Tunnels End

Tunnels always have at least one end, and many of them have two ends!

In some ways, my journey of the past few years has seemed a bit like being in a tunnel.

I could see the entrance, but I didn't know where the other end came out. The route to be followed was hidden from me, unknown. It was like looking into a dark tunnel.

I had been in tunnels before, and the photo above was taken on our canal holiday in 2001, on the Grand Union canal in England. Most times, if you keep following the path of the tunnel, eventually you will come out into the daylight at the other end.

So for the past few years, I worked my way through the maze of buildings at New College in Edinburgh, studying the maze of courses that would lead to my Divinity degree at the other end.


I also worked my way through various placements, at Cramond, Queensferry, Slateford/Longstone, Dalgety Bay, South Leith, and finally Winchburgh and Abercorn. There were 9 conferences to attend, and many essays to write, and meetings to attend. But eventually, last September, I received my Exit Certificate, as you can see here!

Since that time my wife and I have been working our way towards moving to a Parish and Congregation where I would serve as their minister. That journey has seemed like a continuation of the training tunnel. There have been some flashes of light along the way, but mostly we have been in the dark, not knowing where the end would be.

Now the tunnel end is near, we can catch some glimpses of what is at the end, but we are still in the tunnel, and will be for a few weeks yet. The congregation will have the opportunity to be with me as we worship God together. Then they will decide, Yes or No, in an election, by secret ballot.

So although an end is in sight, nothing is certain yet, and we have to wait and see what the outcome will be.

It is six years since I first began exploring the possibility that God was calling me into Ministry. Like every end, a new beginning awaits.

Easter is a time when we remember an ending, and a beginning that lay beyond. The disciples thought that their dreams were snuffed out, but instead the adventure went on, to a future they did not know and could not predict. They thought that Jesus had left them, and then they discovered that He was closer than ever, for ever.

Journey with me as we travel onwards into our unknown future. Even better, follow Jesus, and journey with Him, for ever.

Under 100

For most sports the competitors want as high a score as possible. But today I was playing golf, where the lower the score, the better.

Although I have been playing golf since I was a teenager, I have never played often and regularly enough to play well. Every now and again I play a good shot, with most of my shots being mediocre, and some terrible!

Today I was playing round the Niddry Castle course in Winchburgh, with a friend, and one of his friends. I surprised myself by playing quite well (by my standards anyway!), completing the first nine holes in 45, and the next nine in 53.

It is a long time since I managed to complete a whole round in under 100. It was a satisfying feeling. Although I am nowhere near golfers like Colin Mongomerie and Paul Lawrie who can shoot rounds under 70, never mind under 100!

It strikes me that golf is like Christianity. We can gain satisfaction by doing better than we used to do, even although we are nowhere near the best possible performance. God is pleased with us when we do well by our standards, without requiring us to achieve that best possible score. Indeed, we don't even need to be better than anyone else at all. God loves you just the way you are.

Of course, God always wants us to do better, and indeed that should be our aim too. In Christianity, just as in golf, there is always room for improvement.

Improve your technique. Train and practice hard, and with dedication. Obtain the best equipment, and work along with the best performers. Excellence is what we strive for, but not what we demand. Fruitfulness is the measure of our success.

Fruit - such as, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.

Fishing

This week I've been thinking a lot about Fishing.

There are many different aspects to fishing, both in our communities and society, and also in the church. The thought I want to share with you, is that finding a job is a little like fishing.

Employers need people to be their employees. Employees need to work to live, and want to do work that gives them a sense of satisfaction or accomplishment.

The Employer advertises the vacancy in the best possible light, hoping to attract the best possible range of applicants, from which they may choose the final appointee. It's a bit like fishing. The job description has to be accurate and fair, but it is usually designed to show the employer in the best light, and to make the job sound as attractive as possible.

Meanwhile, the prospective employees are polishing up their CV, describing themselves on the application form in the best light possible, to make them sound as attractive and useful as possible, again subject to the constraints of accuracy.

Of course, one of the differences from fishing, is that the fish doesn't want to be caught! The fish is quite happy swimming in the sea, or gliding peacefully in the river, waiting for some food to float by.

It would be quite amusing if the fish was trying to catch a fisherman; maybe some man-eating fish species, that had developed huge tentacles like a giant squid or octopus. Well, not amusing for the fisherman, of course! But it would even up the contest somewhat - turning the scales, one might say!

In fact, it occurs to me that there is a species of fish called an Angler Fish. If you're a fisherman, you'll be glad to know they live in the deep ocean, and are not hunting anglers! They have a lure, which attracts other fish to come close to their jaws, and SNAP, one less fish in the sea.

So as I head off this weekend to engage in a spot of fishing, although not for real fish!, it will be interesting to find out whether we catch each other, or not!

Running and Winning

I have been thinking about running and winning races recently. The Winter Olympics probably triggered my thoughts initially, even although they are more about sliding than running.

Each week feels a bit like a race. I am running against the clock, day after day. As soon as I wake up, the clock is already ticking. Yet can I drag myself out of bed? Not without a struggle - usually after 2 or 3 pushes of the snooze button!

Each day starts with a long list of activities, some important, some urgent, and some are both of these. If I tackle them in the wrong order, then I won't get some of these tasks done before I need to have them done. So the work must be carefully ordered, and then carried out with sufficient energy to get them done in time.

It is quite like a race, although I am not racing against anyone else - just aginst the clock and the calendar.

In Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, he exhorts his readers to run in such a way as to win the prize. Strict discipline is required in order to be crowned the winner. Run straight for the finishing line, without any unnecessary diversions, and without stopping to catch your breath.

Like those who compete in the boxing ring, harden your body with blows, and bring it under complete control, so that we do not get disqualified from the race.

When little children run in the Nursery Race, or at the Sunday School race, they do not know what to do, or where to go. They don’t know they are supposed to run faster than the other little children, to reach the finishing line first.

So the parents go to the finishing line, and hold out their arms to their child, and call them by name. When the child hears their parent calling, and sees their parent's smiling encouraging face, with their arms held out ready to give them a cuddle, they take off. They cannot wait.

The children are not worried how long it takes them. They don’t care whether they beat anyone else. Their prize is secure, a cuddle from their parent, who they know loves them to bits.

So too with us. Indeed, not only us, but the whole human race. We don’t know the way. We don’t know what to do, or where to go? We cannot find out by ourselves. We need God, our Father, to help us. He is standing there, holding his arms out, calling your name, ready and waiting to give you a cuddle.

He came amongst us, in Jesus. He showed us the Way. He told us the Truth. He lived the Life he calls us to live.

Don’t go racing after other people - hurry after Jesus. Train hard. Discipline yourself. Put in those hours of work and effort. Get the best equipment, the best trainers, and the best coach.

Run as close to Jesus as you can. Be the best you can be.

He won’t leave you behind, but you don’t want to slow him down.

Together you can win the race and claim the prize.

Unexplained Absence

Sorry the Blog's been offline for the last few weeks. Not a technical reason, more to do with an administrative issue.

Anyway, I am glad to have got beyond that now, and hope to resume a regular flow of updates and reflections.

This coming Sunday I will be preaching for the Nominating Committee at one of the vacancies I have applied for. I am looking forward to it, although there is that underlying anxiety that occurs when one has to go somewhere you haven't been to before.

I know that Jesus is always with me, especially when I am leading worship, and that he goes before, and follows up after me. So it comes down to trusting him!

Otherwise, life continues busy as ever. Housework, churchwork, and selfwork - quite enough to do - thank you very much!

Dead Car

Today I went to a meeting in Linlithgow of ministers from various different denominations in West Lothian. I really enjoyed our time together and felt encouraged and supported by their fellowship and by the teaching, prayer, and reflection.

When I got back to the car park where I had left my car, I clicked the remote to unlock the door, and nothing happened. Oh, oh!

I tried again, both buttons, dead - no response.

After some thought, I decided that it probably wasn't the remote, since it hadn't given me any of the usual warning signs of the battery running out.

It must be something in the car - and the most likely thing, was the battery - and a light went on in my head - which was the exact problem - the lights - the headlights.

I had left them on. But there is a warning signal if you open the door, without the keys in, and the lights are still on. So how come I didn't hear a warning?

I had parked too close to a boulder, as the car park was almost full. I couldn't get out the driver's door, and so I had clambered through to the back and got out the back door. And it doesn't trigger the 'headlights on' warning sound.

Hey ho. My breakdown service eventually sorted me out. I didn't have to wait too long, and I had no other appointments. I had forgotten my mobile phone - which didn't help!

