Lent is the period of 40 days, beginning with Ash Wednesday and ending at Easter. It has traditionally been seen as a time of repentance and a more frugal lifestyle. The Ash is a reminder of “from dust you have come and to dust you will return” (Genesis Chapter 3 verse 19). Ash depicts our own morality and spiritual condition.
I had not been I Ireland very long when at a business lunch during lent the host bemoaned the fact that he was ‘off the drink’ for lent. He then realised that I was ‘off the drink’ for life’ and reckoned he had not so bad a religion after all!
While we may smile at the inconsistency the origins of Lent lie in Jesus, as part of his spiritual preparation, going into the wilderness and fasting for 40 days and 40 nights (St Matthew Chapter 4 verses 1 to 11). The culmination of Lent is the celebration of Easter with the empty tomb of Jesus and the triumphant shout “He has risen” (St Matthew Chapter 28 verse 6).
There should be no outward show. The practice of the ultra-religious is to be avoided. “Even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning. Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity” (Joel Chapter 2 verses 12 and 13).
There are places in the world where calamity hits the church. One of these is in China where, after a period of toleration, Christians and other faiths are being persecuted. One church which has suffered is the Early Rain Covenant Church in the province of Chengdu, China. Their leaders have been imprisoned for their faith and their congregations are subjected to increasing harassment. The church members have been arrested in their homes, workplaces or on the streets in a series of coordinated raids.
In these circumstances the practice of Lent is over-taken by a faith which exists in the hearts of the people of God and which triumphs in adversity. Part of one of their prayers which is reproduced here gives a flavour of their circumstances: –
“Lord, today we worship you in police cars
We worship you in police stations.
We worship you in detention centres.
We worship you in prisons.
And we worship you in homes.
We have no other goal but to worship you alone.”
Perhaps during this Lenten period, we could remember what the writer to the Hebrews said
Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering (Chapter 13 verse 3).

Ireland is reputed to have 40 shades of green in its fields and forests. On the patron Saint Patrick’s day, the 17th March, this transforms into the greening of 450 landmarks around the world. Not a bad showing for a relatively obscure figure who lived around 390/461AD.
History has not always been kind to the Irish. Occupied for the last 800 years by the English there were a number of risings against the oppressor. The ringleaders of these failed rebellions were occasionally sent into exile in various parts of the world.
It seems that “the further away the better” was the judicial line when sentencing and Irish men and women settled in places as far afield as Australia.
In addition, famine in Ireland in the mid 1800’s created mass immigration. This time America was the place where they went to carve out a new life. This established a population of some 50 million who claim to be descended from Irish stock. So successful have they been in making their mark on their country of adoption that a number of President’s claim forebears who have roots in Ireland.
Immigrants the world over bring their customs and festivals with them. As a result, Patrick’s day has been established in the calendars of many countries. This has provided our marketing people with ready-made access to leaders in many countries and gained priceless publicity. The icing on the cake must be the annual presentation of a bowl of shamrock by our Taoiseach to the President of the United States.
This humble weed owes its eminence to St Patrick. He is reputed to have used it as a visual aid to explain the Trinity. With the small green plant, a three leafed clover, Patrick showed the separate leaves yet one stem to reflect God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The three in one. The illustration only goes so far as it cannot emulate the personal relationship of the Godhead with each other.
As a symbol it indicates falsely that each member of the trinity is one third of God. In fact, each is total God yet not so as to produce three gods but acting in unity of purpose each carries out his own distinctive role.
This is best seen in the salvation of a sinner. The Father planned salvation, the Son accomplished Salvation and the Spirit applied salvation to the repentant sinner. The means by which the sinner receives salvation is faith. This faith is the gift of God to all who seek it (Ephesians chapter 2 verses 8 – 9).
All this is by God’s grace, that is His giving to us what we do not deserve nor could we ever earn. By his grace He makes Saints out of sinners like Patrick and me!

It has been a bad week for the billionaire, Dennis O’Brien. Two court cases went against him. Both cases had involved the revealing in public what he considered his private affairs. One was to do with his money the other his reputation. The courts thought otherwise.
The problem of being rich and famous is that you apparently cannot choose what elements of your affairs can be made public and what can remain concealed. It matters not if you choose to spend some money on good causes, if how you earned the money in the first place will not stand up to public scrutiny.
Some countries, Norway for instance, publish all the tax returns. They are accessible to anyone with a computer. This degree of transparency might send the shivers down our back but in an equitable society perhaps it’s a goal worth working towards.
In the meantime, we prise open details of “public figures” using the freedom of speech permitted in the Dial and the reporting of investigative journalists. The latter must tread a fine line between revealing confidential information and serving the public interest. This is an area where reputations, usually of those being reported on and occasionally the journalist, become tarnished.
Jesus spoke about lighting a lamp to dispel the darkness. But it did more than that; it revealed what had been hidden. “The secrets will be exposed and seen by all.” No doubt the judgement was in view but during this Gospel era the Gospel exposes the secret things (St Luke Chapter 8 verses 16 to 18). There is also listening involved. It is like the Psalmist’s comment ‘The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple (Psalm 119:130).

