly ink spilled over this.  What was the reason for this strategy?  Many interesting suggestions have been put forward but the question still remains for the preacher as to how this can be applied to the lives of believers.  

I recently heard Joni Eareckson refer to this verse in a talk she gave at a conference.  She took the quarry to be our present experience and the Temple as the eternal Kingdom of God.  The Temple is often used by the apostles as a symbol of the people of God now and what we will be in eternity, a fulfillment of everything the temple symbolized.  Joni’s point was that when we are in the quarry we have to put up with the hammer and the chisel in order to be worthy of the peace of the Kingdom.  It is through those experiences that batter and dig that we are shaped and moulded according to the pattern of Jesus’ life.

(It has just occurred to me that with this in mind the title of the blog takes on a whole new meaning!  But maybe I’ll get back to that . . .)

Joni’s take on 1 Kings 6: 7 resonated in me because over the past year I have been taken down that road of thought, sometimes encouraged, sometimes perplexed.  And often I have returned to John 15 where Jesus speaks of Himself as the vine, his people as the branches and His Father as the gardener.  Like any gardener the Father cuts off any branch that bears  no fruit ‘while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.’  (John 15: 2)  

In case you missed it this is God with a pruning knife cutting into a fruitful life to make it even more fruitful.   That may be a disturbing image for some but something like it has become common in much Covid-19 talk.  Without any reference to God hopes have been expressed, and sometimes confident predictions made that these strange and bewildering days will make a positive impact on us to the extent that we will become a more caring people, more ecologically sensitive, more appreciative of the necessities of life rather than the luxuries.  So the pain, the isolation, the bereavement, the frustration can work for our good?  

This is another example of how Christian truth is being discovered although not necessarily by an expected route.

I mentioned Albert Camus’ The Plague in an earlier blog.  At the beginning of the novel he describes the people of Oran before they were overwhelmed by the virus:

‘The people of our town were no more guilty than anyone else, they merely forgot to be modest and thought that everything was still possible for them, which implied that pestilence was impossible.  They continued with business, with making arrangements for travel and holding opinions.  Why should they have thought about the plague, which negates the future, negates journeys and debate?  They considered themselves free and no one will ever be free as long as there is plague, pestilence and famine.’  

In other words, they were a people who had lessons to learn, insight to gain, priorities to establish - and the plague was their opportunity.  Camus would not describe himself as a committed Christian but this is not far from a Christian perspective.  In the suffering of the moment an opportunity had fallen to the people of Oran to make changes.  What does a Christian do with these Covid-19 days?  Perhaps what God does with us is more important.  Quality time in the quarry can mean quality time in the Temple.  

Still Quarrying 141: Twin Poles.

The world I saw this morning was once again bright and quiet and peaceful.  Opening the door there are the sights and sounds of a soothing Creation.   It’s not easy to imagine the very different reality for so many people in these Covid-19 days.  The distress and discomfort of the sick; the nagging emptiness of the bereaved; the resource sapping efforts of carers.  But this is our world and the world as it has always been.  I read somewhere that human life is a constant vibration between positive and negative poles.  This may be the truth that the writer of Ecclesiastes was expressing when he wrote:

‘There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:  a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,  a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,  a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,  a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,  a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,  a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.’  (Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8)

Human experience is complicated.  The positive extinguished by the negative.  The negative giving way to the positive.  But I remember that it is this perplexing life that Jesus has shared with us.  He lived this life where there is mourning as well as celebration.  He was excited when people showed insight and understanding and he was troubled by their lack of love.  He rejoiced in the life of the world around him and wept over the destruction of death.   But it didn’t end there.  Life was not just what is seen, heard, touched and experienced whether positive or negative.  He showed in His resurrection that the worst in human experience had no ultimate claim over us.  The days of sin and death were numbered.  God had plans for a Creation evacuated of everything that had ever caused His people pain.  A New Creation where a new humanity would live in the freshness and peace we can for the moment only taste.  

The night before His worst of experiences Jesus said to His disciples:

‘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 to prepare a place for you.’  (John 14: 1-2)

Still Quarrying 140: Key To Faith.

I am not permitted to stray beyond the bounds of the garden but from time to time I stand at the gate taking in the deserted street and listening to the birdsong.   The other week I noticed a rusty key lying on the pavement nearby.  It was still there this morning.  I don’t think it is any great loss to anyone.  It looks like it may have unlocked a case or an untrustworthy padlock. 

It made me think of that episode in John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress when Christian and his companion Hopeful are taken captive by Giant Despair and locked in a dungeon in his Doubting Castle.  They endure quite a time of inner darkness with Giant Despair pressurising them to deny their faith and even to do away with themselves.  Then after a time of prayer Christian remembers that he possesses a key called ‘Promise’ that will open any lock in Doubting Castle.  Encouraged to use it by Hopeful the dungeon door and all the other doors in Doubting Castle fly open.  

It’s allegory of course, a way of describing the darkness that sometimes falls on a Christian’s inner life to the extent that they might even begin to doubt God and His ways.  It might seem a bit weak that Christian possessed the answer to his problem all through his experience.  All he had to do was remember?  But that is the point.  Bunyan was well aware that the way out of all our inner darkness, the key to once again enjoying the light is to remember the promises of God.  Too often they seem to have departed from our consciousness and yet they are the key to growing in faith.  

‘God is our refuge and our strength, an ever present help in time of trouble.’  (Psalm 46: 1)

That is a promise.

‘I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’  (Matthew 28: 20)

That is a promise.

‘We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.’  (Romans 8: 28)

That is a promise.

‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.’  (1 John 1: 9)

That is a promise.

‘I am the resurrection and the life.  If anyone has faith in me even though they die they will come to life.  And no one who is alive and has faith in me will ever die.’  (John 11: 25-26.)

That is a promise.

Whenever you find them in Scripture, these promises, memorise them, plant them in your inner being so that they will bloom in your time of need.  

Alexander Whyte was a prominent figure in the Free Church of Scotland in the late 19th century and early 20th century.  When he would visit the sick and dying he would read the promises in Scripture with regard to God’s help in the present and the hope of the life to come.  He would often finish with saying: ‘Now put that under your tongue and suck it like a sweetie.’  

