Blog on the Learig

  8 February 2026 In St. Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus   describes the Church as the salt of the earth. The context is important. He has just told the disciples that they will face persecution like the prophets before them. ‘Rejoice and be glad!’ God will reward them. Being the salt of the earth is something which the Church is, not least when things are difficult – persecution maybe   but also the rejection of the life of Jesus and the good news.   It is this saltiness which we are called to preserve in difficult times. Salt adds flavour. It cleanses, preserves, enriches the earth. Its effect is hidden. In St. Mark’s Gospel, Jesus says, ‘Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another.’ Whatever this saltiness is, it has something to do with reconciliation. This takes us to the heart of the Gospel and the ministry of Jesus who suffered and died to reconcile the world. This saltiness ...

  7 February 2026 The window cleaner visited today. We haven’t seen him for some time. There has been so much rain. There was rain today. Needs must. Things were different. He had no ladders. Instead there was a long yellow hose running up the side of the house. I went out to see what was happening. Instead of ladders, the window cleaner has an exceedingly long hose with a long wiper attached. He has decided to hose down the upstairs windows. Others were following behind to clean the bottom windows as per usual. The hose is attached to a tank of water in the van. The water has been purified of all impurities and simply runs off the window. Why? The window-cleaner was anticipating legislation which will forbid the use of ladders for upstairs windows. The legislation hasn’t been passed yet. I admired two things about him. Firstly, his preparation. He was not waiting for legislation to be passed before he prepared himself for the necessary changes. He was taking steps now to a...

  6 February 2026 I have just been listening to some music by Henry Purcell   (1659-1695). I studied his ‘Dido and Aeneas’ for my O-Level music and have loved it ever since. The CD features the Deller Consort which was started by Alfred Deller. He was one of the first counter-tenors of the modern era. Of the music featured, there are two extended anthems which I love. The first is ‘Rejoice in the Lord alway’. The words are taken from Philippians 4 and set to   very joyful music. The other is ‘My Beloved Spake’ with words from the ‘Song of Solomon’. As the lover says, ‘Arise, my love, my fair one and come away!’ In the accompanying notes, there is a quote from a contemporary musician, Thomas Tudway. He is thinking about the King’s musical tastes. He writes that King Charles II ‘was soon tired with the grave and solemn ways of the music inherited from Tallis and Byrd’. He wanted more lively,   joyful   music with voices and   added instrumentation. Pu...

  5 February 2026 ‘The First Book of Discipline’ is one of the primary documents of the Church of Scotland. It gives direction and counsel to shape the life of the emerging Kirk. ‘Of Buriall’ deals with what is permitted to happen at funerals and remembering those who have died. ‘And so we say that prayers for the dead are not onely superstitious and vaine, but doe expressly repugne to the manifest Scriptures and veritie thereof.’ So much superstition had accrued to the disposal of the dead and their possible fate in purgatory that the Reformers made a clean slate of it. This left the Kirk at a serious disadvantage when it came to the First World War. The Scottish National War Memorial records 134,712 casualties. This constituted approximately 15% of all British war dead. Interestingly, it represents a disproportionately high 26% casualty rate of those who served. In his ‘Scottish Presbyterian Worship’, Bryan Spinks makes the point that following the First World War ‘the sh...

  4 February 2026 Arthur I Miller wrote an article in ‘The Spectator’ entitled, ‘Fact and Fiction’. It was all about the relationship between science and drama. He highlighted several recent plays which explore a scientific or mathematical theme. He highlighted ‘Arcadia’ by the late Tom Stoppard. In the article, he talks about a letter which Michael Baum, Professor emeritus of surgery and visiting professor of medical humanities at UCL,   wrote to the Times following the death of the playwright. He had seen the play and it had a profound impact upon him. I searched the internet for the letter – and here it is: ‘Sir, In 1993 my wife and I went to see the first production of Arcadia by Tom Stoppard and in the interval I experienced a Damascene conversion. As a clinical scientist I was trying to understand the enigma of the behaviour of breast cancer, the assumption being that it grew in a linear trajectory spitting off metastases on its way. In the first act of Arcadia, ...

  3 February 2026 ‘ Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you.’ says Jesus. With that invitation, why should we hesitate to take our requests to God in prayer? But is every request legitimate? I hesitated. One of our children applied for a job. The interview was in two parts and on two separate days. He got through the first and was one of only two taken onto the second stage. ‘ Please God ...’ I could have prayed. Afterall, it was a great opportunity for him. Why shouldn’t I enlist the help of God to secure his appointment? Doesn’t God want the best for him? I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t pray for a successful outcome even though he was my son. When I tried to pray, I couldn’t help thinking about the other applicant’s parents. Were they praying for their son’s success too or were they like me, hesitating? How could I burden God with such a dilemma? I couldn’t and didn’t. Instead, I prayed that the job would be ...