Going forward
The Very Rev Albert Bogle explains why putting one foot in front of the other may be the right thing for now.
DURING the month of June 2022 I had the privilege of preaching for a few weeks at the Scots Kirk in Paris.
This congregation is famous because of the ministry of the Rev Donald Caskie.
During the Second World War Caskie stayed behind in France and helped establish a network of safe houses and escape routes, for allied servicemen trapped in occupied France. He was eventually saved from the firing squad by the intervention of a German padre.
I took the opportunity while in France to read his autobiography The Tartan Pimpernel. It’s an amazing story of courage and faith and I found it having a relevance for Christians today, as once again Europe finds itself plunged into war and the church worldwide is seeking to find its role post pandemic.
The role of Christian leaders in times of great world stress and anxiety is crucial but costly. Caskie highlights the significance of such a role linked with a sincere personal faith in God. Reading his book I was reminded that we all leave behind us marks of ministry that can be an encouragement and strength to another.
Even when we are struggling to hold everything together.
Discouraged and bruised, locked in solitary confinement – Caskie tells how he overheard the most excruciating torture session resounding around the prison, as a young Frenchman refused to betray his friends. For an hour and a half the Gestapo tortured the lad, but he refused to break.
Silence eventually replaced the cries of pain – then out of the darkness a familiar melody could be heard coming from the boy’s cell. In between the sobs, a broken and defiant voice was heard singing. It got louder and louder and filled the prison. It was the words O Sacred head sore wounded.
The source of the music was not lost on the Nazis, as Bach’s Passion Chorale had the last word. The young Frenchman had left a mark on Caskie.
In the same chapter he tells how he used his long nails to inscribe on the plaster of his cell wall that wonderful passage from Isaiah; ‘Thus saith the Lord…Fear not I have redeemed thee… I have called them by name. Thou art mine. When you pass through the waters I will be with thee, and through the rivers they shall not overflow thee. When thou walketh through the fire thou shalt not be burnt, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee…’ Months later he was to discover that the words he had written on the cell wall had prevented another prisoner from committing suicide.
I don’t think people are finding life easy at the moment. Covid has taken its toll.
Congregations are struggling, many church leaders are just about putting one step in front of the other.
In some cases, their steps are like songs of defiance and inspiration mentioned above. We must not despise the day of small beginnings. In the darkness melodies can be heard.
Someone asked me the other day:
“Where am I going to find the people to do all the things that need to be done?”
I hesitated to answer because smart answers don’t help. But maybe we don’t need to do these things anymore. Maybe at the moment God wants you to just put one foot in front of the other. Perhaps he’s leading you into a new place, a new ministry.
“We must not despise the day of small beginnings. In the darkness melodies can be heard.
One that will leave a different mark? What would happen if every church leader followed the Jesus example and found twelve people to mentor. Perhaps you’re being called to go deep rather than wide.
It is at these times, when we feel weak and vulnerable we can leave a mark that changes the course of history, even if it is just for one person. We may not be able to sing a song of defiance or etch a text of inspiration but we can by God’s grace carry the cross a little further everyday and touch the people we meet with the compassion of Christ.
This is not the moment to give up. This is the moment to sign up the new people God is calling into your sphere to help you carry the cross. This is the time to go deep.
Could this be your moment to leave your mark? Your Simon, the cross carrier, is on the street this morning. He doesn’t know it yet. When you meet him let him carry the cross for you – at least for a little while.
One step in front of the other is still going forward.