Ship Ashore                     Word on the Week                    27^th March 2021.

Few things capture the imagination more than a maritime disaster.    If the ship is big and its cargo highly visible, then it is newsworthy.   If, in addition, the ship flounders in the Suez Canal, effectively blocking it, then we have all the ingredients of a prime maritime disaster!  

This occurred on Tuesday when the MV EVER GIVEN apparently was blown off course when a 40 knot gust hit the side of the vessel.   Photographs show that the cargo of containers was stacked eight high above the deck and would present considerable wind resistance.   The ship, which is longer than four soccer fields, has been wedged diagonally across the canal, shutting the waterway in both directions.

Ships waiting to use the canal have accumulated at either end of it.   They total 213 at present.   Some may attempt the long route around South Africa but the cost of additional fuel, plus normal ships overheads incurred during the ten-day journey, would take make it unattractive. 

Freeing the vessel is going to require the removal of copious quantities of sand by dredgers and much pushing by five tugboats which are on the scene. Of course the spring tides are due tomorrow and will create an above normal high water level.   They are influenced by the gravitation pull of the moon and reduce in height as the moon waxes only to rise again at the next full moon.

This presents a small window of opportunity which the salvage crews will use to exert the maximum pressure against the side of the vessel coinciding with the high tide.   It is tempting to pray to the Lord that he might send a reduced version of Noah’s flood which got his ark to float in former times (Genesis Chapter 6 verses 13 to 22).

There are also storms which spring up suddenly and can put fear into experienced fishermen, in the Bible.  One occurred to the north in the Lake of Galilee when Jesus was crossing with his disciples.  As St Mark records “A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was asleep in the stern. The disciples woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?  Jesus calmed the storm showing that he has authority over nature (Chapter 4 verses 35 – 41).

But it is not usual for Jesus to do a miracle to free an enormous ship which has been designed more as a testimony to man’s greed than to seaworthiness.   The storms that blow today on the bridge of the MV EVER GIVEN are more likely to require Jesus help with repentance and forgiveness between the owners and the ships command; and they may be in short supply!

Spring Equinox                Word on the Week                     20^th March 2021.

It’s that time of year that only happens twice when night and day are approximately the same length.   This is the March equinox.   From now on the days get longer and the nights get shorter – and don’t the birds know it!

The bird song moved up a few decibels this week, helped by the warmer weather and absence of wind.    The notes from some birds such as the Goldcrest belie their tiny size.   The shrill high ‘zee-zee-zee’ is guaranteed to persecute the wearer of hearing aids!

Chaffinch, Robins, Blackbirds and Coal Tits, to name but a few, are in full voice while the Blue Tits are busy house hunting!    They visit the nest boxes which have been idle since last Spring.   They are not easy pleased as both male and female need to agree with the location!

The magpies that successfully bred at the top of the Scotch Pine last year are also prospecting!   In folklore they are an unwelcome bird creating dissidence amongst the other garden birds.   Their fondness of eating their eggs is one of their less endearing qualities.   One for sorrow, Two for mirth, Three for a funeral, Four for a birth is one of a number of Magpie poems!

On the ground natures palate is rich in colour.   At first sight there seems to be a preponderance of yellow.   The primroses and daffodils stealing the show.   However, if you mix in the purple heaths with the blue hyacinths and the crocuses coming through the ground ivy there is a feast for the eyes.

Perhaps it’s the hellebores that in white or purple dress create the wow factor.   They modestly hang their heads concealing their beauty till its discovered by the gardener.   Betty’s preference is for the stinking hellebore – a misnamed plant for sure!   It is evergreen, its dark green leaves, sprouting from a thick stem. The flowers are green also but a lighter, yellowish shade; drooping cup-like shape. Lovely, but there is better.

“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord …” (Psalm 27 verse 4).

Fairest Lord Jesus, ruler of all nature
O thou of God and man the Son
Thee will I cherish, Thee will I honour
Thou, my soul’s glory, joy, and crown.

