On Thursday evening the weather conditions were just right. Clouds of insects were being blown out of the trees to be devoured by many House Martins. The latter produced an aerobatic display second to none as they relished having a time of plenty.
Normally these House Martins mix with swallows but this year the swallows are in short supply. Of course the speed of their flight makes identification difficult but when the feast is over they perch on electricity wires where it is possible to make a more accurate analysis.

We welcomed the return of our breeding pair who set about repairing the remains of last year’s mud nest in the apex of the garage roof. In truth there was not much left to work on but in the space of 3 to 4 days they now have a habitable nest. Recent rains enabled the Martins to access a plentiful supply of mud and from today’s forecast they should not have much difficulty in getting sufficient material to complete the “topping out”.

On the ground our fox families are getting bigger and bolder. Since the passing of our resident collie, Holly, old age having caught up with her, a large dog fox has taken to strolling through the garden at dusk. Perhaps that is the same one which a neighbour saw attacking a cat as it crossed the road in front of him.
With baby foxes to feed they seem to be expanding their diet. This may explain the disappearance of the farm cat and its three kittens although all hope has not yet been abandoned for them.

Numerous animals appear in the Bible usually to illustrate a point by comparing the animal or bird’s main characteristic. So in the case of the fox, a sly animal, the Lord Jesus likens King Herod’s behaviour to it (St Luke Chapter 13 verse 32). He had reacted against John the Baptist’s accusation of adultery putting John in prison. Then, making a foolish oath at his birthday party, he had to agree to the beheading of John rather than lose face. When he heard of the fame of Jesus and learned of the miracles he had performed Herod came to the conclusion that this was John the Baptist raised from the dead (St Matthew Chapter 14 verses 1 to 12).

Possibly this superstitious thought was still lingering in his mind some time later when Pilate sent Jesus, now a prisoner on trial, over to Herod who wanted to see him perform a miracle. In the cross-questioning and mocking that followed Jesus did not open his mouth (St Luke Chapter 23 verses 8 to 12). This fulfilled what Isaiah said many years before in Chapter 53 verse 7. Jesus was “obedient unto death, even death on the cross”. He accurately fulfilled the scriptures.

St Paul brings the quote up to date; “Therefor God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians Chapter 2 verses 8/11).

Till that day dawns there is an opportunity in this day of grace, day of opportunity, to be like the Martins and prepare in advance by bowing the knee to Jesus now and move into a life of obedience serving him.

There are no words which can adequately describe the horror of finding your infant dead from heatstroke in the back of your car. The knowledge that it was your fault adds to the feelings of desolation. The stark reality is that this happened on Thursday in Co Tipperary.
There can be no ameliorating factors. The clock cannot be put back. The omission to drop the 7 month old Chloe at the crèche, compounded by the continuing memory lapse till after 13.00 the father remembered – too late.
Ireland seldom gets a heatwave but last Thursday temperatures soared into the mid-twenties. There was no breeze nor shade where the car was parked.
Conditions resembled the US where we are told some 38 such tragedies occur annually.
The personal desolation experienced by parents and those nearest to them leaves an indelible imprint on their lives.
Emotions can so easily run riot with the circumstances of Thursday being ceaselessly recalled and blame allocated and re-allocated. Then, like those in Manchester who suffered the death of 22 largely young people at the hands of a suicide bomber, the question ‘why’ arises.
Could God not have intervened? Is there no justice? These cries echo the Psalmist, “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart?” (Psalm 13 verses 1/2).
None of us need to be reminded that we live in a very dysfunctional world. Things are not as they ought to be. The “sorrow in my heart” of the Psalmist is all too commonly experienced. Indeed, it may well be daily as in David’s case. This did not mean that he gave up praying; still less stop believing in an all-powerful God. His faith triumphed over feelings.
Isaiah reminds us that these things happen in a fallen world. “Can a woman forget the baby at her breast
And have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget, I will not forget you.
See I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are ever before me” (Chapter 49 verses 15/16).
Even in the brokenness of Jerusalem, her walls were in ruins, his memory would have no lapses.
In Christ we see this plainly in his nail-pierced hands, when on the cross he identified with our brokenness and his marvelously reassuring promise “I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (St Matthew Chapter 28 verse 20).

