Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Official Report 820KB 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 the Rev Professor Donald MacDonald, chair of the Scottish churches’ disability agenda group.

How thrilling it was to watch the amazing achievements of athletes at the recent Olympics and Paralympics. We rightly salute those who won glory for themselves and their country, as well as those who did their best but did not win a medal. We celebrate the individual self-sacrifice, application and perseverance in the face of tremendous difficulties, and also the teamwork and technical advances that made those achievements possible. Are such competitions helpful for the vast majority of people with disabilities, who can never hope to emulate such achievements?

The New Testament often compares the Christian life to an athletic contest or a long-distance race. The Letter to the Hebrews, chapter 11, verse 1, says:

“let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us”.

Here the emphasis is not on competition, but on personal discipline, on perseverance and on helping others along the way, for just a few verses later we are told:

“Strengthen the feeble arms and weak knees. Make level paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.”

The Bible makes it clear that our worth as human beings does not depend on any ability, capability or achievement. We are all made in God’s image and we have an intrinsic dignity that does not depend on the degree of physical or mental capacity. We rightly treasure human independence and autonomy, but that must be tempered by the reality that we are all dependent on one another, some more so than others.

I am so grateful for the state provision of personal care and I salute those who help me in this way cheerfully and efficiently. I believe that it is an aspect of true human dignity to give and receive care.

Christians get their inspiration from those who have run the race before them, and especially from looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. I do not know where members get their inspiration from, but I invite them to reflect on the reality of their own particular race in life and how they might best continue to serve others along life’s journey.

And now a prayer.

Lord, we thank you for the inspiration of those who have overcome great difficulties to reach success in their chosen sport. May we recommit ourselves to run the race of life with perseverance, as we serve one another, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.