We need to do this with the promises.  Let them dissolve into our inner being until they become part of our spiritual DNA.   Ready whenever we fall into the clutches of Giant Despair and know the darkness of his dungeon to be our strength and peace.

Still Quarrying 139: Self Portrait.

I’ve sometimes wondered what lies behind the self-portrait.  Many accomplished artists have produced them and the knee-jerk reaction is to put it down to egotism.  You would only really paint a portrait of someone you regard as being significant in some way so ‘Here I am!’  That may be the case with some but for most artists it’s an exercise in self-understanding, a way into the depths that shape the person.  If we are honest we are all a bit of a mystery to ourselves, so many contradictions, flashes of heaven, shadows of hell.  If you have the gift then self-portrait is a way of seeing yourself, even confronting yourself, getting in touch with those motivations that produce the good or the bad.  

I’m sure that was what Vincent Van Gogh was doing in his self-portraits.  It is thought that he produced 39 in his lifetime which places him among the most prolific self-portraitists of all time.  That may suggest a high degree of self-obsession but it is understandable in a man who had many struggles in his inner life, mental and spiritual, at times was out of control but longed for peace.  Was self-portrait a means of getting a grip on his life?

One of my favourites is ‘Self-Portrait As Painter’ which you can see above.  This is the way Vincent liked to think of himself, creating, bringing something out of nothing, involved in the one thing that gave him a sense of peace.   That becomes all the more significant when you are told that it was painted at a time of physical and mental exhaustion.   He explained this in a letter to his sister and how he deliberately shows himself with ‘wrinkles in forehead and around the mouth, stiffly wooden, a very red beard, quite unkempt and sad.’  

It’s the eyes that strike me, almost black with just some points of light.  Is this something to do with the maxim that the eyes are the window to the soul?  Vincent was raised in a Christian home, he studied theology, he was a missionary for a time in a mining district in Southern Belgium.  He would know the words of Jesus:

 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy,your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eyes are unhealthy,your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”  (Matthew 6: 22-23)

What Jesus is talking about here is our spiritual orientation.  We sometimes speak of people’s eyes being ‘full’ of the things they want most of all.  These words of Jesus are bookended by teaching on the danger of eyes being full of material things and money.  If that is the case, if that is the orientation of our inner being, then we are in darkness.   I am not sure that this was specifically the darkness Vincent knew within himself but he knew what it was to experience spiritual disorientation, to have his eyes stray from God’s truth and God’s ways.  At a time of vulnerability on several different levels the self-portrait has to show his awareness of the darkness within.

I find myself hoping that Vincent had someone who could assure him that this was a common experience of the great men and women in Scripture.  People who experienced the reality of God but also struggled with the fragility of their humanity, the tendencies    that drew them away from God.  Why else would David pray:

‘Teach me your way, O Lord,

 and I will walk in your truth;

 give me an undivided heart,

 that I may fear your name.’  (Psalm 86: 11)

David is described as ‘a man after (God’s) own heart’ (1 Samuel 13: 14) and yet he was aware of his own vulnerability, that he constantly needed God’s truth to maintain an ‘undivided heart’,  a sound spiritual orientation, a life as Jesus was to say ‘full of light.’  

Still Quarrying 138: New Creation.

Walking out this morning, tasting the fresh air, hearing the birds flutter, feeling the warmth of the sun.  There is so much to appreciate even in these anxious and uncertain days.  That thought continued when I heard Frank Gardner on the wireless.  I have a lot of time for him.  I would not be without his insights into the politics of the Middle East and his attempts to explain the terrorist mindset.  He was not on these themes this morning, however.  He was reading a poem.  Every day the Today programme has one of its staff reading a poem relevant to these times.  Frank’s was There Will Come Soft Rains (War Time) by Sara Teasdale:  

‘There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground,
And swallows circling with their shimmering sound;

And frogs in the pools singing at night,
And wild plum trees in tremulous white,

Robins will wear their feathery fire
Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire;

And not one will know of the war, not one
Will care at last when it is done.

Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree
If mankind perished utterly;

And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn,
Would scarcely know that we were gone.’

Frank explained how much he appreciates the picture of nature here as permanent and enduring.  Despite everything that is happening in the world of men and women - and the poem was written in 1918 - nature will not be denied.  There will always be life in the birds, the trees and the changing seasons.  While the future of humankind is uncertain we can always depend on Spring.

It’s quite a different picture from the one often painted these days of humankind surviving but in an environment ruined by exploitation and greed.   Here we have ‘Nature’ as the victor over the worst that we can do.  It’s an idealised vision.  It invites us to celebrate those things that are uplifting in the natural world but there is no acknowledgement of the dark side of nature, the storms that destroy, the enmity between species, the viruses that kill.  

The Bible invites us to see nature as God’s creation.  When our hearts are touched by the wonder of it all we are encouraged to give thanks to Him:

‘The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.’  (Psalm 19:1) 

When it all began it was good (Genesis 1: 31) but the sin of humankind infected the Creation at its heart.  The result was disrupted relationships, disharmony with the environment, disturbance of the balance God had built in to His Creation.  I’ve always been conscious how for many reasons people feel that that perspective on Creation is hard to accept.  But think of how we are reminded these days of how our actions are affecting the environment and how unless we change irreparable damage will be done.  Are Biblical truths coming home to people by unusual routes?  

The reality is we do not have a perfect Creation but we are assured that it is God’s great project to renew what has been spoiled, to flush out everything that speaks of imperfection, to fully establish His Kingdom on earth.   The Psalmist shares a vision of this:

‘Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns.” The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.  Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it.  Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.  Let all creation rejoice before the LORD, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness.‘   (Psalm 96: 10-13)

The fullest expression of the New Creation is in book of Revelation where the apostle John is given a vision of this old and weary earth giving way to the renewing surge of God’s power and everything that has ever brought tears to the eyes of men and women no longer has any place:

‘Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.  I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.  ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”  He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”’  (Revelation 21: 1-5)

It will not be nature as we know it that will endure at the end of all things but the God who has been revealed in Jesus Christ.  He has promised a New Creation for a renewed humanity to enjoy.  

Still Quarrying 137: Trouble Transformed.

Towards the end of his life King David described his God as the One who had delivered him ‘out of every trouble’.  (1 Kings 1: 29)  David certainly knew about trouble.   On the run from Saul who was intent on destroying him, enduring sickness and betrayal, as King facing  a rebellion led by his son,  and all this apart from moral lapses that brought pain to himself and others.  But at the end of his life he believed himself ‘delivered.’  This is impressive faith in a sustaining God, a forgiving God, a faithful God.   David believed that having gone through the trouble that had fallen to him in life he was still in God’s loving focus and was still receiving blessing from Him.  God was still fulfilling His promises to David.  

The message from this is one I have needed to hear.  Everyone has to live with trouble, the impact on our lives can be deep, but if we are living a life of faith it does not need to define us.  David had the promises of God as we do but we also have the Cross and this is our assurance that God is present in every circumstance and able to use our trouble for our good and His glory.  That is ‘deliverance‘.  The essence of trouble as a source of pain is transformed and becomes a means of blessing.  

When writing to the Christians in Corinth Paul referred to an experience he had in the province of Asia.  We don’t know what it was but he describes the pressure he and his companions were under: ‘far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.’ (2 Corinthians 1: 8)  But he experienced deliverance at two levels.  First of all, the crisis passed, the pressure eased.  But there was more.  On reflection Paul saw God at work in this experience giving Paul an opportunity to exercise faith.  He writes: ‘ . . . this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.’  (2 Corinthians 1: 9)  So the experience was transformed, no longer entirely negative, Paul delivered not only from painful circumstances but also a memory that may have become a deep shadow on his inner life.  He came to understand that God was there and He was working for the good of Paul and his companions.   Once more Paul knew the grace of the God ‘who raises the dead’ and brings His transforming power to the most painful trouble even the ultimate trouble of death.  

It strikes me that David has given us the words to express our joy and wonder when we have passed through death and found our place in the Eternal Kingdom: ‘The Lord has delivered me out of every trouble.‘   It is then that we will have that insight that Paul craved, no longer puzzled and bitter at the bad hand we have been dealt but grateful for God’s ways with us:

‘Now we see but a poor reflection in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.  Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.’  (1 Corinthians 13: 12)

Still Quarrying 136: Who Wants To Be Wise?

Due to the recent television mini-series the story of Major Charles Ingram has been much to the fore over the last few weeks.  He is the man who allegedly cheated on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? and won the ultimate prize.  Though found guilty in an ensuing court case he continues to maintain his innocence.  We won’t get into that but his story came to me this morning as I lingered over Psalm 90: 12.   People can become national celebrities and very well off because they know a lot of stuff.  But is this where true wisdom lies?  

Psalm 90 is a meditation on the judgement of God and the fleeting nature of human existence.  Thus the plea:

‘Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.‘   (Psalm 90: 2)  

This has been paraphrased in various ways but at its heart is a desire to make the most of our limited lives in gathering ‘wisdom’.  Now what is this ‘wisdom’?  Is it the accumulation of facts that can be displayed on a quiz show?  Is it even the fruit of academic study?  There is of course a difference between the two.  The former is often classified as ‘trivia’ while the latter embraces the work of scientists and experts in other fields whose work brings enormous benefits to humankind.  But even this has to be put into perspective.  The writer of Ecclesiastes shares his experience:

‘I said to myself, “Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.”  Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.  For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.’  (Ecclesiastes 1: 16-18)

There is a ‘wisdom’ and a ‘knowledge’ that does not satisfy the deepest longings of the heart.  

Paul was aware of this.  He was quite possibly one of the foremost intellectuals of his day, not only in his knowledge of the Hebrew scriptures and traditions but of pagan philosophy and literature.  He was convinced, however, that there was a wisdom that came from no human source but from the very being of God.  It was experienced not ultimately in study or debate but in an encounter with Jesus Christ.  Here we see what God is like.  Here we understand that sin is our fundamental problem.  Here we grasp the solution to our problem and the destiny God cherishes for us.  Paul wrote:

‘Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,  but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.  For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.’  (1 Corinthians 1: 22-25)

So Paul’s priority in Corinth was not to impress the sophisticates with his learning but to preach the Christ who embodies the wisdom of God, the truths God desires to impress on human hearts:

‘When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.  For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.’  (I Corinthians 2: 1-2)

This is not to devalue study and research.  At this moment we are praying for the great minds seeking an antidote to Covid-19 that they will make the breakthrough.  We have never been more dependent on scientific expertise.  But Paul, like the Psalmist, is calling for perspective.  With all that we know, what do we know of God?  What do we really know about ourselves?  Paul points to ‘Jesus Christ and him crucified’, a wisdom that is experienced in forgiveness, renewal and hope for eternity.  

Still Quarrying 135: Souls Touching.

Paris has long been a magnet for writers and artists from all parts of the world.  Many have rubbed shoulders at a famous bookshop on the Left Bank called Shakespeare And Company, sometimes even being provided with bed and board.  The Canadian writer Jeremy Mercer has written of his experiences there in the early 2000s.  He tells of one evening when he and some arty friends converged on a cafe called Polly Magoos:

‘In a place like Paris, the air is so thick with dreams they clog the streets and take all the good tables at the cafes.  Poets and writers, models and designers, painters and sculptors, actors and directors, lovers and escapists, they flock to the City of Lights.  That night at Polly’s, the table spilled over with the rapture of pilgrims who have found their temple.  That night, among new friends and  safe at Shakespeare and Company, I felt it too.  Hope is a most beautiful drug.’  

When I read that I have a sense of what we are all missing at present.  I mean we may be getting along fine with our books and dvds and gardening and other projects.  Not to mention Skype, Facetime and Zoom.  But the loss of real community cannot be denied.  They say that when this is all over many more meetings in the spheres of business, politics and religion will take place electronically.  I don’t know.  Meetings can be wearisome and sometimes they end with us not clear as to what exactly has been achieved.   But the kind of meeting described in Polly’s where people are not just together but experiencing and appreciating their togetherness would be a great loss to our humanity.

A friend told me that he once went to a meeting of a General Assembly Committee with the sole intention of having a fight with the Convener.  But as he put it, in the course of a heated discussion ‘our souls touched’ and the problems were resolved.  

I would hate to think we would ever lose that kind of experience, souls touching, not just to resolve problems but to be deeply together, sharing dreams, coming to understand one another.  There are some Christian traditions where Sunday worship is known as ‘the Meeting’.  And that really is what worship is at its best, a coming together of God’s people, souls touching in the presence of the Risen Lord.  

This was the quality of life experience by the first Christians.  In this description notice how often the word ‘together’ appears:

‘They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.  All the believers were together and had everything in common.  They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.  Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.’  (Acts 2: 42-47)

In a sense these people were reflecting the God they worshiped.  The God who had revealed Himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.   In the Godhead there is community, togetherness.  

We don’t know when but these days will pass and life will be changed forever.  But we will still have one another, the Holy Spirit binding us together, the Word strengthening us and the Kingdom to work for and look forward to.  As the Queen has said: ‘We will meet again.’  

Still Quarrying 134: The Plague.

I first came across Albert Camus at school when I was studying for A Level French.  His novel L’Etranger was on the course.  Translators have struggled a bit with that title having a go at ‘The Stranger’, ‘The Foreigner’ or ‘The Outsider.’  It is the latter that has generally won the day and certainly suits the main character in the novel very well.  

The French Assistant who guided my reading informed me that L’Etranger was an example of ‘existentialist’ writing of which Camus was one of the main proponents.  I won’t go into existentialism.  You can google it.  Suffice it to say I was sucked in and became particularly interested in Camus.  I think the pictures I saw of him helped.  Quiffed hair, coat collar turned up, cigarette at the corner of his mouth, enigmatic smile - he looked really cool.  And he liked football.  He had played in goal for his local junior team Algiers Racing University whose colours were blue and white.  So when he went to Paris to work as a journalist it was natural that he should support Racing Club de Paris who played in the same colours.  Not long after he won the Nobel Prize for Literature he was interviewed while watching Racing Club play Monaco.  Not entirely inappropriate since he later said that along with the theatre the football pitch had been one of his two ‘real universities’.  

So what’s not to like about Camus?

I suppose it was inevitable that in these Covid-19 days I should turn to his novel La Peste  or The Plague.  It concerns an Algerian town called Oran which is gradually overtaken by bubonic plague until it has to be completely locked down.  The real heart of the novel contains the responses of various characters to this unexpected challenge.  We see the best and the worst of humanity: the doctors and medical teams on the front line; the authorities having to make decisions; the men and women developing their own coping strategies; the opportunists who seek to capitalise on the misery and don’t want the plague to end too soon.

It’s a whole different experience when you read it in our present circumstances.  So many points of connection.  But it has been read in different ways from its publication in 1947.  It has been seen to be relevant to any community on which disaster has unexpectedly fallen.  Some are in no doubt that Camus had in mind the ‘plague’ of Nazism sweeping over Europe, overtaking France and seeking to establish a moral and spiritual lockdown.   To this end he gives all perspectives a voice.  Father Paneloux speaks for the Church.  We hear of two sermons he preaches in the course of the epidemic.   In the early stages Paneloux sees this as the judgement of God but a change occurs as he becomes more involved in the suffering of the community and experiences within himself the  challenge to faith.   So in the second sermon, as the plague tightens its grip, he acknowledges that to believe in God is also to accept the mystery of suffering.  When he himself becomes ill, possibly with the plague, he asks for a crucifix and keeps it in his grasp until the end.

It is not an unsympathetic portrayal for in the worst of times the greatest source of strength for Christians is in the cross which is the assurance of God’s presence and purpose in the midst of suffering.  We may be weary of singing ‘Abide With Me’ at funerals but it should not be hard for any Christian to connect with the final verse:

‘Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes,

 Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies;

 Heavens’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee:

 In life and death, O Lord, abide with me.’  

By God’s grace this is the prayer of every Christian as they face the final challenge, that we are conscious of the presence and the promises of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who is not denied by pain or death.

  

Still Quarrying 134: Good Hair Day!

I don’t often listen to Woman’s Hour on Radio 4 but dawdling over my coffee I caught an item on personal grooming.  How are we going to keep up our appearance during these days of lockdown?  Many will protest that we have more to worry about but hair is becoming a particular problem.   I have heard of some attempts at home barbering that have had less than successful outcomes.  My son the police officer who usually keeps his hair very short is wondering how to cope. 

As with most things help is at hand.  Experts like Taylor Ferguson are being called upon for guidance.  He had a big article in the Herald recently which I’m sure many will find helpful.  Not that I’m too worried at present.   I am not quite the ‘slap head’ I was in the middle of January but I’m still a long way from worrying about bad hair days.   

Jesus once spoke about hair.  He was preparing his disciples for mission.  They were to go  to various towns to preach the ‘message’, to heal the sick and drive out evil spirits.  They would inevitably come up against opposition but Jesus encouraged them not to fear those who can ‘kill the body but cannot kill the soul.‘  He said:

‘Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.  And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.’  (Matthew 10: 29-31)

These are great truths about our Heavenly Father.  He is in control.  His care surrounds His people.  He knows them all intimately to the extent that their ‘very hairs’ are counted,  even if the count is nil!  If we remember this then every day is a good hair day! 

I don’t believe this means that we are proof against challenges or even tragedies but we can always be sure that whatever our experiences our souls are safe with God.  It is the strength of our inner life which is vital and that depends on the depth of our relationship with Christ.  This enables us to face these uncertain days in which we are living with courage and hope.  That relationship is kept strong as we go to that place where we learn about Christ and experience His presence.   Where else but His Word?  

The night before he died Jesus prayed to His Father for His disciples:

‘Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.’  (John 17: 17)

Jesus is praying that His friends will be distinctive in the world, kept strong in order to serve as He has served.  And how will this be achieved?  Through the truth revealed in God’s Word.  Jesus saw the Word as being powerful.   It would shape the lives of His friends from within so that they would be His faithful witnesses in a world that would stretch them to the limit.   I feel I need to take this more seriously and one good thing about this time has been the opportunity to spend more time absorbing God’s truth through His Word.   