In proclaiming the Gospel to the church at Corinth St Paul combines both word and light to pierce the darkness.
“God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ”
(2 Corinthians Chapter 4 verse 6).

And with that light in our hearts we need have no anxieties about who sees our bank account or who might damage our reputation. By the grace of God and the faith He has given us in the work of Jesus Christ we may live our life here in the knowledge of His glory.

It has been called my pet aversion. It disfigured the wooded landscape as far as eye can see. It wraps itself around the tree covering up its beautiful bark. It grows so profusely that it could be a candidate for the National emblem!
After all it is much easier to find than shamrock but perhaps a bowl of ivy wouldn’t go down as well as shamrock on the annual St Patrick’s Day presentation at the White House! It does manage to achieve fame in songs and Christmas Cards where it is usually joined to holly.
Equally at home on the ground as in climbing trees, walls and any building it can reach, this Hedera helix or common ivy is everywhere. No self-respecting cow will touch it although sheep value it for its medicinal properties. There is a song which declares “little lambs eat ivy” but I have yet to see it happen!
Situated in the Atlantic Ocean the Island of Ireland is prone to gales. When these occur ivy bound trees produce considerable wind resistance, the ivy growth acting like a sail. Ash trees, which are last in Spring to grow their leaves and first in Autumn to lose them, would present little wind resistance in a gale were it not for the ivy which festoons them. The result is road closures from fallen trees with the added complication of electricity and telephone wires being brought down.
When it comes to sawing the fallen timber much of it is encased in ivy is useless or requires a day’s work clearing and disposing of the ivy. Some would argue that it provides a good host for insects but there are plenty of places where ivy grows that could provide shelter for them without resorting to trees.
It is this clinging feature about the ivy that makes it so like sin. It looks good yet if left unchecked will completely entangle its victim. It continues to grow, disfiguring the tree and rendering it of little use. It finally brings it crashing down.
As St James wrote of this progressive factor: – “each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death” (Chapter 1 verses 14/15).
And the answer; Jesus said, you search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life (St John Chapter 5 verse 40).
Go to Jesus.

In a week that has seen turmoil in places as distant as Venezuela and as near as the House of Commons in London it was a relief to see the orderly assembly of Cardinals and Bishops in Rome. All seemed to be under control. The chain of authority is understood.
In Venezuela there is a dictator in control. In London there is democracy hobbled by a strict interpretation of the people’s choice. In Rome there is no shortage of understanding of the problems of sexual abuse, the difficulty lies in implementing a solution which does justice to all those involved.

In each case difficult decisions are required. Usually people know what these decisions are, the problem is in their implementation! And it is at this point that ‘Authority’ comes into play. Who has it? Have they still got it? What is he/she going to do with it?
In most cases they do nothing – or rather continue to do what they have done in the past with some cosmetic alterations. But these situations will not wait any longer.

This abdication of authority is so unlike the One who gave it. “The powers that be are ordained by God” (Romans Chapter 13 verse 1). With the authority, God has given a manual – the Bible. It’s when a Leader, Nation or Church drifts away from the manual that difficulties occur.
The old negro spiritual, referring to Jesus, puts it well.
‘There is a balm in Gilead
To make the wounded whole
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the sin-sick soul.’
In the Old Testament times there was no balm in Gilead. Only a remote Jehovah reflecting the situation we find ourselves in today. Then, with the coming of Jesus, healing now became a reality (Jeremiah Chapter 8 verse 22 and St Luke Chapter 17 verses 11 to 19). St Luke told the story of the healing of the ten lepers in the land of Gilead. It is told in the context of outcasts, cultural control, and nationalism all elements found in our present circumstances.
The risen Jesus used his authority to empower his disciples to make more disciples teaching them, amongst other things, to heal the guilty conscience by the forgiveness of sins (St Luke Chapter 24 verse 47).
For the wounded to be made whole there may need to be restitution St Luke Chapter 19 verse 8). Where this is not possible as in abuse cases where the law of the land has been broken, justice has to be done (Romans Chapter 13 verses 3 to 4).

Let us pray for the right exercising of authority by those who have been given it.

Perhaps the most common question asked among those of a certain age is “How’s the health?” With the older half of the population on blood thinners, stents and pace-makers the conversation flows into what the author Maeve Binchy described with delightful ambiguity as an “Organ Recital”!
The fact is, as the Psalmist puts it, we are “fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, God. That, my soul knows full well” (Psalm 139 verse 14). The expanding industry of spare part surgery testifies to the fact that we are not only well made but capable of undergoing the most complicated repairs!
Modern man maintains that we are simply sophisticated animals but this is not so. The creation of man was different. Genesis Chapter 2 verse 7 states “then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature”. This was a creature like no other. In addition to physical and mental properties man had a spiritual dimension which made him unique.
This uniqueness is further explained by the fact of man and woman being made in the image of God. God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them (Genesis Chapter 1 verse 27). This special relationship is made plain in Christian marriage.
St Paul takes this special relationship in marriage and uses it to illustrate Christ’s relationship to his church. “In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, (Ephesians Chapter 5 verses 28 to 29). It is this illustration that demonstrated the image of God which is most perfectly seen in man and wife in marriage. It’s this special relationship between man and wife that best resembles (images) our relational triune God.
So mankind is different from animals. It is wrong for the recent poster campaign to state that killing calves is murder. Murder in scripture is used exclusively for the unlawful killing of humans. Adam (and his descendants) have been made stewards over creation “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it…” (Genesis Chapter 1 verse 28).
There is one part of our anatomy that resists instruction and is inclined towards sin – the heart. Jeremiah summed it up when he wrote “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? (chapter 17 verse 9). He later was able to write more encouragingly of God taking the initiative of a new day when instead of writing the law on stone God would write it on human hearts “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Chapter 31 verse 33).
Titus 2:11 says it’s both here and not yet– “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ…
God has done his part. Our part is to have faith in God the master surgeon!

In previous blogs we have looked at the connections Dublin has with St Valentine but now as we anticipate the anonymous Valentine card with its ‘guess who’ in disguised handwriting let’s have a closer look at this thing called love.

Some call it chemistry that attracts one to another and certainly that could account for the occasional explosion! My own preference would be to call it magnetism where you get like poles repelling and unlike poles attracting each other. It would explain the glorious absurdity of the attraction of opposites, so that we don’t end up loving a carbon copy of ourselves.

Many things in life trigger a response but none are more life-changing than this thing called love. It has been said with a great deal of truth that ‘love begets love’. It is the completing of the circuit so that current may flow and light up two lives. It was there at the creation of the world, ‘And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness’. We might say this created light was earthed in Jesus as St John wrote in the prologue to his Gospel, ‘The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world’ (Chapter 1 verse 9).

Love arrived in the tangible form of the Son of God. St Paul writing to the church at Corinth explains how the Lord has opened the eyes of believers to make the connection with Christ, ‘For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness, made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ’ (2 Corinthians Chapter 4 verse 6).

So if the light of God is the conduit through which we see the love of God we could expect St John to mention it and this he does in his 1st letter. “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin’ (Chapter 1 verses 5 to 7).

It only remains for St John to spell out his definition of love and illustrate it which he does in Chapter 4 verse 10 – ‘This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins’. The hymn-writer puts it well –
Inscribed upon that cross we see
In shining letters “God is Love.”
He bears our sins upon the tree,
He brings us mercy from above.
And that is the measure of the love with which He loves us and from which we may find the strength to love one another.

The 2nd of February, traditionally called Candlemas Day, is located mid way between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. It has long been associated with forecasting the weather as the Old Folk’s poem relates: –
If Candlemas Day be dry and fair
The half o’ the Winter’s to come and mair
If Candlemas Day be wet and foul
The half o’ the Winter’s gone at yule.
Today as we bask in winter sunshine it looks ominous! We have more than half of the Winter to come! Not that such considerations will impact on the crowds gathering at the Aviva Stadium to witness the gargantuan struggle on the rugby field between England and Ireland.
What takes place on the pitch in the combat between two nations comes at a time when the Brexit battle is reaching a climax. The conditions the UK have agreed with Brussels for leaving the EC have just one piece missing – that of the Irish backstop.

No I am not referring to the Irish full-back Robbie Henshaw, although he may well earn that title today! It is the earlier agreement to have no border checks between North and South of Ireland. This part of the withdrawl agreement the UK have reneged upon this week providing Ireland with yet more incentive to put their Rugby Team to the sword on the fields of Aviva!

Both teams have their anthems which are sung by their fans to provide encouragement during the game. The English side gain inspiration from a song about death! “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” is a spiritual – a type of song created by African people enslaved in the US. It has a haunting melody as it depicts a chariot swing down and collecting the singers to take them home. I expect some if not all of the team may wish to be taken home if today’s game goes the way it is expected!

The Irish anthem is even more haunting as the heart wrenching strains of “The Fields of Athenry” a song full of anti-English sentiment, floats over the field. It depicts a young man, having stolen corn during the famine to keep his family alive, being deported to Botany Bay in Australia. He leaves behind the girl he loves and their child to fend for themselves.
Interestingly both songs were written in the recent past. Both deal with the human struggle. We need to take St Paul’s advice when he says we need Christ.
“Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephesians Chapter 6 verses 10 to 12). As the old hymn tells it; “The arm of flesh will fail you, ye dare not trust your own”.

Recently the UK medical journal The Lancet recommended a 90% reduction in our intake of red meat in our diet. Indeed, their recommendation looked something like this; porridge for breakfast, rice for lunch, a dinner of lentils and vegetables, and a single hamburger every few weeks, as a treat!
Such is the latest effort to save our planet although someone asked humorously which planet the authors of the report were on!
So beefeaters beware – the vegans are the flavour of the month.
Ever since it was discovered that the cow was a polluter she has had a bad press. She pays her way by producing large quantities of milk, butter and cheese, foods which, for various reasons, we should reduce our consumption. When it comes to bullocks there seems to be no redeeming features in the eyes of the scientists. Their manners are appalling and whilst what they leave behind may be good for the land they do nothing for the atmosphere!

Who is going to advocate on the cows’ behalf? We have the Irish Farmer’s Association who maintain we are the most carbon-efficient dairy producer in Europe and among the top five in beef. We have Members of Government making plans for the annual St Patrick’s week junkets. Will they put in a good word for our dairy and beef products in the countries where they promote Ireland or will they also turn green like the buildings and bridges all over the world?

Before we succumb to the scientist’s fruit and nut policy let us take a look at what the Bible says. “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food” (Genesis Chapter 1 verse 29). Our stewardship of the earth includes animal husbandry.
The sacrificial system of worship which culminated in Christ’s sacrifice of himself on the cross made provision for Priests to receive portions of the meat (Leviticus Chapter 7 verse 15).
Feasting also played a part. On this occasion the Bible had been found by the returnees from exile and read to the people. “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength” (Nehemiah Chapter 8 verse 10).
Jesus reassures us and reminds us of our primary task – “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (St Matthew Chapter 6 verses 31/33).

The Teresa May sponsored plan to extract the UK from the EU, despite all warnings that it would not pass a Parliamentary vote, was voted on, producing the largest Government defeat for over a century. The resulting chaos permitted each of the smaller parties and factions to get their moment in the limelight this week as they stated their demands.
It started 3 years ago with Prime Minister Cameron asking the people to decide by referendum on an issue so complex that its implications are not fully understood even today. The people voted to leave – and Cameron resigned. May got the job but made the mistake of calling an election (she wanted among other things to be properly elected) and lost a number of MP’s ending up with a minority Government. To get a working majority she has to be assisted by the DUP (Northern Ireland party) who want to be part of the UK but geographically are attached to us in the South of Ireland (who are content to remain in the EU).
It would be hard to conceive a more difficult situation especially when you add in the fact that the deadline for the UK leaving the EU is 29th March.
What does the Bible have to say on the subject?
“Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another?” The answer is, of course, it has never happened with one exception “like all the things the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes” (Deuteronomy chapter 4 verse 34). Even then there was a harking back for the fleshpots of Egypt (Exodus Chapter 16 verse 3). But the sovereign state that was being formed then has withstood all the ravages of time and today exists in Israel – proof positive that the nation has been successfully extracted from another i.e. Egypt.
Is it possible today for the UK to come out from the EU? There are many more complexities in their relationship. After around 40 years of membership the economy and trade laws have been ‘harmonised’. Treaties concerning fishing rights, among other things, have been agreed in Brussels which has become increasingly influential as the UK progressively lost its sovereignty.

The question is can a Nation State, once having given away its sovereignty, get it back? The children of Israel succeeded because they had God on their side. The UK in its present state of apostasy needs to repent of its disregard of God’s laws and to turn from ignoring God to look for Him – this He encourages: –
“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us” (Acts Chapter 17 verses 24 – 27).
Will it end in catastrophe? Only the Lord knows. Turn to Him.