Plenary, 19 Nov 2003

Meeting date: Wednesday, November 19, 2003

Official Report 324KB 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 Alan Sorensen, who is minister of Wellpark Mid Kirk in Greenock.

Many folk would have us believe that Christians are a bunch of pansies, wimps and big Jessies. Nowadays, any sort of religious faith is seen as something for wimps and church is seen as only for little old ladies with fur coats and hats with big pins stuck in them, or for those who are sad and lonely. Perhaps it sometimes seems so, but that was certainly not what Jesus had in mind when he called people to follow him.

Consider the folk Jesus hung around with: terrorists, rent collectors, prostitutes and fishermen. I do not know about you, but I do not know any namby-pamby fishermen. I go on holiday to the north-east and see those guys coming off the boats. They are real gutsy men. They do not have hairs on their arms—they have twigs. If their shirts were ripped open, "I love diesel" would be seen tattooed on their chests. Jesus called real gutsy men to follow him.

If I were to ask you to think of a disciple, you might think of Peter or Andrew. Both were fishermen. Jesus gave Peter that name, which means the rock. I like to think of Peter wearing a leather jacket with a stud-pattern on its back that spells Rocky.

I am saying such things because it seems to me that doing the right thing—following conscience, making decisions for the benefit of others and standing up against injustice—requires real courage and real determination. Living out the Christian life is anything but a soft option. Ask any young person that. Let us be honest, if a young person tells their friends that they go to church, have a faith or pray, they are likely to be crucified.

Whatever you decide as members of the Scottish Parliament and whatever issues you tackle, you will have your critics—MSPs probably know more about crucifixion than most. Your vocation requires real courage and guts, which is what the people whom Jesus called to follow him required.

However, perhaps the most important thing from my perspective—as someone who has faith—is that you are not left alone in your vocation. If you believe in prayer, I remind you that you are prayed for in churches throughout the land every week. Even if you do not believe in prayer, you should remember that a sizeable chunk of people focus their minds positively towards you. More than that, there has always been the belief that God is on the side of those who are working to make his world a better place.

Members of the Scottish Parliament, you have a difficult job, but you should be courageous and bold and be assured of the prayers of the people of Scotland.

Thank you.