Afterwards, I was thinking - it's a bit like our discussion earlier in the morning. If we are not putting anything into the battery, then eventually it will run out.

In our lives as ministers, there is quite a load on our spiritual batteries. We can't last very long, unless our charging circuit is keeping us topped up.

So an integral part of our lifestyle must be spending time with God, and allowing his Holy Spirit to keep us running at full power.

It was a timely lesson, although not very pleasant. It was more than 25 years ago when I last made that mistake with headlights. I must be careful not to make that mistake again, either with my car, or my job!

Vast Quantities of Love

Vast is a good word. I like it. The universe is vast. God is vast. God's love is vast.

The very word 'vast' has that sound of enormity. I think it is due to the 'Ah' vowel in the middle, surrounded by the hard consonants of V, S, and T, that emphasise the size of the word.

Perhaps the fact that 'vast' only has four letters also adds to the appeal and attraction of the word. I have to be careful these days which four-letter words I am using.

Vast is a safe word. Although if we start thinking, reflecting, pondering, dwelling, on the nature of such vast things as God, love, and the universe, then we might move out of safe territory and enter into a realm of risk and danger.

Speaking of which, my friend Steve's Cool Risk site has some interesting topical articles and pictures on Risk and Perception just now.

In contrast to the word 'vast', the four-letter word 'tiny' conveys the exact opposite condition. Tiny bird, tiny mouse, tiny morsel, tiny pay packet, tiny house, tiny feet, and so on.

The contrast between these two words was highlighted at a recent thought-provoking Communion service.

The broken bread, representing the broken body of Jesus, was brought to us by one of the servers, and we were able to tear off our own piece. The person next to me commented how many folk tore off a great big crusty piece. I certainly did, and maybe there was a bit of a dig in her remark.

The cup of red wine, representing the blood of Jesus that was spilled on the Cross, was also brought round by a server. Often we only use tiny individual glasses, each with a tiny quantity of wine in the bottom. However, on this occasion, we could choose to receive our wine from the Common Cup, or an individual glass. As you might have guessed by now, I chose the Common Cup. That way, I could have a big mouthful - even although the 'wine' is a sanitised drink to make it 'safe' for church usage.

On Sundays we have been working through Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. In chapter 11:17-34 he gives them advice and direction for their celebrations of the Lord's supper.

He criticises the greediness of some folk, to the extent that some folk get drunk, while others are excluded and go hungry. Instead folk should wait for one another, and perhaps wait on one another, and if people are hungry then they should eat at home.

Over the years, Paul's instructions have been interpreted to mean that tiny is better than vast. On most occasions, the portions of bread are little more than a crumb. No-one could possibly over-indulge and leave someone else hungry. Self-discipline is not required.

Similarly with the wine, where we use tiny glasses, thus ensuring that no-one could possibly get drunk.

In some traditions, they only rarely have wine at their Communion services, merely sharing the bread on those occasions. Yet other traditions insist that all the wine must be consumed before the end of the service. Not one drop must remain, so the celebrant and the servers consume any remaining wine themselves. Maybe not drunk - but tipsy might be an accurate description!

God's love is vast beyond measure. Our Communion services are an occasion of joy where we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and his invitation to us to live with him forever. The guy who runs the Universe invites us to his party.

We invite people to have a tiny piece of bread and a tiny sip of wine.

I have been to a few Communion celebrations where we sat round tables, with coffee or tea to drink, and fruit to eat, during the first part of the service.

When the time came to share Communion, the warm bread loaves were brought in from the kitchen, and distributed one to each table. We broke the bread and shared it amongst us. We poured the 'wine' from the jug in the centre of each table into our own and each other's glasses, and shared it amongst us.

It wasn't a banquet, but it was closer to a meal than most formal celebrations of Communion. I liked it. Although it wasn't the same as that first Lord's Supper, I got a sense that we were sharing the eating of a meal together. It wasn't a ceremony, it was a meal, a supper.

Jesus said, "The Kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet." (Matthew 22:2&4 NRSV).

I think it will be a vast banquet, for a vast number of people, with vast amounts of fun, joy, and love. I don't know about food and drink in heaven, but if there is any, then I am sure there will be vast quantities of that too.

The universe is vast. God is vast. God's home is vast. God's love is vast.

Come and join the vast throng at God's vast and ever-lasting party.