By Editor Bob Terry
St. Fillan’s Church is not a major tourist attraction. In fact, it is not even listed in the Historic Scotland guide my wife, Pat, and I used during our recent six-week sabbatical in Scotland and England. We found it almost by accident.
On our way to St. Andrews, we stopped in the village of Aberdour along the Fife coast to visit the ruins of a 13th-century castle and the walled gardens highlighted in the guidebook. The local host asked if we had seen the old village church, saying it would be a worthwhile stop. It certainly was.
The church building itself shows little of the beauty of the castles, abbeys and cathedrals. It is a nondescript stone structure that is basically one room.
What makes this church so remarkable is that it has functioned in this small village since A.D. 1123. The church history claims hints of the church’s existence 50 years before that, but the documented history goes back to 1123.
On a stone tablet in one of the walls, the names of the pastors are engraved. It is not a complete list, to be sure, but the first name is followed by a date of A.D. 1214.
On the wall opposite the names of the pastors was a board announcing the number of the hymns to be used in the church the following Sunday. The chairs were neatly lined, and the building was ready for service. On a table near the door, bulletins were stacked and ready to be passed out to worshipers.
I was allowed to step into the pulpit for a few minutes. What Baptist preacher does not like to stand in the pulpit? It was an awesome moment. I was standing where men of God had stood for almost 900 years to preach the gospel. We were in a building where countless generations had gathered to worship God; to seek His comfort in sorrow, His guidance in confusion, His forgiveness of sin and His presence in life; to mark the passages of life such as births, weddings and funerals; and to praise God in all things.
Nine hundred years of service by one small village church. What a humbling realization. It almost made one feel insignificant, but none of us is insignificant in God’s sight.
The minutes in that place provided a perspective that is sometimes forgotten. It was impossible to stand in St. Fillan’s and conclude that life in the church, or even life itself, is all about one’s self. The church building provided dramatic illustration that life is all about God and not about self.
Life in St. Fillan’s has not always been easy. At one point, a rich family built an alcove for only its use. That family has long since passed from the scene, and now the alcove is incorporated for regular use. Another time, when the building was in need of repair, a leading family decided the village needed a fancier church. A new church building was constructed and is still in use. But some folk stayed at St. Fillan’s. A pastor led the repair efforts and the church continued.
St. Fillan’s survived through the turbulent Reformation and through the political changes that mark Scottish history. It is not the same church it was 900 years ago. It is not even the same denomination, but the gospel is faithfully proclaimed in that place as it was at its beginnings.
Pastors have come and gone. Families have come and gone. Movements have come and gone. Crises have come and gone. But St. Fillan’s remains offering the Water of life to all who come its way as the church proclaims salvation in no other name except the name of Jesus Christ.
All of us are privileged to wade in the river of life for a time. Sometimes we become so comfortable in the water that we think the river belongs to us or that we can somehow control it. We conclude that life in the church and life itself are about us. No. Life is about God.
The stream of life flows from the throne of God. He is the Creator of all, and He is the Source of grace and love. No matter the number of our years, our time to wade in the water will be short. The river will continue to flow after we are gone as it did before we arrived.
That is why life is about God. He is the Source of life in the church and of life itself. Life is not about our whims and fancies. They wither like plucked flowers in the scorching sun. Life is about knowing God through faith in Jesus Christ and acknowledging Him in the ways we live before Him and with one another. Life is all about God.
Pat and I had a wonderful time during our time away. We met wonderful people, worshiped in wonderful churches, saw beautiful vistas and visited historical places. But those serendipitous moments at St. Fillan’s were among the best. Neither of us will ever be able to forget the lesson taught by that little stone church. Life is not about us. It is all about God.
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