Years ago, a friend of mine asked me to take her cousin on a hill walk to show her the best of the famous Scottish Highlands. I knew she was a capable hillwalker, so I agreed and decided on the Lairig Ghru western ridge, made up of four Munros: Braeriach, Cairn Toul, the Angel\u2019s Peak and the Devil\u2019s Point. The ridge offers spectacular views and a satisfying hillwalking experience. My plan was simple: leave the car park, walk up the first summit, follow the ridge, bagging the Munros along the way, then climb down, walk back along the bottom of the glen and back to the car park. Everything was going well for most of the day, but time was getting short as we left the Angel\u2019s Peak. I decided to cut the walk short by leaving out the Devil\u2019s Point. That would give us enough time to get back to the car park before dark. We made good progress, but not good enough; we got to the far end of the glen when darkness fell \u2013 it was pitch black. Between us and the car park there was the Chalamain Gap – a narrow, pathless passage, treacherous in daylight, virtually impassable in the darkness. No need to fear! I produced a head torch, put it on, switched it on and was ready to go. My companion wasn\u2019t. She didn\u2019t have a head torch and we were a bit like the bridesmaids in today\u2019s gospel. The cousin was eminently prettier than me, but I had a working lamp\u2026<\/p>\n
\u2018Be prepared\u2019 could headline the parable in today\u2019s gospel. Even without detailed knowledge of the wedding traditions of the time, we understand that the lack of preparedness, planning ahead and taking various scenarios into consideration sealed the fate of the irresolute bridesmaids. That might sound strange to some ears; doesn\u2019t faith mean relying exclusively on God\u2019s providence? Such a belief used to be quite popular, particularly in France, Italy, and Spain in the 1670s and 1680s. It was called quietism and essentially preached a total reliance on God, relinquishing any semblance of individuals\u2019 care for themselves. It was condemned by Pope Innocent XI as heretical, and rightly so because it was contrary to the teaching of the Bible. Similar attitudes crop up within the Church every now and again, but universally we understand that faith requires and demands the use of our brains and willpower.<\/p>\n
\u2018Be prepared\u2019 then, but for what? Being prepared for everything isn\u2019t possible in practical terms. Property insurance can illustrate that. We\u2019ve heard of people whose insurance policy didn\u2019t cover a specific incident, but they learnt that only after such an incident had happened. Life is so full of surprises, twists and turns, and not all of them are pleasant. We can and should prepare for predictable situations, but what about the unexpected? I think that today\u2019s parable can point us in the right direction.<\/p>\n
\u2018Your word is like a lamp that guides my steps, a light that shows the path I should take.\u2019 (Psalm 119:105)<\/em> Like my head torch, the ancient lamps recalled in the Bible offered enough light just for a few steps ahead. Only having taken those steps will you see more. The word of God casts a new light on events, situations and occurrences; to see them in a different way; it helps to deal with them in a better, more effective and constructive way. The word of God makes us prepared for anything in a different manner – we become adaptive, flexible in finding ways and solutions.<\/p>\n Having a copy of the Bible – which contains the word of God – is essential but not sufficient. \u2018The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.\u2019 (Hebrews 4:12)<\/em> We must read and reflect on the word of God, let it confront our attitudes and challenge us. In such a way we let it gradually form and shape us to become more responsive to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit and consequently flexible and adaptive. Why? Because \u2018faith comes from what is heard\u2019 (Romans 10:17)<\/em> If we listen to the word of God, we will have faith in God; otherwise we will become open to believing in all kinds of nonsense. Let me give you a simple example.<\/p>\n When the current pandemic led to full lockdown back in March many people understandably moaned and groaned about their inability to carry on as usual. I was frustrated no less than anyone else, but I found a helpful analogy between our situation and that of the Israelites who left Egypt for the promised land. Life as they had known it was no more; they had to find and develop a new way of life; they had to tackle multiple challenges head-on; they complained about their new normal and wished to go back to their now rose-tinted past life in Egypt. But they persevered and eventually reached their destination. For your personal and our collective journey through life we can take this: \u2018Your word is like a lamp that guides my steps, a light that shows the path I should take.\u2019<\/em> Bon voyage!