Message from our Locum – 19 March

Hebrews 6:19, “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,” (NIV)

Friends, I offer you here a message of hope in these days of dire circumstances. I must communicate with you in this fashion for a while until some form of normality returns. I will endeavour, with others help, to post  resources for listening and prayer on this web site and perhaps you might be able to let some see these things on an iPad or android so that more might feel they are still being included and still part of the body of the Church. Only if safe to do so.

The visits to homes and hospital have been curtailed for everyones’ safety. All activities of the church have been suspended for a duration by very strong advice from the Church of Scotland head office at 121 George Street. In particular from the The Church’s Covid-19 Task Group, following the dictates given by the Westminster and Scottish Parliaments, to cease meets in large groups etc. You can find the entire message on the Church of Scotland web site.

The pastoral team, led by Evelyn Green, is putting together a support group who will keep in touch by phone and respond to the needs of anyone in appropriate ways. Many thanks to Stuart and Elizabeth McMahon who diligently keep magazine and web site afloat.

The Coronavirus is climbing the curve to its peak over the next few weeks, and we have gone into what is being called ‘lock-down’. Everything has been cancelled. A friend refers to the like as an old movie, “The Day the World Stood Still”, where everything was shut down by alien intervention.

Life as we knew it has all but gone, for a while at least. What post COVID 19 will look like for our world is anyone’s guess at the moment. Parliamentarians are displaying a unique measure of cooperation driven by concern, or if you are cynical, a need to make sure they are not left behind or criticise too deeply the measures being put in place.

Of course, many of the Church Family are concerned for their loved ones and for themselves, for many are in those groups where there is greater risk of serious illness, perhaps even death.

For the Christian hope springs eternal. (People will keep on hoping, no matter what the odds). For the Christian, hope is birthed at the renewing of the Spirit. There is no such thing as a Christian without hope. We might despair at times, but the underlying strength that guides and overcomes flows from our hope in the Lord Jesus and His promise to be with us always until the end of the age and through eternity. Matt 28:20

“Hope” by George Frederick Watts

In his painting of ‘HOPE’ by George Frederic Watts, presented in 1897 as an oil on canvas, Hope is blindfolded, battered and ragged, seated on a globe and playing a lyre with only one remaining string as all others are broken.Watts wanted to find some image that could describe a  universal reality of his times, a message some would see as despair, but others would see that hope comes from the music that the remaining string might provide, as Watt explained. Our world could be like that image today with corona virus attacking our lives, yet there is still a way of salvation even if only hanging by one thin thread.

The Christian hope has seen everything and endured everything, and still has not despaired, because it believes in God. It is not hope in the human spirit, in human goodness, in human achievement; it is hope in the power of God. Barclay, W. (2002). The Letter to the Romans (3rd ed. fully rev. & updated, p. 231). Louisville, KY; London: Westminster John Knox Press.

Hope in the context of Hebrews 6 and 19 might be expressed metaphorically, perhaps, in three ways. Paul makes known in His Epistle that a weak faith or immature faith can be a danger to the Christian who might then become discouraged and doubtful, but because we are anchored to a faithful God we should be patient, fearless and confident.

Hebrews 6:19, “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,” (NIV)

Firstly then, verse 19 might describe hope as a refuge. You may find a reference here to the cities of refuge in Numbers 35 or Joshua 20. A safe city where one could live away from a broken law or a fortress where one could be safe and secure within.

Joshua 20. 1, “Then the Lord said to Joshua: 2. “Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses….””

Secondly the symbol of the anchor is known commonly as that of hope. The anchor that keeps the ship at bay in peace, always remembering when the anchor is down the ship is in a safe haven. Jesus Christ is the rock we are anchored to. We sing with the Boys Brigade their anthem ‘Will your anchor hold in the storms of life’, and, presumably, they will as “we have an anchor that keeps the soul steadfast and sure while the billows roll.”

Thirdly, as Christ’s ones we are permitted to go into the Holy places that only the Priests were allowed in the temple behind the curtain. In other words,  Jesus is our High Priest and we can come to the Father God through Him with confidence in our prayers anytime, anywhere and for any request.

All these metaphorical references leave us with a powerful message of the refuge we have in Jesus who, by His death and resurrection, has won for us salvation and an assurance that we can approach God directly in his inner most holy place with prayers of thanksgiving, supplication and intercession. We are further assured that our God is a God who answers prayer according to His will and in His perfect timing.

Our hope is not founded on earthly things per se, but on Heavenly things. Jesus has gone before us and has prepared a place for those who believe in Him and have accepted Him into their hearts. That is the nature of our hope. A hope of everlasting life and a change in our lives right now.

With that hope comes strength and fortitude to stand up to what ever life might throw at us. It is the thought of that refuge and safe haven that is Christ Jesus that grounds us in a state of ‘shalom’ when all  around is turmoil and worry.

So, as we go through the coming weeks, we should be steadfast and disciplined in our prayer times, our Bible reading and open to God’s calling and remain optimistic of the outcome when hope springs eternal and hope, born of the knowledge that love lives in us and works through us by Jesus’ Holy Spirit.

Friends, do not fall into despair for Jesus is close, seek that closeness with all your heart and treasure it, for such is the Kingdom foundations.

Lastly, I will try and keep writing these little thoughts and maybe recording sermons in future as the provision becomes available and practical.

Let me echo the beautiful salutation given by Jesus to His disciples and those within earshot.

John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Your friend, and locum, Brian Murray