Daily Devotional reflections
As we journey through these uncertain times, each day Sean will to seek post a thought or reflection, a Bible verse or a prayer.
Monday 4 May 2020
The Reflection today is by Fred Coutts
'Catch the wind'
I once tried windsurfing but despite several attempts over a week, I never did manage to stand up. That experience has given me admiration for the kitesurfers you can see at Cruden Bay, zooming and leaping over the waves. It was a windy day, the spray and the sand were blowing, not the most pleasant day for a walk along the beach. But for the kitesurfers it was a day made in heaven….and for the photographer, safe at Port Erroll Harbour.
I have read that the fishermen of old who plied their trade in sailing boats from Port Erroll Harbour dreaded an on-shore gale. The entrance to the harbour was narrow and guarded by rocks. The right angle turn into the safety of the harbour was hard with only wind power take you in.
You can’t control the wind, and it can be destructive. But if you can capture it in the billowing sail of a yacht or in a kite, then you have more power at your disposal that you could ever imagine. A threat has become an opportunity; and what an opportunity!
My abortive attempts at windsurfing have confirmed that you cannot just climb on board a surfboard, let the wind catch your kite and hope for the best. No – there will be many occasions when you find yourself underwater, reaching for your board and swimming back to shore, before you try again. But when you do master the skill, when you do catch the wind, you will find yourself in an exhilarating rush, and leap over the waves.
The winds of pandemic have changed the way we live our lives. The destructive power of the virus seems beyond measure. The safe security of our church life has suddenly changed and we do not know when we will be able to gather together in church again. But the church is alive through its faithful people seeking to find new ways to be the church in these stormy times. The challenge is not to let our present situation overwhelm us so that we sink, but to try to find ways to catch the wind of opportunity that God is giving us.
I feel the winds of God today;
today my sail I lift,
though heavy oft with drenching spray
and torn with many a rift;
if hope but light the water’s crest,
and Christ my bark will use,
I’ll seek the seas at his behest,
and brave another cruise.
Jessie Adams (1863-1954)
BIBLE READINGS
John 3: 8
The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.
Matthew 7: 24-27
The wise and foolish builders
24 Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.
REFLECT
What is your rock?
What opportunities for spiritual growth is God giving us in these troubled times?
How can we capture and use the newfound spirit of care and neighbourliness that is growing among us?
PRAYERS
Locked in we may be, but we look out of our windows
and wonder at the beauty of your creation
with all its colour, green and yellow and blue and red.
Looking out we give you thanks.
Earth and sea and sky in a harmony of colour -
we feel the eternal seeping through the physical,
the everlasting glory dipping into time, our time.
Looking out we give you thanks.
In our mind’s eye we see swift running tides,
white spray flying from the waves,
white clouds scudding across the sky
Your Spirit moving on the waters, and in our very being.
Looking out we give you thanks.
In our mind’s eye we see men and women,
straying from your way, going their own way,
living in a world that is far from your creation which is good.
But you point us all to a new way,
and hold out your hand to us in love and forgiveness.
Looking out we see Jesus in the world
locked in with us,
sharing our pain,
offering us hope,
calling us back.
Looking out we give you thanks.
In our minds eye we see people in pain and need today -
those weakened by illness,
those crippled by anxiety,
those carrying the burden of bereavement,
those feeling confined and helpless,
those feeling lonely.
Looking out we lift them up to you.
In our minds eye we see those who strive to help a world cope with the present crisis -
medical, nursing and care staff at the very front line,
politicians looking for the right way forward,
researchers searching for drugs and vaccines,
volunteers bringing help to those in special need.
Looking out we lift them up to you.
We don’t need our minds eye to think of relatives and friends from whom we are separated.
There are photographs on our walls or on our phones.
Looking at them now we lift them up to you.
In our minds eye we see Sean our minister,
leading us in prayer, reflection and worship as he sitsinb front of his computer.
We see him reaching out to the people in our parish on the telephone.
We see him standing outside front doors holding flowers.
We see him walking his dogs and reflecting on the beauty of God’s creation
and God's purpose for this time.
Looking out we lift Sean and Alison up to you.
Looking in we reflect on what future God holds out for us
and what power he can provide for us.
Looking in we lay our lives before you.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours, now and forever.
Amen.
BLESSING
Deep peace of the flowing air to you.
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.
Deep peace of the shining stars to you.
Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you.
"Spirit of God unseen as the wind" sung at Stockbridge Church, Edinburgh August 2017