Welcome to Eyes on Christ, a weekly letter from my heart to yours. Last week, on February 14, we entered the church season of Lent, a period of 40 weekdays and 4 Sundays leading to Easter when we will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. I value Lent as a time for praying, fasting, and giving. Lent is spiritual spring cleaning, the ‘lengthening’ of days when the short days of winter will soon give way to spring in the Northern Hemisphere. Peaceful preparation! Most of all, though what I enjoy about Lent is that it’s a zephyr-like reminder of the enduring impact of faith across time and space. We observe Lent in imitation of the forty days Jesus withdrew to the desert to fast and pray. While we may not all fast from food, many people choose a meaningful practice to create time for prayer and reflection. And, it never fails! The majestic panorama of Christians connected through centuries and across continents unfolds. It’s in honor of such a vision, God as builder of the Church, that I share today’s story of Scottish Presbyterians and how their faith lives on strong, in south India, 200 years later.
Some housekeeping first…
In February, I shifted the delivery time of Eyes on Christ from approximately 12:00 am PT / 3:00 am ET (USA and Canada) to 9:00 am PT / 12 noon ET on Mondays. Today's delivery is additionally delayed (for countries like the UK and India, it will already be close to midnight Monday or early Tuesday). Next week, Eyes on Christ will arrive in your inboxes and the Substack app on either Tuesday or Wednesday. I am thinking about a permanent move to Wednesdays for delivery. If you have an alternative preference, kindly let me know!
Here’s today’s letter.
therefore thus says the Lord God, “See, I am laying in Zion a foundation stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation: One who trusts will not panic.’ Isaiah 28:16
Fondly called ‘the Kirk,’ St. Andrews Church in Madras (now Chennai), south India carries a rich legacy as a Scottish Presbyterian institution. Its construction began in 1818 and was completed and commemorated in Feb. 1821. St. George’s Church, built in the Anglican tradition, had been built a few years before the Kirk, and has since been upgraded to a Cathedral. It is not ‘the Cathedral’ I reference, however. That belongs to St. Thomas Cathedral, one of only three basilicas built over the tomb of an apostle. Next week, I’ll write about St. Thomas Cathedral. This week, it’s the Kirk.