Beautiful Saviour! Lord of all the nations
Son of God and Son of Man
Glory and honour, praise, adoration
Now and forevermore be thine.

A Royal Mess                  Word on the Week              13^th March 2021.

Family life in the 21^st century is not an easy business but when it has to be lived out in the full glare of the monarchy everything must take on a larger than life appearance.    Harry and Megan’s interview on Monday night had an estimated Irish TV audience of 725,000.   Not bad for an interview!

The couple had a tough assignment.   They had decided that royal life was not for them and had sought to put together a part-time post.   In it they would cut out most of the functions but keep the perks.   The perks that the interview highlighted were titles and security.   The latter gives an insight into the sort of life that goes with fame and the anxieties that attach to the name of Windsor.

Megan did most of the talking and delivered the two ‘bombshells’ well.   They were the charge of racism (Megan is of mixed race) from the palace and lack of help when Megan felt suicidal.   The interviewer, Oprah Winfrey, has a sphinx like face which betrayed little emotion.  She extracted the maximum impact from the interviewees words by using minimal words and subtle facial inflections.

Megan’s father, Thomas, when asked what he thought of the interview said “Megan has ghosted all of her family on both sides”.   ‘Ghosted’ according to the Oxford Dictionary is explained by the statement ‘being ghosted is one of the toughest ways of being dumped’.  

Piers Morgan’s claim on Good Morning Britain that he “didn’t believe” her when she said she had suicidal thoughts and failed to get mental health support from within the royal household. It cost him his job.   Piers clearly values free speech more than the job he has held down for a number of years!

Will it sink the monarchy?   For all its faults the monarchy, since Brexit, is one of the few assets the UK have left.   The Pomp and Circumstance are coveted by EC. The Queen, who has the task of reconciling the matter, has maintained contact with her grandson Harry.    She is a godly person and will realise that before reconciliation can flow there is the hard work of repentance and forgiveness to be worked out on both sides.

All this depends on a willingness for those involved to want it to happen.  The prodigal son would never have returned home if he had not been hungry (St Luke Chapter 15 verse 17).   It may be some time before Harry gets hungry and at age 94 his grandmother will want the process to keep moving!

Families have the power to inflict the maximum hurt or the maximum good on one another.   May God give them the desire to sort it out.

Who am I?                       Word on the Week                     6^th March 2021.

The question of one’s identity is about the most personal thing that can happen to you.    To be told you are not who you thought you were, as brought out by the wrongdoings chronicled in RTÉ Investigates: Ireland’s Illegal Adoptions (RTÉ One, last Wednesday) are devastating.

It is who you think you are that enables you to play your part in society with self-assurance.    How you were treated as a child has a lot to do with the confidence you bring to life’s decisions.   To be told, later in life, that your parents are not your birth parents, as one person said “Takes time to process”.

Apparently there are 126 cases of falsely registered births where the adoptees names were substituted for those of the birth parents.  This number has now increased to 151 and there are thought to be many more.   The church agency St Patricks Guild which handled these cases is currently being wound up.

In an attempt to trace her siblings one adoptee was given the name of a birth sibling living in the United States. They met over the internet and bonded. A DNA test subsequently revealed the initial information had been incorrect: they were not related at all!   She said she wanted to scream!

There has been some question of these birth records being classified information under the GDPR privacy legislation which would prevent Tusla sharing information about adoptees’ biological families.   There should be no such restriction.

To know who your Mother is, where and when you were born is a self-evident right.   Whether or not you have siblings and their circumstances is also information of prime importance to establishing who you are.   But the best anchor of all is to be a Christian, a son or daughter of the living God.  

And this is not by random chance but “He chose us in him before the creation of the world” (Ephesians Chapter 1 verse 4).   That is from all eternity God the Father has been gathering a family – the Children of God.     

This choice is effective in the world through Christ as St Peter said “it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God (St Peter Chapter 1 verses 18 -21).

Your identity is secure in the family of God.

