Reflection 2023                    Word on the Week                30^th December 2023.

Let’s do it differently.   Instead of a Crystal Ball let’s use a mirror!   Let’s see if we can find faith.   The image reflected back spells ‘doubt’.   The Bible says “the righteous shall live by faith” (Romans 1 verse 17) so we had better find faith.  

But how?    Doubt comes naturally; Envying someone else is natural; worry is natural; Fear is natural; Wanting to give up is natural; It’s natural to wonder if all my good habits will make a difference in the end; It’s normal to occasionally be stumbled by the question of whether what I have staked my life on is really true?

But faith isn’t natural.

No matter how hard you try to work it up, lasting faith is the gift of God.  “By grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2 verse 8).  

But how is this gift given?

This gift of God is Jesus.   Believing that He is, as his name implies, – Saviour. This follows by being born into His family.   As the Gospel says, “to all who receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God” (John 1 verse 12).

The invitation to accept this gift is put well in Joseph Hart’s hymn; Come ye sinners, poor and needy.   Verse 3 is particularly helpful; Let not conscience make you linger, Nor of fitness fondly dream; All the fitness He requires is to feel your need of Him: This He gives you – ‘Tis the Spirits rising beam.

In coming to Jesus, like the Prodigal, you are accepted.   Just as in the parable there is the ring of relationship, the robe of righteousness and feet shod for service.   As a child of God you are an ambassador for Christ (2 Corinthians 5 verse 20).

God will equip you.   Never fear that you will have to hide in guilt when your walk of faith slips off the path.  Your hope in Life no longer depends on your faithfulness but on Jesus faithfulness.   It is on Jesus who said that no one would ever be able to snatch one of his flock out of his hand (John 10 verse 28).  It is in His words and what He has done that we place our God given faith.

So back to the mirror!   Our faith is found not in ourselves but in Jesus who lived and died for others.   Always remember that our faith is not like it used to be – in our own abilities but now it is on what Jesus has done (Romans 4 Verse 25).   2024 will look a lot different.

The Eternal Word        Word on the Week       23^rd December 2023.

The Word on the week is about to ‘come out’.   He has always existed!

We first learn of Him in Genesis chapter 1 as the author of creation.

John’s Gospel chapter 1 verse 3 simply says ‘He made it all’.

The Gospel goes on to say the Word became human and lives with us.

“the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” – verse 14.

This is the embodiment of the Word.   He is known as Jesus Christ.

The Angel gave the name to Joseph and Mary and also his job-description of ‘saviour’ (Matthew Chapter 1 verse 21).

When we took over the new church building in Pearse Street we asked the builder to put the text Matthew chapter 24 verse 35 over the door.  It reads: –

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Our instructions were to write it on stone.   The builders wrote it on the glass panel above the interior door!   They corrected their mistake and now we have the text written twice!  

The Bible goes one better having this text, which was spoken by Jesus, in each of the three synoptic Gospels!   This underlines the importance of the Word – both the written Word – the Bible and the living word – Jesus.

Have pity on my paltry efforts to have the Word of God address weekly some of the important matters that arise.   The most vital is always the salvation of the reader.   This comes about when you bow the knee to God to repent of your sins and open your heart to receive the living Lord Jesus as your personal saviour.  

Then go on to serve Him by living out the Word for the remainder of your life on earth.    May this Christmas be the one when this transaction takes place in your life.

Food at Christmas           Word on the Week                     9^th December 2023.

This is the time of year that food comes into its own.   Turkey and ham with sprouts etc. followed by a plumb pudding with a sprig of holly on top.   Sometimes we venture into more exotic dishes and sample foods seldom eaten except on birthdays.

One of these dishes is the shellfish called mussels.   They normally come in numbers, shiny black shells, cooked in salty water and sprung open ready to be eaten.   These mussels are mainly harvested in the sea around shallow waters where they adhere to ropes fishermen anchor in the water.

