At a recent meeting I was asked why I came to Scotland. Because such a question has been cropping up many times on many an occasion, I had my points ready to present. But \u2013 to be absolutely honest \u2013 every time I struggle a bit, because all the reasons I give \u2013 all true \u2013 are rather the results than the causes of my stay in Scotland. You see, I\u2019d never been to Scotland before, my knowledge about this country was limited to a few stereotypes and a couple of films \u2013 hardly a solid basis upon which to make such an important decision. The most genuine answer I could give is at the same time the most nebulous to many people: I believe God sent me here.<\/p>\n
\u2018Leave your country, your family and your father\u2019s house, for the land I will show you\u2019<\/i>\u00a0\u2013 in these words God calls Abram to hit the road heading off into the unknown. This is a simple line; but the challenge behind it is anything but. Following this call guarantees no certainty in the future, no security in the present and severs all connection with the past. Taking up this challenge would expose Abram to unforeseen complications and dangers, offering in return uncertainty and instability. Abram is a wealthy man \u2013 in this adventure there\u2019s a lot to lose and little to gain. The only argument in favour of picking up the gauntlet is a promise made by God:\u00a0\u2018I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name [\u2026] famous.\u2019<\/i><\/p>\n
Fame and glory \u2013 these two \u2018qualities\u2019 are primary alongside those driving our modern culture. Tabloids, junk TV shows and gossip websites are invariably among the most popular sources of information about lives of the rich and famous. For many it\u2019s a substitute for glory, a way of basking in someone else\u2019s good fortune. It\u2019s delusional and sometimes dangerous, either stirring up someone\u2019s unrealistic expectations or depreciating their own quality of life. In the gospel the Apostles chased their own dreams of power, influence and fame, and perceived Jesus as the one to guarantee these. They clung to their delusion despite being told many times that they were wrong. In today\u2019s gospel three of them – Peter, James and John – are given the chance to have their expectations fulfilled, watching Jesus in a spectacular vision and talking to the most influential figures of the Jewish past. They are so happy that they want to put up tents to keep that moment of glory lasting forever. But they misunderstand the vision. It\u2019s not about fame and glory here and now \u2013 it\u2019s a glimpse of heaven, a glimpse of God\u2019s promise fulfilled. For here and now is this message about Jesus:\u00a0\u2018This is my Son. [\u2026] Listen to him.\u2019<\/i>\u00a0In the Bible this verb isn\u2019t just about paying attention to the voice; it also means acceptance and obedience to the voice. Whatever happens, whatever you experience, however great your doubts may be: listen to him and follow him. The Apostles\u2019 trust and obedience were tested to the limit when they saw their own dreams, expectations and wishes flogged, crucified and finally buried in the tomb on the day of Jesus\u2019 death. On that day they were victims of their own miscalculation, misinterpretation and misunderstanding because they hadn\u2019t paid attention to Jesus\u2019 message.<\/p>\n
Today we are called like Abram to leave our country. Not necessarily in the geographical or political sense. Lent is a time to revise our lives, secured with self-made safety nets methodically knotted over the years; Lent is a time to challenge our self-delusional expectations and to correct our miscalculations. But first and foremost Lent is a time of re-discovering that the promise of heaven has not expired, and that the promise is still given to each one of us to keep us going through the valley of darkness towards its fulfilment in the Father\u2019s house.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At a recent meeting I was asked why I came to Scotland. Because such a question has been cropping up many times on many an occasion, I had my points ready to present. But \u2013 to be absolutely honest \u2013 every time I struggle a bit, because all the reasons I give \u2013 all true \u2013 are rather the results than the causes of my stay in Scotland. You see, I\u2019d never been to Scotland before, my knowledge about this country was limited to a few stereotypes and a couple of films \u2013 hardly a solid basis upon which to make such an important decision. The most genuine answer I could give is at the same time the most nebulous to many people: I believe God sent me here. \u2018Leave your country, your family and your father\u2019s house, for the land I will show you\u2019\u00a0\u2013 in these words God calls Abram to hit the road heading off into the unknown. This is a simple line; but the challenge behind it is anything but. Following this call guarantees no certainty in the future, no security in the present and severs all connection with the past. Taking up this challenge would expose Abram to unforeseen complications and dangers, offering in return uncertainty and instability. Abram is a wealthy man \u2013 in this adventure there\u2019s a lot to lose and little to gain. The only argument in favour of picking up the gauntlet is a promise made by God:\u00a0\u2018I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name [\u2026] famous.\u2019 Fame and glory \u2013 these two \u2018qualities\u2019 are primary alongside those driving our modern culture. Tabloids, junk TV shows and gossip websites are invariably among the most popular sources of information about lives of the rich and famous. For many it\u2019s a substitute for glory, a way of basking in someone else\u2019s good fortune. It\u2019s delusional and sometimes dangerous, either stirring up someone\u2019s unrealistic expectations or depreciating their own quality of life. In the gospel the Apostles chased their own dreams of power, influence and fame, and perceived Jesus as the one to guarantee these. They clung to their delusion despite being told many times that they were wrong. In today\u2019s gospel three of them – Peter, James and John – are given the chance to have their expectations fulfilled, watching Jesus in a spectacular vision and talking to the most influential figures of the Jewish past. They are so happy that they want to put up tents to keep that moment of glory lasting forever. But they misunderstand the vision. It\u2019s not about fame and glory here and now \u2013 it\u2019s a glimpse of heaven, a glimpse of God\u2019s promise fulfilled. For here and now is this message about Jesus:\u00a0\u2018This is my Son. [\u2026] Listen to him.\u2019\u00a0In the Bible this verb isn\u2019t just about paying attention to the voice; it also means acceptance and obedience to the voice. Whatever happens, whatever you experience, however great your doubts may be: listen to him and follow him. The Apostles\u2019 trust and obedience were tested to the limit when they saw their own dreams, expectations and wishes flogged, crucified and finally buried in the tomb on the day of Jesus\u2019 death. On that day they were victims of their own miscalculation, misinterpretation and misunderstanding because they hadn\u2019t paid attention to Jesus\u2019 message. Today we are called like Abram to leave our country. Not necessarily in the geographical or political sense. Lent is a time to revise our lives, secured with self-made safety nets methodically knotted over the years; Lent is a time to challenge our self-delusional expectations and to correct our miscalculations. But first and foremost Lent is a time of re-discovering that the promise of heaven has not expired, and that the promise is still given to each one of us to keep us going through the valley of darkness towards its fulfilment in the Father\u2019s house.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-309","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\/309","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=309"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tad.scot\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tad.scot\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tad.scot\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tad.scot\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}