We need to take care of ourselves and it’s good to hear of people concerned to keep themselves fresh and fit.  But we need to take Paul’s advice to a young friend to our hearts:

 ‘Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.  For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.’  (1 Timothy 4: 7-8)

Still Quarrying 133: No Resurrection?

Imagine if a medical expert announced that he no longer believed the brain to be located in the cranium but in the abdomen.  Imagine an eminent Scottish QC acting according to the laws of Albania. Imagine an ecologist becoming convinced in her own mind that in fact the earth is flat.  Ludicrous.  And that is the way Paul regarded Christians who did not believe in the Resurrection.  It was a concern to him because this lack of belief was gaining ground in Corinth and he had to respond clearly and urgently.  That will strike a discordant note for many who do not like to be told what they have to believe but as far as Paul was concerned without the Resurrection the Church had no message and indeed nothing to believe: ‘ . . . if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.’  (I Corinthians 15: 14)   And this is not something that can remain at just the intellectual level of what we believe.  Paul says: ‘Think about what this means at the most personal level.’  He writes:

‘For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.  Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.’  (1 Corinthians 15: 16-18)

As vital as this is Paul doesn’t leave it there.  By the end of this magnificent chapter in 1 Corinthians each individual Christian is seen to be part of a bigger story when ‘the trumpet will sound’, when God’s promises will be fulfilled, when His Kingdom seen by us only in glimpses will be established in its fulness.   I love the image of Jesus in v. 24 cleaning up the whole of creation, flushing out everything that has no place in the Kingdom and handing it over to the Father.  It is then that the promises delivered through the prophets will become reality:

‘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?”  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.’  (vv. 54-57)

It is wonderful to read these words in these days of Covid-19 and to grasp God’s good purpose for creation.  We can indeed look forward with faith.  But there is also an imperative for the present in Paul’s teaching.  We are not left in a defensive huddle against the worst, longing for the end of all things.  Paul brings us to the present moment:

‘Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.’  (verse 58)

With the hope of the Resurrection in our hearts we continue ‘the work of the Lord’, the work that shows the Kingdom in the present: the preaching of truth in the midst of confusion, the demand for justice where poverty and cruelty are unchallenged, the demonstration of love where lives wither and die for the lack of it.  That is the ‘labour’ that is eternal, what will remain when the Son returns to cleanse and heal, those things that belong to the Kingdom that is to come.  No work that we do for the Kingdom will be lost.   Jesus’ Resurrection is the guarantee of that.  

Still Quarrying 132: Future Hope!

I once attended a lecture given by Dr Patrick Dixon who has been described as a ‘futurist’.   That means he is someone who studies present trends in society and attempts to show how they will shape the future.   He has a background in science, medicine, technology and business so it was a lively and stimulating lecture.  At that time he had written a book called Futurwise which he described as ‘A personal and corporate guide to survival and success in the third millennium.’

This kind of thing is not new.  I remember being blown away in the early seventies by a book called Future Shock by Alvin Toffler which raised him to the heights of being described as a modern ‘guru’ such was the impact of his thinking.   And there are of course numerous writers of fiction who have sought to describe where they believe the world is going.  Not many are particularly optimistic and some have been alarmingly accurate in their speculations.  Novels about pandemics are flying out of Amazon’s warehouses at present many of them set in the future.  

All this came to mind when someone asked me recently if I thought the world would be a better place when we emerge from these days of Covid-19.  There are certainly indications that we can be optimistic.  The news bulletins and journals are full of stories of how the best of us is being shown in the way people are responding.  Those willing to place their own health and safety on the line to care for the most vulnerable.  A new appreciation of the environment as we see the difference lockdown has made to the air we breathe.  If these positive waves can be sustained then we can go forward with hope for the future.

There are just enough shadows, however, to make us wary of being too confident.  Online scams have increased, the elderly and vulnerable are targeted with fraudulent schemes to make their lives easier, there is increasing evidence of profiteering.  And this is apart from the normal course of criminal behaviour.  

A minister friend of mine was once warned against accepting a call from a certain congregation by its last incumbent.   ‘That place almost destroyed my faith in human nature,’ he said.  My friend replied: ‘Well, apart from the grace of God I have no faith in human nature.’  

Now that needs a bit of unpacking and I don’t have the space here to do it full justice.  But the point was being made that placing faith in human nature will always be perilous and bound to be disappointed.  Even the most prominent Christian in the history of the Church confessed to a conflict within himself that sometimes led to failure.  In Romans 7: 14-25 Paul confesses to the power of his sinful nature to the extent that:

‘I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.  For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do - this I keep on doing.’  (verses 18-19)

The point is that even this man who was powerfully possessed by the Holy Spirit, who had received revelations from the Risen Lord, whose inner being delighted in the Word of God - sometimes he failed, got it wrong or didn’t do the right thing.   Paul’s inner life could be civil war.  And he needed the grace of God to come through the struggle to a place of peace.  You can hear his pain in these words as well as the assurance:

‘What a wretched man I am!  Who will rescue me from this body of death?  Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord.’  (verses 24-25)

God has sent us a Rescuer who has made it possible for sins to be forgiven and to show  in us that pattern of behaviour He has established with love at its heart.   My friend’s point about the grace of God being that this cannot be achieved on our own.  So if we are talking about the future and the possibility that we might emerge from this time as better people with a fresher world in which to live then we need the help that Paul craved.  He saw Jesus as the prototype of a new humanity, ‘the firstborn among many brothers’, the One God wants to show in our lives.  That is God’s project in our lives, God’s way forward, the way to a better world.   

Still Quarrying 131 - Emmaus.

Maybe you saw Hylton Murray-Philipson being given a clapping guard of honour by NHS staff as he left Leicester Royal Hospital just over a week ago.  He had spent 12 days in the hospital, 5 of them in intensive care after being diagnosed with Covid-19, and in his own words ‘reduced to the state of a baby.’  

On Good Friday he was interviewed by Nick Robinson on Radio 4’s Today programme.  Because it was Good Friday and because he was following ‘Thought For The Day’ Hylton thought it was appropriate to mention that when he was at his lowest in intensive care he had a powerful image of Jesus calming the Sea of Galilee.  He said: ‘I like to think that was Jesus Christ coming to me and helping me in my time of need.’  

