Friday 31st March 2025
Tom Gordon
“Halleluia! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice, and be glad, and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.”
Revelation 19:6b-8 (NIV)
The glory of God
Amelia Cunningham had never married, and, at the age of 87 she wasn’t likely to be. When I first visited her as the new minister in her congregation, I detected a frosty reception as I was ushered into the back room of her Edinburgh flat. Perhaps I’d caught her unawares, or maybe she felt I was usurping the place of the previous minister, for whom she had a great affection. As she was seeing me out, she said, “I wonder, Mr Gordon, if you choose to call again, would do me the obligement of giving me advanced warning?”
So, several weeks later, I phoned as promised, arranged to call the following afternoon at 2.30, dutifully arrived at the flat and rang the doorbell. It was opened by a smiling Amelia, who welcomed me warmly and directed me into the front room. I was introduced to Amelia’s sister, sat down as invited and we indulged in some social chit-chat.
In the middle of the lounge was a circular coffee-table, topped by an Irish linen, circular lace doily, on which sat a silver tray containing a bottle of Croft Original sherry, three crystal glasses and a plate with three fingers of shortbread. “Would you partake of a small refreshment?” asked Amelia. And, with great ceremony, Amelia, her sister and her minister had sherry and shortbread in one of the most moving home-visits I can remember. That sherry-and-shortbread ceremony was re-enacted every time I visited Amelia’s home.
Never married? I wasn’t so sure, for here was a woman of faith who would be forever committed to her Church and her Lord.
Halleluiahs? No heavenly choirs or dramatic utterances. But the Lord God Almighty was given all the glory possible in sherry and shortbread. There was a holy presence in that flat, as we all silently gave thanks for God’s goodness.
Fine linen – a lace doily or otherwise – as a metaphor for the righteous acts of God’s holy people? Oh yes, indeed – on a coffee-table, in an Edinburgh flat, when God’s people partook of a small refreshment of sherry and shortbread, rejoiced with gladness and gave God the glory.
Shall we pray?
The glory of God in hospitality; the glory of God in fellowship; the glory of God transcending human interactions. Lord, we rejoice, and we are glad, and we give you glory and praise. Halleluia! Amen.
Tom Gordon, now retired, is a former parish minister and hospice chaplain, and author of several books on spiritual, faith and bereavement issues. He also publishes a daily blog on https://swallowsnestnet.wordpress.com