Making Merry                   Word on the Week          18^th December 2021.

“‘Tis the Season to be jolly” a line from the well-known Christmas Carol with a not so well known “Tiocfaidh ár lá” insertion got ex-president of Sinn Féin Gerry Adams into a spot of bother this week.   It was his own composition but it was the inclusion of the infamous line “They haven’t gone away you know” which awakened ghosts from the past!

Gerry had borrowed the classic Christmas carol called Deck the Halls, written by Scottish musician Thomas Oliphant in 1862, and put his own words to it.   He has a reasonable singing voice and it was a pity he didn’t stick with the original words.

The verse continues with; – Deck the halls with boughs of holly, Fa la la la la, la la la la.   Fill the mead cup, drain the barrel, Fa etc.   Troul the ancient Christmas carol.   The ‘Deck the Halls’ is simply to put up the decorations.   ‘Troul’ means to sing lustily.

‘Fill the mead cup, drain the barrel’ is a strange one.   We always bottled the mead in July and sealed the bottle with yeast.   It remained undisturbed till Christmas when the mead became part of the Christmas dinner.   How they sealed a barrel of mead is a mystery!

The song was also sung at the New Year.   It contains the verse, ‘Fast away the old year passes, Fa etc.  Hail the new, ye lads and lasses!’ words not so surprising considering they were written by a Scot with a fondness for that time of year!

Isaiah wrote about the joy of their harvest festival – You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest.   A successful harvest meant plenty of food till the next harvest time – a major reason for rejoicing!    Then comes the great joy of God’s child: – For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  The son always existed and was gifted to save us!
And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Then comes the picture of the Kingdom of God.
 Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.   He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. (Chapter 9 verses 3 & 6/7)

A promise which gives real and lasting Joy. This is the fruit of the Spirit.   May it be with us who know and love the Saviour now and forever.   

Communication Chains             Word on the Week          11^th December 2021.

Not the paper chains we make to decorate the house at Christmas but the metal chains that bind us.   To be in chains is such an emotive expression conjuring up visions of helplessness.   That is unless you were cut from the same cloth as the Apostle Paul who used his chains to his advantage!

The Apostle had time in that Prison in Rome.   Two years in fact.   During them he wrote letters to the churches at Ephesus, Philippi and Colossi.  He also shared the Gospel with the Jewish leaders (Acts Chapter 28 verses 17 to 28).   When the majority of Jews rejected the message Paul spent the next two years preaching to the Gentiles (Acts Chapter 28 Verse 31).

St Paul’s chains were a great encouragement to Christians who may have been suffering persecution and took courage from Paul’s witness from prison so that the whole of the Imperial Guard heard the gospel (Philippians Chapter 1 verses 12 to 14).

At this week’s Bible Study, the usage of the word ‘chains’ among hymn writers was discussed.   The bulk of the time it is used to describe the binding nature of our sins which refuse to be shaken off.   Perhaps the best example of this is Wesley’s ‘And can it be that I should gain’ which has the verse: –

Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quick’ning ray—
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.                                                              

Describing in graphic terms the new convert’s feelings upon conversion.

Then there is that song dating back to 1745 which deals so clearly with sanctifying grace in the daily life of the believer.  The first line, ‘The Saviour died and rose again’

Who then can e’er divide us now

From Jesus and his love,

Or break the sacred chain that binds                                                               

The earth to heaven above.

Of all the chains that communicate truth the idea of a sacred chain whereby God binds himself to the earth is one of the most vivid.   The notion of this chain of divine love wonderfully illustrates St John’s ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life’ (chapter 3 verse 16).

Blessed chains that communicate truth.

The Long Walk                Word on the Week                     4^th December 2021.

A picture of our President honouring a local fundraiser with the Distinguished Service Award was indicative of the fellow feeling that exists between the Irish and Native American people.   Doreen McPaul had raised money for the Navajo who are experiencing extreme hardship caused by the Covid pandemic.

The Navajo have a long history of persecution.   This culminated with their being caught up in the American Civil War.   The Military Commanders of the Union Army decided that “recent occurrences in the Navajo country have so demoralized and broken up the nation that there is now no choice between their absolute extermination or their removal and colonization at points so remote…as to isolate them entirely from the inhabitants of the Territory”!

The “Long Walk” of 400 miles started in the beginning of spring 1864. Bands of Navajo led by the Army were relocated from their traditional lands in eastern Arizona Territory and western New Mexico Territory to Fort Sumner in the Pecos River valley. The march was difficult and pushed many Navajos to their breaking point, including death. The distance itself was cruel, but the fact that they did not receive any aid from the soldiers was devastating. 

Few Government promises were kept.   Perhaps the inclusion of the rainbow in the Navajo flag indicates faith in God’s promises!

The Bible maps out the 40-year pilgrimage from Egypt to Canaan.    During that time God guided his people despite their many acts of unfaithfulness.   They experienced His love and justice but despite all that He had done for them they still grumbled and at times would have wished to go back to Egypt (Exodus Chapter 16 verses 2 to 4).

Psalm 78 gives a summary of the journey.  It poses the peoples question, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?”   Food was never far from their minds and tested their faith daily.  “Man eats the bread of angels” (verse 25).   He struck the rock so that water gushed out (verse 20) and they drank.

The manna – literally ‘what is it’ – was provided daily (Exodus Chapter 16 verse 31 to 35).   Water came from the rock (Exodus Chapter 17 verse 6) at Horeb.  A later incident of water from the rock occurs when Moses was told to speak to the rock in front of the congregation.   Instead he struck the rock twice and God graciously sent forth water.   The act of disobedience cost Moses his desire to enter the promised land (Numbers Chapter 20 verse 8).

The Apostle Paul identifies the life sustaining water with Christ our Rock smitten for us at Calvary (1 Corinthians Chapter 10 verse 4) and manna remembered in the breaking of bread (Chapter 11 verses 23 to 26).        Perhaps the Navajo have heard of this Bread (St John Chapter 6 verse 31/5).