Nick was obviously a bit wrong footed by this and suggested that in all likelihood this was because of the heavy drugs he had been given.  ‘(It) plays tricks with the mind, doesn’t it really?’ he said.  Nick himself is something of an inspirational figure having come through oesophageal cancer but unfortunately is no stranger to this kind of careless comment.  Whatever his own personal views and whatever sustained him in his time of need more respect could have been shown to another’s experience.  

That experience is what I would call an Emmaus encounter. (Luke 24: 13-35)  It has been pointed out that nobody quite knows where Emmaus was but so what?  It could be anywhere around Jerusalem and the experience could be anywhere in the world.  Two followers of Jesus were coming from Jerusalem disappointed by Jesus’ death and bewildered by reports of the empty tomb.  They are joined by a mysterious stranger who turns their minds to Scripture and shows them that everything that happened was according to God’s purpose.  Later when they realised the stranger was Jesus they spoke of what it was like listening to Him:

‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened up the Scriptures to us?’  (Luke 24: 32)

Perhaps none of us can expect an Emmaus encounter exactly like this but Christians like Hylton do know what it’s like to feel their hearts warmed with the assurance of Christ’s presence with them.  Mary Magdalene knew it in the midst of her grief outside the tomb; Jesus disciples knew it in a locked room in Jerusalem;  the disciples knew it later as they worked unsuccessfully at their nets; Peter knew it as the Risen Lord probed his inner being and was given assurance for the future.

I prickle a bit when I hear Christians speak about ‘thin places’, locations where the presence of Christ can be especially experienced.  He is risen in the noisiest place as well as the quietest, in the hospital ward as well as the cathedral, in the high rise flat as well as the highest mountain.  When Auschwitz was liberated an image of Christ was found on the wall of one of the cells.  Later it was discovered that one of the prisoners had gouged it out with his fingernails.  It is painful to think of that.  But it was surely done in the faith that the Christ of the empty tomb was present even in that worst of places.  That is the message of Easter.  Christ is risen not just in the controlled atmosphere of a Church or the majestic sweep of a landscape.  The light from the tomb scattered the darkness of the cross and challenges us to believe with Paul that nothing will ever separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  (Romans 8: 39)

Still Quarrying 130 - Easter Morning: Peace.

It has been a bind not being able to stray beyond the bounds of the garden.  Another letter was received yesterday from the Scottish Government reminding me of my vulnerability during these days of Covid-19.  And yet it was good to be out in the garden early this morning to breathe the freshness of the air, to see the brightness of the daffodils and to hear the comforting birdsong.  A confined space and yet so much evidence of life.

I was reminded that first evidence of the Resurrection was in a garden.  Mary Magdalene still carrying the grief of Jesus’ death and the confusion of finding His tomb empty has her name spoken by a man she thinks is the gardener.  In that moment she recognises the voice of Jesus.   In the place where she expected only to acknowledge His death she finds Him alive.  

When Easter comes round preachers want to be at their best.   In all the words I may have spoken on all the Easters I have lived through I find myself praying today that something of the Risen Lord has been experienced and that His voice has spoken to hearts in need.   In the garden I prayed in this way for all those who are confined, that their inner life will be expanded by the reality of Christ risen from the dead.   As a believer I know about the Resurrection.  This morning my greatest need along with so many others is to experience the Resurrection.  

In the evening of the first Easter Jesus appeared to His disciples who were in lockdown in a room in Jerusalem.  They had heard reports of the empty tomb.  They were soon to experience the reality.  Despite the doors being locked Jesus ‘stood among them’.  His message to them was ‘Peace be with you.’  (John 20: 21)

There is nothing more I hope for this Easter morning than a sense of His peace.  The peace of knowing sins forgiven; the peace of knowing the strength of His presence; the peace of being assured that all things work to the good of those who love Him; the peace of being assured that He has gone through death to the eternal world to prepare a place for His people.  

The prayer uppermost in my soul on this Easter morning is for all those in lockdown that the same voice heard 2,000 years ago in a room of anxious and baffled men will be heard by them and that they experience His peace.

Still Quarrying 129 - Holy Week: Silence.

We’ve become used to the quietness where we stay, especially in the mornings.  So two days ago it was a bit of a shock to hear the screeching of machinery just outside our garden.  Two men were digging a hole in the pavement.  Something to do with phone lines.  Well, life is going on for many people through these strange and bewildering times.  Things break down and need to be sorted.  I’ve sometimes thought about the people we need when things go wrong with white goods or plumbing or gas/electricity supply.  Are they still out there?  The men with their noisy machinery were strangely reassuring.  

The day after Jesus’ crucifixion would be a day of silence for any who were observant Jews.  It was the Sabbath when the noise of work would be stilled unless absolutely necessary.  That’s one of the reasons why this day in Holy Week is traditionally called the Day of Silence.  But it goes deeper than that.  It was a world without Jesus.  He lay wrapped in grave clothes in a rich man’s tomb.  God, it seemed, had nothing more to say through Him.  Certainly His followers had nothing more to say about Him.  It was all over.  The Kingdom had not come.  

There are legends surrounding this day.  It has been suggested that Jesus descended to the place of the dead and brought salvation to all believers who were there since the beginning of time.   I prefer to think of Jesus as the Gospels present Him on this day.  Dead.  This makes the Incarnation and his identification with humankind complete.  This is the end we all share.  We cannot escape this one absolute.  That is something we can all agree on whether people of faith or not.  We will all die.  

However, into the midst of this reflection comes the words of an old hymn:

‘Be still my soul: the Lord is on thy side;

 Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;

 Leave to thy God to order and provide

 In every change he faithful will remain.

 Be still my soul: thy best, they heavenly Friend

 Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.’  

The worst of experiences may overwhelm us but within ourselves we have the promises of God which bring ‘strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.‘   Beneath the silence of this day in Holy Week God was working out His purpose.  Jesus was dead but His work was not complete.  Easter morning would show that God’s purpose moves forward through suffering and even death to bring the ultimate hope to the world.  