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Years ago, a friend of mine asked me to take her cousin on a hill walk to show her the best of the famous Scottish Highlands. I knew she was a capable hillwalker, so I agreed and decided on the Lairig Ghru western ridge, made up of four Munros: Braeriach, Cairn Toul, the Angel\u2019s Peak and the Devil\u2019s Point. The ridge offers spectacular views and a satisfying hillwalking experience. My plan was simple: leave the car park, walk up the first summit, follow the ridge, bagging the Munros along the way, then climb down, walk back along the bottom of the glen and back to the car park. Everything was going well for most of the day, but time was getting short as we left the Angel\u2019s Peak. I decided to cut the walk short by leaving out the Devil\u2019s Point. That would give us enough time to get back to the car park before dark. We made good progress, but not good enough; we got to the far end of the glen when darkness fell \u2013 it was pitch black. Between us and the car park there was the Chalamain Gap – a narrow, pathless passage, treacherous in daylight, virtually impassable in the darkness. No need to fear! I produced a head torch, put it on, switched it on and was ready to go. My companion wasn\u2019t. She didn\u2019t have a head torch and we were a bit like the bridesmaids in today\u2019s gospel. The cousin was eminently prettier than me, but I had a working lamp\u2026 \u2018Be prepared\u2019 could headline the parable in today\u2019s gospel. Even without detailed knowledge of the wedding traditions of the time, we understand that the lack of preparedness, planning ahead and taking various scenarios into consideration sealed the fate of the irresolute bridesmaids. That might sound strange to some ears; doesn\u2019t faith mean relying exclusively on God\u2019s providence? Such a belief used to be quite popular, particularly in France, Italy, and Spain in the 1670s and 1680s. It was called quietism and essentially preached a total reliance on God, relinquishing any semblance of individuals\u2019 care for themselves. It was condemned by Pope Innocent XI as heretical, and rightly so because it was contrary to the teaching of the Bible. Similar attitudes crop up within the Church every now and again, but universally we understand that faith requires and demands the use of our brains and willpower. \u2018Be prepared\u2019 then, but for what? Being prepared for everything isn\u2019t possible in practical terms. Property insurance can illustrate that. We\u2019ve heard of people whose insurance policy didn\u2019t cover a specific incident, but they learnt that only after such an incident had happened. Life is so full of surprises, twists and turns, and not all of them are pleasant. We can and should prepare for predictable situations, but what about the unexpected? I think that today\u2019s parable can point us in the right direction. \u2018Your word is like a lamp that guides my steps, a light that shows the path I should take.\u2019 (Psalm 119:105) Like my head torch, the ancient lamps recalled in the Bible offered enough light just for a few steps ahead. Only having taken those steps will you see more. The word of God casts a new light on events, situations and occurrences; to see them in a different way; it helps to deal with them in a better, more effective and constructive way. The word of God makes us prepared for anything in a different manner – we become adaptive, flexible in finding ways and solutions. Having a copy of the Bible – which contains the word of God – is essential but not sufficient. \u2018The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.\u2019 (Hebrews 4:12) We must read and reflect on the word of God, let it confront our attitudes and challenge us. In such a way we let it gradually form and shape us to become more responsive to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit and consequently flexible and adaptive. Why? Because \u2018faith comes from what is heard\u2019 (Romans 10:17) If we listen to the word of God, we will have faith in God; otherwise we will become open to believing in all kinds of nonsense. Let me give you a simple example. When the current pandemic led to full lockdown back in March many people understandably moaned and groaned about their inability to carry on as usual. I was frustrated no less than anyone else, but I found a helpful analogy between our situation and that of the Israelites who left Egypt for the promised land. Life as they had known it was no more; they had to find and develop a new way of life; they had to tackle multiple challenges head-on; they complained about their new normal and wished to go back to their now rose-tinted past life in Egypt. But they persevered and eventually reached their destination. For your personal and our collective journey through life we can take this: \u2018Your word is like a lamp that guides my steps, a light that shows the path I should take.\u2019 Bon voyage!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon","category-year-a"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tad.scot\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tad.scot\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tad.scot\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tad.scot\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tad.scot\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13291"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tad.scot\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13291\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tad.scot\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tad.scot\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tad.scot\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}