Looking Back: Christ and the Seaside

From July 1934

By the Rev WM Hamilton, MA, Dunbeth, Coatbridge

“And Jesus went forth by the sea-side; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them.”

The hiker is a figure symbolic of an important aspect of present-day life. We see him like a new pilgrim striding out of the City, not perhaps of Destruction, but certainly of Bondage. He is in quest of freedom, physical and mental. Nature, the kindly mother, from whom an artificial civilisation has separated him, calls, and he must go forth to find her dwelling-place. That urge typified by the hiker is in the hearts of all of us this season. We look forward with eagerness to the day of release from toil and restriction. We picture ourselves reclining on a grassy bank lazily watching a cloud like a white castle against the azure sky, or, in a more active mood, plunging into the tonic water that makes us feel so gloriously alive.

It is a pity that a movement generally so beneficial should arouse any misgivings, yet we must face the fact that the return to Nature is wrongfully interpreted by thousands. Nature is so beautiful and so kind that she is regarded as sufficient in herself. Why should one trouble about the sanctuaries of the Christian religion when one can worship in the wide temple of the open air? So it is argued with no immediate thought of despite to the great verities of our religion. But the danger is that, in place of the high faith we cherish, a form of paganism takes possession. Many act as if they had found a new and all-satisfying god in Nature, but Pan is a very old divinity, and the ruins of his worship are scattered all over the world.

The Church Of Scotland, careful of the true welfare of the people, wishes them to have the freest and happiest time possible when on holiday. But it believes that only in one way can that most desirable aim be realised, namely by claiming the beauty of the world and the health-giving powers of Nature for the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  “The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.” The light sparkling on the summer wave, the fair vista over which the eye travel with delight until it rests on the distant hills, the recovered vigour of body, the zest for life, these are His gifts, and only as we acknowledge the Giver can they be fully enjoyed.

Holidays, with all their benefits, bring dangers. Restraints other than those of factory or workshop may be cast aside and pleasures sought which result in remorse and shame. The greater leisure increases rather than diminishes our need for Divine guidance and control. We mention what is called the Moral Holiday, but, in a sense vastly different from that suggested, the time away from home and work should be a moral holiday. It is good to be able to forget for a while the common tasks and responsibilities, but it is sad to go back with no heart for work and ordinary routine. We should return with renewed moral as well as physical health, with a new enthusiasm for the labour by which we serve God and our fellows, with eyes enlightened to see beauty amid what we considered drab surroundings and God Himself in what we blindly regarded as the commonplace.

For reasons such as these the Church, through its Home Mission Committee, sees an opportunity of great service in the gathering of so many folk on holiday at the seaside. Our Lord drew the people around Him on the shore, and from those things that men might see where they were He taught the lessons of eternal truth. The very fact that people are closer  to Nature on their holidays ought to make them more impressionable to the words of Him whose Spirit is in all that has beauty and worth. The hush which falls over the land of a summer evening may make a silence in which God speaks to the soul.

This summer, by way of experiment, missions have been arranged at North Berwick and Millport, for July and August. Deputies will be sent to these towns to co-operate  with the local churches in presenting the message of the Gospel. At Millport, where the Church of Scotland has three Church buildings and only two ministers, it will be possible to have all the churches open every Sunday during the period. Open-air services will be held frequently throughout the week, and the missioners will spend much time with the children on the sands. The official visiting party is to consist of one minister and one student at a time, but it is hoped that voluntary helpers will offer their services freely. It is great fun sharing in the play of boys and girls on the sands. A happy day by the sea or on the golf course will be brought to a hallowed close by an hour of worship in the open air.

This we would ask our readers who may be holidaying  at Millport or North Berwick to remember. If you see a body of people gathered at an open-air meeting, please don’t pass by on the other side. These missioners are sent by the Church Of Scotland, and you are the Church Of Scotland. The work is your work, which you can greatly help by your presence and encouragement.

And to all readers of Life and Work this final word is offered. Wherever you go on holiday, faithful servants of Christ will be seeking to gather the people together that they may not forget the Lord their God in the place of sojourn. Let your example be a stimulus to others. To you and to them the holiday will be all the better a holiday through the inspiration gained from worship in God’s House on His Holy Day.

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