Peaceful Protest                   Word on the Week                     29^th August 2020.

Setting aside for the moment the mea culpa of the leading lights of Irish society attending a dinner in breach of the Government guidelines and looking at the more sinister events in Belarus and Washington.    In both places peaceful protests were made against Government wrongs.

The outcome, rather like the weaker dog which always loses the dogfight, is the clearing of the streets by superiorly equipped police or military forces.   The Leader wants to remain and is prepared to sacrifice protesters safety for personal power.

The flashpoint is regularly created by elections.   They, in a democracy, provide a way of expressing approval or disapproval of the candidates.    It invariably becomes more difficult if the candidate has had a taste of power and wishes to retain it at all costs!

The avenues open to the protesters are limited.   Their voice and the voices of those who represent them are seldom heard.   Taking to the streets is a high risk strategy.   Those defending law and order can so easily turn a peaceful march into a riot with a few well aimed rubber (or metal) bullets.   Conversely a peaceful protest can become a major disturbance if it is hi-jacked by an extreme group intent upon destruction.

There were plenty of disturbances during Jesus’s time on earth.    His preaching to crowds was always carried out in open areas away from cities.    His main problem was restraining the crowds desire to make him their leader.   His kingdom was not to be over territory but the hearts and lives of those who became his followers.

The authorities recognised his leadership and as so often happens saw it as a threat to their getting their own way.   They conspired to do, what is not uncommon today, and have him killed.   This had to be done cautiously as Jesus was popular with the ‘common’ people (Matthew 26 verses 3 to 5).

In the event they need not have been concerned.   Jesus walked into Jerusalem as a lamb to the slaughter.   He was aware of the unity among the authorities that he should die.   He also knew that his death was in the plan for his peoples’ redemption (St Matthew 26 verse 2) (Romans 8 verse 32).     So how could this be? 

It was Passover.   Jerusalem would have been full of lambs, prepared for sacrifice.   The priest would lay his hand on the head of the lamb symbolising that the donors sins were transferred to the sacrifice and their guilt was purged (1 Peter 2 verse 24).

Jesus, our lamb, carried the sins of his people in his body on the cross.   The emblems of sin, the thorns, were unwittingly placed on his head by the Roman soldiers and his atoning blood ran down the cross cancelling our sin (Genesis 3 verses 18) (2 Corinthians 5 verse 21).

Do any modern leaders come near such sacrificial living, such love?   Do we?

Storm Ellen                      Word on the Week                    22nd August 2020.

The first of the Autumn storms rolled in from the Atlantic this week.   Since they are named alphabetically by the Meteorological Office and ‘E’ is the 5^th letter we must have suffered four such storms earlier this year.   The Met Office in the UK names the storms which affect the UK and the Irish Met Office has the doubtful privilege of naming those which first impinge upon our shores.   Hence the more Irish name of ‘Ellen’.

The South coast bore the brunt of the storm as it made landfall in Co Cork.   A wind speed of 145Km/Hr or 90 mph brought down many electricity wires and left about 194,000 properties affected by power outages.    The network was also damaged by uprooted trees which were particularly vulnerable to the wind having maximum foliage at this time of year.

Ellen also brought flooding as it was accompanied by torrential rain and, in coastal areas, Spring tides added to the deluge.    It is hard for the authorities to prepare adequately for these storms as they are becoming more severe and can appear out of their normal season.   Flood insurance cannot be purchased for properties built on floodplains.   Cover can be bought where there has been little or no history of flooding. Global warming has made it prudent to do so.

These things add to the stress created by a surge in reported Covid cases.   New restrictions have been imposed to limit the number attending gatherings and social distancing and mask wearing are among the continuing rules to try to limit the spread of the virus.      

So far there has been an absence of blame for our increasing numbers of victims to the disease.    We do have an increasingly aware public, quick to pounce on those flouting the rules especially where those involved are themselves part of the authority that created them i.e. members of Government.

Storms and pandemics – is God in control of the world?   Most certainly!   Can we blame God for either purposing or permitting these things to happen?   Not at all!  

The following remarks are addressed to believers living in disobedience.   “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.  On account of these the wrath of God is coming.  In these you too once walked, when you were living in them.  But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.  Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator (Colossians Chapter 3 verses 5 – 10).

The reason these things are happening has everything to do with the failure of Christians to live the new life we have been given.  The remedy – read verses 11 -17.

Chinese Overseas Christian Church   Word on the Week   15^th August 2020.

The COCM was founded 70 years ago by Stephen Wang.   Next Saturday the anniversary will be marked by a zoom broadcast.   It is good in the midst of our anniversaries’ commemorations to remember one which marks the establishment of Christian Churches and not wars!

It started in the will of God when an 8-year-old boy got into trouble for throwing stones at a missionary’s son in their village in rural China.  This led to Yu-teh being taken in to the mission house and the son asked to apologise.   This was the opposite of what Yu-teh expected and soon the boys became friends and joined the Sunday school where he shone as a pupil.

Later Yu-teh asked the missionary how he could become a Christian and by God’s grace he put his trust in Christ.   He was a bright boy and his father was persuaded to take him to school in Peking.  There he excelled and won a scholarship to Yenching university and adopted the name Stephen.  Some years after graduation he was appointed headmaster of Tangshan Methodist school.

During the war years of Japanese occupation, he had to depend of God to overcome many difficulties.  This prepared him for the missionary life which was to follow.   In 1948 the church the Peking sent him to the UK.   There he was introduced to the China Inland Mission who had brought the gospel to large tracts of China.   As communism had closed China to missionaries Stephen suggested the mission work be directed to the Chinese in Europe who were ‘like sheep without a shepherd’.

In the event things turned out differently and the Chinese Overseas Christian Church was founded with Stephen Wang as its first director.  From its first church planted in London in January 1951 there are now 400 churches planted throughout Europe.    That does not include the independent Chinese Churches. We have two in Dublin with two church plants in Athlone and Limerick.

The evangelist I knew best was Frank Cheung.   He arrived in the UK in 1948 with only a few coppers in his pocket.   This became his opening line when meeting new Chinese Restaurant owners.   Most of them had little more but all had a strong work ethic.   Frank himself had two restaurants in Birmingham before he sold them to become itinerant evangelist with COCM.

Another was Wai Leong an accountant who now works in Bahrain with OM.   He helped to develop the Dublin work.   I remember his farewell address to the students of the then Chinese Christian Fellowship “Let no man despise your youth but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity” (1 Timothy Chapter 4 Verse12).  This was back in the mid 80ies.

In those days there were the English speaking and Mandarin speaking groups which developed, under the guiding hand of Cedric Chau, till today we have two flourishing churches in Dublin.    We also have a full time COCM worker in Ghee Seng who amongst other things is involved in a church plant in Cork.

A lot has happened since a little boy was caught throwing stones in China!                          To God be the Glory.

John Hume                             Word on the Week                              8^th August 2020.

The death of John Hume this week produced an outpouring of gratitude the like of which he never experienced in his lifetime!   The Nobel Laureate and former Social Democrats leader was one of the architects of the North’s peace process and the 1998 Belfast Agreement.   He died at 83 and had been suffering for some time from dementia which eventually robbed him of his sight.

John realised that there would have to be consent before where could be any agreement and this was generally accepted.   As long as the struggle was for territory, which was the dominant view among nationalists, ‘it’s our land’ there would be no agreement.   As he understood it unity between people was the priority.

The first breakthrough came with the replacement of what had been near permanent Unionist majority rule in the North with a power-sharing Executive that would represent the two communities.    He also helped to promoted the creation of North-South institutions as a unifying factor in a much divided island.

There was a need to engage with the Sinn Fein who were supporting violence as a strategy for unity.    He had secret talks with Gerry Adams their leader.   When these were discovered mistrust flourished.   It was a torrid time when even his supportive wife, Pat, urged him to give up.

When attending one of the many funerals a young woman crossed the road and asked John keep going so that others would not have to bury their father as she had just done.    It moved him so much that it is reputed to be the one time he was seen to weep in public.

