Meeting of the Parliament
Meeting date: Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Official Report
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Time for Reflection
Good afternoon. The first item of business this afternoon is time for reflection, as always. Our time for reflection leader today is Father Willy Slavin from St Peter’s and St Simon’s parishes in Glasgow.
Father Willy Slavin (St Peter’s and St Simon’s Parishes, Glasgow)
On this day last year—Ash Wednesday 2010—the Vice-President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, took his weekly press conference with his forehead clearly daubed with ashes in the shape of a cross. Some were impressed and said that it was good for a politician to be seen wearing even a semblance of sackcloth and ashes. Others were not so impressed and said that they would have liked more convincing evidence of repentance from such a powerful person.
Of course, it is not only politicians whose dreams have turned to ashes. All of us who have taken any part in public life have hoped to achieve more than we have, but politicians have tried harder, or at least more publicly, than most of us, so you may feel your disappointments more acutely. That you cannot even confess that lest unforgiving media take advantage of you is not least among the crosses that you have to bear.
The 40 days of Lent, which traditionally begin today, are a preparation for Easter. The word “Easter” comes from the old English “Eostre”. As the days lent-gthen—I use an old English accent—we enjoy the growth of springtime. For Christians, it is a time for the cultivation of mind, heart and neighbour by prayer, penance and almsgiving—or, as we would prefer to say nowadays, by meditation, dieting and fundraising. The advantage of those contemporary terms is that they allow Christians to work in solidarity with all those who take an interest in meditation, dieting and fundraising. Many in our country want to do something to save the world by committing themselves to such disciplines of mind, body and community.
What is in that for politicians? In response to the current financial insecurity, many of you have spoken publicly of the need to resurrect certain values that are needed for human growth. Things such as worklessness, obesity and never-mind-the-other-person attitudes are not what we think of as Scottish, but neither are they likely to be cured by a secret genie or an undiscovered gene.
Lent is another way of expressing the simple human truth of no pain, no gain. Christians do not think of the cross as the end. We look forward to Easter, but today—Ash Wednesday—we are invited to self-examination and then to accept the challenge to do what we can to change ourselves that we might become more fit to change the world. I hope that we have your support for the next 40 days as we meditate, diet and fundraise.