The Message
Dear friends,
As I prepare for our forthcoming New Communicants Class, I can’t help thinking back to my own preparations to join the Church. I attended a series of afternoon meetings in the Chaplaincy of Glasgow University with its then Chaplain - the redoubtable Reverend Ritchie. And much of his guidance I remember quite clearly. Such as he stated we all should be diligent with our daily Bible study. Advice that is not always easy to keep up particularly after a difficult day or when not feeling 100 percent. That’s why my curiosity was aroused when this year’s Moderator of the General Assembly chose to be given a copy of ‘The Message’ as his traditional gift from the Scottish Bible Society. So when I found myself browsing in the bookstall in one of the Assembly Rooms I couldn’t resist picking it of the shelf. Now I have to say I am not a great fan of some modern translations. Yet, this translation somehow presented familiar words in a fresh and highly engaging way. So much so I bought it without hesitation. Later that evening, I found myself reading whole chunks at a time of the New Testament rather than mulling over short passages. Take its rendition of the Lord’s Prayer as an example:
Father, reveal who you are,
Set the world right,
Keep us alive with three square meals,
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others,
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
And this brings me to another bit of Mr Ritchie’s advice. He said, from time to time, we should read a whole gospel at one sitting rather as we would a chapter of a novel. Well here is sage wisdom no matter which Bible version we prefer. For the occasional rapid reading of Jesus’ whole life, gives us again the spark of excitement we experienced that first time we encountered the Word of God. Let us then this summer resolve to take an hour out and reread one gospel with all the enthusiasm, openness and expectation we once had and may have lost a while. Because then we could well become refreshed and ‘recycled’ communicants!
With every blessing this summer and always,
Graham