These delicacies were on the list of prohibited foods in Old Testament times.    They come under the general heading of shellfish which were declared unclean (Leviticus 11 verses 9 to 12).    Presumably this was to avoid the danger of food poisoning as mussels require to be cooked as soon as they are harvested.   No refrigerators then!

The menu in those days would have had many omissions!   The Israelites were God’s ‘treasured possession’ and were to be distinguished from other nations by various things including their diet.    

Jesus declared all foods clean (Mark’s Gospel 7 verses15 to 19).    Mussels are on the menu!

As a child I gathered freshwater mussels for the fishermen to use as bait.   The flesh of the mussel was dried in the sun, salted then wrapped round the hook.   The hook had to end up entering the tiny heart of the mussel so as secure the flesh from slipping off the hook.   The empty shells were spread on the village paths and trampled into the earth making a firm paving.   A practice akin to throwing out damp salt which had lost its savour (St Matthew 5 verse 13).  

Another practice was to crack open mussels to see if they contained a pearl.  The pearl would be formed by a piece of grit entering the mussel and its defence was to coat it with pearl.   We collected these tiny pearls in a small glass tube (which once contained aspirin) and sold them to the local chemist!

As you can imagine the rewards were tiny but there was always the hope of coming across a big pearl!    The Merchant in Jesus’s parable was more persistent and, we are told when he found the big one went and sold everything he had in order to purchase the place where it was to be found (St Matthew 13 verses 45/6).

Today it is found in Jesus.    There is great joy in coming to faith in Him.   If you haven’t placed your trust in Jesus this would be a good time to do so (Luke 15 verses 7 to 10).

Musk Unmasked              Word on the Week                     2^nd December 2023.

Elon Musk planned to turn Twitter into the marketplace of ideas, a bastion of free speech but something has gone sadly wrong.   It was always going to be a high wire act having public space in private hands but then Elon Musk could be the man to control the media platform.

He lays claim to be the wealthiest man in the world with his worth over $200 billion and this after paying 44 billion for Twitter in 2022.

He made most of his money making electric cars in gigantic factories.   His Tesla car is a market leader.   He has an attraction to space travel and has built a number of rockets.   One of his goals is to colonise Mars!

This week his management of Twitter, now known as X, has come under attack.  It stems from his absence of auditing the platform content which has attracted dubious contributions largely from the far right.    Fake news goes undetected and his own recent entry appears to be anti-Semitic.

The Mayor of Paris has publicly stated her disapproval by describing it as a sewer and cancelling her X account.   The downward spiral of the company, in the 13 months he has owned it, stems from Musk firing around 50% of its staff to arrest the loss making situation it was in.   A number of big brands who advertised on X have pulled out in recent days, incurring Musk’s ire.  

Without the goodwill of advertisers, survival will depend on funding from Musk’s other companies, some of whom assisted in meeting the purchase price.   It is a long way from becoming like the Areopagus in Athens.   When St Paul visited it he had been heard preaching in the city and was invited to state his case there before the Athenians and foreigners gathered there (Acts 17 verses 16 to 34).

There had been a sounding out of the Apostles ideas.   The Areopagus was not for anyone, a lesson Musk is learning the hard way.   The Athenians enjoyed free speech which Musk is trying to create but even speech requires to be edited and kept within ethical boundaries.

What did the Apostle say in Athens?   We are told he preached Jesus and the resurrection.   He emphasised both to the extent that the listeners thought there were two gods! (verse 18).   Their decision to hear more from Paul was a good one and their public square, the Areopagus, could be replicated today by a suitably cleaned up X!

Perhaps Elon Musk, who has access to all this world can give, could benefit from the repentance the Apostle preached and look for the cleansing from sin that Jesus offers (St Matthew 19 verses 23 to 26).

Kingdoms Collide            Word on the Week                     11^th November 2023.

The 11^th hour on the 11^th day of the 11^th month in the year 1919 the first armistice day was held in the grounds of Buckingham Palace.   Optimistically, it was to commemorate the war to ‘end all wars’!   It is now known as Remembrance Day in the UK and is held annually at the Cenotaph in London.

This visual reminder of the horrors of war has not stopped the warring human tribes from their propensity to slaughter each other!   Armament factories are never out of business!    Politicians, asleep at the wheel, fail to spot the Putin’s of this world until it is too late.

It is easy to see the faults in others but this blog is concerned with another Kingdom, a heavenly one.   It is identified on earth by its founder saying “I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (St Matthew 16 verse 18).    The gates of the city being the strongest part of its fortification but they are not strong enough to keep hell from being taken!

We pray, Thy Kingdom come.   So how is the kingdom to come?   Who is in the draft?  God has called all his children to participate in the work of the kingdom.   Everyone who has been brought into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ has been drafted into the ministry of church-building (2 Peter 2 verses 3 to 9).

The Lord has given us the leaders we require to carry out these works of service.   They build up the people of God until they become mature in the faith not tossed about by every wind of teaching.   Now expressing the truth of redemption in Christ out of love we build up the whole body as each part does its work (Ephesians 4 verses 11 to 16).

What are some of the hindrances to the Biblical vision of church?   For some it has become the spiritual version of going to a concert.   They get a high.   They experience ministry professionals at work but have little commitment to the health of the church or to its work in the world.   Their relationship to the church is self-focussed i.e. what can I get out of it!

There is also that incongruous worshipper, the ‘sermon sampler’.   I would fall into this category thanks to the immobility of old age and the convenience of Zoom!

Rightly executed the sermon takes the Bible portion and nourishes the hearers.  This enables the Kingdom of God to advance as repentance and forgiveness of sins in the name of Jesus is proclaimed in all nations by church-goers who testify to its reality in their lives (St Luke 24 verses 45 to 48).

AI at Bletchley Park                 Word on the Week                 4^th November 2023.

This week the great and the good showed up at Bletchley Park, Milton Keynes, the home of the UK principal centre of Allied code-breaking.  It became famous after WW2 having previously been kept secret.

Its purpose today was not so much code-breaking as understanding where Artificial Intelligence is leading us.   Its progression from a tool of trade for writers, whereby it does the research, to one which generates the ideas itself is progressing by leaps and bounds.

Elton Musk, the owner of X (formerly Twitter), wishes to create a market place for free speech where ideas can flourish but now sees his ideas being overtaken by GAI.   This stands for ‘Generative Artificial Intelligence’ a tool that will think for you!

In fact, such rapid strides are being made that he was forecasting the end of work as we know it, humoid robots taking the jobs!    The driverless car, which successfully navigates city traffic, illustrating the point he was making.

I asked GPT for some information on the tunnels of Gaza which are key components in the Israeli Hamas war.  This is part of what I got from ChatGPT: –

The tunnels in Gaza are an extensive network of underground passageways used for a multitude of purposes. They are mostly dug using manual labour and often hidden from plain view. The tunnels have played a crucial role in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine as they are used for smuggling weapons, transporting supplies, and launching attacks.

The Israeli military considers the tunnels a threat to national security and has frequently targeted them, leading to further deaths and destruction.

In summary, the tunnels in Gaza are a complex network with both civilian and military uses, shaping the region’s history. However, they are also a source of danger and conflict, causing casualties to residents and being at the centre of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.

This is an abbreviated version.   I asked for 300 words and got them!   The more obvious places where it can help humankind are in medicine where it can hunt down the cancer cells and leave the healthy ones to function.

When it comes to robots we have a unique opportunity for humans to play god!   Now the potential moves from the paranoid dictator to the rogue humoid robot.  But –

‘The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created…and he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross (Colossians 1:15/20).

It is good to remember that Jesus reigns over all and will return to set all in order.  

Halloween                            Word on the Week          28^th October 2023.

The name Hallowe’en comes from All Hallows’ Eve. It appears on the traditional church calendar, as the eve of All Saints’ Day. It arrives next Tuesday 31 ^st October the day Protestants remember Martin Luther’s spectacularly triggering of the reformation. On 1 ^st November, faithful Catholics will light candles and pray for departed souls to observe All Saints Day.

