The last Sunday of the liturgical (church) year.  My sermon title today is 'there's another country' and emerges from the lectionary gospel for today, which is Jesus before Pilate, as told by John.  I hope I've done it OK... it's very hard to get the balance right between my firm theological conviction that the Kingdom of God defies any humanly constructed definition of nation, state or race (etc.) and the fact that I am living in a place where daily the politicians tell me that the country in which I live would be better off if it separated itself from the rest of the UK.  Whatever people may think about Scottish independence, for any Christian, it is largely an adventure in missing the point... humanly defined national identity and what is "better for me/us over against a 'them' that includes our brothers and sisters in Christ" sets our loyalty in the wrong place.  To self-define as 'English' or 'Scottish' before "Child of God-ish" skews my perspectives.

I firmly believed that God called me to serve in Scotland.  The truth is God could equally have called me to serve on Oompa Loompa Land, because all places are within that Kingdom of Peace.  No matter how much I love my church, no matter how dear Scotland becomes to me, I can never seek the good of Scotland above the good of other parts of Christ's Kingdom.

I happen to have been born in Britain, and Britain chose to join the European Union, and now faces the challenges of being one of the richer nations in a struggling, trans-national grouping.  No matter how much I love the UK, no matter how much the complexities of Brussels bemuse and bewilder me, I can never seek the good of the UK above the good of other parts of Christ's Kingdom.

That I will never understand global economics hardly needs to be said  I do not have the answers, but I do know that the 'other country', sans frontiers, has to be the telos, the goal, towards which I live.

Today I sat down to lunch with almost two dozen women... nothing especially unusual there.  Ranging from mid-twenties to 'stopped counting' what unites us a shared experience of breast cancer.  When people talk of 'support groups' it conjures up images in my mind of drafty halls and weak tea, a those head-on-one-side looks that exude sympathy and earnest conversation in slightly sotto voce tones...  Our group is nothing like that.  We meet in a restaurant in central Glasgow, wine flows (as does lager, lemonade and tea!), laughter rings round the venue, and we talk about holidays, work, families and, yes, where appropriate cancer.

Today, it being the meet closest to my fiftieth birthday (next month) I had said I'd bring cake... no, they siad, we'll bring cake.  And they plotted and they schemed, and surprised me with the most wonderful afternoon.  A gorgeous handcraft card, signed by everyone.  A beautifully decorated, scrumptious cake.  And gifts - a TLM 'Gift for Life' of reconstructive surgery for someone affected by leprosy and enough Lakeland vouchers to keep me in cupcake kit for a very long time!

As I blew out my candle, one of the youngest girls said 'don't forget to make a wish'... well I wish there was no such thing as cancer, but through it have been trully blessed to meet the most amazing, loving, generous, feisty women.  Yes, at 49 and 49/52 I had an amazing advance 50th birthday.

A little over two years ago I feared, genuinely, that I would not see fifty.  It was great to celebrate today with folk who share that reality, and for whom every birthday is a celebration.  As one of them said... "fifty is bl**** marvellous".

This morning I woke up to a sparkly dawn... frost on the groud, palest of pale blue sky and golden sunlight gleaming...

I saw a link to this today... it's very clever, funny, gracious and, well... go read! 

HT Stephen Holmes via FB

There is an interesting podcast here by BMS and Stuart Townend.  What I like about his work is it that is decent hymnody, even if I don't always share the exact underlying theology.  Interesting that a BMS interview includes someone talking about their child's "christening" (so clearly not a Baptist then!) and very interesting to hear why people are so fond of "In Christ Alone".  Worth a listen - and very brave of various BMS folk with very 'normal' voices to be recorded singing unaccompanied and solo!!