From Roslin O Roslin Winter 1996 (Vol 3 No 2): Text of the Sermon
Delivered by Rev. Jessie MacLeod at Kings United Church, Loch Katrine,
Nova Scotia, on August 20, 1995.
Surrounded by so many symbols of Scottish clans, I am reminded of
the Scot who was asked the meaning of the word "meek" in the
beatitude "Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth".
"Oh!" he replied, "the meaning is clear. 'Meek' is just the
plural for 'Mac'! And for any Scots troubled by lack of humility, let me
share with you the MacLeod Prayer: "Merciful God, grant that we
may be in some small degree worthy of the High esteem in which we
hold ourselves."
The text for today's sermon is found in Isaiah 51:1: "Look to
the rock from which you were hewn, and the quarry from which you were
dug."
Reading Sarah Mason Wilson's history of this Church, I was caught by
this poignant scene: "By the brook they sat down, men, women and
children. Carefully they removed their boots and stockings...no splashing
was permitted for they were wearing their best attire and were on their way
to worship." And I was reminded of another scene which down to us
from much earlier times: " By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down
and there we wept when we remembered Zion. On the willow there we hung up
our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs, and our tormentors
asked us for mirth, saying, 'Sing us one of the songs of Zion!' How could
we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land?"
Taken from Psalm 137, this lament expresses the despair and the longing
for homeland and Temple back in Jerusalem by political exiles in Babylon.
To this mood of longing and despair, Isaiah said, " Look to the rock
from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were
dug."
This message conveying a sense of stability and comfort through recall
of former strengths, resonates with our needs today. In our time of
rapid sociological and technological change which results in feelings of
rootlessness, we are recognizing the importance of roots. In this part of
Canada, genealogical research is a growth industry! As we "look to
the rock from which we were hewn, the quarry from which we were dug",
we gain a sense of continuity with the past,a sense of place which in turn,
strengthens our sense of identity.
Let me share a personal experience of discovery which resulted from an
exploration of my roots. I grew up with stories of Rev. Norman MacLeod (no
relation), a powerful clergy figure in the early days of St. Ann's, Cape
Breton. It appears that Norman left Scotland to avoid the institutional
demands of the Presbyterian Church as well as weakness he saw around him.
He came first to Pictou and then to Cape Breton. As preacher, pastor,
teacher and magistrate, he exercised almost total control of the religious
and moral life of the community. When other clergy came to the area,
Norman gathered his flock and departed for Australia, eventually settling
in a remote part of New Zealand. Instead of admiring this strong leader
I've found myself bristling at what I felt to be tyrannical leadership.
One day, reading about one of my great grandfathers -- a lay Catechist
(teacher of catechism) -- I noted that he didn't like the religious climate
of St. Ann's. The change of climate was the result of Rev. Norman and
followers departing for Australia. Now I could trace my dislike of
domineering leadership back to a great grandfather!! And so I recommend
we seek opportunities for telling one another whatever stories emerge from
our forbears.
"Look to the rock" ... pondering these words I became
aware one day of thinking "cling to rock"... That didn't feel
right. "Cling" suggests an attitude of dependence, of holding
on, rigidity the exclusion of others which in turn, can lead to intolerance,
and nationalism. Today we are witnessing in Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia,
a clinging to one's past that has produced violence, ethnic cleansing and
genocide. Scurrying back to Isaiah, I was relieved to see that the verb
is look, not cling. When we look, we are made aware, become informed, our
horizons are broadened.
"Look to the rock." Isaiah's audience understood
"rock" as a reference to God. The Psalms constantly refer
to God as "the rock of my salvation". Today's Call to Worship,
using these words, came from Psalm 62. and our New Testament reading has
Jesus talking about a house built on rock. A rock suggests strength,
dependability, and steadfastness. It also reminds us of a secure faith
and God's purposes.
"The quarry from which you were dug" seems to be a reference
to the community of faith, cared for by God, even in the midst of exile.
I suspect we are most appreciative of such a community when life is
difficult. I have never forgotten the story of a black woman, portrayed
in a movie set in Alabama during the worst of racial struggles. In the
early morning we saw her leaving her home to walk across town where she
worked for a white family, trudging home at the end of the day, and then
setting out once more in the evening to walk to church. We watched the
change in her tired face as she listened to the sermon, joined in a prayer
and lustily sang "He's got the whole world in his hands" ...
"go down Moses, tell ol Pharaoh, let my people go". Fatigue
lines disappeared from her face, he weary body re-energized, she walked
home with a light step. She symbolizes for me what it can mean to be
sustained by a community of faith, "the quarry from which you were
dug."
In a profound sense we are all exiles, as in Thomas Wolfe's" Look
Homeward Angel", we can never go home again, back to that sage,
comforting place we hold in our dreams. Despair, loss of place, loss of
the familiar are part of the fabric of our lives, regardless of one's age.
We need the strength and security that comes from a abiding relationship
with the "rock of our salvation". We need to dig new quarries
for future generations.
As important and valuable as our heritage can be, we also need to
avoid looking at life through a rear-view mirror. And so I refer you to
another message for Scripture. the apostle Paul, writing to the church at
Phillipi while a prisoner in Rome, distressed by rumours of false teaching
that dragged people back to practices that blind; reminded his readers that
life in Christ is a Gift of God's Grace. He goes to deliver this challenge
that emerges out of his own experience: "Forgetting what lies behind
and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the call of God
Christ Jesus."
I conclude with the challenge that you hold in tension the best of
your heritage and yet be open to God who calls us forward to new ways of
faithful living in our own time.
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