“Oooops your files have been encrypted” is the dreaded phrase many received when they opened up their computer this week. Too late to wish you had updated your anti-virus software. The dreaded virus had arrived!
Fortunately it was not as lethal as it first appeared and in the worst case scenario the requested ransom could be paid and in a couple of hours your data unlocked and you are back in business.
The hackers aptly named their device “Wannacry”. It has that effect on the recipient! It is of the hunter variety. This means, once in your computer, it searches for networks along which it can travel contaminating the devices along the way.
In this regard it resembles a human virus which triggers an epidemic where infected people require to be isolated to avoid contaminating their friends. Just as in the case of infectious diseases there is always a remedy. A patch is available but cannot be applied to an infected computer. It first requires to be cleaned then like any wound the patch may be applied.
It is estimated that 1 in 5 Irish business have been affected at one time or another.
Prevention is better than cure so vigilance is required in what you download. Viruses link themselves to attachments so any suspicious document should remain unopened until its authenticity can be verified. Even official looking documents require careful handling as bogus notices containing An Garda Siochana’s badge have also been used to demand payment!
It is also necessary to have a good back-up program to enable you to preserve your files in the event of corruption.
Despite the higher level of sophistication the same old sin of greed provides the motive.
The very name “Ransomware” looks to a ransom payment being made in order to release the programs that have been taken captive.
In a similar vein Jesus offered his life as a ransom, his blood shed on the cross paying the repentant sinners debts and giving them a lesson on humility (St Mark Chapter 10 verses 42/5).
St Peter encouraging the believers reminded them that they were ransomed, redeemed, restored and forgiven from a life of futility and meaninglessness to one of service and significance not by money but by the precious blood of Christ (1 Peter chapter 1 verses 18/19).
Just as the computer needs to be cleaned so do we and by God’s grace we have the means in putting our trust in the blood of Christ (the Bible uses this expression to refer to his sacrificial death) shed on the behalf of others.

This week we have been treated to a re-run of the blasphemous utterances of Dawkins and Fry. They are unfazed by the publicity their comments originally produced, indeed Dawkins defence of Fry (who had been accused by the Garda of blasphemy, although it was subsequently dropped) was robust! He went so far as to offer himself and his unedited views of “the Old Testament God”, as written in his book, as a test case in an endeavour to show just how unworkable is our blasphemy law.
Of course there is but one God. Dawkins hitches his attack to the common myth that God somehow changed when Jesus revealed him. No doubt we will hear more of his heretical views when he comes to Ireland in June.

Our law, which is grounded in Article 40.6 of the Constitution is intended to safeguard free speech. As Ireland becomes more secular and pluralistic the defining of seditious speech becomes increasingly difficult. In a multi-faith society it becomes impossible. In fact by having the law we lend credence to those Governments whose blasphemy laws permit them to sentence to death those who break them. We also give a platform to gowks who want to go on the rant against a god who they claim does not exist!

The Bible makes a distinction between those who hastily speak words against the Son of Man (Jesus) and repent of it (St Luke Chapter 22 verses 54 to 62) and those who mount a persistent and un-repentant attack on the Holy Spirit and the work of Jesus in procuring salvation.

The ones who persist in hardening their hearts against God’s provision of Jesus as the Saviour and resist the promptings of the Holy Spirit place themselves beyond the reach of God’s forgiveness and salvation (St Luke Chapter 12 verse 10).
St Paul describes himself as once a blasphemer. But he received mercy because he didn’t know any better (1Timothy Chapter 1 verse 13). Part of his testimony before King Agrippa was his attempts to make the new Christian converts blaspheme God. He wanted them to become like himself. This was in the days before his own conversion when he was part of the persecution of Jesus followers (Acts Chapter 26 verse 11).
So what are we to say to the likes of Dawkins and Fry? The scriptural warnings are plain. But the glory of the Good News is that repentant blasphemers can change. It happened to St Paul in his day. Pray that God might do it again in our day.

As one journalist put it; “That old chestnut of whether or not to commence the ‘daily hostilities’ with a nice prayer got another outing this week.” Thus our National Parliament allow themselves to be distracted from the affairs of state by the rights and wrongs of public prayer.
To pray or not to pray that is the question. As their tradition has it the whole assembly rise to their feet while prayer is uttered. However there are rebels in the pack. At least two left-wing lady deputies have indicated their intention to remain seated in protest. Will they be evicted from the chamber?

