Scott’s Spot – February 2022 - Gratis

‘Gratis’ can be defined as: ‘something received or given without payment’. In the world around us however the idea of ‘gratis’ is often met with suspicion. There’s no such thing as a free gift, we’re told. Read the small print and there’s always a catch, for experience suggests that you never get something for nothing. So when we receive a phone call telling us we’ve won a free holiday, or an email saying we’ve come up trumps in some obscure lottery, we’re more than a touch suspicious.

When it comes to the central message of the Christian faith however, I suspect that wariness is an unhelpful barrier, because Christianity is all about gratis. The Bible word for this is ‘grace’ and it is grace that sets the Christian faith apart from all other religions. At root the other world religions are about what people do for God. Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, the message is: ‘do this’, ‘pray this’, ‘go there’, ‘learn this’ in order to draw closer to God. They are about what we do; the onus is on us. On the other hand, Christianity is all about receiving freely what God has already done – grace. The central message is this: God on a cross in Jesus, paying the price for sin, opening the way to restored relationship with God, and a new life shaped by Divine help and eternal hope, is a gift freely offered to all. As the Apostle Paul put it: ‘For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of your own doing; it is a gift of God...’ (Ephesians 2:8).

But, for some reading this, the ‘no such thing as a free gift’ alarm may be ringing. What of the expectations that seem to accompany the Christian life? What about church and worship, life lived under Jesus’ leadership, the expectation to change? Doesn’t all this mean that even God’s grace isn’t gratis; that there are still strings attached? Well it is a matter of order – which comes first – for the Christian life does indeed include these things. Here’s the order that stands religious thinking on its head. The gift is offered, we receive it by faith, and only then does our gratitude, understanding and love lead naturally to a heart-felt desire to respond. The response to grace is loving service. Earning forgiveness and favour with God - even slightly contributing to it - is not in the picture.

Below is a modern parable that is perhaps helpful for understanding the gracious nature of the Christian gospel.

A rich man loved collecting pieces of art and his home was full of Picasso and Cezanne and other famous artists. One day his son was killed in action saving another man’s life. That saved man visited bringing a portrait he’d made of the son as a gift. He explained that it wasn’t great art, but he thought the father might like it. A few years later the old man died and all his art works went to auction. The sale began with the portrait of the son, but the connoisseurs complained that it didn’t constitute real art so when the auctioneer asked for a bid, the room was silent.

He asked again: “Who will take the son?” Eventually, a frail old man, the rich man’s gardener, offered £10, all he had, but no one raised the bid, so the painting was his.

Suddenly the auctioneer brought down his gavel and declared the sale closed. There was uproar in the room. What about the real paintings? The auctioneer made known the rich man’s will. Whoever bought the portrait of his son would inherit his entire estate, including the valuable art collection.

He had recalibrated the value system – whoever got the son, got everything.

May God’s grace and peace be with you,

Revd. Scott.

Scott’s Spot – May 2022 - One Solitary Life

Consider this. He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in yet another village, where he worked in a carpenter’s shop until he was thirty. Then for three years he was an itinerant preacher.

He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a house. He didn’t go to college. He never visited a big city. He never travelled more than two hundred miles from the place where he was born; he did none of the things that we usually associate with greatness.

He had no credentials but himself. He was only thirty-three when the tide of public opinion suddenly turned against him. One of his closest followers betrayed him for money, one publically denied him, and all ran away. He was turned over to his enemies and faced a mockery of a trial where a murderer was released in his place. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While he was dying, his executioners gambled for his clothing, the only property he had on the earth. When he was dead, he was laid in a borrowed tomb through the pity of a friend.

Twenty centuries have come and gone, and today he is the central figure of faith for a third of the human race - followed by 2.4 billion people - and the influence behind much of mankind’s progress.

All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the shape of humanity on this earth as much as this one solitary life.

Have you ever asked yourself why?

Easter Day says it is because Jesus rose again, transforming running, hiding disciples into fearless gospel warriors and martyrs. The church says it is because of his living presence, power and hope at work within his people - power to change, power to heal, power to know courage and peace amongst the trials and challenges of life. Individual Christians say it is because he brings the new start we all yearn for, he brings the gift of a conscience wiped clean, and he brings certainty that the best is yet to come.

But what about you; how do you account for his influence?

May you know the grace and love he offers to all.

Revd. Scott.

Scott’s Spot – June 2022 - Our Queen at her Platinum Jubilee

Last month I wrote about the extraordinary effect that the life of Jesus has had, and continues to have, on the world. This ‘one solitary life’, which included none of the things we might usually associate with greatness, went on to shape the world like no other. Literally billions of lives have been transformed by Christ’s teachings, his self-less example, his eye-witnessed acts of Divine power, and, ultimately, the sacrificial giving of himself to death on a cross. And amongst those multitudes stands another extraordinary life of sacrificial service, one that we celebrate this month.

Our Queen is by any measure a remarkable woman. Here are some facts. She’s the longest reigning monarch in British history. She never went to university, but she has been the adviser and confidante to 14 British Prime Ministers. She is a 96-year–old senior citizen, but still works many hours a week.

