Blog on the Learig

  25 February 2026 In his brilliant ‘ Markings’, Dag Hammarskjold, the former Secretary General of the United Nations, killed in an aeroplane crash in 1961, reveals the contours of his own spiritual journey. He memorably says, ‘ The longest journey is the journey inward.’ The journey begins by unmasking our humanity, peeling back the layers which conceal our poverty of spirit, our lack of generosity, our bitterness, jealousy, greed. Through this painful process, need is exposed and pity aroused within us. As the journey continues to get longer, even more is demanded of the traveller. There is the emptying of self. ‘ Not I, God in me.’ is a favourite quotation. Life, as in him who is the Way, the Truth and the Life, can only be discovered by those who empty themselves in order to be filled with the Spirit of God.   The courage is to embrace humility rather than fulfilling personal desires. It is a life’s work. ‘ You will know life,’ he writes, ‘ and be acknowledged by...

  24 February 2026 The list of temptations which Jesus struggled with has two important things to say to the Church today. Firstly, our leadership should be shaped by the character of Jesus which shines through his failure to succumb to these temptations. Some argue that Matthew was writing at the time when the Zealots were making a stand against the Roman Empire. They were using weapons of violence to overcome an unjustified tyranny. This was not the way of Jesus who came into the world to reconcile it to God through the love which suffers and dies. Secondly, the Church is not called to be successful – turning stones into bread, testing God, accruing power and influence, silver and gold. Of course, there have been periods of time when the Church was conceived to be successful – medieval wealth, power and influence, Presbyterian control of civic Scotland. One of our temptations is to be successful again by fulfilling the ‘Five Marks of Mission’ and showing the world what we...

  23 February 2026 When you examine the temptations of Jesus, you can see that when the particular circumstances are removed and the temptation is laid bare, it becomes more obvious that each one is a temptation to succumb to fear. One is the fear of having nothing. Whilst it would be handy to turn stones into bread and lead into gold, the real temptation is the fear of having nothing. One way of coping with this fear is to succumb to the temptation to have too much. Two is the fear of being nobody. Isn’t that behind the temptation for glory and authority? One way of coping with this fear is to succumb to the temptation to be somebody. But this isn’t the way of him ‘ who emptied himself’. Three is the fear of living by faith. Isn’t there too much uncertainty living like this? Don’t we have to give up control? It’s like stepping over the edge. What will happen next? One way of coping with this fear is to succumb to the temptation to distrust God and his promises. You will ...

  22 February 2026 - Lent 1 Our Statement of Christian Faith (1992) says, ‘By his death on the cross and by his resurrection, he has triumphed over evil.’ But this triumph begins in a very deep and spiritual encounter with the Devil, the personification of evil. Consider these four things. Firstly, whilst the Devil does not exist, evil certainly does. How could we deny it. Look at the murder of Alexei Navalny! Look at the web of evil woven by Epstein and his supporters! Look at Sudan and the raping of women on an industrial scale!   Secondly, there is nothing wrong with temptation. Everyone is tempted – even Jesus. That’s an eternal comfort. However, temptation exposes a dilemma and brings with it a struggle sometimes of immense proportions. That’s where the problem begins. Thirdly, temptations never end. In St. Luke’s account of Christ’s temptations, we learn that ‘ the Devil departed from him until an opportune time’. There was more – but Jesus doesn’t share his stru...

  21 February 2026 My mother had a story about her childhood. It was 1 September 1939. War had just been declared. The news was so absorbing that everything around her had changed! She had to do something! She went to the kitchen and found a packet of chocolate digestives, a rare treat in those days. She ate one and then another. A third followed. Her thinking was interesting. Because we were at war, she thought her mum would understand why she had eaten all these biscuits. But her mum did not! What she did understand was that her daughter had been tempted by greed to eat more than her fair share of chocolate digestives and had deprived her mother and three brothers of their fair share! The changed context made it easier for my mum to succumb to temptation. It proved an easy way in to justify her greed and her inability to resist temptation. We are all experts at changing the context and living in a more conducive environment whereby we can justify our actions and, in particu...

  20 February 2026 Last night the Presbytery organised an act of worship at Cellardyke   Church to celebrate the recent union of St. Ayle with Pittenweem and the new linkage with Crail. During the service, the congregation was invited to recite the Kirk’s ‘Statement of Christian Faith’. This was composed by the Panel on Doctrine and authorised for us in worship and teaching by the General Assembly in 1992. It is one of five items in our recently composed ‘Book of Confessions’. The other four are – the Nicene and Apostles’ Creeds, the Scots and the Westminster Confessions of Faith. This official ‘Statement’ was an audacious initiative at a time of doubt and decline. And now   it marks our place within the Church of Scotland at a difficult time in its history. Like the Nicene and Apostles’ Creeds, it follows a Trinitarian pattern celebrating Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Unlike the historic creeds, it does not mention Pontius Pilate by name. Mary is not described as ...