The Old Man s Patchwork Kilt Isaiah 2:1-4 Eph.2:19-22 Troy C. Lewis 02/19/12. The Kirkin of the Tartans, St. Giles Presbyterian Church, Orange Park FL

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1 1 The Old Man s Patchwork Kilt Isaiah 2:1-4 Eph.2:19-22 Troy C. Lewis 02/19/12 The Kirkin of the Tartans, St. Giles Presbyterian Church, Orange Park FL Before I begin the sermon proper I want to thank all the Scots not just for being here this morning but also for an unintended gift you have bestowed upon me. You see, since becoming the Pastor here at St. Giles years ago and being involved with the Kirkin and the Games and the St. Andrews Society my colleagues in the ministry have begun to revere me as a expert on all things Scottish. I m not of course; but it doesn t take much to fool my colleagues. The only problem with this honor is that sometimes I m asked questions about Scottish customs that I know nothing about. But a lack of knowledge has never held back a true Scot so instead of confessing my ignorance I answer as accurately possible or I just make up something that sounds reasonable. For example I was at a gathering of ministers earlier this week when one of my young colleagues asked me about the origin of an old Scottish custom of marrying on the last Wednesday of February. I had never heard of such a custom but I didn t want to reveal my ignorance. So I stalled and asked him where he heard of this custom. He told me that two young women from his congregation are engaged to marry young Scots, a McDonald and a Davidson I think. And that both young men insisted that their wedding that place on the last Wednesday of this month. My colleague was worried that this custom of marrying on the last Wednesday of February might be based on some old pagan fertility rite; and ministers, especially young ones don t want to have anything to do with fertility rites, pagan or otherwise.

2 2 Trying to look as wise and scholarly as I could I said, I see, both these fine young Scots want to wed on the last Wednesday of this month.. Yes, he said. I said, Well, there is nothing for you to worry about. It has nothing to do with pagan customs. It's just the nature of us Scots. You know we are a serious and thrifty people; not at all frivolous and wasteful like the English. The last Wednesday of this month is February 29, leap day, which as you know only comes around every four years. The thrifty young men are only insisting on marrying that day so they will only have to purchase an anniversary gift every fourth year..i almost got through that joke without insulting the English. Now before we look at this morning s scriptures I want tell you a story about a very old Scot who stopped by the office earlier this week as I was studying these scriptures and thinking about preaching today. I could tell he was a Scot by the way he was dressed. He wasn t wearing pants. He was wearing what appeared to be an old patchwork kilt. It was after lunch on Tuesday that he stopped by. I had eaten a fine lunch and although it was cold outside, it was warm and cozy in my office. And truth be told, I might have been nodding off a bit it was slow day. I happened to look up from my deep meditation and there he was, patiently standing in front of my desk. I was a bit startled so I asked him, How long have you been standing there? Not long, he answered, You looked so comfortable I didn t want to wake you. I wasn t asleep. I was meditating on the text. I said. Aye, he said, do you usually snore that loud when you re meditating? Can I help you? I asked.

3 3 He said, I ve come to help you with your Sunday sermon. I hear you are going to preach to my people on Sunday. And I thought you could use some help. Although I don t know how much help you ll be willing to accept, being yourself an expert on all things Scottish, as I m told. I could see that there would be no pulling the wool over the old man s eyes so I confessed my ignorance saying, Sir, I m no expert. I m glad to hear you willing to admit your ignorance.. Maybe you can learn something, he said. I said Well I ll be glad for any advice you can give me. I could tell by his demeanor he was going to give it to me whether I wanted it or not. And by then I began to realize that the whole thing was a dream. But I didn t want to wake up. It was a pleasant enough dream and our ancient ancestors valued dreams and visions and such. I thought I might gain some real insight. Maybe you could start by telling me about your kilt. I said, It s a tartan I ve never seen before although parts of it look familiar. I see a patch of my own tartan there. And that red, black and white patch that looks like the Munro tartan to me. That blue and green is that Adams or McDonald? And I m sure that s a patch of the McCollum tartan there. Look carefully, and tell me what else you see. The old man said as he slowly turned around. I looked and realized that his kilt wasn t patchwork at all but an intricately woven garment that included every tartan in here this morning every tartan I have ever seen and many more that I have never seen. Do you recognize this tartan? he asked.

4 4 No, I answered, I recognize elements of it but I ve never seen so many colors and patterns woven together into a single garment before. It s my own design, he said, I am the Chief of a very large family. You mean Clan, I corrected him. You are the Chief of a very large Clan. You said family. No. I meant to say family that s what a clan is; it s a family, a large extended family. And this kilt it represents all the families that have grown from my little family through the generation. That s why you see your own tartan here and so many others. I ve woven symbols of all the different families into one garment because in my eyes you are all a part of my family. I interrupted him and said, Sir I m sorry. I didn t think to introduce myself and ask your name when you came in. No worries, he said. The name s Adam. Just Adam? I asked. Yes, he answered, Just Adam and you re all part of my family. And through the grace of God you will all realize that again someday. And who knows, maybe on that day you will all wear this tartan..then he smiled and said, I know it might seem a bit loud to some but for you McLeods it will be several decibels lower. My head jerked. I woke up and the old man in the beautifully woven kilt was gone. The Bibles on my desk were open to both of these scriptures passages before this morning.

5 5 In days to come the mountain of the Lord s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall rise above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it. Many people shall come and say, Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and we may walk in his paths. He shall judge between the nations and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, and they shall study war no more. (Isaiah 2:2-4) And from Ephesians, Christ Jesus came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to you who were near; for through him both of you have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God. (Eph. 2:17-19) Do you think there will be the sound of bagpipes playing on that holy mountain when all the clans of all the nations stream to it to learn from God and walk in his paths? Do you believe such a day will ever come? I do because God has promised it. I do because it has been God s intention and dream for humanity since before creation and if it takes longer than creation to bring about, that s okay; God has time. God will make it happen. And I believe because every once in a while I catch little glimpses of that day when diverse people come together to worship and serve God and recognize each other as members of the one family. I catch glimpses of that day in this church and all good churches where everyone is welcome and accepted. I catch glimpses of it in this service each year when tartans representing so many different septs of the one family of humanity are laid on the table of our

6 6 Lord. With a little imagination and faith I can almost see they are woven together into one beautiful family tartan. And all of it is accompanied by the heavenly sounds of bagpipes and drums and pray and laughter and acceptance. All glory to God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Family Advent Readings

Family Advent Readings First Sunday of Advent Light the first candle Leader: Today we begin our Advent journey, a time of listening and waiting. Leader: As we wait, hear this promise from the prophet Isaiah: