Sermon – Quality of Mercy

Here is this morning's sermon about the release of the man convicted of the Lockerbie Bombing. Much of what I said is in the text below.

As I am preaching this morning, I want to take you on a journey. Not a journey from one place to another. Not a journey particularly from one idea to another. Rather a journey from one poet to another. We are going from Shakespeare to Burns today.

And can I say that I feel very comfortable attempting Burns this week. One of the most interesting things I have done in the last few days is to take part in the filming of something called the Glasgow Gospel. It is an attempt to retell the gospel in Glasgwegian. I was delighted, I can tell you to be cast as one of the religious leaders whom the child Jesus met with in the temple. And proud beyond measure when they gave me a speaking part. It must be because of my obvious local accent

I’m going to take the first reading, Solomon’s appeal for wisdom and use it quite unashamedly as a starting point, a place to leap off from. Like leaping from a diving board into the main news of this week which has caused such comment here in Scotland over a deed that was done in the skies over this diocese.

Let us begin with Shakespeare. [Read more…]