Originally celebrated in May, this day was moved to November 1, possibly to absorb the pagan Celtic festival of Samhain. It heralded the end of summer and the start of the dark days of winter. Our Celtic forebears believed that the boundary between this world and the otherworld thinned at that time of year inviting contact with the spirit world.

In order to trick the devil into deceiving you were someone else masks were worn along with clothing that would complete the disguise. Acts of mischief would take place and the remedy was usually paid in sweets and fruit and nuts! I can remember when TV first appeared two of our neighbours children dressed as walking TV’s from which they broadcasted their demands!

Commercial interests have taken over, what is a lean trading time of the year, by a multitude of ‘trick or treat’, witches and warlock’s disguises to use in the many parties on the night.

One year we were in Philadelphia at Halloween when we saw the extent families would go to in celebrating the festival. Many houses used their front garden to display their enthusiasm for the event. One I do remember had illuminated skeletons engaged in some fiendish dance! I know the boundary between the spirit world and purgatory is supposed to be thin but there are limits even in make-belief!

The Bible doesn’t have much time for such antics. The prophet Isaiah was quite forthright, “When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people enquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?” (Isaiah Chapter 8 verse 19).

Jesus, who was called the ‘Prince of Devil’s’ by his enemies, the name given to satan, told his followers not to fear those who could kill the body but to fear Him who could cast the body into hell (Matthew 10 verse 28). He told the parable about Lazarus to illustrate the one-way traffic there was after death. There is a great chasm of separation that cannot be bridged (Luke 16 verse 26). King David understood this following the death of his son — “l will go to him but he will not return to me” (2 Samuel 12 verse 23).

Now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation (2 Cor.6 verse 2).

Rain, Rain, Go to Spain         Word on the Week              21^st October 2023.

Rain, Rain, go to Spain and never come back again!   This, or something like it, was an unexpressed wish of many as they splashed through storm Babet yesterday.    There is something of a random nature about where these Atlantic storms will make landfall – for this one it was the South Coast of Ireland and mainly the town of Midleton.

Babet has been likened to a slow moving train of rain to hit Ireland.   The results were disastrous.   Flood barriers, where they exist, have proved inadequate and occasionally do more harm than good!   Good drainage is hard to maintain at this time of year with fallen leaves blocking outlets.

Met Éireann’s three colour system yellow, orange or red seems to have been lifted from the child’s game where those searching for the hidden one were prompted by the leader shouting out the colour appropriate to how near they were to the hiding place!

Red was always the closest as with Met Éireann where it spells danger.  A national flood warning service is being developed.   This will forecast the amount of rain falling in under an hour illustrating the severity of the downpour.

The monitoring of high water levels in river systems and the analysis of weather data since 1991 shows a need to adjust the base figures to allow for stronger winds and higher temperatures.   The state has produced its latest advice “Be Winter Ready”.   Let’s hope they take to heart their own advice!

On the home front, with the land already saturated, we had to cope with surface water flowing from the fields into the farm yard.   One place the waters meet is the hen-run where the inflow is faster than the outlet!   The rising waters reached the henhouse and I am glad to report there were no losses!

The good news is we will not have a global flood!   God’s covenant with Noah makes it plain there will be no repeat.   The rainbow in the sky marks the fulfilment of the promise.    The promise is to all living creatures including those who commandeered the rainbow for their flag! (Genesis 9 verses 8 to 17).  The Apostle Luke speaks of the end times in Luke 17 verses 26 to 30)

As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man:  They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Jesus also said,Likewise, as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.  Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.   Jesus offers grace for this type of rain!

O Jerusalem                    Word on the Week                     14^th October 2023.

Once again the attention of the world is centred on Israel.  The Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu – mortified by intelligence lapses – has seized the opportunity to threaten the Hamas terrorists with extinction.  

Their breaching of Israel’s Southern boundary occurred all too easily and the killing of civilians went ahead without any intervention.   Indeed, Hamas were able to capture over 100 hostages which they threaten to kill – one for every Israeli raid into Gaza.

