The joy which met the news that the Pakistan Supreme Court had revoked the 2010 conviction of blasphemy was tempered with the realisation that ‘freedom’ might be an even bigger challenge for Asia Bibi. She has become the poster-girl for Pakistan’s infamous blasphemy law. The law carries the death penalty, a verdict which has not yet been carried out and it is this absence of capital punishment that has enraged some Islamists.

Asia Bibi, who is a Roman Catholic, like most Pakistani Christians was a low caste worker acting as a servant for a group of Muslin women who were harvesting berries. She was returning to the group with some water but because she had taken a drink it was said that the water was contaminated by her drinking it. An argument ensued in which the Muslim women freely blasphemed Jesus claiming he was a bastard as he had no father and other such derogatory statements about Christianity requesting that she become a Muslim.
It was in this context that Asia said, “I believe in my religion and in Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for the sins of mankind. What did your Prophet Mohammed ever do to save mankind? And why should it be me that converts instead of you?”

Five days later Asia was challenged by a mob who beat her and, returning to her home, attacked her family also. The local Mosque used its loudspeakers to accuse her of blasphemy and encouraged people to take the law into their own hands. Asia was imprisoned and a year later, formally charged. The charges which were put before the court were exaggerated and Asia was handed the death penalty.

The sentence was appealed and support given by the governor of Punjab who investigated the affair on behalf of the President, Asif Ali Zardari. The governor and his wife visited Asia a number of times and anticipated an acquittal. He was shot by his Islamist bodyguard.

The Minority Affairs Minister said that he was first threatened with death in June 2010 because of his support for Asia. He was shot through the window of his car about a year later. He had been the only Christian member of Pakistan’s cabinet. In subsequent hearings there has been an understandable reluctance to depart from the guilty verdict and the case has acquired a significance far beyond its importance because of the draconian blasphemy law.

All this makes the acquittal verdict reached this week highly significant. There have been calls for the death of the three supreme court judges. The Tehreek-e-Labaik Islamism political party, who have made the upholding of the blasphemy law their main cause, have created civil disturbances in a number of cities. They want to have the verdict reversed and are calling for Asia’s death. Yesterday the government, in an effort to placate them, have said Asia cannot leave the country. Asia has exchanged one prison for another!

Jesus said, “A time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God” (St John Chapter 16 verse 2). That time is now here. It shows the intimate connection between witness and martyrdom that Jesus foresaw. “Have faith in God” (St Mark Chapter 11 verse 22).

The Halloween season traditionally brings out the creepy side of life. Youngsters engage in “Trick or Treat”. Dressed in scary costumes they visit neighbours and require payment of fruit and nuts (or sweets and coins) to go away! The days of performing party-pieces are all but gone. The turnip lantern has been largely replaced by the pumpkin complete with a lighted candle shining through the teeth and eyes of a fearsome effigy carved on the side of its circular head!

For the adults it is the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints, martyrs, and all the faithful departed. It probably grew out of the Celtic festival of Samhain which marked the end of harvest and summer. It was seen as a liminal time, when the boundary between this world and the ‘otherworld’ thinned. Tricks were played by spirits and ghosts with the inclusion of Dracula the Vampire in the more blood-thirsty recent times.

Dracula was written by an Irishman called Bram Stoker. He wrote it after researching the folklore of Romania and chose the setting of the Carpathian Mountains for the castle which was to be the vampire’s abode. He had never visited the location making up the castle from a combination of the ruined Slain’s Castle in Aberdeenshire and Whitby Castle in Yorkshire.

The fact that vampires are particularly nasty creatures has not dimmed their popularly which has increased each Halloween till this week when a commemorative coin worth €15 was launched by the Minister of Finance in Glasnevin cemetery!
This was an appropriate place for the launch as Dracula lived on the blood of his victims. Legend has it that they, once bitten, became addicted to blood so you could have a lot of nasty Dracula’s causing havoc about the place. Help is at hand however as a crucifix will keep them at bay and a stake driven through the heart means that they will trouble you no more!

It is interesting that in the book the crucifix should be given the power over evil. Popular folklore usually gets it wrong! It attributes power to the symbol instead of the source. The writer to the Hebrews (Chapter 12 verse 2) helps to clarify what was happening on the cross. He writes that we are to run the race of life looking unto Jesus “who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of God.”
The cross represents the greatest suffering in history. Jesus not only suffered physically but also experienced God’s just wrath on the sin of the world which Jesus had taken upon himself. The promise of future reward and joy gave Jesus the strength to suffer despising the shame that was inherent in crucifixion. The wooden cross has no power nor does it become powerful when a human image of Jesus is fastened to it. Actually the Bible never uses the cross as a symbol of Christianity. Stoker, like so many others got it wrong in attributing the power to the symbol rather than the substance which is Christ (St Matthew Chapter 28 verse 18).

In the midst of this week’s load of confusion over Brexit one voice was heard to say “We are 90% agreed”! In the middle of the remaining 10% is the problem of the Irish Border. Why is there no solution to it that keeps everyone happy?
Because there isn’t one!