Good News Rediscovered         Word on the Week          27^th February 2021.

As zoom meetings go there was one this week that worked well!   It’s not that the technology behaved perfectly, it didn’t, or the ‘breakout rooms’ served their purpose, I lost my video screen and had difficulty recognising the voices but the content was what we needed to hear!

The content took us back to when Jesus was being harassed and hounded by the Chief Priests and Elders of the People.   Rather like the media. They always turn up and often get the message wrong!   Now having dealt with the Sadducees (Matthew Chapter 23 verse 34).  The Pharisees, confronted by truth, stopped asking any more questions (Matthew Chapter 23 verse 46). Somewhat like today with the religious in Ireland silenced.

It seemed that all the frustration which had built up over the previous three years of teaching was channelled into one sustained outburst of home truths from Jesus’ lips which St Matthew recorded for us in Chapter 23 of his book.   It was a full frontal attack on the religious of his day!  Sometimes known as the seven woes.

The sermon begins with a confirming word acknowledging the role the Pharisees received from Moses recommending obedience to the law.   The problem was the Pharisees had added to the law and the 10 Commandments now added up to 612 rules and regulations!   They did not keep the laws themselves!    Not much has changed today.   There is still a lot of hypocrisy around (St Matthew Chapter 23 verses 1 to 36).

Chapter 23 ends with an invitation.   Not to go to the Priests nor the Temple.   But to come to Jesus. This was in line with the other invitations Jesus gave – to his disciples to ‘follow me’ and to the weary to give him their burden (Chapter 11 verse 28).  

This is a passionate invitation from one who could see where Jerusalem was heading “Jerusalem, Jerusalem! She who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, yet you were not willing”!

This is the last appeal Jesus gave.   He was bypassing the religious system which had been abused by its leaders.  His plea has no strings attached.   It is to all – unlimited.  Even to those who had been unwilling to trust in his words.  God’s omnipotent grace!  As the hymn puts it; “His love has no limit, His grace has no measure, His power no boundary known unto men. For out of His infinite riches in Jesus, He giveth and He giveth and He giveth again.” ~ A. J. Flint.

Time Flies                        Word on the Week               20^th February 2021.

“I’m not as young as I used to be” said the Chinese Christian worker.   I had failed to recognise her (it had been some years). Then came the obvious reply “none of us are as young as we used to be!”   Psalm 39 verse 4 reminded me of these thoughts.   It reads, “Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is”.

It would be nice to know how we will end up and how soon that end will come!  The added comment on the brevity of life hardly needs to be made let alone sung about as this indeed is a song of King David.   It’s one of a number he composed for Jeduthun who, with his sons, played the trumpet, cymbals, harp and lyres.   A musical family!

Of course, for those who have, by God’s grace, become followers of Christ the Apostle Paul says we are already dead to these thoughts.   As the song puts it, “For me to live is Christ to die is gain”.   Words inspired by the text in Galatians Chapter 2 verse 20 which says “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me”.

I had a boss whose management style was pugnacious!   His personal outlook was “People are problems”!    We were together on a long car journey and I thought it would be a good idea to share Galatians 2:20 with him.   His immediate response – “What’s that in English?” was not too encouraging!

It did highlight for me the ‘great gulf’ there is between the lover of Jesus and the communicating of that life-changing love to another.   Explanations may go some way but a note of incredulity creeps into the other’s voice which it requires the gift of faith to remove.

Lydia was a business woman but also a woman of prayer.  Women from Philippi met for prayer outside the city on the river bank.   As St Paul writes “The Lord opened Lydia’s heart to respond to Paul’s message”.   She then ‘took the plunge’ and was baptised in the river demonstrating visually her death to the old life and her rising with Christ to the new life in Him.

The very expression ‘time flies’ is loaded with regret and in itself speaks of a longing for eternity.   And that is exactly what every child of God looks forward to.   For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (St John Chapter 3 verse 16).    God’s gift solves the time problem!

