Incarnation Fleshed Out        Word on the Week              21^st December 2019.

“Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you” was the Prophet’s cry as he looked at the sinfulness of the people.   “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.” He analysed our condition realising the depth of our depravity (Isaiah Chapter 64 verses 1 & 6).

Isaiah sees the heavens as a vast curtain concealing God and pleads with God to tear them apart and reveal Himself.   Perhaps he was thinking of an earth shattering event such as Micah writes; “Look! The Lord is coming from his dwelling place; he comes down and treads on the heights of the earth.  The mountains melt beneath him and the valleys split apart, like wax before the fire, like water rushing down a slope.  All this is because of Jacob’s transgression, because of the sins of the people of Israel Chapter 1 verses 3 to 5).

But when Christ came it could not have been more different.   It took the powers and authorities by surprise.    None of the Religious were there to welcome him except Simeon a faithful old believer and 84-year-old Anna who recognised the Child as the one who would provide redemption for Jerusalem (St Luke Chapter 2. Verses 25 & 36).

Like today the powers and authorities barely tolerate Christianity.   Herod embarked on the ‘slaughter of the innocents’ (St Matthew Chapter 2 verses 16 to 28).    Today in many countries it is forbidden to follow Christ and in an increasing number of places the persecution of a Christian is condoned or even permitted at law.    

But there was a time when God visited earth and broke through the curtain of the temple. This occurred the moment Christ died on the cross.   The curtain which fenced off the altar of sacrifice and which was only parted once per year on the day of atonement, to let the High Priest enter with the blood of the offering for the sins of the people, was torn from top to bottom: – “And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.   At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open … When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!” (St Matthew Chapter 27 verses 50 to 53.

From Isaiah’s cry for God’s intervention to Jesus’s cry as he gave up the Spirit we have a narrative arc in which everything moves towards its completion at the cross and resurrection.   It is the cross, not the temple, where forgiveness of sins now takes place and a foretaste of the general resurrection was illustrated.    Let the Apostle John have the last word: – This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John Chapter 4 verse 10).   

Like something reminiscent of a fairground ventriloquist’s dummy we had the Prime Minister of the UK endlessly repeating his chant “Get Brexit Done”!   All through the election hustling’s the refrain rang out from his lips.   It was incorporated into the answer to almost every question.   It reduced public debate to a mindless mantra – but it won him the election!

This was an election where words carried a hidden meaning.   Brexit was always the elephant in the room.   The phrase “get Brexit done” meant leave the EU and to be silent on this issue was the equivalent of saying “I wish to remain in the EU”.   Other major issues such as Health and Housing were dismissed by pledges of enormous sums of money to put them right!

The election itself was theatre on a grand scale!   The National Broadcasting Co of the UK – the BBC, dramatised the proceedings by illustrating the country on a large floor map composed largely of red (Labour) and blue (Conservative) tiles.   Initially they showed the current holders of the seats but as the night wore on the colours changed to reflect the gains and losses.    Enthusiasm was high at each counting centre and votes were counted, stacked and checked at great speed.   

This view of democracy in action was beamed around the world by the BBC World Service.   There was an absence of bloodshed, which blights so many overseas elections and often results in the army taking charge, turning the event into a military dictatorship.   

Of course many countries do not give their people a choice in how they are to be governed.   The individual has no say in addressing needs and righting wrongs.   But in lands where the Bible is read and those in authority prayed for, those governing do not have to resort to strong arm tactics.   2 Timothy Chapter 2 verses 1 to 6 are key: – First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and    quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.     For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. 

And that proper time we remember at this time of year: – When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the  law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.    And we enter this relationship by faith in the ransom Christ Jesus has paid for us!

We had a couple of days of frosty weather this week and, right on cue, came our friends the fieldfares.   They come from Scandinavia in their winter wanderings and usually remain on higher ground of the Wicklow hills until cold weather brings them down to us in Kildare.

They come in flocks sometimes mixed up with their friends the Redwing but this time it was only the larger Fieldfare that were in evidence.   It was the red berries on the Hawthorn trees, left over from the Blackbirds, Thrushes and Finches, that was part of the attraction.    When all the berries were eaten they come down to earth combing the grassy fields for what they could find to eat.

They are handsome birds, some 10 inches in length and have an unmistakable alert and upright appearance when alighting on the treetops.   Their head is a grey colour as if they were wearing a cape.   The throat and breast is a rusty yellow streaked with black.    Their tail is also black with a grey rump and white underside to their wings.   The flight call is a noisy chatter – they appear to enjoy each other’s company and have a lot to say!   

I am not surprised to read that St Francis (1182 – 1226) was fond of the birds.  Their presence and singing brightens up the countryside whereas their absence adds to a feeling of desolation.    St Francis possibly knew something of the latter when as a soldier in the Assis army at the age of 22 he became ill.   This led to a spiritual crisis which enabled him to view life differently.  

He dedicated himself to a life of simplicity and poverty following Jesus words to his apostles in St Matthew Chapter 10 verse 1 and Chapter 16 verses 24 to 26 which reads; Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

It was not to be however.   The order which he founded including St Francis himself came under the authority of an appointee of the Cardinal.   His quest was to point the church back to its spiritual foundations and to illustrate the manner of life that pointed people to Jesus.

St Francis never became a priest.   He wanted to be “married” to Lady Poverty and walk with Sister Charity and to serve as a praise leader of all creation.   Canticle to the Sun has the verse; The heavens are telling the glory of God, And all creation is shouting for joy!
Come, dance in the forest, come, play in the field,  And sing, sing to the glory of the Lord!
Praise for the wind that blows through the trees, the seas’ mighty storms, the gentlest breeze;
they blow where they will they blow where they please to please the Lord!

Shades of St John Chapter 3 verse 8 “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Getting and Giving               Word on the Week             30^th November 2019.

Black Friday has been successfully negotiated this week with many accounts in the retail sector safely in the black.   This import from the US (it is reputed to have started in Philadelphia) comes without the prior Thanksgiving Thursday where Americans celebrated the success of the Pilgrim Fathers first corn harvest in 1621.

Perhaps as an antidote to the slogan “shop till you drop” we now have, as a follow up to Black Friday – Cyber Monday!     It was created by retailers to encourage people to shop online from their home presumably surfing the internet for leftover bargains left behind from their exertions on the previous Friday.

Not all retailers are in favour of such an extension to the price reduction market.   They feel it will spoil the traditional commercialisation of Christmas.   There is a limit to the spending power of shoppers they say.   Others argue that we are having a good year financially so there is more disposable capital to be garnered!     Let the buying frenzy (known commercially as market forces) begin.

Of course it wouldn’t be Christmas without Santa and stockings and gifts.   The latter originally were intended to remind us of God’s gift of his Son to us (2 Corinthians Chapter 9 verse 15).    But just as Black Friday, on this side of the Atlantic, has been shorn from Thanksgiving we have all but shorn the giving of gifts from the real meaning of Christmas (St John Chapter 3 verse 16).

This is the time of year that charities do better at fundraising.   Ireland is well placed for choice.   There are seven major charities dealing with the homeless.   Overseas giving through Dochas, the umbrella organisation for overseas charities in Ireland, presents the choice of 42 members and a further 13 associates.    With suicide prevention/bereavement there are 48 separate agencies in the field.   

It is right that we should look after our own.      1 Timothy Chapter 5 verse 8 reads “if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his house-hold, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever”.     There are also the needs of Christians living in countries where they are persecuted for following Jesus Christ.    If you are a believer, you are related to them.    They are our brothers and sisters in the faith.   The Kingdom of God has no boundaries (2 Corinthians Chapter 16 verses 1 to 3).

Gifts can be sent via Barnabas Fund (UK) or the Dublin based Church in Chains – www.churchinchains.ie

The Arba’een is not only Shia Islam’s largest gathering, at 15,339,955 this year, it is the largest gathering on earth!    Held annually in the Iraq city of Karbala it now caters for a broad range of nationalities with a large contingent taking advantage of the new roads and cheap visas for Iranians.

Arba’een means 40 – the number of days of mourning for Imam Hussein, the grandchild of the Prophet Muhammad who lost his life in the battle of Karbala in AD 680.    It is from Hussein that the Shia claim their Islam heritage whereas the Sunni reckon it to stem from Muhammad’s companions.   It is one of those peculiarities that the Shia’s principle place of pilgrimage is in the Sunni territory of Iran.    This has caused major problems in the past but there were no major incidents this year.

The governor of Karbala praised the peaceful conclusion of the pilgrimage. “We think that the successes of this pilgrimage is one of the chapters of victories achieved by our armed forces and volunteers against ISIS” he said.   ISIS regards Shia Muslims as heretics and regularly targets them in attacks throughout Iraq.

In contrast to the relatively peaceful gathering at Karbala, back in Iran things have got worse.    Rioting over economic problems and corruption has been met by strong armed tactics by government troops using teargas and water cannon to disperse the crowds.   The internet has been all but closed down neutralising, among other things, the smartphone networks that were used to organise past protests.

Refugees from these countries have been making their way to Ireland over a number of years as conditions in their homelands became unbearable.   Here there is always a fear of the other and the immigrant receives a mixed welcome.    This is the universal practice wherever the foreigner attempts to settle.    An exception was the Native Americans who supported the early settlers and fed them through their first winter.  

From the call of Abraham God has had the goal of bringing the gospel to all the earth (Genesis Chapter 12 verse 3).   There was, and always will be, humankind’s shunning the gospel and attempting to reach heaven by self-effort (Genesis Chapter 11 verses 1 to 8).    Now, the confusion of language has created diversity.    In the wisdom of God, the immigrant, in the most part, has to learn the language of the host country giving time for assimilation.

Of course we have direct provision, which isolates the immigrant from the working community, and gives the would-be politicians the opportunity to create fear of the foreigner to gather cheap votes and interfere with integration.  

For the Christian, Jesus (in addressing the final judgement) calls those “who inherit the kingdom” people who have shown kindness to the stranger donating food and drink, clothes and visiting them in hospital or in prison.    And these kindnesses were to be shown, not only to the smart ones, but to the least of them.    And furthermore it was to be done as if you were tending Jesus himself (St Matthew Chapter 25 verses 31/46).     There does not seem to be any exceptive clause!

Aphrodite Rules?                Word on the Week                    9^th November 2019.

“Our lives are destroyed by what happened to Ana”.   So read Geraldine Kriegel in the victim impact statement as she recorded the effect Ana’s brutalised death on her parents.  Her husband was terser.  Referring to the lengthy sentencing both boys received he said “Forever is not long enough.”

Where did two 13-year-old schoolboys get the information and enact their heinous plans?   Where did they get their appetite for extreme and violent pornography?    How could it be possible for a youngster to have 12,500 sexual images on two devices in his bedroom?  Boy A, as the court referred to him, had done his internet research which included ‘dead boy prank in abandoned haunted school’.

The internet was built on porn.   It has added violence among other perversions that cause us to salivate.   Our appetites, once whetted, soon become contaminated till they require yet greater extremes to satisfy them.    So widespread has it become that ‘pornhub’ records over 100 million video views per annum. This amounts to 12.5 videos per person on earth!   

The goddess Aphrodite, the goddess of erotic love, was once discreetly clothed as she went about her duties bringing out the complementarity between men and women.   This harks back to creation itself.   It is only right that erotic love should be accorded an important place in our society.   But we have stripped down Aphrodite applying her seductive powers indiscriminately.   In fact, the pagan Greeks who invented her would be astonished at the multitudes who blindly worship her today!

This eroticism is the pagan caricature of the God-given sexual desire.   It places the ultimate value on something which was intended to be simply the dress rehearsal for the marriage feast of the Lamb in heaven (Revelation Chapter 21 verse 2).    It makes fools of its devotees as they look for satisfaction in the wrong place.    Jeremiah put it clearly when they deserted God in his time, “My people have committed two sins: they have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water (Chapter 2 verse 13).      

Those who worship Aphrodite may sacrifice many things at her altar: time, money, deep or lasting relationships, unborn children, emotional maturity, health and even life itself.  Ancient Corinth was similar but by God’s grace many heeded St Paul’s advice, “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has 

righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?  What accord has Christ with Belial or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,

“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore, go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of  body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God (Chapter 6 verses 14/18).

Fear stalks the land                          Word on the Week              2^nd November 2019.

The question was attributed to the youthful Admiral Nelson, “What is fear Daddy?” However unlikely that it was ever asked the answer would have presented itself to Nelson many times in his life until his mutilated body breathed his last at the battle of Trafalgar.  

Along the Fermanagh-Cavan border in Ireland such a question would not arise – they live with it every day.   Illogically it is an area which has enjoyed prosperity from the remarkable success of Sean Quinn’s business.    Starting from a sand and gravel quarry on his farm he developed a large cement plant which became the core product of his many business enterprises.

Some years ago Quinn over-reached himself rather badly and bankrupted the entire business empire.

Because he had brought prosperity to a previously neglected part of the country there was strong local support for the Quinn organisation.    There was the feeling that somehow Quinn had been wronged and the businesses which have been sold by the liquidator, should not have been allowed to happen.

A local holding company was formed (QIH) and the previous management, people who Quinn had trained, were put in charge with Quinn acting as consultant.   It was when Quinn apparently wished to run the companies that the Board, with the approval of their backers, had him removed back in 2016.   

Over time intimidating letters and road signs bearing dire threats have been delivered to QIH staff or placed along the roadside.    The signs come with a warning to not take them down.    They make a statement as to who is in charge.   The threats are not idle; one director was beaten to within an inch of his life a few weeks ago.   The largest sign contrasted the salaries of the directors with Quinn’s remuneration.    It had been on display for over a year   All were afraid to remove it.   During the night the Garda, removed it this week,

With the Quinn business prospering it is hard to see what is to be gained from all the intimidation (70 incidents in the last 18 months).    Sean Quinn has publically stated that, since the attack on the director, he no longer wishes to regain control of QIH.   Notwithstanding, this week a fresh threat was made against the five directors of QIH.   It was accompanied by a photograph of a man in dark glasses wearing a balaclava sinisterly offering a ‘permanent solution’.

Additional Garda resources are promised – at the end of the month!

One of the first victims of fear is talk.   Fear seals lips.   Informers, so essential in police work, are few and far between.    When silence reigns evil prospers.   It gets a free hand.

“The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe” (Proverbs 29 verse 25).  So we are not primarily to act out of fear of man but trust in the Lord’s protection.  

Jesus said, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.    Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (St Matthew Chapter 10 verse 28).    This verse was given to encourage witness in circumstances of conflict where the loss of life was a present reality.  

The Cavan – Fermanagh border sadly is another such place.   Listen to the Lord thro’ Moses

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy Chapter 31 verse 6)

Trailer Tomb             Word on the Week                                  26^th October 2019.

“I’m sorry Mum. My journey abroad hasn’t succeeded. Mum, I love you so much! I’m dying because I can’t breathe . . . I’m from Nghèn, Can Loc, Hà Tinh, Vietnam . . . I am sorry, Mum.”   So translates the mobile phone message which came out of the refrigerated container trailer where 39 Vietnamese/Chinese perished this week.

They had reached their goal of getting to the UK but sadly none were able to walk in the land of their dreams.    It seems that they came from Vietnam but were flown out of the Provence of Fujian in China.   The traffickers operate there in gangs, the best known being the Snakeheads.   They are reputed to traffic 100,000 people annually.  

This is a lucrative trade.   The family of Pham Thi Tralky, age 26, claim to have paid £30,000 for her passage which was by air into Europe via Moscow.    Normally 10% is paid initially with the balance being collected from the family upon evidence of arrival at the planned destination.    It appears that in this case the monies were paid in full up front.

There is a reluctance among relatives and friends of smuggled emigrants to talk for fear of reprisals by Snakehead thugs who did not want their methods exposed or of the dire conditions suffered by their customers en route revealed.    This trailer, we know from its GPS, went on a circuitous route through France and Belgium embarking on the ferry at Zeebrugee and disembarking in the UK at Purfleet in the Thames estuary.

As expected the trail to the UK organisers is muddied.   At first sight it seems that Irish people were behind it.  The police have made five arrests including the young driver of the cab who has been accused of murder.     As usual those who mastermind these operations are well concealed.   They generate a climate of fear around themselves which makes police work difficult as there are few informers.

Our Ireland of the Welcomes has lost some of its attraction.   On an international level yesterday, our four Fine Gael MEP’s voted an increase in hazard for people crossing the Mediterranean by rejecting future search and rescue operations.   They won by two votes. While on a local level Ballinamore has decided against having asylum seekers to stay but 140km away in Tipperary, Borrisokane has agreed to take them!

We live in a chronically divided world.   The haves versus the have nots.   Fortress Europe! Like many of us in a crisis we have forgotten “The Golden Rule” – “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (St Matthew Chapter 7 verse 12).

When people get an unpalatable answer, like one requiring a higher degree of love, instead of acting on it they try to get round it like the lawyer who questioned Jesus; “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”  And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the great and first commandment.  And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” (St Matthew Chapter 22 verses 36-40).   We, like the lawyer, need the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ to radically transform our cold hearts to match the challenges of this age.

On the 13^th October Newman was made a Saint of Rome.   The 19^th century man who led the way out of Protestantism into Catholicism in 1845 wrote up his conversion in his Apologia whose title translates “Defence of His Own Life”.    This was in 1864.   He had become a Catholic Priest in 1847.

Prior to his conversion he had used his considerable intellect to found, in Dublin, the Catholic University in 1854.   This was the outcome of his desire to foster the Arts over against the then current Victorian model and attempted to staff it with the laity.   In this he was not entirely successful and six clergy were appointed!     

His lectures extolling the virtues of the Arts took place during the famine years culminating in the study of English and other literatures in the curriculum of the new university.  This was the precursor of University College Dublin.    He had a strong friendship with the author James Joyce.   The latter’s writings are said to have been influenced by many English writers but especially Newman’s prose which can be traced in Joyce’s works.  

Newman’s embracing of Rome did not jettison all of his Protestant background.   He had a desire for a priesthood of the laity to be involved as a sort of counter to children raised in Protestant rectories.   The latter he believed were a fertile source of Victorian thought.   When Papal infallibility was introduced he retained the idea of the sovereignty of the individual conscience.    “I will drink to conscience first and the Pope afterwards” was how he put it.

The hymn: Lead, kindly Light, amid th’encircling gloom; Lead thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home; Lead thou me on!
Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene—one step enough for me.   It has become known as the funeral hymn taking the singer in its two other verses through to heaven where they are united with deceased loved ones.   

Although Jesus is not named in the hymn (some attribute the light to being the column of fire that led Israel by night through the wilderness – Exodus Chapter 13 verse 21) I think it more likely to be St John Chapter 8 verse 12 which reads; – Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  This is the second time in St John’s Gospel where Jesus takes the “I am” of deity (Exodus Chapter 3 verse 14).   This light has an eternal dimension to it as Isaiah says in Chapter 60 verse 19; – The sun shall be no more your light by day,nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.

I like to think Newman had this in mind.

World Cup Rugby                 Word on the Week              12^th October 2019

It was a good idea to hold the competition in Japan.  It would popularise the game in the Far East.    The world cup would be an opportunity to showcase the best teams in action.   After all southern hemisphere rugby is the best and geographically Japan was logically the next country to get involved.                                                                                                                                             Rugby is well known as a contact sport.   As players, now turned professional, get bigger and heavier the injuries become more severe.  “I’m going to play rugby” – the five words a mother dreads when uttered by her 7-year-old!    In order to address the injuries that had given the game a bad name the laws were changed recently.   Any knock on the head or loose arm around the neck of an opponent and the referee is mandated to produce the dreaded red card.    The decision can be appealed but usually a 3 match ban is the penalty.

This World Cup is the first use of the rule on the world stage and has resulted in 7 cards being awarded at the half ways stage of the tournament as opposes to 1 red card given during the whole of the last world event.   However, the change in the rules are nothing compared to the change in playing conditions the teams had to cope with.    They effected the Western sides the most.   They had never played in high humidity with temperatures around 38 degrees.    Japan on the other hand was “at home” in this climate and has done well so far in the tournament.

There has been some adverse comment on the state of the turf but the big problem is the approach of Hagibis.   This is the name given to the biggest cyclone to hit Japan for 60 years.  Already two matches have been cancelled and some others may follow playing havoc with the programme.    Years of training count for little if cancellations due the severe weather cancel the game.

St Paul was familiar with the training and payment of athletes.   The training had to be rigorous and the payment appropriate.   Just as the Old Testament Priest received his share of what was offered on the alter so those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.   Likewise, professional rugby players get their income from the game.   (1 Corinthians Chapter 9 verses 12 to 14).

What St Paul recommended was for the proclaimer of the message to empathise with those he was sharing with in an effort to remove any distractions to the gospel.   This involved training to subdue bodily desires going so far as to describe himself as a slave to serve the task of making the Gospel plain (1 Corinthians Chapter 9 verses 22 to 29).

This getting out to others the Good News was his passion.    That we are saved from the penalty our sins incur, not by our baptism, nor our works of kindness, or our church attendance but simply recognising that Jesus went to the cross, in our place that we, the sinner may go free.     This recognition that Jesus completed the work is the awakening of faith. It permits you to go on to trust completely in the work of another – Jesus.   The Holy Spirit then transforms you, bit by bit, till the transformation is complete in the glory (1 Corinthians Chapter 15).