a foreign land

There was a meeting in town I attended tonight.

Leaders from the various different Church of Scotland congregations through the city. It was long again, as it sometimes is.

But two folk were leaving and there's always some time taken up with goodbyes. One stepping down on account of ill-health. The other on account of his age.

The latter was full of wise quotes in his 'farewell speech'. Including this - "the past is a foreign country..."

Which he probably didn't realise is (pretty nearly) the (English) title of a new movie drama from Italy.

He was quoting, I think, the author of "The Go Between", Leslie P Hartley. Because the quote goes on, "... they do things differently there." Or something like that.

He recognised how much the world had changed in the course of these last fifteen years. How differently things were done in the world back then.

And he recognised as well how much we all must therefore change as well.

He spoke of the way he saw his generation as perhaps having played a 'holding' role. Keeping alive the 'rumour of God', to enable the next generation to build on that and bring to pass the sort of church God longs that we should be.

It struck a chord with me, I have to say.

Partly because in preparing for Sunday coming, as I had been through today, I'd been thinking about the guy who followed Moses. Joshua.

How he led the people right on in to the so-called 'promised land'. A whole new world from all they hitherto had known.

I was giving some thought to that today in the course of preparation.

Which is what the day has mainly been for me. Preparation.

The morning and evevning services this coming Sunday.

The services coming up beyond this week, right on beyond the 'Christmas rush' to the end of the month and beyond.

The service there'll be tomorrow over lunch.

The Christmas card we'll shortly be sending out to every home in the community. Once we get it printed off!

And a second piece for the next 'Big Picture', the magazine we produce with a view to giving the readers a 'snapshot' of our congregation's life.

Mainly preparation, as I say. Juggling between these various different things to be prepared.

And seeing folk in between.

Some days it feels like I've not got much done, there are so many different 'bits' to the day.

But I noticed as well that Joshua even had some days like that.

Three days he gave the people to get themselves ready. For crossing the river and marching on into the future.

God's future.

Because the past is a foreign land. And the future is the promised land.