Faith needs an Object               Word on the Week          13^th February 2021.

The object in these parts is the national Rugby team!   Without four of their outstanding players as a result of injury or misdemeanour they go to face the French this weekend.   Supporters require a lot of faith to believe they will win!

The object of their faith is quite clear.   It may be misguided but what are supporters there for if they do not show faith?    There was a slogan which appeared in a Guinness advert which enigmatically said “Believe in Better”.   In this case the product was so well known that the owners could indulge in a nonsense phrase with a positive tone to it!

‘Keep the Faith’ is an expression associated with a religion so well known that those using it can omit the object and be perfectly understood.   Faith in this case is assumed to be the whole body of doctrine.    It often was directed at me during my working life and in an effort to supply the object I would add ‘in Jesus’ to the slogan.   Sadly, I have little evidence that I was understood!

Perhaps the most quoted portion of the Apostle James’s book is in Chapter 2.   It is the ‘dead’ faith which didn’t produce good works and is mentioned in verse 14.   James is looking for something more than mental assent.   He wants to see obedience. He then cites Abraham’s offering of his son on the altar as Abraham carried out God’s instructions to the letter Verses 21 to 23). In doing so he raises the bar to its highest level.   Little wonder God credited righteousness to Abraham – the ‘Man of Faith’.

Of course faith does not come naturally to us.  It’s not the normal way we live Doubt comes naturally.   Unbelief can take us by surprise!   Worry comes with the territory we inhabit.   But faith, apart from our time of infancy, is not where we are at.

Nor is it something we can obtain if we put our mind to it.   Like the determination to ride a two wheeled bike!   Faith in Christ is how we see Jesus.   To be working at its best it should not be added to by ceremony other than prayer.    It is its object – Jesus – who is all important.  We walk by faith (2 Corinthians Chapter 5 verse 7).

But to be able to walk we need to receive the gift of faith.   This comes from God and is by his grace not by our merit.   This means that every person who receives this gift is a special work of God.   His Spirit will show you what tasks he has for your short time on earth (Ephesians Chapter 2 verses 8 to 10).

Have faith in God (St Mark Chapter 11 verse 22).

Behemoth                         Word on the Week                     6^th February 2021.

There are a number of human Behemoth’s flourishing financially in today’s world (Job Chapter 40 verses 15 to 24).   They go by names like ‘Amazon’, ‘Apple’ or ‘Google’ etc. and, like the Biblical Behemoth are known for their size and strength.  

Perhaps they are more like Leviathan (literally that which twists around) the great mythological serpent (Job Chapter 3 verse 8 and 41 verses 1 to 34).    These companies have grown to have a dominating position.   Their growth is stimulated by recording details of each customer on their data base and using the information to focus advertisers to match the customer’s details.

Just as Leviathan has multiple heads (Psalm 74 verses 12 to 14) these Companies have, with the exception of Facebook, each has had a new chief executive.    The latest to step down it Jeff Bezos of Amazon.   His income is growing at the rate of €160 million per day or €1,850 per second!

Covid has helped Amazon.   It has caused Governments to lockdown whole populations who become dependent on companies like Amazon to supply their needs delivering them to their door.   They are following this up by building large warehouses which they stock with product which they know from their data are what the customer wants.

This all started years ago by selling books!   There has been talk of taxing these companies with a ‘windfall tax’ to redistribute the profits made out of trading during the Covid pandemic.   The difficulty is that they scarcely pay any tax at present as they trade globally and locate their ‘Registered Office’ in the country with the lowest tax.    Like Leviathan they are hard to control!

The Bible speaks of something which is far more precious than the wealth of Amazon and that is our salvation.    It is not money but the life’s blood of the crucified Christ that is the most precious thing on earth.    And it is so because it alone can transform a sinner to a follower of Jesus with a new life on earth and a future inheritance in heaven (1 Peter chapter 1 verses 17 to 21).