Whatever about the antics of Parliament what is it about prayer that creates such consternation? Its efficacy is not in doubt. When Moses held up his hands in prayer (with the assistance of Hur and Aaron) over the valley where the Israelites were fighting the Amalekites the forces of Israel prevailed but when his hands were lowered the battle turned in favour of the Amalekites. A more graphic picture of the power of prayer is hard to imagine (Exodus Chapter 17 verses 8 to 13).

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray it arose from observing their Master himself at prayer (St Luke Chapter 11 verse 1). Jesus responded with ‘the Lord’s Prayer’ which commences by addressing the Father and his desires before listing our basic needs for food, forgiveness of sins and protection from the evil one. A fuller version of the prayer is found in St Matthew Chapter 6 verses 7 to 15).

In the organisation of the Church after Pentecost we read of the appointment of Deacons to handle the practicalities of food distribution among widows. This had become a problem as it was taking up the Disciples time. The solution was agreed that the Deacons would handle practical matters so as to permit the Disciples time for prayer and the ministry of the word (Acts Chapter 6 verses 1 to 7). This is how most Christian Churches organise themselves today with prayer and preaching given special focus.

Perhaps the most powerful illustration of a prayer asking for forgiveness of those bent on killing you was uttered by Jesus on the cross. They did not realise he was the Messiah and Son of God. And this prayer was offered whilst the torture of crucifixion was actually taking place (St Luke Chapter 23 verse 34). It is probable that some of those who heard these words were among the 3,000 who were saved a few weeks later following St Peter’s preaching at Pentecost (Acts chapter 2 verses 36 to 41).

The most important prayer is probably the first spoken in faith from a repentant heart seeking forgiveness and trusting completely that it will be heard and answered. It does not have to be a long prayer nor do the words require to be out of the ordinary. But these are the prayers that start a new relationship. The person praying is declared to be right with God (St Luke Chapter18 verse 14).
Sadly it’s not the sort of prayer that you are likely to hear in the Dáil but it is one you can make in the quietness of your own room. And the Lord will hear and answer. Trust Him.

The sight of President Trump on TV celebrating his first 100 days in office, by giving assurance to this followers that their guns were safe with him in power, prompted this blog. Any legally held weapon can be lawfully retained he said, ignoring the fact that most weapons were designed to kill people.

If you are of a certain age you will recall the diet of Cowboy films which fed the appetites of youths before the digital era. It seemed, to kids of that period, inconceivable not to carry a gun! In fact replicas of the six-shooter beloved by film-stars John Wayne and Alan Ladd were the preferred weapons in many a school playground. They were usually confiscated and ended up, to the frustration of the owner, in the headmasters bin!

If this could happen in these islands how much more would they influence kids in the US where the real cowboys and Indians live. In fact the recent National Firearm Survey shows that in America 35% of the population grew up with guns in the house.
The same survey shows a concentration of privately owned guns. Apparently half the guns in the US are owned by only 3% of the population. These folk have their own private arsenal averaging 17 guns each! It becomes a bit more sinister when armour piercing weapons are included in the collection. However it is a right, jealously guarded, by our American cousins and enshrined in their Constitution.

It seems that the New Testament is opposed to the notion of bearing arms. On the first missionary expedition Jesus sent the 12 disciples into the Jewish towns with virtually no equipment but with his authority to heal the sick etc. (St Matthew Chapter 10 verse 5 to 16).
The second sending out is of the 72 again without weapons. The mission was a success. Jesus cautions them not to boast about their success but rather that their names are written in heaven (St Luke Chapter 10 verses 1 to 20).

The third time was immediately before Jesus was captured and he knew that his followers would be scattered. Here he contrasts it with the previous times and tells them to get equipped and get a sword (St Luke Chapter 22 verses 35 to 38). The disciples produce two swords and Jesus says enough – or as Moffat translates it ‘enough, enough’!

The only time the sword is used is in the garden when the high priest’s servants’ ear is cut off. Jesus heals the wound and uses the incident to drive home the maxim “he that lives by the sword will die by the sword” (St Matthew Chapter 26 verses 50 to 54).

