All through the history of the Christian Church the offence of the cross has been a problem. There have been many ingenious ways to get around it, the most usual by removing the Bible’s game plan and substituting a sacramental system which, ironically, places the work of salvation into man’s hands. The week we have the World Council of Churches, the World Evangelical Alliance and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue of the Catholic Church’s statement encouraging churches to reflect on their current practices in witness. The document, produced after 5 years work, claims to represent 90% of Christians on earth. It is long on how acts of service and justice, as well as Christian behavior are a witness and short on the necessity of the verbal expression of the gospel. There is also the notion that the God of other religions is the God of Christianity, and that’s something evangelicals cannot accept. It refers to “changing ones religion” as if it was a commodity and one could get a better fit. There is an attempt to equate this with conversion to Christ which is a supernatural work of the triune God in revealing sin and enabling the sinner to truly repent and trust the Saviour. What has all this to do with the task of making Christ known? Well it made it easier yesterday for the Authorities at Waterford to exclude any verbal expression of the Gospel at their superb “Tall Ships” Festival. The leaflet outlining John Newton’s testimony was distributed and no doubt some explanation would be given to anyone who asked what such “Amazing Grace” was all about.  St Peter wrote, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.” (1Pet.3:15-16) The Offence of the Cross is the stumbling block for many, “we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. (1Corinthians ch.1 v23-4.)

Amid the sporting triumphs of conquering Irish men and women in recent days the achievement of Gerry Duffy received scant attention. He won UK’s first Deca Ironman Challenge after 10 days of gruelling endurance events. The 20 entrants started each of the 10 days before 6 am, swam 2.4 miles, cycled 112 miles and ran a 26 mile marathon. All this had to be done within a daily time limit of 22 hours. He was so far ahead of the other competitors by the end of the 10 days that he had accumulated a lead of 19 hours over them. Not surprisingly only 3 of the original 20 finished the course! What makes Gerry’s feat even more remarkable was the fact that he went from being a chain smoker weighing 17 stone to a marathon runner who, last year, completed 32 marathons in 32 days and raised over €500,000 for charity. These achievements differ from those of Polar explorers or the endurance of climbers in the Himalayas caught in a storm. Gerry had the choice to pack it in at any time. The mental stamina required to keep going is of a different order. It is not replicated anywhere in the animal world but is a unique human characteristic. What does the Bible have to say on this matter? St Paul, writing to the church at Corinth on keeping fit, likens the Christian life to a race. “You’ve all been to the stadium and seen the athletes’ race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You’re after one that’s gold eternally. I don’t know about you, but I’m running hard for the finish line. I’m giving it everything I’ve got. No sloppy living for me! I’m staying alert and in top condition. I’m not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself.” (Paraphrase of 1Corinthians chapter 9 verses 25-27 from The Message). In advocating a disciplined lifestyle St Paul was simply following Jesus. There was no greater example of mental stamina that that required to go up the Jerusalem he knew that the cross awaited him. At any time Jesus could have opted out. Even on the cross the temptation continued. “Save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.” St Matthew chapter 27 verses 40/42. But it was not himself he had come to save. The nature of his salvation was not to gain a few more years in this world but eternal life. This was more than duration but a transformed existence marked by a new reason for living. Gerry’s awesome achievement is a hard one to follow. What does he do next? For the follower of Christ the present and the future is with Him. As St Paul quoted, “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him. And that love finds its source and centre in Christ.

When the cats away the mice do play – or should it be gamble? No sooner had the chairman of the Planning Appeals Board retired than the Board made the astonishing decision to grant permission to almost all the Casino promoters asked for. The 800-acre Tipperary Venue, close to the village of Two-Mile-Borris, will include a 500-bedroom five-star hotel; a 6,000sq m casino; an all-weather racecourse; a greyhound track and a golf course. In addition a full sized replica of the White House in Washington is to be built, presumably to make the gamblers from America feel at home! Only the 15,000 capacity underground entertainment facility was given the thumbs down by the planners. The enterprise, which is costed at €460 million, is being promoted by developer Richard Quirke, a former garda from Thurles who is best known for running Dr Quirkey’s Good Time Emporium gaming arcade on Dublin’s O’Connell Street. Independent TD Michael Lowry, no stranger to the licensing business, supports the project which will require Government to pass the proposed new legislation to enable the casino to be licensed. It was banker gambling that brought into our current financial mess and it looks like we are upping the stakes to casino gambling to get us out of it! Has the Bible to say to the matter? Casinos are really cathedrals of covetousness.. They are the last word in providing the excitement of losing or winning on a grand scale. The plush surroundings provide a heady stimulus to acting ‘big’ and very likely, losing your shirt! The 10th Commandment “You shall not covet” (Exodus chapter 20 verse 17) shows that God recognises our weakness and gives us the injunction to prevent us from harming ourselves. Perhaps the best known gambling incident in the Bible was when the Roman soldiers gambled away Christ’s clothes which they had stripped from him. Above their heads hung the only one who could save them, not just from the addiction of gambling but from all sin. Their boss, the centurion, came close to believing in Jesus when he recognised that he was the Son of God. (Matthew 27: 35 & 54) Like the Centurion we need to recognise who Jesus is and turn from trusting in lady luck to trusting the living God who has promised to live in all who love him. “If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. (John 14:15-17)

This Psalter which was found in a Tipperary bog in 2006 has now been meticulously restored and, this week, put on display in the National Museum. The book dates back to AD 800, about the same era as the Book of Kells. This book however is more intriguing regarding its origin as the velum cover was produced in Egypt and is identical to finds there. But whilst researchers may ponder how it got to Ireland its contents – the Psalms – have been restored and a replica of the original produced to enable us to see what it would have been like when first written.

This time of rejoicing came round every 50 years and proclaimed liberty for both the inhabitants and the land. The inhabitants who had sold themselves into servitude were released and made free to make a fresh start. The land which had been sold was restored to the original family. This prevented permanent slavery and the amassing of large estates which would have reduced many Israelites to be tenants on their ancestral land. (Leviticus 25) Today this writer and his wife can identify with the rejoicing bit as this last week marked their Golden Jubilee! In the providence of God 50 years of married life were celebrated with friends and relatives, some of whom were present at the original event. The ancient Israelite laws of restoration of status and property mercifully did not need to be applied! Instead there was an opportunity to sing the praise of marriage in an age which has largely denigrated this God given institution. Throughout scripture there are many illustrations of a bridal nature. Invariably Christ is seen as the groom and the church as his bride. (Ephesians chapter 5 verses 25/32) The emphasis is on the lifelong monogamous nature of the marriage union reflecting the indissolubility of Christ’s relationship with his church. His promises to love her forever are inviolable. But it is at Pentecost that we see the fulfillment of Jubilee with the coming of the Holy Spirit into the world “without measure”. This event recorded by St Luke in Acts chapter 2 occurred 50 days after the crucifixion of Christ. It brought great joy to the disciples, so much so as to make them appear to be drunk. The confusion of language which occurred at Babel was temporarily reversed so that every one present could hear the good news of Christ in their own language. Other miracles marked the start of the Gospel age as St Peter proclaimed the good news that came from the death of Christ: “And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” The day climaxed with the baptism of 3,000 converts. The good news is that the Jubilee is still on.

“Yes we can” the victory motif of the US Liberals rang out loud and clear in College Green this week as the master wordsmith worked the crowd of enthusiastic supporters. President Obama (of the Moneygall O’Bamas) was in town! He had met our president, shaken the hands of half the population of Moneygall and, along with Michelle, drunk the mandatory pint of Guinness proving without any doubt he was Irish. He didn’t kiss the Blarney Stone. He didn’t need to! He left us all feeling 10 feet tall. His summary of Irish history confirmed that there is nothing we cannot survive and the pride of race he engendered was only slightly dimmed when he claimed English ancestry in the UK the next day! But it was the display of power that was most impressive. Airforce 1, a jumbo no less, had been preceded by a massive plane which disgorged a fleet of cars and 5 helicopters onto the runway. Among the cars was “the beast”. This armour plated monster of a stretch limousine got itself stuck on the US Embassy ramp requiring three hours work by a local contractor to lift the brute over the obstacle! One of the helicopters was blown over by the strong winds and had to be left behind when the dust cloud from the Icelandic volcano threatened our airspace and the Obama’s made a hasty departure for the relative safety of the UK. What has the Bible to say about all this? The scriptures record many instances of temporal power being wielded by kings and emperors. Some acted justly and tempered justice with mercy as in the case of King David with Mephibosheth (2 Samuel chapter 9). Others like the Roman army of occupation used public execution as a means of asserting authority. The greater the exercise of power the more likely they were to be worshipped as god (Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel chapter 3). The one thing about temporal power is that it is transitory. It does not last. It is contrasted with spiritual power, Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” When St Peter used the sword to cut off Malchus’s ear in Gethsemane the pathetic nature of the gesture brought the rebuke from Jesus “Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” (St Matthew chapter 26 verse 53) But it was on the cross that we see Jesus exhibit all power under total control. This is not the power of might but of right. This is not the ability to do what you want but to do what you ought. This is what Jesus came to do – to die for his people bearing their sin and thus enabling them to be presented faultless before the throne of God. That power is the opposite of worldly power – it starts with a bowing of the knee to the one who died for you and a set of the will to follow Him as Lord all the days of your life on earth and then forever more.

We were sitting in a restaurant on the Isle of Jersey when a snippet of conversation floated across the room. The speaker, a young Englishman was informing two Portuguese waitresses why the Queen of England was visiting Ireland. “She’s gone to get her island back” was his confident summary of the tangled web of Ireland’s history which had culminated in this state visit. What it lacked in knowledge it made up for in simplicity! The old tensions created by religion and ethnicity have been largely overtaken by the notion of `citizenship` which today has replaced the idea of `subjects` owning allegiance to the crown. Symbolically this was seen in the handshakes which welcomed the Queen rather that the bowing and curtsying of former times. Her daunting programme of events was performed with the dignity and respect of one, who at age 85, has got the ability and intelligence to carry it off. One wag wrote that having to endure a performance of the Westlife band meant we could call it quits for 800 years of oppression! There was the impression that the dismantling of the British Empire which may well have begun in Dublin in 1916 had reached its conclusion back in Dublin in 2011. We are now neighbours not poor relations – not a word about our present straiten circumstances! What has the Bible to say about how Queens function? It must be said that a brief look at the subject yields mixed results. The Queen of Sheba was known for beauty and had an eye for business in the gifts she collected on her visit to King Solomon. Queen Esther was not only beautiful but courageous. Her dependence on God enabled her to put her life on the line memorably summed up in her conclusion, “If I perish I perish” Esther chapter 4 verse 16. Then there was Jezebel, but the less said about her the better. 1Kings chapter 21 gives a flavour of her character. In the New Testament King Herod’s wife Herodias infamously had it in for John the Baptist. He had told her husband that he could not marry her as she was already married to his brother. Herod went ahead anyway and had John the Baptist locked up. This gave Jezebel her opportunity for vengeance and when her daughter’s dancing pleased Herod, who foolishly offered her whatever she wanted on the advise of her mother she asked for John’s head on a plate. John’s death gave Herod no peace as he imagined John had come back from the dead in the form of Jesus – St Matthew chapter 14 verses 1 & 2. What he failed to do was to listen to Jesus when he had the chance instead he looked for a miracle. No the Queen is not looking for “her Island back” just taking the chance to put the past behind and looking towards a future as those who are equal in the sight of God.

A lot of newsprint has been used this week to highlight the plight of house owners repaying mortgages which are higher than the house is worth. Their task has been made harder by the shrinkage in jobs with many unemployed or working a reduced number of hours per week resulting in much lower incomes. The Master of the High Court called for debt forgiveness and reckoned the threat of re-possession by the banks was driving people to suicide. He wanted the Bankruptcy Laws to be updated. The Minister for the Environment said that they were being looked at and a Bill would be published next year. He expressed concern for the “moral hazard” of writing off one person’s debt and expecting his neighbour to pay all of his debt. The Journalist took the high moral ground by claiming the banks were going after the public who have been called upon to bail them out! The picture is painted of the mighty bank taking the poor mortgagee by the scruff and shaking the last cent out of him. It is especially abhorrent since the bank itself through massive greed pressed people into taking out such large mortgages in the first place. Can the Bible shed any light on the matter? The classic example of debt forgiveness occurred in the parable of the unforgiving servant. (St Matthew chapter 18 verses 21 to 35) In it the massive debtor (the Bank in our times) has its debts forgiven by the King then goes after the tiny debtor whom he treats without mercy demanding payment in full. So what kind of debts does a lender forgive? Those where there is no possibility of ever being repaid. If there are assets the lender will take those rather than writing off the debt. It is only in cases where there is a complete inability to repay that forgiveness becomes the remedy. Jesus, who told the parable, was simply making the case that sin incurs a debt. The context is “If your brother sins against you go and show him his fault” (St Matthew chapter 18 verse 15) In the parable the King was owed an enormous sum of money and the debtor made the familiar plea for more time to pay it off. Ten lifetimes would have been insufficient to repay it and that assumes he would not add to it in the meantime! God is the King and we are debtors. We cannot ever make restitution. Our debt to God is incalculable. The wonder of grace is that Jesus paid it. St Paul writing to the church at Colosse (Chapter 2 verses 13/14) shows our state and our standing. “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” The greatest debt forgiveness happened at the cross. There the sinner who believes in Jesus has his debt cancelled. It is the place of reconciliation to God.

One of the delights of my youth was to see the Saturday matinee Cowboy film. These American imports usually had a poster of the bad guy whose picture appeared under the word “wanted” with the offer of a reward for his capture “dead or alive” to encourage the good guys to go after him. These posters would be nailed to trees in the bad guy’s neighbourhood causing the bad guy to adopt a disguise to conceal his identity. All of this was great fun as we watched the film come to a satisfactory end when the bad guy got his just deserts. Events of this last week when Obama got Osama reminded me of these Saturday matinees! Only this time it was played out on the world stage not the cactus country of the Wild West. The cinema screen has just got a whole lot larger, sinister and the make belief turned into harsh reality. In the excitement of the event there has been a gloating over the efficiency of our killers as opposed to the indiscriminate killing of the suicide bombers. The lust for revenge has sometimes over-ridden the satisfaction of justice, even rough justice, being done. What does the Bible have to say? In this period between Jesus coming and His return we no longer live in a theocracy but in a state of common grace where the administration of justice has been granted to secular states. God’s laws do not apply in many lands and even in nominally Christian countries they have been diluted to match the will of the majority. So we have secular justice now and divine justice later. The former is always imperfect but the latter, since God knows the secrets of the heart, (Romans Ch.2 verse 16) will be perfect. We may take satisfaction that secular justice has been served, but Christians should display a sober restraint. Jesus said; “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”. Secular justice curbs evil but does not eliminate it. We leave the final justice to God. At the end of the day, where would we any of us be if Christ had brought in final justice instead of bearing it on behalf of his people? At Calvary, Christ willingly offered himself as the lightning rod for God’s wrath against sin, the good guy becoming the bad guy in our place. The events of 9/11 did not change everything in the way that the events of 33 A.D. did. Nor will the death of Osama bin Laden on 1/5/11 satisfy the final justice that awaits him—and all of us—on the last day. We need to ensure our faith is in “the eternal purpose of God which he accomplished in Christ our Lord. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with confidence”. Ephesians Chapter 3 Verses 11/12.

This week the general media gloom was penetrated by a well conceived and brilliantly executed Royal Wedding. No one put a foot wrong and what was even more remarkable for such an occasion all appeared to behave naturally. Certainly the flower-girls didn’t have a problem. The smallest one’s reaction to the noise she heard from the balcony of Buckingham Palace when she screwed up her face and covered her ears with her hands was as comical as it was spontaneous. However William and Kate were allowed centre stage, a position Kate took to like a duck to water. There was no flaunting of glittering jewels and the foregoing of presents in favour of donations to 26 named charities augers well for the future. Wasn’t Bono who once said, “fame is currency” and these new royals have it in abundance. How they spend it remains to be seen but they have made a good start. What has the Bible to say to all this. The big plus was they got married. True they might have done it sooner but as modern people they bucked the trend and tied the knot. With Charles Perry’s paraphrase of Psalm 122 ringing in their ears we were brought into the holy city – Jerusalem. The bride’s brother read superbly from Romans 12 verses 1/3 and 9 to 18 and the couple wrote one of the prayers themselves. God our Father, we thank you for our families; for the love that we share and for the joy of our marriage. In the busyness of each day keep our eyes fixed on what is real and important in life and help us to be generous with our time and love and energy. Strengthened by our union help us to serve and comfort those who suffer. We ask this in the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Amen.  Surely a first for the monarchy! The homely also majored of the generosity of our God: “William and Catherine, you have chosen to be married in the sight of a generous God who so loved the world that he gave himself to us in the person of Jesus Christ” The wonder of this gift was elaborated upon later in the service when mention was made of William and Kate’s union in marriage as being a reflection of the union between the risen Christ and His church – a monogamous union for time and eternity. We were treated to more of Perry, “Blest pair of Sirens” was sung beautifully with the choirboys at their best. The event concluded with the singing of the British Israelites anthem “Jerusalem” with its powerful music and heretical words – a real British wedding. Apparently an audience of 2 billion globally witnessed the event. A triumph for British marketing but a limited opportunity to explain the Gospel. So may our prayer for them be like King Solomon’s in 1 Chronicles 1: that they might have ‘wisdom and knowledge’ to use their celebrity status wisely, that they might create some ‘happy-ever-afters’ for others as well as for themselves.