Salvation comes in three tenses.   The believer can say “I have believed” recalling the time he first committed his life to Christ.   “I am being saved” recognising that God continues to work in him.   “And I will be saved” looking by faith to the inheritance in heaven.

The Apostle Peter, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, gives us a wonderful summery of this salvation in 1 Peter Chapter 1 verses 3 to 9.  

Amazon may be able to deliver the goods but only Christ can satisfy the heart.

Hate Speech                    Word on the Week                    30^th January 2021.

One of the less endearing things the internet has provided us with is a platform for hate speech.   It provides the opportunity to release your evilest thoughts against your current pet hate with nothing to restrain you.

Of course the internet or more specifically the social media giants which inhabit it did not set out to give a voice to hatred.   Indeed, they employ ‘content moderators’ to sift through the material posted on it and remove what they judge to be offensive.   This ‘self-policing’ is deemed to be inadequate.

Originally in Dublin the Gardaí would listen to Micky Walker preaching in North Earl Street and if he mentioned heaven and hell or dare to refer to Muslims he would end up in the Bridewell to be questioned by the Superintendent!  These were innocent times compared to the present.

Now much hate speech amounts to racism as it is typically directed against the immigrant.   As with the internet there are no effective boundaries in place and anyone who looks or talks differently can be in the recipient of gratuitous swearing or worse.

There is also the conspiracy theory that the immigrants are out to get us!   The thinking by this Dublin version of White Supremacy Movement is that those from overseas will take over the country!   

Minister for Justice has outlined proposals which would make sharing hate speech a criminal offence.   There must be good definitions as no one wants free speech to be curbed.   New legislation is expected by Easter.

Scripture tells us to take note of Israel’s experience and look after the incomer.   Exodus 23 verse 9 reads “You must not oppress a foreign resident; you yourselves know how it feels to be a foreigner because you were foreigners in the land of Egypt”.

Where does all the filthy speech come from?   Jesus said it comes from the heart.  From within, out of people’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders,adulteries, greed, evil actions, deceit, promiscuity, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a person” (St Mark Chapter 7 verses 21 to 23).

No amount of therapy can clean a polluted heart.   It requires God to give you a new heart and put his Spirit within you which will enable you to follow his decrees (Ezekiel Chapter 36 verses 26/7).    This is what Jesus called being born again or born from above (St John Chapter 3 verses 3 to 7).   God never intended you to clean up your mess – bring it to Jesus – He died to clean it up.

Psalm 91                          Word on the Week                     23^rd January 2021.

A long time reader of this blog drew my attention this week to Psalm 91.   It has a relevance to today that is unmissable.   My correspondent said it brought him solace which indeed it must have done for Israel when it was first written.   The first two verses read: – Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”              The Psalmist sees God as his dwelling-place, (as does Jesus; St John Chapter 14 verse 23) using four of his names to address Him.  His security is in one who is high above all other gods and has the power to protect those who rest and trust in Him.

Verses 3 to 8 are addressed personally to those who sing or recite the psalm.   They describe vividly disasters that we are familiar with today and again calls upon the people not to fear and assures them of his protection.            

Surely he will save you
    from the fowler’s snare
    and from the deadly pestilence.
⁴ He will cover you with his feathers,
    and under his wings you will find refuge;
    his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.                                              Verses 5 to 8 (not qouted) possibly refer back to the plagues in Egypt.   Verses 7 reads like the nightly news bulletins as the numbers of fatalities rise around the globe.    Verses 11 to 13 (below) are quoted in the New Testament.     If you say,

“The Lord is my refuge,”
    and you make the Most High your dwelling,
¹⁰ no harm will overtake you,
    no disaster will come near your tent.
¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways; (Words omitted by Satan in Matthew Chapter 4:6)
¹² they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
¹³ You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
    you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

The Psalm ends

¹⁴ “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
    I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
¹⁵ He will call on me, and I will answer him;
    I will be with him in trouble,
    I will deliver him and honour him.
¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him
    and show him my salvation.”                                                                             These are glorious promises to embrace as we enter 2021.