It was last December that a ‘fudge’ called the Irish Backstop was invented. This permitted the problem to be temporarily set aside. It said that even if no formal deal could be reached on trade and security arrangements, Northern Ireland would stay in the customs union and much of the single market, guaranteeing a friction-free border with the Republic.

Both the UK and EU signed up to this basic idea in December 2017 as part of the initial Brexit deal, but there have been disagreements since on how it would work.

The UK Prime Minister requires the support of the Northern Ireland Members to maintain her parliamentary majority. They are opposed to any deal which treats the North differently from the rest of the UK.

On the other hand, those on the right wing of her party want a complete severance from the EC. To achieve this, they have tended to ignore the North hoping it would merge with the South – something it has resisted for over 100 years. There is no doubt a united Ireland makes sense to everyone except the people who live on the island!
The Bible has some wisdom to offer. It may appeal to those who think that Brexit was ill advised from the start! This from Proverbs Chapter 26 verses 4 and 5.

“Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will be like him yourself” (Verse 4).

“Answer a fool according to his folly or he will be wise in his own eyes” (verse 5).

If you supply an answer to the foolish you will certainly get more questions or comments of the same foolish nature and you may end up like the fool.
If you do not answer the fool, he may be tempted to think that he cannot be answered.
This would encourage him to continue with his folly.

The dilemma of Brexit is that we see we the negotiators try to reason with the unreasonable. You can’t win! That’s why we have had so many resignations. They have seen the folly and resigned.

In the trial of Jesus, we see examples of both. He was in the hands of fools and he knew the Scriptures. At times he made no answer and at other times he answered that the Scripture might be fulfilled (Isaiah Chapter 53 verse 7; Psalm 41 verse 9 and St Matthew Chapter 27 verse 14).

It is good to remind ourselves that there are no borders in heaven! And in that blessed place even the fools of earth will be redeemed to the glory of God by the work and merits of Christ and that gives me a lot to rejoice in.

Seldom can a Public Inquiry have produced a report of such clarity as the publication this week of the Disclosures Tribunal Report into the destruction of the reputation of Sgt Maurice McCabe. Justice Peter Charleton identified three culprits: the head of An Garda Síochána, Commissioner Martin Callinan, the Press Officer, Supt. David Taylor and the Child and Family Agency, Tulsa.

The latter, whose handling of a file which should have been filed ‘dead’ in 2006 is quite without precedent. A social worker appeared to have erroneously placed a horrendous report of sexual crimes against a young girl on the file and the error was never corrected. Instead the toxic file took on a life of its own and, at one stage, a letter falsely accusing McCabe of sexual crimes was opened by his wife! The contents of the file were circulated to Garda headquarters and then to Press Officer David Taylor.

It is a sorry situation but organisations do not like whistle-blowers. With An Garda Síochána there is a strong loyalty which arises out of the nature of the work. Under Callinan’s watch this was encouraged and whistle-blowers creditability was to be attacked. In his Press Officer, Callinan found an alley to assist him in his efforts to do down McCabe. Charleton used the word ‘calumny’ around 50 times in his 406 page report to describe the accumulation of lies told by both men in their efforts to destroy McCabe’s creditability.

Problems with Garda structures were looked at by the Morris Tribunal 10 years ago.
Changes were put into effect and structures improved. But structures have proved to be subservient to Garda culture. This needs to change. The truth should be paramount. Backing up fellow Garda should never compromise the facts of the case.
It seems that inside An Garda Síochána we have the situation Isaiah 59 described: –
So justice is driven back,
and righteousness stands at a distance;
truth has stumbled in the streets,
honesty cannot enter.
Truth is nowhere to be found,
and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.

In this case McCabe was the prey. How many more McCabe’s will it take before the culture is corrected?
In Isaiah’s day it took a period in exile, away from their land and centuries of hardship before the Christ came. His revelation of truth did not compromise even at death. In fact, his death became the gateway to glory for all truth lovers who walk in his ways.

Some wisdom from James (chapter 4 verses 13 to 17).
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

In James’s vision forward planning must carry the label “If the Lord wills”! Certainly St Paul would agree (Acts Chapter 18 verse 21). “Man proposes God disposes” was a familiar saying of yesteryear. It underlined some understanding of the sovereignty of God in all our affairs.

Certainly this was a week when we were conscious of just how little control we have over our activities. A routine visit to the doctor ended up with Betty having five days in hospital. The garden and greenhouse were left to their own devices! The dog spent some fruitless hours looking for her!! The cuisine took a downward turn with many complaints from Tess until I got her food portions right. She will be a happy dog when Betty comes home at the weekend!

The Chemist’s assistant recommended “The Power of Positive Thinking” the book, was written back in 1992 by Norman Vincent Peale and is still popular today. It is a classic in wishful thinking! It aims at eliminating negative thoughts and visualising solutions to your problems. Trouble is that you have to keep doing it and never get off the treadmill.