The governing principle would seem to be found in the Sermon on the Mount.
Here we are instructed not to resist the evil one but embarrass them with love! (St Matthew Chapter 5 verses 39 to 42 see also Romans Chapter 12 verse 20).
The use of arms would appear to be left to the army or police. It is difficult to envisage a situation when the Christian could legitimately use them.

The report of the Citizen’s Assembly which was published today contains few surprises. The vote for changing the 8th Amendment (the one acknowledging the right to life of the unborn, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother) was carried by 87%.
There appear to be three suggested outcomes.
1 They could allow the status quo to remain.
2 They could opt for reform or repeal. If the latter they could pass the task to the politicians to legislate for abortion.
3 Or they could keep the amendment but amend it to allow a more liberal abortion regime.
The chairperson has stated that they cannot simply recommend that the article be amended; they must come up with alternative wording. The final wording would then be sent to government who would decide if a further referendum is required.

In coming to their conclusion the assembly viewed 13,500 submissions then randomly sampled a selection. My understanding is that these are available on U tube in an effort to be as transparent as possible to the public.
The problem of using 99 citizens picked randomly is that they themselves have no guiding light to assist them. Indeed the church, represented by the Bishop of Limerick, was attacked on its record of child abuse negating input from that quarter which might have been helpful.
It is true that experts from other countries were called upon to give an account of their experience of enacting abortion laws to give members of the assembly the broadest experience of how these laws worked. The difficulty with these experts was that they were coming from places where some form of abortion was accepted. It would have been interesting to hear from countries where it is closely monitored or banned!

As you would expect the Bible defends the child in the womb and recognised its existence as separate (but dependant) of the mother (Psalm chapter 22 verse 10 and chapter 71 verse 6). Later in Psalm 139 we read “you knitted me together in my mother’s womb (verse 13).

In the New Testament, Nicodemus, who would have been familiar with these scriptures misunderstood Jesus when he said you must be born again. He had no doubt that there was a living child in the womb but had difficulty applying a spiritual rather than a physical application to Jesus‘s illustration (St John Chapter 3 verse 3).
It was a radical change in Nicodemus that was in view not just some tips on teaching! This seems to have taken place as we next read of him confidently witnessing for Christ (chapter 7 verse 50 and chapter 19 verse 39).

Abortion always means death. It is always a tragedy. Unlike the new birth which is always a blessing! “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter Chapter 1 verse 3).
Let us make sure of the first birth and call upon the Lord to deal with the second!

This blog starts with Easter Greetings in the shape of a little known paraphrase which captures an amazing amount of truth in its first stanza: –
The Saviour died, and rose again
triumphant o’er the grave;
and pleads our cause at God’s right hand,
omnipotent to save.

Jesus had done just that, healing physically and spiritually the crippled beggar, working through St Peter who evoked the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. The event, recorded in Acts Chapters 3 and 4, culminate in the authoritative assertion that “there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Chapter 4 verse 12).
St Peter was at pains to point out as he addressed the people that the power and authority did not come from him but he was simply the mouthpiece for the risen Jesus.
When he was arrested by the Authorities the same question was on their minds, “By what power or in what name did you do this?” (Chapter 3 verse 12).
They wanted to put a stop to the preaching of Jesus. They feared his power when he walked amongst them and they feared his authority exercised through his followers.

Not much has changed. In many parts of the world you can be arrested for preaching the Name of Jesus. Of course the name which means Saviour makes no sense in our ‘sinless’ society. They say if truth is different for each of us and there is no recognition of an overarching set of rules, what is there to be saved from? Yet today sin reigns – the proof is in the daily papers!

If we are to be faithful to scripture we need to mention the exclusivity of this salvation. The “No other Name” gives the sacrifice of Jesus infinite worth. “There was no other good enough to pay the price of sin” was how Dubliner, Cecil F Alexander put it in her hymn.
It wasn’t as if there were no other heroes of the faith. Their religion had a litany of them from Abraham onwards. None came close to Jesus.

Of course the uniqueness of Jesus is what makes the Gospel ring true. It is a theme which appears not only in Acts but the Gospels and St John’s letter. Those who hear the call and respond come by seeing their sins laid on Jesus their Saviour. There is no back door to heaven (St John Chapter 14 verse 6).

This week saw the satisfactorily conclusion of our building transactions which stretched back over the last couple of years and we give God thanks for his enabling grace to see us through the various contacts. We were also assisted by our lawyers who appear to have done a good job.

My first involvement with lawyers was at around the age of 7 or 8. The house which we lived in at that time was owned by a couple who were living and working in India and who, we thought, were planning to spend the rest of their lives there.
However WW2 had ended and they decided to return to Scotland and wished to repossess their house. As tenants we had a legal agreement enabling us to remain but the case went to law.
My mother had been looking after my grandparents but my grandfather had just died so there were four of us in the semi-detached house which had six rooms. The Judge decreed, rather like King Solomon, that we divide the house giving two rooms to the owners retaining four rooms for our use.
However good it might have looked on paper the verdict would have been unworkable in practice and, providentially, we were able to solve our housing crisis thanks to the assistance of other members of our extended family.
Why am I writing all this? It is to show that we were in the hands of our advocate. If he had been good we may have been able to see out the remainder of our lease. I remember him remarking, “I don’t think you are very pleased with me”, perhaps something of an understatement!

The point is that you are at the mercy of your lawyer. If he is good then you benefit. If he is bad then you suffer the consequences.

The Bible reveals salvation as a forensic matter. We are prone to sin and sin must be judged. We will have our day in court whether we like it or not! It is of crucial importance that we have a good advocate. Out eternal destiny depends on it.

In St John’s first letter he first proclaims that the light of the Gospel shows up our sins and then goes on to commend Jesus’s death as the remedy. John realises that in reality believers are not immune from sin. He then takes up the courtroom theme and tells us that we have Jesus as our Advocate to plead our case before the Father.
In fact Jesus work of atonement is offered and is made available to cover the sins of the whole world not just St John and his readers.

“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 cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us…I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John Chapter 1 verses 7 to Chapter 2 verses 1 – 2.

Trust Jesus as your saviour and your advocate.

The letter has been sent. The preliminary arrangements have been outlined. Sorrows have been expressed but the vehicle has no brakes and no reverse gear. The UK floats adrift from its EC moorings and divorce proceedings begin.

Some optimism has been expressed at the introduction in the UK parliament of the Repeal Bill which will repeal the EC Act of 1972 and transfer the 12,000 EC Regulations and 7,900 statutory instruments into UK Law. However the bonfire will be delayed as EC laws are valid until the divorce settlement is complete.
In the meantime the children of the divorce – Scotland and Ireland – have made their wants known. In the latter case the draft document recognises our concerns to continue the work of the ‘Peace Process’, the Common Travel Area (allowing free movement of citizens between these islands) and an imaginative handling of Border Controls.

The UK wants to proceed simultaneously with clearing the financial obligations to which they are already committed (estimated around £50 Billion), the rights of EC citizens to move in and out of the UK (and UK citizens likewise) and the thorny matter of future trade agreements. Not unnaturally the EC want substantial progress to be made on the first two before trade deals are made!

It was thought that the UK letter’s emphasis on security might have been a bargaining point in view of the sophisticated UK system. However it has been confirmed that full sharing of security information will continue.
It is an interesting time for Spain whose eyes are on the annexing of Gibraltar but, at the same time, not wishing to grant independence to Catalonia. And, on the subject of independence, Scotland may yet provide them with a model!

Most divorce cases start out optimistically believing that it would be mutually beneficial to live apart. However there is the messy business of the redistribution of assets. It is a settlement which is problematical. Then there are the children! Some harbour the idea of remaining good friends but if it was difficult before the division it certainly will not be any easier afterwards.

God puts his distaste for divorce simply in Malachi chapter 2 verse 16. It puts a legal framework around separation. It sucks any spiritual life there was out of the proceedings and focuses on the material.
In the EC context, “fortress Europe” potentially had it all. The surrounding nations were wanting to get in. Scores of individuals were staking their lives on the journey to its shore.
Internally there was large imbalances between the well managed countries and those less well managed. Also an unwillingness to share with the refugee be he an economic migrant from afar or simply a worker from a poorer part of the EC.

God puts his finger on the problem. His verdict – sin separates (Isaiah chapter 59 verse 2).
It separates us from God and from one another. There is a way back for the repentant individual or nation. And that is at the cross of Calvary. Jesus dealt with sin by taking it.
Thus he restores the relationship for time and eternity (Hebrews chapter 10 verses 16 to 23)