His peace strategy which respected difference gained acceptance in the USA among some of the top politicians.  He was able to turn the Irish-American fund raising efforts away from the purchase of arms towards a peaceful solution.   This eventually came with the Good-Friday or Belfast Agreement which brought about, amongst other things, a cease fire and the destruction of weapons.

Bono U2’s front man famously got Trimble and Hume to join hands on the stage of the Waterfront Hall in what became a successful effort to get the Good Friday referendum over the line.   This inclusive Agreement embraced the concept that land does not determine the identity of the people – it’s the people that determine the identity of the land and now that there was a unifying agreement in place progress could be made.

But it’s Hume’s speech at the EU in Strasburg after his award of the Nobel Peace Prize that succinctly spells out his thinking.   He commended the EU for demonstrating peace among countries who had killed millions in wars during the 1900’s.  He reckoned this to be an example to the world and the EU should send philosophies not armies to conflict areas.

There would have been a sharp inrush of breath when he went on to say “All conflict is about the same thing!”   This he summed up as “Seeing difference as a threat.  Race, Religion and Nationality he claimed are accidents of birth.   It’s not something we should engage in conflict about its something we should respect.”

Our Creator God made us the way we are in order that we might seek and find Him. This seeking involved turning from sinful ways in repentance and faith (Acts Chapter 17 verses 26 to 34).   It is Christianity that gives us the basis for that respect of others i.e. all made in God’s image. John Hume wore himself out in the cause of Irish unity.  May he rest in peace

Religious Ceremonies during Covid        Word on the Week            1^st August 2020.

Eid-al-Adha in Croke Park.   A celebration of Islam on the revered turf.   The age of inclusion has arrived almost without warning!    The Muslim “festival of sacrifice” was a bloodless one last Friday at least any sacrificing was done outside the park.

The festival marks the end of the Hajj season of pilgrimages.   It provides an opportunity for families and communities to come together for prayers and feasting. Goats, cows and lambs are sacrificed and the meat is shared with the poor.

Abraham’s planned sacrifice of his son is being commemorated.   God tested Abraham’s faith by asking him to sacrifice his only son, who had been miraculously born to his elderly wife Sarah.   In his struggle to reconcile God’s demands with the promise that he would be the father of a multitude Abraham reasoned that God could bring the boy back from the dead.    What actually happened was a ram, caught by its horns in a nearby thicket, became the substitute sacrifice (Genesis Chapter 22 verses 1 – 18 and Hebrews Chapter 11 verses 17 -19).

There are a few differences with Christianity.   Muslims say Ismael Abraham’s son by his wife’s servant was offered.    But this was the son of disobedience.   The product of Abraham, taking matters into his own hands and at his wife’s instigation, committed adultery with Hagar the maid-servant (Genesis Chapter 16 verses 1 – 4).

Christians believe that Isaac, the son of promise, was the son God used to test Abraham’s faith.   He was the son of faith.  Born out of union with his wife Sarah who was 90 years old.   Born when Abraham was age 100 and Ishmael was 14 years old (Genesis Chapter 17 verses 25 – 26).

Unlike Ishmael’s birth which was natural Isaac’s birth was supernatural.    Both parents were well past childbearing age so that Isaac’s birth and his name, foretold by angelic heavenly visitors one year before Isaac’s birth, was the fulfilling of a miracle (Genesis Chapter 18 verse 10).

It was through Isaac’s line that a peasant girl of the tribe of Judah named Mary, by God’s grace, gave birth to a son.   This too was a miraculous birth.   The angel gave the name to Joseph, Mary’s engaged, of Jesus which means saviour.   He was to be given that name because he would save his people from their sins (St Matthew Chapter 1 verses 20 – 21).  

This work to provide salvation was completed on the cross where Jesus hung as the sacrifice given by the Father.   This time there was no substitute.   Jesus was there as our substitute.    He was dying in the sinner’s place.   The Shepherd becomes the Lamb.  Sacrificed for us once for all time (Isaiah Chapter 53 verses 4 -6 and Hebrews Chapter 9 verses 28 -28).

Jesus gives the invitation to you whatever your background to turn to Him and find rest for your soul – the rest of redemption (St Matthew Chapter 11 verses 28 – 30).   The offer is for you today.