Document 698

The Buik o Ruth: 11 - Sermon at the Lallans Society Conference 1976

Author(s): A S Borrowman

Copyright holder(s): Mrs Lorna F Borrowman

University of Stirling, 6 June, 1976.

Guid fowk, ye hae mind o the mappamund wi its carts o aa the kinricks o the warld. I'm shair that ye mind o the cart o Palestine. It was prentit in aa the Bibles we leart as bairns.

The day, we ken the kintra o Palestine as the thede o Israel, aye, and we ken it weel, for we dinna anerlie mind it frae oor bairntime, but als, for the fechtin and weirs o fern year and the years ayont.

Its an orra bit, Israel, wi its heichs and howes, its bens and straths, and in parteeclar, its thrie muckle lochs, Loch Huleh, the Loch o Kinnereth, hecht by us the Sea o Galilee, and the Deid Sea.

Whan ye hae a glisk at the cart, ye sall see that thai thrie lochs or seas hae ae thing in common, the wattir o Jordan, whilk rises westlin o Ben Hermon, and faas frae a hicht o a thousan seevin hunder feet, til the strath whaur its rins intil and oot o Loch Huleh, syne intil and oot o the Sea o Galilee, and teems itsel intil the Deid Sea.

We aa ken, als, that Loch Huleh and the Sea o Galilee are caller wattir lochs, wi fish intil them, and trees and busses round them; and the Deid Sea's hecht the Saut Sea: sae fylit wi saut that naethin ava leeves thair: nae fish: nae trees: nae busses.

Gif we speir hou twa lochs hae caller wattir, tither saut, we maun jalouse that wattir o Jordan rings owre aa!

Ye mind the wattir rins intil and oot o Huleh and Galilee, but rins anerlie intil the Deid Sea: it doesna rin oot.

The Deid Sea is ane o the laichest bits in the haill yirth, a thousan twa hunder feet alowe sea level, wi nae bield frae the het o the sun.

Intil the Deid Sea rins the wattir o Jordan, but it has nae ootfaa, naethin tae cairry awa the sauts brocht doun owre a hunder and saxty mile, and wi the het o the sun the sauts ligg in the wattir, and aa is deid, deid, wi nae howp o life ava.

Loch Huleh and the Sea o Galilee are caller lochs for thai hae an ingaun and an ootgaun and hae life intil them; the Deid Sea, certes, has a wey in, but it doesna hae a wey oot and has nae life ava.

Guid fowk, I jalouse ye dinna come here tae lear yer geography and I dinna ettle tae lear it til ye. The wee bit savendie I gied ye anent the lochs and sea I sall yase as a parable. I sall speak o't wi twa heids. Ane.

We leeve in a sair disjaskit warld, a forfochen warld, a warld o cark and care; lippen til the hymn we sall lilt in a wee while (tak a keek at it on yer blad)

Yer warld is fashit wi its skaith
O blastit greed and toom roose baith
O clairtit lealty fauselie strang
And aa its umquhile warks o wrang.

A warld in the whilk men are canty tae get but sweir tae gie: a warld whaur fowk are gleg tae tak in but arena gleg tae gie oot. Ye mind the thrie lochs o oor parable; the caller lochs took in but gied oot as weel; the Saut Sea took in, but gied oot nae a haet. Twa had life, and ane was deid.

Sae maun it be wi oor warld gif we ettle tae get and nae tae gie. We sall aye hae sturt and strife gin we leeve for oorsels alane; gif we gang oor ain gait, thinkin anerlie o oor ain wants wi nae thocht of the wants o oor brithers.

Ye mind the auld saw "Ilk man for himsel, and the Deil tak the hinmaist". In troth whan it's ilk man for himsel the Deil doesna tak the hinmaist; he taks the hail clanjamphrey! Sae we maun hae a warld, fylit na by greed nar by selfishness gart wersh, a warld o brotherhude and saucht: a warld whilk men yase for themsels, certes, but a warld men share wi ither fowk.

Twa: Gif its true o oor warld, its true als o oor ain lives. Tae tak and nae tae gie maks a Deid Sea o oor sauls.

Quo Jesus: "Ye are mair Sainit whan ye gie nor whan ye get".

Lout doun and lippen, Lord, til aa
Wha wi haill voce for sainin caa
And owre the dung doun virr o sin
O gar salvation vive come in.

Information about Document 698

The Buik o Ruth: 11 - Sermon at the Lallans Society Conference 1976