Document 699

The Buik o Ruth: 12 - Sermon at Partick Newton Place Church, Glesca, 1976

Author(s): A S Borrowman

Copyright holder(s): Mrs Lorna F Borrowman

St. Andro's Day, 28 November, 1976.

Lang lang syne, saxteen hunder yeir sinsyne, an emperour o Rome hecht Constantine, shiftit his heid brugh frae Rome til Byzantium, whilk he caad eftir himsel, Constantinople, a name that bidit wi it til oor ain day: nou its hecht Istanbul.

Yon Constantine bode tae hae aa things braw and snod in his new capital, grand biggins o aa kinds, palices, housen, what ye will: and, aye, kirks, for Constantine had convertit til the Christian faith, and was het for aa that prievit his loe for God in Jesus Christ.

Ae day, the Roy Constantine was set on his trone in the palice biggin in Constantinople, colloging wi the meenisters o the kinrick, aa the heich heid yins frae the vizier, doun til the thesaurer and the secretar. Quo he, "Aa things maun be dune tae gar this brugh the bonniest and the maist preclair brugh in aa the warld. We hae muckle waas, palices, housen, and the kirks are biggin. We hae sodgers, we hae men o weir o aa kind; we hae philosophers, scrievers, makars, what ye will. I hae it! fesh me the banes o Sanct Andro, liggin thae twa hunder and fiftie yeir sinsyne in the kirk in Patras in Greece. His banes will sain oor brugh."

Weel, the banes o Sanct Andro were brocht til Constantinople and liggit in that brugh til the days o the Crusades whan they were pykit by reivers frae the wast, wha didna fecht their faes in Palestine, but focht their fiers, the Christians o the east.

Eftir the fechtin was aa by, the banes o Sanct Andro cam til Amalfi in Italie, whaur they liggit a gey lang while in the Kirk o Sanct Andro.

Neist we hear o the banes is at Hexham in Northumbria, syne at Kilrymont in the kinrick o Fife. Kilrymont begoud tae be sae hailie they chyngit the name til Sant Andros, and it is sae hecht in oor ain day.

Whatna gait the banes cam intil oor kintra, wha brocht them, we dinna ken. Its aa a mixter maxtie o troth and myth: the banes were tint at the Reformation; we are nane the waur o that, for it wasna the banes whilk countit, it was the ensample o the man.

We speir wha was Andro? Gey little is scrievit anent him in the Bible. We ken he was ane o the fisher fowk wha dwalt in Bethsaida, a brugh neist the Sea o Galilee. We jalouse he was a disciple o John the Baptiseer, afore he was a disciple o Jesus, in troth, the first disciple o Jesus, wha brocht ithers, his brither Peter, forby, intil the faith. We lear o him and the callant wi the fyve bannocks and the twa speldin wi the whilk Jesus fed the fyve thousan. Forby this, naethin ava, in the Bible.

We ken frae the wark o the auld historian, Eusebius, the tale o Andros daith. Andro was gruppit and crucified in Patras in Greece. He wasna hingit on a rude the samyn as his maister, but on a decussate rude, an X shapit rude, we caa the day the Rude o Sanct Andro.

We jalouse frae the samyn scriever that Andro was missioner til the fowk o the kintra hecht Scythia. We maun tak tent o this, for in the Declaration o Aberbrothock o 1320 we lear that oor ain Scots fowk cam frae Scythia; aiblins guid reason eneuch for oor Scots forefowk tae hae a particleer loe for Andro wham they believit was their shair bield in weir, and in aa their trachles.

We mind o the tale o King Angus at the bruilzie at Athelstaneford, and we mind that Robert the Bruce thocht that Andro was wi him at Bannockburn.

Doun the birlin yeirs in Scotland it has aye been Andro; oor kirks in fremit kintras are Andros Kirks; oor societies are Andros Societies: we are in very sooth, Andros bairns.

Gif we are Andros bairns we maun follow his ensample. Andro was a douce, kindly man, o steive and strang hert wha brocht ithers intil the faith.

And nou til the eeries and orries o my speak.

We leeve in a sair disjaskit warld wi fowk discomfist by aa the ills o this birlin planait, wi fowk bamboozlt and dumfounert, and forfochen wi plouterin in the soss o man's makin. Men hae pairtit themsels frae ither men. We hae kintra agayne kintra, thede agayne thede, colour agayne colour, the bleck agayne the white and baith agayne the broun. In ilk kintra we hae fowk warstlin tane wi tither, the weel-aff, the sillery wi the puir and hungert. We hae soorin, we hae scunner, but ae thing we hinna, saught. We hae biggit ane ugsome waa agayne oor brithers. We speir, wha will ding doun the waa atweesh, wha kens hou we maun be brocht thegither aince mair?

Guid fowk, the virr, the pooer o Christianity liggsna in argle-bargle anent the remarkables o Jesus, or the ferlies o the faith, nor siclike.

The pooer liggs shairly in the thocht o God as Faither and men as brithers, a thocht deponit by the life and daith o Jesus, hecht the Christ.

And it was tae this that Andro testified whan he brocht men til Jesus.

Siccan thocht gies men the virr tae ding doun the ills and trachles o this warld. A warld o saught, a warld o justice for aa men in ilka kintra. It's the auld dreme o men! Isna yon yere dreme alsweel?

I sall nailt wi Scripture ... and its nae whid ... frae Ephesians twa and fowerteen. "He is oor saught wha gart baith ane, and brak the diveesion atween us". And frae Galatians thrie and aucht and twenty. "There isna Jew nor Greek, there isna thrall nor free, ye are aa ane in Christ Jesus."


INCAWIN

Oor Faither,
Lippen tae oor incawin.
Whiles een the yett o incawin is steekit.
Whiles the wecht o life and the mystification o daith ding us doon.
Whiles we jalouse there's nae lealty in man and nae answer frae ye.
Whiles we are brizit wi the storms o life;
Whiles oor harns are belbevart and oor herts brak.

Gie us virr tae mind oor Lord, Wha on His rude, caa'd oot, 'Ma God, Ma God, fou hae ye leeft me?'

And gie us the samyn virr tae haud on, till the daurk chynges tae daydaw, and we docht say, in perfyte fay, 'Faither, intae yer hands we gie oor speerit.'

Lippen tae oor incawin.

Throwe Jesus Christ oor Lord,

Saebeit


THE LORD'S PRAYER
AATHEGITHER.

Faither o us aa, bidan Abune! Thy name
be holie! Lat Thy reign begin! Lat thy
wull be dune, on the yirth as in the Lift.
Gie us ilka day our needfu fendin. And
forgie us aa our ill deeds, as we forgie
thae wha did us ill. And lat us no be
siftit; but save us frae aa ill. For the
croun is Thine ain, and the micht and
the glorie, for evir and evir, AMEN.


PSAUM 23

The Lord's ma herd, I sall want nocht
He gars me doun tae ligg
Amang howes haw by wattirs lown
Ma wabbit saul tae bigg

Ma wa-gaen saul He waukens up
In roddins richt tae spail
Frae ferture fell He weisit me
His bandoune wyce tae wale

Gin I gae throu the deid mirk dail
Nae ill can dae me skaith
Ye're nar me an yer rod an cruik
Ma beild an waird are baith

Ma tabyll Ye hae hanselt weel
Ye've cuisten doun ma faes
Ma heid wi oyle Ye've droukit aa
Ma bicker's fou aaways

Guidness an sainin aa ma life
Sall shairly bide wi me
Syne in God's howff for evirmair
I sall abidan be.


SAININ

The sainin o God Aamichty, Faither, Son, and Halie Ghaist, Ane God, licht upon ye aa and upon aa God's fowk in aa the warld.
Saebeit

Information about Document 699

The Buik o Ruth: 12 - Sermon at Partick Newton Place Church, Glesca, 1976