Articles

A reflection for Pentecost by the Rev'd David Warnes

Today’s readings seem to offer two very different accounts of the gift of the Holy Spirit – the moment in St John’s Gospel when Jesus breathes on his disciples and the dramatic experience of Pentecost, the rushing, mighty wind, the tongues of fire and the great outburst of energy and enthusiasm which impelled the disciples to go out and tell as many people as possible the good news of Jesus Christ.

Why two accounts? I don’t think that they are contradictory. A careful reading suggests that they are part of a process. They are also, I think complementary.

First the process. St John writes of a very quiet and private moment shared by Jesus and the disciples.  The emphasis is on forgiveness. The disciples are given a share of God’s energy so that they may be a community experiencing, sharing and offering forgiveness.

The second part of the process happened at Pentecost and turned into a very public occasion. Pentecost or Shavuot, fifty days after Passover, was one of the great Jewish pilgrimage festivals, a time to come to Jerusalem and visit the Temple. It was a harvest festival, a celebration of the first wheat harvest of the year, but also a celebration of God’s gift of the Torah – the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, including the laws which are the Jewish people’s response to God’s covenant. The dramatic descent of the Holy Spirit empowers the disciples to proclaim the good news of God’s love and forgiveness.

That process, that move from forgiveness into proclamation is every bit as important today as it was two thousand years ago. Our contemporary culture is very strong on proclamation, on the assertion of beliefs, ideas and prejudices, and much of that proclamation is completely devoid of forgiveness. Just spend five minutes scrolling through Twitter to see the truth of that. And that isn’t just a contemporary problem. There have been times in the history of the Church when the assertion of doctrine became separated from the imperatives of love and forgiveness, and terrible cruelties ensued. Our two accounts of the giving of the Holy Spirit are a powerful reminder of to fulfil our calling to proclaim the forgiving love of God we need to be a community of forgiveness and love..

So much for the process. What about the complementarity of the two accounts of the giving of the Holy Spirit? If, like me, you have never experienced anything as dramatic as the rushing mighty wind and the tongues of fire described in Acts you might be tempted to question whether the Holy Spirit is working through you unless you had also read that very different account in John’s Gospel. Given these two accounts there is something for all of us, whatever the nature of our religious experiences, whether they have been sudden and dramatic or a quiet and private experience which gradually unfolds and develops.

Today, in a happy circumstance, our celebration of Pentecost is also the celebration of a baptism. The birthday of the Church, as some have called Pentecost, is also the moment of welcoming a new member into the church, giving Lochlan a second birthday which I hope he will celebrate as he comes to understand its meanings. All babies and toddlers are bundles of wonderful potential and baptism adds important dimensions to that potential. Those dimensions are explained in today’s reading from First Corinthians in which St Paul lists the gifts of the Holy Spirit and emphasises that they are given for the common good.

It is such a familiar passage that you may not have noticed the surprising fact that one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that Paul mentions is the gift of faith or belief. But surely, you ask, all Christians have faith, all Christians are believers? Well, yes but in different measure. Those who are strongest in faith are not necessarily the most active members of the Church but are as essential to its life as those whose contributions are more evident but who may, like most of us, experience doubt. The Church is a community of the gifted and the gifts are varied and vital.

Time will tell which gifts are bestowed on Lochlan but today he finds his place in the Church, that inclusive community which has received the loving forgiveness of God, which practises it and proclaims it to the world.

“For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.”

A reflection for the Sunday after Ascension Day 21st May 2023 by the Rev'd Russell Duncan

Why do you stand looking up towards heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven (Acts 1: 11)

Where do we go from here? How often have we asked that question ourselves or been asked it by others over the years? There is a real honesty there.

In this year’s programme for the Edinburgh International Festival, its new Festival Director, Nicola Benedetti, writes “Even as a child, when asked about my biggest inspirations, I would never give the expected list of virtuoso violinists. For some reason, I aways found my way to figures who galvanised people around an idea, and whose tie to hope was so strong, they made the unthinkable happen”.

She goes on to say “Here, in Edinburgh each August, we come to re-establish connections. We all need to feel a part of something much larger than ourselves. What better cause than uniting strangers in mutual curiosity. We have searched for connection and commonality across a broad spectrum of the arts, of cultures and of artistic collaborations to create a programme that offers a fresh perspective on what binds and defines us. Now we deepen this search alongside you”. There is something of that which is reflected in our readings.

On Thursday morning we held a zoom service celebrating the Ascension. It is unclear from the Gospels and from Paul’s writings how long the period between the Resurrection and the Ascension was.

The Church’s liturgical year suggests just a few weeks.  In Matthew, it looks very short, while Paul seems to extend it to include the appearance to him on the Damascus Road. John’s account is the most vivid, with details of significant meetings and memorable meals. In Acts it seems to suggest that the disciples are hoping that things will go on like they used to be, only better. Then they suddenly find that Jesus is not going to stay and that he expects them to carry on without him. As they head back to that upper room we hear nothing of their emotions – no fear, no despair, no joy. They get on with things, waiting for whatever it was that Jesus said he would send to help them, though they were not sure that they will know it when it arrives.

One minute they are in the inner circle, waiting to hear about the plans from the kingdom of Israel and their vital part on the matter, and the next minute, they are a leaderless, purposeless group of people.  But they have learned two things. Did you notice them? They have learned to stick together - whatever happens and to keep praying.  Sticking together and praying are to become two of the defining characteristics of the new Christian community.

In our gospel, prayer and community are equally obvious. Jesus’ prayer for the disciples is that they “may be one as we are one”.  Jesus knows that the disciples may feel left bereft after the Ascension. He asks for protection for his followers “so that they may be one”, and in their unity, demonstrate the loving unity of God.

As we seek to follow the ascended Lord, may we too follow that same example.

We rejoice O Christ that you call us to follow you and that in union with you we can live as sons and daughters of eternal love. Through the power of your spirit help us to dwell in that love and live it out towards those we meet today.

Ascension Day Thursday 18th May 2023

Introit acclamation:

Hail the day that sees him rise! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, for forty days we have been celebrating with joyful hearts the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, his bursting from the tomb and his defeat of the power of sin and death. He appeared to his disciples many times and told them about the Kingdom of God. Today we recall how he left this earth and returned to his Father, ascending into heaven to take his throne over all dominions and powers. Trusting in his reign over all creation, and submitting to his Kingly yet loving rule, let us offer him the praise and glory worthy of his name.

Collect:

O God, your Son Jesus Christ ascended to the throne of heaven that he might rule over all things as Lord. Keep the Church in the unity of the Spirit and in the bond of peace, and bring the whole of creation to worship at his feet, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Hail the day that sees him rise, Alleluia!                                                                                                     Glorious to his native skies; Alleluia!                                                                                                               Christ, awhile to mortals given, Alleluia!                                                                                                  Enters now the highest heaven! Alleluia!

 Acts 1:1-11

Why stand looking up into heaven?

This Jesus will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.

1. In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning 2until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over the course of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. ‘This’, he said, ‘is what you have heard from me; 5for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’

6 So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’ 7He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ 9When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. 11They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’

 

A reflection for Easter V Sunday 7th May 2023

“ … and this is my solemn vow”

  Marriage Liturgy 2006

Today’s celebrations are linked  by one of those words I have just read from the Scottish Marriage Liturgy. The link is the word ‘Vow’ and the action it implies.

Today, A and G will affirm the vows they made to each other at their wedding 20 years ago. Yesterday the King vowed to serve his people as sovereign for the rest of his life. Vows and the making of vows are important.

A vow is something most of us will make of our own accord and of our own free will; vows of commitment to a loved one; or to the service of God in Baptism and Ordination or like Charles to the Commonwealth as head of state. We choose to make these vows, we don’t have to do so. Charles could have refused the throne (it has happened before), A and G did not have to marry and pledge themselves to each other; I did not have to make vows at my ordination; we all chose to do so and it is that choosing that makes them special.

If we do not have to make a vow, why do we do so? From my own experience I think the answer has something to do with commitment. By making a vow and especially a vow in the sight of God, one is pledging to do one’s best  be it as priest, monarch or spouse in the rôle to which one feels called. It is never easy living up to the commitment one may have pledged oneself to, but the fact that one has vowed to try to do so can be an encouragement. It sort of acts as a check and balance, a touchstone helping one to keep on an even path and to carry on when things get tough.

There have been times as a priest when I have felt like chucking it all in; any married couple will have gone though similar times and the King will no doubt wonder quite what he said yes to as well. It is those vows we make that help us to go on and they can also help us to recognise when we need to end something as well. For a vow should be something that is life affirming to ourselves just as it might be affirming to others to whom the vow is made. Monarch’s may abdicate if they feel the rôle has become too much for them to exercise effectively; marriages may end if the relationship is no longer viable and priests retire from paid posts and responsibilities (some never to function as a clergy person again).

