Sep24pm
Our Good Shepherd
Speaker: Rev. Peter Spink
John 10:1-15
Archive for September, 2017
Sep05pm
JOHN KNOX, 1514-1572
It might be thought that one as important to the history of Presbyterians and Scotland as John Knox would have a distinguished place of burial. Hopefully, it would be a pleasant statue, a nice monument or possibly an obelisk 
marking his grave. But no, the approximate site of his grave is designated with a square surfaced white stone and a descriptive slab set in asphalt. Yes, John Knox is awaiting the resurrection beneath parking space number twenty-three in Parliament Square behind St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh. Maybe those who paved over the remains of Knox and his fellow deceased were skeptical descendants of the anti-supernatural Sadducees who did not believe in the resurrection. Regardless, if you want to see the burial site of John Knox you will have to stand on blacktop instead of a green church yard lawn.
John Knox was born in 1514 near Haddington which is located about eighteen miles east of Edinburgh. His father, William, was a freeman and may have been a merchant or craftsman, and what is known about his mother is that her maiden name was Sinclair. After completing his studies in Haddington, Knox finished his educational program at St. Andrews University. He was ordained a priest on April 1, 1536. Even though lads of the day often aspired to be priests, Scotland had too many of them and obtaining a benefice (property and income provided by the church) was difficult. Apparently, the grim prospects for ministry came to fruition for Knox because by 1540 he was a notary in Haddington. Four years later he was living in the household of Sir Hugh Douglas of Longniddry for the purpose of tutoring his two sons.