SATURDAY 16th MAY 2020

SATURDAY 16th May 2020

Good morning to all my friends,

I wonder if you have a morning routine during lockdown? How do you begin your day?

At the beginning of this time of isolation my morning routine included tuning into the latest news.

It reminded me of when the Falkland War was taking place and I used to turn on the television each morning to find out what had happened overnight in that land which seemed so far away.

The news was reported by Ian McDonald who delivered the Ministry of Defence press briefings on the conflict.

His measured delivery was thought to be just right to calm anxieties and create the impression that Britain’s extremely risky adventure in the South Atlantic could not end in disaster.

The corona virus has been described by some as a war which the world is engaged in battle against, and so daily reports are broadcast each day, intended to give us all the latest news as to how the battle is being fought.

And so, as I said, at the beginning of lock down I eagerly tuned onto the news.

However as the weeks have gone on, instead of being clearer about what is happening, I found myself becoming more and more disturbed.

There is so much news which often seems to be speculation, sensationalist, political.

We get different advice, and this leads to confusion, anxiety, and false hope. It is really difficult to get to the truth.

So, I have decided not to engage with the daily news programmes and look to the Lord, to wait, to watch and to pray.

We have been looking at the I AM sayings of Jesus these last few days, and the 6th saying is,

“I AM the Way, the TRUTH, and the Life” recorded in John’s gospel 14:6

Jesus is talking to his disciples knowing that their biggest crisis of faith is coming soon. Jesus tells them several times; do not let your heart be troubled. He tells them the Comforter is coming; he tells them they are not being abandoned.

The next few hours and days will be hours of darkness and deep displacement, their hopes dashed, their expectations shattered, they will find themselves in lock down, probably hearing all sort of rumours, and not sure of what the truth is.

So, it’s important that they come to remember and understand what Jesus told them. He has told them the TRUTH, their task is simply to wait, to watch, to pray, to trust and believe.

I listened to the Moderator of the Church of Scotland’s sermon for last Sunday, in it, the Rev Colin Sinclair said, “If you have Jesus, you have everything”.

As I have been reflecting on the I Am sayings this week, these words rang TRUE.

We have Jesus,of whom, John writes at the very beginning of his gospel,

“And Christ became a human being and lived here on earth among us and was full of loving forgiveness and truth. And some of us have seen his glory—the glory of the only Son of the heavenly Father!”

What does Jesus says to us today? Simply this................

I am the way, the truth, and the life. Without the way, there is no going. Without the truth, there is no knowing. Without the life, there is no living. I am the way which you must follow, the truth which you must believe,