She employs about one thousand two hundred people, but feeds her own dogs. She can rebuild the 3462 cc engine of an Austin K2 Ambulance, trek hatless for hours on her Fell pony, but she looks entirely elegant in the 488 diamond Koloshnik tiara.

She is the most famous woman in the world, but seems as relaxed in a school or residential care home as in the company of celebrities or other Heads of State. She is the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, attends church weekly, even on holiday, and prays daily.

She has no power to make political decisions but her personal authority has brought nations together. She has had a gruelling travel and work schedule for over 65 years but as the political commentator Andrew Marr once pointed out: ‘There are no reliable recorded incidents of the Queen loosing her temper, using bad language, or refusing to carry out a duty expected of her.’ Most of us would find it hard to match that record for one week never mind 70 years!

So what’s the secret of the Queen’s remarkable consistency of character and extraordinary contribution to nation, Commonwealth and the global community? Well that’s a question she herself answered in 2002. She wrote: ‘I know just how much I rely on my faith to guide me through the good times and the bad. Each day is a new beginning. I know that the only way to live my life is to try to do what is right, to take the long view, to give of my best in all that the day brings, and to put my trust in God…I draw strength from the message of hope in the Christian gospel.’

Just over 70 years ago at her first Christmas Broadcast as she prepared for her Coronation the following June, she asked the nation for prayer. As she reflected recently on this request she wrote: ‘I have been - and remain – very grateful to you for your prayers and to God for his steadfast love. I have indeed seen His faithfulness.’

Congratulations, your Majesty, on 70 years of faithful, joyful, persevering, generous-hearted, reign. We thank you, and we thank God for you.

Revd. Scott.

Scott’s Spot – January 2023 - The original and best (census theme)

Just before December last year, you may have heard that we now live in a minority Christian country. According to the 2021 census 46.2% of the population in England and Wales now describe themselves as “Christian” a fall from 59.3% a decade ago in 2011. Pundits spoke of this as a ‘pivotal moment’ with comparisons drawn to ‘the dark ages’, and to illustrate all this pictures of tiny congregations in large churches were shown.

How did you respond to the news? Perhaps with a ‘hooray, we’re a nation finally ridding itself of the shackles of repressive religion’ or maybe you felt this a moment to be regretted. How about your vicar then? Well three things came to mind. Firstly a slightly defensive: ‘well at least part of the drop - perhaps a significant part – may well be to do with many people no longer feeling they ought to write ‘Christian’ on the form’. My suspicion is that this census more accurately represents a long hidden truth that many will have written ‘Christian’ in the past not as worshipping, praying, growing, disciples of Jesus, but because of British social convention. This census probably reveals hearts more accurately.

My second response is that 46.2% equates to 27.5 million people. It can sometimes feel rather lonely being a Christian or a Christian leader in our culture. But to know that nearly 1 in 2 people do still express some kind of Christian affinity, is actually heartening. This is still a lot of people. Did you know that by comparison the combined membership of our four largest political parties is approximately 850,000?

And thirdly, as I grieve the reality of this moment, knowing in my daily life the hope, help and courage that flow from my partnership with Christ, I also want to ask the people of England and Wales a question: “how’s this working out for you?” As more than half of us no longer acknowledge Jesus Christ and our nation drifts from its Biblical moorings, how’s that going in practice?

The teachings of Christ and the Christian faith speak of God’s expectations in terms of public and private integrity. As we drift from this, how’s that working out even amongst those holding the highest Offices in our land? Christians are called to live in fellowship with God and each other, to ‘love neighbours as ourselves’, and in the pattern of Jesus to do so sacrificially. As we drift, how’s that working out in our increasingly individualistic and lonely culture, where voluntary organisations and charities are struggling to find support? Christ’s followers are called to have a special care for the weak, vulnerable and powerless amongst us. How have you felt about some of the care received by families who have landed on our shores seeking help?

God’s teaching is that parents are to be honoured and older members of society respected for their wisdom and experience.

Marriage and family are to be honoured as worthy of protection and nurture, and God’s call is for the powerful emotions involved in sexual expression to be reserved for the marriage bed. As we drift from these principles and find ourselves facing a ‘youth culture’ that rejects the wisdom of age, that is ever more sexually liberal, and that undermines family by advocating quick and ‘easy’ divorce, how’s that working out for us?

In 2031 another census will come along and the expectation is that the current pattern will continue. Even fewer people will consider themselves ‘Christian’. At the same time, my expectation is that the many painful and destructive consequences of this decline will continue to multiply. Might there possibly be a link?

With prayer and every blessing for the New Year and on into 2023,

Rev’d Scott.

Scott’s Spot – May 2023 - Defender of faith?

As this issue of CRN is delivered, the Coronation of Charles III will be in a matter of days. It will be a moment of great pageantry and symbolism, one not seen since 1953 when Elizabeth II was crowned Queen.

