A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” Mark 4:37-38

God has a plan for each and every one of us. He has a plan for families, communities, countries, and the world. That plan is to bring peace, his peace to all people and all of creation.

God is at peace and operates from a place of peace in all situations. Even when out in a boat during the fiercest of storms God is so at peace that he can rest. God’s peace is so much greater than any human peace. Human peace is fragile, more like a ceasefire than a lasting peace.

Humans are driven by fear. Fear for safety, fear for the future. That fear manifests itself in many different ways. People lash out at what they are afraid of hoping to gain power over it. At this time of the coronavirus pandemic this fear response is highlighted – panic buying, suspicion of others. Our actions driven by the fear brought about be the uncertainty of what the future might hold. We do not know the plan.

Yet God knows the plan. He can be still during a storm. God plans to make that deep lasting peace a reality in the world. To bring an end to wars, famine, illness. To bring harmony to all of creation.

Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 2 Timothy 4:2

In all of life there are contrasts. Happy and sad. Hot and cold. Wet and dry. The stronger the contrast the more noticeable the difference.

Right now the contrasts in the world are brought into sharp relief. Lockdown and social distancing in place throughout the world contrasts with the hope and joy that the new life of spring brings to my immediate surroundings. The baby birds singing in the bushes. The foals and lambs gambolling in the fields beside their mothers. The warmth of the sun. These all contrast with the relentless despair on the news. The growing death count, the shortages of PPE, the uncertainty of when all the death and fear might end.

But everything comes from God. Every season is overseen by God. God is above every season, whether spiritual or natural. It is in the extremes of the seasons where we turn to God in gratitude or petition. Thanking God for all the good things. Or crying out to God – Why? Why this? Why Now? Why them? God is with us through all the contrasts and is perhaps most noticeable in the moments of extreme contrast.

 Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Matthew 24:32

There are four seasons in a year in Scotland but we often talk about having four seasons in a day. Sun, wind, rain, and snow. Recently the seasons have been changing – warmer hotter summers and wetter winters.

In our lives we also experience seasons. Times for learning. Times of growing. Times for resting. Just as Scotland often has four seasons in a day we can sometimes have four seasons in our day.

God has seasons for individuals, communities, countries and the world. He moves us through the seasons as individuals and communities. Sometimes the transitions come gradually – only noticeable with reflection and hindsight. Others are abrupt, alarming or startling, leaving us feeling off kilter.

The Coronairus pandemic has been a transition of the latter sort. It has stopped the world and individuals in their tracks. What sort of season is it? It feels like winter yet nature goes on telling us that it is spring. The animals have their young – the fields are full of lambs and foals. The flowers continue to burst into bloom. But humans are stuck indoors social distancing.

It’s a paradox of seasons!

Hello I’m Gemma, I’m working on a PhD at New College, University of Edinburgh looking at the religious dimension of the writings of O. Douglas (Anna Buchan). I am particularly interested in her portrayal of ministers. More widely I am interested in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Scottish Church history and depictions of the church in Scottish fiction.

When not doing my academic work you’ll find me doing a variety of things in the church from working as a church admin, leading a prayer group, serving on the Ecumenical Relations committee of the national church to playing clarinet in the church praise band. Though obviously not all of these at the same time.

Outside academic and church work I enjoy dabbling in painting and sewing, going for long walks and cycling.

I’m planning on using this blog as a place to share my odd thoughts on my research and more general odd reflections on whatever I’m thinking about.

About my research

My research interests include:

• The writings of O. Douglas (Anna Buchan)
• 19th and 20th Century Scottish Church History, focusing on the relationship between the Scottish Churches and the Women’s Movements (education, suffrage and ordination).
• Representations of the church and ministers in Scottish fiction.
• Ecumenism in Scotland and Britain.

 

 

 

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton