Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Official Report 850KB pdf

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Time for Reflection

Good afternoon. The first item of business this afternoon is time for reflection. Our time for reflection leader today is Pastor Stephen Hibbard of Sheddocksley Baptist church, Aberdeen.

Presiding Officer, members of the Scottish Parliament, Archimedes cried “Eureka!” when he received the revelation about the displacement of water. We, too, can have moments of new discovery. We may call them epiphanies, revelations or paradigm shifts. We begin to see the world in a different light because of a new idea or experience.

Peter, a close associate of Jesus, had one such moment. He had been out fishing all night, yet caught nothing. Those professional fishermen returning from a trip with an empty boat—not a single fish—must have been frustrated, exhausted and, perhaps, critical of one another. They had nothing to sell and nothing to eat.

Jesus asked Peter to go out into the deep water and try one last time. Jesus was a joiner, not a fisherman. What did he know about fishing? It was the wrong time of day, and they had exhausted their effort and experience. However, one reason alone made Peter cast his net again: it was simply because Jesus said so. He was willing to place confidence in the advice of Jesus because he sensed something different about him. In Luke chapter 5 , verse 5, we read:

“Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

The result was overwhelming: the catch was too large for one boat, so they called their partners and, together, they filled both boats to the point of sinking.

As our country’s political leaders, you all need wisdom, new ideas and fresh approaches, especially when the nets seem empty and we are faced with the challenge of catching.

We all want more jobs, increasing wealth, greater skills, healthier lifestyles, stronger families, supportive communities and safer streets, but we can get frustrated and worn out. What do we do when the nets are empty? What do we do when trying harder or depending on our own experience is not enough?

When you go to your window, to your contemplation space—a key design feature of this Parliament building—why not listen to Jesus for some inspiration? Why not ask him to show you where to cast the net? We can so easily find ourselves listening to the loudest or most critical voices rather than following that inner voice that makes us radical and creative.

My prayer is that you might be open to the revelation of the living Jesus, so that Scotland may be a more prosperous, peaceful and self-assured nation.