There will be much in the ceremony that will focus upon the Christian faith. The Orb with the cross on the top will be placed in the hands of King Charles, this representing the world under Christ’s sovereign rule. The St. Edward’s Crown, used when Charles is officially declared King, also bears the central Christian symbol of the cross front and centre. Oaths will be taken in the name of God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit; a Bible will be presented to Charles as a reminder of the authority under which he rules; and he will be anointed with holy oil and prayed for as he is formally set aside for the service God, our nation and the Common Wealth.

But there will also likely be changes. King Charles will want to put his own stamp on proceedings, and I suspect the most obvious will be his often voiced desire to be ‘the defender of faith’ rather than ‘the defender of the faith’.

What do you think about this change? Well maybe like me you are in two minds. On the one hand as a Christian and church leader I’m uneasy. I wonder whether our new king actually holds to the often repeated position that ‘all religions lead to the same god’. Despite this being an idea that dissolves quickly when you explore the world religions at even the most superficial level, I wonder if Charles has leanings in this direction. I’m not sure. What I am sure about is that the God of the Bible has plenty to say about our worship being focused upon him alone, and that the worship of anyone or anything else matters to him. It matters so much that Commandments 1 and 2 of the Ten are all about this (see Exodus 20). So I’m uneasy about the position as ‘defender of faith’ because even if King Charles is personally committed to the Christ of Christianity, his position could easily be misinterpreted.

On the other hand, we do live in a multi-cultural society that includes many different faith groups. So despite my reservations I find myself grateful that someone with such a high profile is prepared to stand in the defence of faith, including my own. For our King to effectively champion the freedom of religious expression at a time when the ‘tolerance’ of some is becoming tolerant only of those who agree with them, is timely and valuable.

The need for many ‘defenders of faith’ is a lesson of history. Martin Niemöller was a pastor in the German Confessing Church who spent seven years in a Nazi concentration camp. He wrote: ‘First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out because I was not a communist. Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist…Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out for me.’

So I think I see where King Charles is coming from and I am grateful for his public stance. I am also conscious that no one was more concerned for the defence of the powerless and marginalised than Christ the King of kings. Your Majesty…may He guide and defend you, as you seek to defend us.

Rev’d Scott. 

 Scott’s Spot – June 2023 - From pariah to the palace

At the time of writing, the nation is emerging from the coronation celebrations. Ceremonial uniforms have been hung up, the Crown Jewels and other ‘regalia’ returned to the Tower of London, the Coronation Concert stage dismantled and Take That may be planning their next tour. It’s been quite an occasion, one I won’t quickly forget.

For many, this was a significant moment. But I sense that, for one person in particular, the Coronation weekend has marked the end of a very long journey. I refer to Queen Camilla for whom the last 40 years has been marked by the gradual evolution of her public profile. Those years saw the undoubted pain of being labelled the ‘third person’ in a popular royal marriage, with all the associated press attention and messy web of truth and lies. As time has passed, we’ve witnessed the careful shaping of Camilla’s public profile. Titles have come and gone, her rank elevated, her role as a Working Royal expanded and her portfolio of charitable patronages multiplied. The journey has, I expect, been at times difficult, one requiring great tenacity, but a journey now largely completed. Crowned Queen Camilla, sitting enthroned alongside her husband King Charles III and then at the Coronation Concert taking her place at the heart of the Royal Family, speaks volumes. What a journey of acceptance from pariah to palace.

As I reflect on that journey and the likely enormous efforts involved, I suspect that some reading this might think that a similar pattern is true when it come to us people and God. It’s a popular misconception that the Christian faith requires of us a Camilla-like journey. The thinking goes that we put in the work, gradually cleaning up our act and doing the right things, in order to be accepted by God. As Camilla has been accepted by the nation through time and effort so too, we think, God will accept us through ours. But the bible’s message is that God’s route to His acceptance is very different.

Several times during the Coronation service, references were made to Jesus’ words from Mark 10 verse 45 – ‘The Son of Man (Jesus) came not to be served but to serve…’ King Charles echoed these words in his prayer and the Archbishop also referred to them, challenging us to seek the good of others above ourselves in the pattern of Jesus. What we didn’t hear was the rest of Jesus’ sentence: ‘…and to give his life as a ransom for many’. Here lies what separates the Queen Camilla approach to national acceptance, and the acceptance that God offers to all. In these words we find that it isn’t our work or effort that brings us acceptance with God, but rather the acceptance by faith that Jesus’ life, given in payment for our sin, was fully sufficient. It’s from this that grateful Christian service flows.

For Queen Camilla the journey from pariah to the palace has been long and hard, and I pray for Christ’s sustaining grace for both her and King Charles as they serve this nation in the years to come.

And I pray too that we don’t misunderstand the Christian faith so central to the recent Coronation, and imagine our journey into God’s acceptance as similar. No… our journeys of acceptance into the palace of God’s Kingdom don’t rely on our efforts, plans or manoeuvrings, but rather on the work of Jesus, the Servant King. Have you grasped the difference?

With prayer for you and those you love,

Rev’d Scott.