Holiday Season                          Word on the Week                     31^st July 2021.

It’s that time of year when cities empty out and the flight to the country begins.

Staycations not vacations have become the watchword in these Covid constricted times.   In the midst of the joyful scamper to the seaside pity the poor President who has had to consider 19 Bills since the 1^st of July.

Of course it is possible that not all Presidents would have been as diligent in their duties as Michael D. Higgins.  He has suggested that a better way be found to avoid this unseemly end-of-term rush to have the Bills concluded.   The record so far was to have 9 Bills deposited on his desk in one day!  The rush is also replicated in the period before the Christmas holiday!

This focus on holidays masks the shrinking of work in Western countries.  Many work less hours per week whilst technology permits increasing volumes of work to be done in the reduced time.    The Covid pandemic has opened eyes to alternative work patterns that reduce or remove the commuting time.

In the Bible we seldom read of people taking a holiday.   There was an occasion when King David ‘put his feet up’.  He ended up in deep trouble!   It was the time when Kings went off to war but David stayed in bed in his palace.   One evening he got out of bed, saw his neighbour’s wife having a bath, coveted her and the rest is history (2 Samuel Chapter 11 verses 1 to 5).

What punctuated their year was Holy Days and Religious Festivals.   These marked out the child’s growth in Judaism or acted as reminders of Israel’s history.   These were times of great rejoicing and still are today.

With the coming of Jesus who fulfilled all that the Prophets foretold, rejoicing today occurs when a sinner repents and believes the Gospel (St Luke Chapter 15 verse’s 5 to 7).    This ‘joy in heaven’ finds its echo in the hearts of converted sinners on earth as the Kingdom of God expands.

This expansion is the work of the Holy Spirit operating through believers.   It was once thought to be the work of paid professionals in ministry but, whilst certainly not excluding them from witnessing it is primarily the task of believers to make Christ known (Ephesians Chapter 4 verses 12/13).

This is a task which believers are well suited for.   Having themselves been bought by the blood of Christ they do not consider their lives to belong to themselves any more (1 Corinthians Chapter 6 verses 19/20).   This frees them to have a ministry mentality, thinking about being part of what God is doing in the locations where he places them (St John Chapter 9 verse 4).

This gives a deeper meaning to all of life (holidays included!).

Tokyo Olympic Games              Word on the Week          24^th July 2021.

The Olympic Games got off to a stuttering start this week.    Having been cancelled totally last year, due to the Covid pandemic, the Emperor was firm in his resolve that the games must go on!

This decision flew in the face of the will of the people.   Apparently around 80% did not want the games for fear of Covid spreading.   At present Japan has a very low uptake of the disease but with the influx of competitors from many different countries no amount of testing will be able to keep the pandemic in check.

The games opened last night to an almost empty stadium with muted fireworks.   Representative groups of athletes from the 205 competing countries strutted their stuff as they marched round the stadium behind their national flag.   In an act of defiance, the games, cancelled last year because of Covid, retain the 2020 label.   Perhaps the organisers thought it would confuse the disease to be called the 2020 Olympics in 2021!

The honour of lighting the Olympic flame went to the Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka.   She carried out her duties in the stifling heat of a Tokyo night adding to it as she lit the hydrogen fuelled cauldron on top of a Mount Fuji shaped stage.  

Perhaps the film “Chariots of Fire” captures the spirit of the Olympics best.   It was in 1924 when Eric Liddell, who was entered to run the 100 meters, withdrew because it was to be run on a Sunday.    Eric, a Christian, with a high view of the 4^th Commandment was prepared to sacrifice all his training and the opportunity to represent his country for God’s honour.

Fortunately, a vacancy arose in the 400 meters, which was run on a weekday and Eric ran in it, beating the opposition and securing the Gold Medal.   He is quoted as saying, “Victory over all the circumstances of life comes not by might, nor by power, but by a practical confidence in God and by allowing His Spirit to dwell in our hearts and control our actions and emotions. Learn in the days of ease and comfort, to think in terms of the prayer that follows, so that when the days of hardship come you will be fully prepared and equipped to meet them”.

What has Eric Liddell to do with Japan?   He died in a Japanese prisoner of war camp in 1945.   He was serving Jesus as a missionary in China when it was over-run by the Japs in ww2.    In this he was following Jesus who said, “There is no greater love than this: that a person would lay down his life for the sake of his friends” (St John Chapter 15 verse 13).

Eric was ‘fully prepared’ by trusting Jesus.   Am I, are you?

The Demise of Morality              Word on the Week             17^th July 2021.

The tide of immorality shows no signs of turning.   Fed by an openness to tell their stories the media delivers detailed accounts that become ever more explicit.   What yesterday was frowned upon, today is accepted and tomorrow we can expect restraints to be further eroded.

The Apostle Paul lived in similar times.   Lack of any belief in an afterlife had led to the coining of the phrase “Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die”.   To which he replied “Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character” (1 Corinthians Chapter 15 verses 32/34).   The Apostle attributes their sinning to an ignorance of God.   The same could be said of today.

Nowhere is this flow of filth more evident than in social media.   In Facebook they employ ‘content moderators’ whose task is to sift through the material posted on its platform.    These moderators sit at screens in offices and work to protect users of social media from the worst possible “content” imaginable. In order to do that, they have to see distressing images, videos and texts every day which include extreme violence and child abuse.

For this work to protect Facebook’s reputation they work, not as employees but under contract.   Although there are moderators in other countries Dublin is a centre for this work.   Presumably there is a reason why they are not given employment status but their work keeps Facebook in business and saves them from many a lawsuit!

Part of the problem is the historical view that Companies exist to maximise shareholders’ financial return.   Facebook’s treatment of its content moderators is an example of how other considerations are overlooked.    A more enlightened approach is offered by B Corp.  This involves companies signing up to a statement of intent that they will not only serve their community, but their customers, environment, governance, and workers also.

In the past there were firms such as Lever Brothers who were exemplary at looking after their employees.   Many were created by Quaker families.    This modern creation, B Corp, is growing as companies take on board the values.   They can be viewed at bthechange.com

In Scripture the converted thief is told to stop stealing but must work doing something useful with his hands, so that he may have something to share with those in need (Ephesians Chapter 4 verse 28).   This is echoed in Acts Chapter 20 verses 34/5 where the Apostle introduces the work ethic and quotes Jesus in support!   B Corp follows somewhat along these lines.

Angela Merkel Retires               Word on the Week                    10^th July 2021.

The retirement of Angela Merkel, after 16 years as Chancellor of Germany, was hailed by the population applauding throughout the land for six minutes.   Such was the popularity of this remarkable leader.

Angela came from East Germany.   Her father, a Lutheran Pastor, had moved there at a time before the building of the Berlin wall, when many were travelling West.   There was a need in the East and he went to meet it.

Reared in an academic family she followed her brother who had become a physicist.   She completed her PhD in quantum chemistry in 1986 and after three years doing research went into politics with the Christian Democratic Party becoming Chancellor in 2005.

Her leadership was soon challenged by the financial crisis of 2008. Her tough, unpopular budget cuts were at the heart of the response to the debt crisis which led both Germany and Europe back to growth, with the chancellor emerging as Europe’s de facto leader.

Merkel has acted on what she deemed to be morally right, rather than politically expedient; ending nuclear power in Germany following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011, and opening Germany’s borders to over a million Syrian refugees in 2015.   Of the latter she said ‘If we can save the banks, we can save human beings’.

Her humble lifestyle would be the opposite of Trump.   Yet she defended his right to express himself when he was banned on Twitter believing that adding warnings to his posts was the better approach.     Merkel shops for groceries herself whenever possible, queuing up at check-out counters. With no household help, she shares chores with her husband: ‘I arrange the clothes, and my husband operates the washing machine.’ When asked by journalists why she wears the same clothes so often, her answer has been: ‘I’m a government employee, not a model.’

In contrast to so many leaders she did not assign any of her relatives to Government posts nor did she salt away millions into foreign bank accounts.  No transgressions have been recorded against her nor has she extolled her achievements to garner popularity.   She lives in the same house as she did before she was elected Chancellor.   She does not own a villa with a swimming pool and gardens but lives with her husband in an apartment.

Regarding her faith, she said: “I am a member of the evangelical church. I believe in God and religion is also my constant companion, and has been for the whole of my life. We as Christians should above all not be afraid of standing up for our beliefs.” 

As Jesus said, “And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God” (St Luke Chapter 12 verse 8).

John Stott Remembered           Word on the Week          3^rd July 2021.

A decade has passed since Stott died.   His influence on evangelicals over the last century was enormous.   He remained within the Church of England and was based at All Souls Church, Langham Place, London.   From there he was able to carry on a global ministry assisting churches with the Gospel.

What is this Gospel which turned his life around?   He heard it at age 17 from the evangelist Eric Nash.   The sermon was taken from Pilates pathetic comment recorded in St Matthew Chapter 27 verse 22 “What Then Shall I Do with Jesus, Who Is Called the Christ?” Afterwards Nash pointed Stott to Revelation Chapter 3 verse 20 “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hears my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” Stott later described the impact this verse had upon him as follows:

“Here, then, is the crucial question which we have been leading up to. Have we ever opened our door to Christ? Have we ever invited him in? This was exactly the question which I needed to have put to me. For, intellectually speaking, I had believed in Jesus all my life, on the other side of the door. I had regularly struggled to say my prayers through the key-hole. I had even pushed pennies under the door in a vain attempt to pacify him.

I had been baptized, yes and confirmed as well. I went to church, read my Bible, had high ideals, and tried to be good and do good. But all the time, often without realising it, I was holding Christ at arm’s length, and keeping him outside. I knew that to open the door might have momentous consequences. I am profoundly grateful to him for enabling me to open the door. Looking back now over more than fifty years, I realise that that simple step has changed the entire direction, course and quality of my life.”

Stott’s abiding passion was summed up in what he called “double listening”.   It involved listening to the culture and discerning where it was at.  He then would listen for the voice of God to speak to the culture scriptural truths to bring people to faith in Jesus Christ.    The link would be made in texts such as “Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God” (1 Peter Chapter 3 verse 18).

I heard him preach on his 80^th birthday.   It was on the same theme.   His ability to handle words with precision had not left him.  Indeed, it is reflected in his many books not least of which is his “Through the Bible through the Year” which is our household’s this year’s breakfast fare!