Neil's blog

Preachers among you, ever had that sinking feeling, as you prepare notes for the sermon you’re about to deliver? Yesterday, while preparing for my last preach in charge of the vacancy at St Columba’s, Stewarton, I had a growing dissatisfaction with my preparations and felt God wanting me to put a line through it, and take another tack. And that’s what happened, praise God!

I felt God wanted me to assure the dear folk of St Columba’s that God’s Peace was theirs, but that it’s a Peace for stretching as we serve God in the World. And so I tried to help them anticipate a period of blessing, as their new minister (George Lind) and his wife (Rae), arrive together to follow Jesus. When Jesus blessed, healed & breathed Peace into people it was often a preparation for another stretching experience. The Peace God gives is not the comfortable, cosy corner type of peace we might wish it was, rather it’s a Peace for sharing and being stretched, as we join Jesus in what He’s doing in the World.

Jesus gathered his 12 disciples, taught, trained, blessed them & sent them out to do what He was doing; later he sent out the 72 with His Peace & Purpose; then, when He was in the upper room with His disciples, after coming alive again, He breathed His Peace into them. Phew! You can hear their almighty relief that Jesus was with them and they needn’t fear they were next on death row! But then come the challenging, stretching words, “"Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:21-22)

St Columba’s honeymoon period with George Lind will be a great blessing I’m sure, a blessing that will be stretched as they go out to share Jesus’ blessing with others. People have asked what I’ll do with my time (what time!?) now that I’m being relieved of my duties at Stewarton. What I’m sure of is that it’ll be stretching. May we know Christ’s dynamic Peace!