Israel has assembled a large army on the Gaza border and Netanyahu has promised a response that will “echo across the generations”.   This has commenced with the air force pounding Gaza day and night.   Taking cognisance of the international community, warnings precede the attacks which are allegedly targeted on Hamas posts.

More recently Israel has ordered that Palestinians leave Gaza, which is the same area as Co Louth in Ireland, in order that they can get at the Hamas.  Where the Palestinians are supposed to go is not stated!

In recent times Hamas have gained political power over the Palestine Liberation Organisation so any hope of the two state solution happening has gone.   Hamas has been indoctrinating the Gaza schoolchildren with hatred of Israel with the goal of Israel’s extermination.    These views are echoed on Israel’s Northern boundary by Hezbollah so Israel has most unpleasant neighbours!

Making proportional responses in warfare has always been a problem for Israel.   At least three times in the Pentateuch the limitation of “an eye for an eye” has been invoked.   Israel has always been tempted to take two eyes in retaliation (Deuteronomy 19 verse 21)!   

The problem is that Israel is still locked into the Old Testament.  The Apostle Paul ‘s great desire was for his peoples’ salvation (Romans 9 &10 verses 1 to 4).   He saw it as a veil over their eyes which would remain until it is removed.  Sadly, it has remained to this day but when it is taken away there will be a turning to Christ for salvation (2 Corinthians 3 verses 14 to 18 & 4: 1 to 6).

It was the hardened hearts of those in Jerusalem that caused Jesus to lament over the city.   He could see both their rejection of Him and their fate (St Matthew 23 verse 37 to 39).    There will be a day when the Jews are converted (Romans 11 verse 26).   May you know God’s mercy dear Reader and not be left behind (Romans 11 verse 30).

Personal Pronouns                    Word on the Week          7^th October 2023.

Perhaps one of my most satisfactory joys of leaving childhood was to put behind me what I learned about pronouns.    In some ways I was glad I was not a Frenchman with their attributing either masculine or feminine gender to words.   One less thing to remember!

If you live long enough it seems like things come round again and pronouns have become important!    It appears that personal pronouns have become fluid.  No more are they to be anchored to biology!   This new use of pronouns was introduced at the South East Technological University this week where one lecturer raised an objection to its compulsory nature.

However, the Taoiseach adopted a conciliatory tone and said “everyone should try to use people’s preferred pronouns and try not to take offence if people make mistakes.”  When he was asked if refusal to call a person by their preferred pronoun was an example of unlawful discrimination he commented that we need to be a little more relaxed about these things.

Perhaps he felt he was encroaching on the Enoch Burke case where Burke was imprisoned for disobeying a court order not to attend the school premises.  Burke on the other hand believes he is in prison because he refused to use the pupil’s preferred pronoun but rather stay with the biology.

In any event the Taoiseach added if someone uses the wrong pronoun deliberately to offend then the law would act.   So we had better watch how we use our personal pronouns in future!   

Let’s go back to the beginning.   We were created male and female in God’s image.   The start was good but then along came the first test which we sadly failed and brought about the fall (Genesis 1 verse 27 & 2 verse 17).

Names are important in the Bible.  They often describe the person’s character. In the case of God, He reveals Himself to Moses, first by reference to his forebears then by calling Himself “I am” (Exodus 3 verse 14).

When Jesus walked the earth He was consistent in how he wished to identify Himself.   He continued the “I am” identity which made him one with the Father, a fact recognised by the Jews who tried to stone Him rather than recognise Him (St John 8 verses 28/9).

Names are important in a fallen world.   Your identity is part of who you are.   You may not always be pleased with your identity (or the colour of your eyes) but it soon becomes part of you.   To fight against the body you have been given is like the pot calling the shots against the Almighty (Isaiah 45 verse 9).

The remedy is to take up Jesus’s invitation to come to Him for rest for the soul (St Matthew 11 verses 28 to 30).