Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Tuesday, March 19, 2019

Official Report 920KB pdf

Time for Reflection

Good afternoon. The first item of business today is time for reflection. Our time for reflection leader is the Rev Jim McNeil, who is the minister of Alva parish church.

I know that when you look at me, all that you see is a minister, because I am wearing the garb. Before I became a minister, I was trained as a microbiologist. I know that you do not argue with each other, because you are far more esteemed than I am—I am nowhere near that esteemed.

One of the biggest rows that I ever had was with my mum. It was about microbiology. She had come back from the doctors and told me that she had got some antibiotics for her cold. Being a microbiologist, I said, “You don’t get antibiotics for a cold, because a cold is a virus, and antibiotics deal with bacteria.”

My mum felt that I was looking down on her. She was not going to put up with that, so she stood her ground and was not backing off. Because I was a microbiologist, and I was right, I was not backing off. By the time that my dad came in from his work, the two of us were not so much discussing as screaming at each other. He calmed us down, listened to the arguments and said, “It’s obvious—your mum’s right.” Off went mum, happy as Larry, into the kitchen. I looked at my dad and said, “She’s so wrong.” He said, “Yeah, of course.” I responded by asking, “How could you take her side when you know she’s wrong?” He said, “Jim, you don’t need to sleep with her.” [Laughter.]

My dad may have started as a sheet metal work apprentice for Upper Clyde Shipbuilders, but at that moment he was Yoda, a Jedi master—he was the wisest man on the earth. He saw that, in the end, it is not the winning or the losing of an argument that matters; in the end, it is relationships that matter. He saw that the community in our house would grow or wither on what we say and what we do.

Every faith and every philosophy have at their basis the importance of relationships—maybe with a higher being; definitely with other people. My simple words of advice to you this day are these: if you think that you are struggling—to be honest, in this climate who is not?—do not look towards your rituals, your philosophies or your religious or political dogmas, but look to your relationships. Rely on them and trust in them. Maybe see our legacy as how we make this country a community, where everyone can call it home; a place where you can be listened to respectfully and know that you are loved and cared for.

I will say a wee word of prayer—if you want to regard that as a reflection, I am quite happy with that. May we do what we need to do this day to help grow our community, and may we consider how every decision that we make helps or hinders that community. Amen.