When we make a vow we do so with the intention that it will be for life or for as long as it is deemed to be right and good to try and live up to that vow. When we end a vow be it by death, abdication, divorce or retirement or whatever it does not mean that we have failed but that we have recognised that then original vow no longer holds true to what we felt called to or to be.

This Sunday, however, we are celebrating vows made recently and in the past and praying for their renewal and furtherance over the years to come. I hope when you lift a glass after this service that you’ll raise a toast to all who have made vows for whatever reason, that God will  bless them and keep them always.

A reflection for Good Shepherd Sunday 2023 by the Rev'd David Warnes

Have you ever wondered why our church’s dedication is to the Good Shepherd, rather than just the Church of the Shepherd? The Psalmist felt no need to qualify the title in that way.

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…”

The obvious answer to my question is that our dedication is based on one of the seven “I am” statements in St John’s Gospel.

“I am the Good Shepherd”.

And today’s Gospel contains another of the “I am” statements:

“I am the gate for the sheep”

St John portrays Jesus as a man with a mastery of metaphors who offered a rich and varied range of them, each providing an insight into his nature and therefore the nature of God. In that sense he was a supreme poet and, intriguingly, our word “poet” has a common ancestry with the classical Greek word for shepherd and that common ancestor’s original meaning was “maker” – a truth reflected in the fact that our national poet in Scotland, Kathleen Jamie, has the title Makar.

The metaphor of the Good Shepherd is a particularly striking one. Shepherds in that time and place were generally considered to be a rough and unreliable lot, living on the margins of society. That’s what makes the angels’ proclamation of the birth of Jesus to the shepherds in St Luke’s Gospel so striking. When people thought about shepherds in those days, the adjective “good” didn’t always spring to mind. But the main reason that Jesus chose it was to make the point that not all those who claim leadership are good. The previous chapter in John’s Gospel illustrates that. The Pharisees have criticised Jesus for restoring the sight of a blind man on the sabbath, interrogated the man who was healed and then expelled him from the community for saying of Jesus:

“If this man were not from God, he could do nothing”.

In identifying himself as the Good Shepherd, Jesus is not only and perhaps not mainly making a point about morality, for the Greek word that is translated as Good also means beautiful. William Temple daringly but accurately translated this saying as:

“I am the shepherd, the beautiful one.”

This is a beauty which is both compelling and costly, for the Good Shepherd, the beautiful poet, the bonnie makar

“…lays down his life for the sheep”.

And that’s the key to discerning the character of our politicians, of those in our culture who clamour for our attention or insist that we adopt certain points of view. Are they doing this from self-giving, creative love like the Good Shepherd or are they motivated by the desire for power, whether it’s the power that comes from elected office or the power that is exercised by shaming individuals or groups with whom they disagree?

It is also, of course, the key to discerning and reshaping our own motives, to reflecting on what shapes our attitudes and actions. And this is where that other I am statement, “I am the gate for the sheep” becomes so important. The gate is a way in, a way into church, a way into the safe and congenial company of the like-minded, of people whose values and ideals we share. It is also the way out into the world and that is where we spend most of our time and where, whether we are in paid work or not, we do much the same things as our non-believing contemporaries, including cleaning, cooking, shopping, walking the dog and watching television. We do much the same things but because we’re the sheep who go out into the world through the gate that is Jesus, we are called to do them in different ways, for different reasons and in a different spirit.

That’s a point that one of our greatest shepherds of words, George Herbert, made very clearly in verses that have become well-known because they have found their way into many hymn books. The poem is called The Elixir and an elixir is a powerful medicine. It begins:

“Teach me, my God and King

In all things thee to see

And what I do in anything

To do it as for thee.”

There’s a second verse which didn’t make it into the hymn books, partly because it wouldn’t easily fit any musical metre but also because the language is rather obscure. It begins with words which clearly suggest sheep rushing through the gate of a sheepfold:

“Not rudely as a beast

To run into action…”

And then, in archaic language, suggests that our actions should be informed by our knowledge of God in Jesus Christ.

“But still to make Thee prepossest

And give it his perfection.”

The meaning becomes clearer as the poem develops and Herbert suggests that all our actions can and should be done for the sake of God.

“A servant with this clause

Makes drudgery divine:

Who sweeps a room as for Thy laws,

Makes that and the action fine.”

If Christ is the gate through whom we move into the weekday world, we will bring to that world something of which it is in dire need – the self-giving love of the Good Shepherd to whom this church is dedicated and to whom we seek to dedicate our lives.