Plenary, 07 Oct 2009
Meeting date: Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Official Report
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Time for Reflection
Good afternoon. The first item of business is time for reflection. Our time for reflection leader is the Rev Martin Thomson from Dalry Trinity Church in Ayrshire.
The Rev Martin Thomson (Dalry Trinity Church):
Thank you very much for this opportunity to speak. I also say a word of thanks to Kenneth Gibson, who suggested that my name be put forward. I gather that Mr Gibson's wife is due to have a baby this week, so he is not with us today.
What brought a former maths teacher and former chairman of an astronomical society from such a science background into Christian ministry? The simple answer is the grace of Christ. Grace means being given something that I do not deserve.
I hope that you will permit me to steal an illustration from Victor Hugo's "Les Misérables", which is set around the time of the French revolution. The opening scene captures something of what it means to be treated with grace. The criminal Jean Valjean is a bitter man, having spent 19 years in a chain gang for stealing a loaf of bread. Following release, the local bishop provides him with a meal and a bed for the night. In the middle of the night, Valjean creeps downstairs to steal the bishop's cutlery. The bishop hears him, comes to investigate and gets knocked out by Valjean, who runs off with the silver. The next day, Valjean is stopped by the local police. He insists that the silver was a gift. When the captain of the guard asks whether that is true, the bishop, sporting a huge black eye, replies, "Yes, I gave it to him, but he forgot to take the silver candlesticks—give him the candlesticks as well." A stunned Valjean is released and given the silver candlesticks as well.
The bishop could treat Valjean in three different ways. First, with justice—he could give the criminal what he deserves. In that case, the spoons would be returned and Valjean would be returned to prison. Secondly, he could treat him with mercy, which is less than he deserves—return the spoons, but do not press charges and Valjean goes free. That would be merciful. Thirdly, the bishop could do what he actually does, which is to treat Valjean with grace. He gives him a very expensive, utterly undeserved gift. That is grace, and it is at the very heart of the Christian message of the Christ.
Grace is also challenging. I who have been treated with grace ought to show grace. How do I react when kids come into my garden, as they did in April, and smash my windows or when they return in May and set fire to my car at 5 am—a kind of flambé Toyota? One thing that we are exploring in our church is offering a drop-in centre alternative on Friday evenings, the evening when those kids tend to get up to such things. Grace demands such things. Grace transforms. The grace of Christ brought me to where I am as a Christian minister and a Christian, and grace can transform communities.