Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Official Report 786KB pdf

Time for Reflection

Good afternoon. Our first item of business is time for reflection. Our time for reflection leader is the Rev MaryAnn Rennie, parish minister of the abbey church of Dunfermline.

Presiding Officer and members of the Scottish Parliament, thank you for the invitation to offer a reflection today.

These past few weeks have been full of celebrations for the church community of which I am part. On 17 and 18 February, we marked 200 years since the rediscovery of the tomb of Robert the Bruce, and this weekend just past, we have been celebrating 200 years since the laying of the foundation stone of the “new” abbey church.

The first of those two events, the rediscovery of the tomb, led to a hurried redrafting of the plans for the new building by the architect, William Burn. It was not until three years later that the vision of the new design was visible to all, as the tower of the church soared into the sky and the crown around it declared “King Robert the Bruce”. At the time, there was criticism; one unnamed commentator was quoted in The Annals of Dunfermline as declaring,

“The great tower is out of architectural proportion, and the words ... round the top of it are in bad taste.”

For people who visit Dunfermline today, the tower and those words act as a signpost, bringing those who are looking for royalty to our door. Of course, today they also have to navigate through the one-way system.

The boasting of an earthly king on a building that was created for worship with the heavens frequently prompts the question, “Why this name rather than Christ’s name?” As a Christian community, our purpose is to be the church in worship and in action. At times, the history can be overwhelming of our purpose.

Although we celebrate Robert the Bruce’s myth, mystique and heroism, we are also aware of his duplicity, subterfuge and bloodshed. Those elements of his life are shared with other historical and even biblical heroes. They are reminders of the flaws of humanity.

The meeting of the gospel story of Jesus Christ with the story of the king of Scots within the building brings richness to Jesus’s meeting with the flaws of humanity while still looking for the best. In challenging politician, thief and religious leader, Jesus brought to the fore human qualities of love, compassion and justice that are to be treasured, inspired and nurtured.

We do not need to have faith to know the challenge of being part of a community. Living with other people can mean knowing too well the adage, “Sticks and stones may break my bones,” but living with others should be an opportunity to look for and celebrate the best of another, and to be enriched by that encounter.