Great Scot December 2019 Great Scot 158_December_ONLINE | Page 63

REV. GRAHAM BRADBEER
OSCA CHAPLAIN
ADAPTING TO
THOUGHTS
OF GRACE
At Year 12 Presentation Night, as 200+ boys were
marshalled to cross the platform one by one, I was asked
‘How do you go with name recall?’ I said ‘I need to use all
the tricks in the book to come up with peoples’ names’.
And it’s not just names. These days I get confused
about how I received particular pieces of information.
To whom was I speaking, or did I read it in print? Or
was it electronically, and if so, what platform? There are
too many possibilities. Not that I follow a lot of people
on Twitter; just checked – it’s 113. But then there is
Facebook, WhatsApp, LinkedIn and Instagram on my
phone. Oh, and Messenger – why do I always forget
Messenger?
There is little doubt that one distinguishing mark of
human beings is our ability to communicate. However,
as the opportunities to communicate proliferate there
is a rising clamour to be seen, heard and liked. Are we
pursuing narcissism and promoting celebrity?
That Presentation Night we heard from Emily Driscoll
about her career trajectory; from drama – a dancing
fish – to the new tech start-up, Off Grid Energy. She
communicated easily and presented a persuasive case for
pursuing one’s passion, service, adaptability, innovation,
working hard, integrity and through it all maintaining
good working relationships. The new technologies, to
which oldsters are adjusting, provide data streams and
information superhighways which youngsters daily inhabit;
at home, on the commute, at work and at the gym. These
shape our future as I type.
The health of relationships, ‘relational proximity’
within institutions and corporations, can be measured.
Relational proximity draws on five variables:
ENCOUNTER: how direct is the relationship
(face-to-face, SMS, email, phone, etc.)?
STORYLINE: is there continuity and durability
over time?
KNOWLEDGE: does the relationship exist across
diverse situations?
FAIRNESS: how hierarchical is the relationship?
Is there parity? Mutual respect?
ALIGNMENT: is there a common purpose or
motivation driving the relationship?
THE BAND U2 - ALBUM COVER OF ALL THAT YOU CAN'T
LEAVE BEHIND
For Christians, the New Testament provides numerous
guidelines to encourage high-quality communication. For
instance, in Colossians (4:6) the believers are urged: ‘Be
gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best
in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut
them out’. This is an astonishing call for ‘gracious speech’,
and it flows from an experience of the grace of God. If
God has loved us, and forgiven us, it should be seen in
our relationships with others. In Christ, God came to serve
us; we too should serve others.
U2 has a song called Grace. Not just the name of a
girl, but also a thought that changed the world. In their
view, grace trumps karma every time. Karma says ‘what
you give out is what you receive’. Most of us hope for
more than what we give out. If we were judged by the
standard we use to judge others, we know we need a
better deal; we need mercy, forgiveness. Jesus prayed
‘Father forgive them’. That is where grace begins.
Grace is the disposition of God in Christ to a world
that has turned to idols. Intentionally or otherwise we
have all played our part in harming, hurting or maligning
other people, or our planet, through our devotion to idols;
unworthy goals, most commonly devotion to our selves.
We have contributed, as Carole King describes it in her
album Tapestry, ‘to all the damage done’.
In his speech as School Captain, Nick Marks referred
to the Rev. Bill Morgan, who was School Captain in 1935.
At almost 104 years old, Bill had spoken the previous
week in School Assembly, and urged the boys to engage
with the great hymns of the faith which they sing regularly
(and mostly so well). The boys had just sung Horatius
Bonar’s great hymn, Glory be to God the Father. In an
age of where the pursuit of celebrity is so evident, it is
heartening to hear the boys encouraged to consider
devotion to God, Father, Son and Spirit.
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