A verse of Scripture I often read at funerals comes from Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost:

‘God raised (Jesus) from the dead freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.’ (Acts 2: 24)

Jesus was held by death but God freed Him from that cold grip.  That was always the plan and nothing would stop it unfolding.  And the good news for us all is that if it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Jesus then it is impossible for death to keep its hold on those who trust Him.  That was at the heart of Paul’s faith: 

‘We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.’  (1 Thessalonians 4: 14)

More than any other this is a day to reflect on our vulnerability but to set beside that the hope that comes to us in the promises of Jesus.  

Still Quarrying 128 - Holy Week: Forgiveness.

It was Good Friday some years ago.  I was in the car on my way to take part in the Three Hours Devotion at Glasgow Cathedral.  On the radio there was a special meditation for Good Friday, an angel’s perspective on the last week of Jesus’ life on earth.  When it came to Jesus’ death she said that this was the saddest day of all for the angels not just because of Jesus’ agony and death but because from that day He would always be closer to human beings than to them.  

I have never discovered who wrote this piece but it’s one of those things that seem to have taken root in my mind.  There is truth in this.  If anything shows that God is on our side then it is the crucifixion of Jesus.  You would never expect there to be a message from God in the spectacle of His Son slowly dying in agony and yet in the end this was the ultimate demonstration of God’s love for us.  In this there there was an assurance that there is no suffering we go through that He has not experienced.  He is eternally connected to our pain, mental and physical, even our spiritual pain.  Surely there is no more gut-wrenching moment in the entire literature of the world when Jesus cries: ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?‘  There was disturbance in the Godhead in that moment.  Jesus experiencing the loss of God.  

Then there is the death itself.  Charles Wesley’s hymn says: ‘This mystery all!  The Immortal dies.‘   Jesus actually died.  Luke highlights this:

‘Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.’  (Luke 23: 46)

It’s customary in some Christian traditions that when this is read in worship there is a pause for a moment of silence.   The only reasonable response to deep mystery.  

So with this divine identification with the human condition we can understand if there was sadness among the angels.  The Son is now closer to us.  But I would want to take this further.  Surely the sadness would give way to celebration when the angels grasped the meaning of His death.  In his teaching in Luke 15 Jesus repeatedly makes the point that there is rejoicing in heaven ‘in the presence of the angels of God’ over one sinner who repents.  The angels don’t seem to have any problem with the population of the Kingdom being increased as hearts are turned to God.  It is Jesus’ death that makes this possible for men and women now:

‘He died that we might be forgiven,

 He died to make us good,

 That we might go at last to heaven

 Saved by His precious blood.’ 

Again turning to Luke, he tells us that one of the criminals crucified with Jesus turned to him with the plea:

‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’

And Jesus reply:

‘I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.’  (Luke 23: 42-43)

That is the promise for all those who are drawn to Calvary, the place where a fundamental change is made to human existence.  There we learn that God is with us in darkness as well as light, pain as well as pleasure, failure as well as achievement.  There we learn that God has made provision for the darkness in our inner being to be dispelled.  There we learn that through the death of His Son He draws us nearer to Himself and by His grace makes us fit for His Kingdom.

‘This the power of the Cross.

 Christ became sin for us.

 Took the blame, bore the wrath.

 We stand forgiven at the Cross.’

Still Quarrying 127 - Holy Week: Remembrance.

Christians of all traditions are missing the sacraments at this time.  It is a big gap in our devotional lives.  We can listen to sermons online and even pray together but how is it possible to celebrate Baptism and the Lord’s Supper?  Ingenious suggestions have been made, some not very seriously, but in the end it is really not possible given the restrictions placed upon us.  

We especially remember the Lord’s Supper on this day in Holy Week when at the Passover table Jesus broke bread and shared wine and called upon His disciples to continue doing this to remember Him.  He was reinterpreting important Passover symbols.   The bread was His body.  The cup of wine the New Covenant in His blood.  ‘Whenever you eat the bread and share the wine remember me.’  

It is the only act of worship that Jesus commanded and its importance is seen in the instructions Paul received as to its administration from Jesus Himself.  The worship in Corinth was a mess.  Paul suggested that the Church would be as well not meeting together ‘for your meetings do more harm than good.’  You can read all about it in 1 Corinthians 11.  But into these circumstances Paul brought the words of Jesus Himself.   Remember, apostles received special revelation from the Risen and Ascended Lord and Paul was able less to give advice as to reveal the will of the Lord:

‘For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread,  and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”  In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”  For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.’  (1 Corinthians 11: 23-26)

It all seems so simple and yet tragically this one act of worship commanded by Jesus and which should unite us more than any other is still a focus of division among Christians.  And it really is not on for one tradition to point the finger at another as the source of the problem. Even within traditions people are not happy unless the Lord’s Supper is dispensed in a way they think appropriate.  But the Corinthian experience, focussing on setting right what is wrong, is an encouragement for us to believe that things can change.  

Getting back to the simplicity of it all.  The heart of the Lord’s Supper however it is celebrated can be summed up in a hymn I once heard which had as a refrain:

‘All I ask of you is forever to remember me as loving you.’

This should be uppermost in our minds whenever we eat the bread and share the wine.  As Paul would say in this we proclaim the Lord’s death and that death was for each of us.  The next time you take the bread and wine into your hands, and I pray it will be soon, remember Him as loving you from all eternity.  

Still Quarrying 126 - Holy Week: Betrayal.

We will be watching The Trouble With Maggie Cole tonight.   For the past few weeks it has been one of our televisual priorities.  The trouble with the Maggie in the title is that she gave an interview on radio about life in the village where she lived.  Fueled by a couple of glasses of white wine she made unflattering and in some cases libelous remarks about a number of local characters.  These subsequently appeared in a national newspaper and Maggie became something of a community pariah.  Since then she has tried to put things right with those she placed in a dubious light.  This has been largely successful with everyone except the Deputy Head of the local primary school who hitherto has been her best friend.  At this point in the series they remain unreconciled but we’ll see what happens tonight.

It often happens like this.  When those with whom we have the closest of relationships let us down we find it so hard to take.  It was an experience known to David.  When he was going through a time of sickness and slander, when apparently concerned friends were visiting him and then spreading fake news of him, he finds amongst them his closest friend:

‘Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned against me.’  (Psalm 41: 9)

Again, when David is under pressure from enemies there is no encouragement from someone he has come to depend on:

‘If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were rising against me, I could hide.  But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend,  with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship at the house of God, as we walked about among the worshipers.’  (Psalm 55: 12-14)

Christian eyes have looked on these passages and made a connection with Jesus’ experience of betrayal.  Wednesday in Holy Week has been traditionally associated with the beginning of Judas Iscariot’s plans to betray Jesus.  The Gospels tell us of his meeting with the Chief Priests to whom he reveals his willingness to hand Jesus over to them for a price.  

There have been many attempts to mitigate Judas’ actions.  Some have suggested that like the other apostles Judas believed that Jesus was about to bring in the Kingdom of God, that the Messiah was about to act decisively in favour of Israel.  In placing Jesus into the hands of his enemies Judas thought he would bring matters to a head, forcing Jesus to act.  There is, of course, no evidence of this and we have to set alongside any attempt to enter the psychology of Judas Luke’s statement that he was motivated by Satan.  (Luke 22: 3).  

What has weighed heavily with me from time to time is that until the moment of betrayal Judas does not seem to have been much different from any of the other apostles.  Jesus sent them out to preach the good news, to heal the sick and cast out demons.  Judas was part of those missions.  So perhaps on this day in Holy Week, as well as mourning the pain of betrayal that would fall upon Jesus, we should be aware of the dark impulses in our lives that can lead to actions that would make us seem more the enemies of Jesus than His friends.  

Still Quarrying 125 - Holy Week: Conflict.

On Saturday I received a nine page letter from the Scottish Government.  It identified me as ‘someone at risk of severe illness’ if I catch Covid-19.   This is due to my underlying health condition.  There is much helpful lifestyle advice in the letter but it was a bit of a shock to be told that I should not go out at all, not even for that one walk a day.  If need be I should walk in the garden or perhaps just sit on my doorstep and enjoy the view.   I have to say that my first response was to think that this was a bit much and maybe my early morning jaunt with Gabrielle could still be risked.  But then came a call on Monday from my local Surgery.  This was to make sure that I understood the letter and that regrettably I had to observe complete isolation.  

The letter was signed by the Chief Medical Officer Dr Catherine Calderwood.  The day after it was delivered came the revelation that Dr Calderwood had not been observing her own directions to the nation with regard to living through and overcoming Covid-19.  This eventually led to her resignation.  Somebody has summed up the First Minister’s statement in the wake of the the resignation: the messenger had to go but the message remains.  The CMO had fallen short but the relevance and the urgency of the message must not be forgotten.

The whole business underlines the challenges faced by those of us who seek to communicate high standards of conduct which we believe should be embraced by others.  How do our lives measure up?  The message may be good.  If we are talking about the Gospel then we have there ‘the greatest truths anybody could ever stumble upon.’  But what about the messenger?  How can we dare to commend standards of conduct which we know within ourselves tax us to the limit?

Maybe you know what it’s like to read a passage of Scripture which causes you to look within yourself and you realise that living this out is as far away from you as flying to the moon?  Spare a thought and a prayer for those of us who go through that experience but yet have the calling to present a congregation of God’s people with what has been gathered in the Word.

Tuesday in Holy Week is traditionally regarded as the Day of Conflict, Jesus teaching in the Temple and coming up against the opposition of the religious establishment.  This is where we really see the dark side of Jesus’ teaching, making it plain to the teachers of the law and the Pharisees that though they might be well versed in the ancient Scriptures they really don’t shape up when it comes to living according to God’s will.  They are denounced as ‘white-washed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean.‘   Jesus goes on:

‘In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.’  (Matthew 23: 28)

Rewind to the beginning of Matthew 23 and you discover that Jesus has no quarrel with what they teach.  The problem is the Word has not made sufficient impact on their lives to shape attitudes and priorities:

‘Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples:  “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.  So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.  They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.’ (Verses 1-4)

Again I ask, how can anyone dare to preach the Word of God when like all humanity we are prone to fall?  In engaging in conflict with the religious establishment of His day Jesus is revealing the conflict within all Christians whether they are preachers or not.  We take our stand on the most important message that can ever be heard by human ears but how do our lives reflect the message?  Yet this is the way Jesus has planned it.  When He launched His great mission to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28: 16-20) He sent out people like you and me who were imperfect, made mistakes, were subject to many of the shortcomings that unsettle our inner lives.  But these were the people He called to build His Church.  In the end, it is only Jesus who is the perfect example of Gospel values.  

So we are His people in these strange and bewildering days, inwardly conflicted at times perhaps, but Paul the Apostle knew what that was like and still remained convinced that within the fragile jars of clay that are our lives we hold a treasure that enables us to be witnesses of His truth.  (2 Corinthians 4: 7)  

Let’s get back to that passage of Scripture that has really got under your skin.  Maybe it’s 1 Corinthians 13 and the qualities of Christian love.  You see that you fall short of this so what is your response?  If you are a preacher you might think it’s time to pack it in lamenting this impossible job you have been given.  But if the Word is having this impact on you, revealing what needs to be changed,  then the way forward is to trust that this Word will have the same effect on those who will gather to listen.  This is how a preacher holds on to his/her role with integrity.  We are not ‘better’ than anyone else.  We are part of a community seeking to be closer to God and to live according to His ways.  Within this community we have a role to keep before our brothers and sisters the eternal truths as we have experienced them.  

In my BB days I went on a 26 mile sponsored walk.  I had only a vague idea where we were going but we had an officer who had studied the map and was able to keep us on track.  He didn’t do this by radio or in a car.  He was walking the way with us, told us where to turn, when to stop, when we were coming up to a difficult bit.  That’s like the preacher.  He/she is part of a community which is seeking to live closer to God and to be His witnesses.  His/her role is to study the map and keep the route before his/her brothers and sisters in the faith.

Each of us lives with inner lives that know conflict.  In the end we need to trust that God knew what He was doing when he called us to serve and He will sustain us in the work He has given each of us to do.