A better plan would be the power of negative thinking. Now that would keep most of us busy! But instead of becoming depressed you take up Jesus’s invitation to “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (St Matthew Chapter 11 verses 28 to 30).

It all hinges on your coming to Jesus. All that he requires is that you leave your sinful thoughts and deeds with him. He has already taken the ultimate burden when he died in the sinner’s place and his blood purified us from all our sins (1 John Chapter 1 verse 7). When you leave your guilt and shame with him you cannot take it back as he has purged them. They are gone for good.
So, as St James says, now that you know the right thing to do – do it.

Of all the words in the English language the word ‘sorry’ can be the hardest to articulate! It may also be the hardest word to hear or perhaps accept according to a new study from Queen’s University published at the 10th anniversary of the banking crisis.
Apparently researchers have categorised into groups people who should apologise to society and bankers are included with the paramilitaries and clerical or institutional abusers. In fact, a survey showed that Bankers scored the lowest!
This is the 10th anniversary of the State’s guarantee of the Republic’s banking system, which cost taxpayers €64 billion in bailouts and tipped the State into an international bailout. The guarantee was arranged between the then Taoiseach and his Minister of Finance when they came under considerable pressure from the leading bankers.
With hindsight far too much credence was given to the might of the banks who were seen as being too big to be allowed to go burst.
Perhaps a case of allowing appearances to influence you was when Samuel was choosing Saul’s successor and was misled by Eliab’s attractive looks. The Lord cautioned Samuel “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Samuel Chapter 16 verse 7). Under the Lord’s guidance Samuel went on to chose David, the youngest of Jesse’s family, who was doing the menial task of shepherding.
The bankers word of choice with regard to their atrocious banking practices was ‘regret’! It, or a variation of it, was used 230 times in the testimonies. It is hard to see why they could not express sorrow unless the shadow of possible lawsuits for negligence hung over them. They have bought into the common confusion about who they were paid to serve – themselves or the public. The continues to be illustrated by the large banker’s bonuses they award themselves.
St Paul writing to the church in 2 Corinthians Chapter 5 verse 15 quoting Christ as an example, stated that they – the Corinthian believers – “should no longer live for themselves”. They obviously did once live for themselves. Clearly bankers are not the only people in that category although their leaders demonstrate it well!
If you have been redeemed by Christ, your orientation should have changed from selfishness i.e. serving self to serving others. The motive is again emphasised by the text … “should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again”.
Living for Christ is a 24/7 activity!

There was never a storm like it – not in all the 87 years of its existence. Never has there been the cancellation of a day’s events. Despite the fact that the Annual Ploughing Championships is held annually around the Autumn equinox such a storm as Ali was unique.
There have been years when the rain was challenging! The challenge was met with powerful water pumps which removed surface water from the 600-acre site. It is the largest outdoor event in Europe drawing Farmers and Farm Suppliers from every corner of the continent. The expected attendance of 300,000 over the 3 days was curtailed by Ali.
The gusting winds’ destruction was so severe that the middle day, Wednesday, had to be cancelled and, to partially compensate, the event continued on Friday. Total attendance was better than expected at 240,000 but the damaged tents and exhibits will have proved costly for the organisers and exhibitors alike.
This is an occasion where city and rural populations meet. You know it is so when you see politicians shaking hands with everyone they come across! They were added to by the candidates for the Presidential election – due in a month’s time. The President, who officially opened the event, and his wife were there. His opening speech managed to incorporate the inaugural speech of his campaign as he is looking for another 7- year term in the office!
The one part of the programme which was not affected by the weather was the ploughing competitions which give their name to the event. They take place in neighbouring fields and involves both horses and tractors to do the work. When it started in 1931 it set out to stimulate an interest in tillage farming. It certainly did that and Ireland has a record of winning the World Championship in the various ploughing competitions. In every case the furrow being opened has to be straight. It is necessary to have a marker on the far side of the field and to keep your eye on it. Looking back would cause the plough to veer from the straight line and ruin the furrow.
In outlining the cost of discipleship Jesus used the illustration of the ploughman who having started to plough must not look back. The decision to follow Jesus in the three cases instanced by Jesus in St Luke Chapter 9 verses 57 to 62 had a ‘but’ added qualifying the decision. They had started to plough but were not putting Jesus first. A better illustration is Matthew who left his business and followed Jesus (St Luke Chapter 5 verse 28).
St Paul writes (Romans Chapter 8 verses 28/30 & 38/39) with the confidence of a man who, once converted, never looked back: –
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?… For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
When the call comes don’t look back!

Those in the workforce have become familiar with CPD – Continuous Personal Development – which formalised into training the abilities required to cope with the developing jobscene. With the introduction of the gig economy CPD itself has been left behind and we now require to become familiar with Skillnet to stay in the race.

This concept harnesses technology which itself is continually upgrading. It becomes the agent for change as more targeted ways of working are devised. No-one is immune from this revolution. It applies equally to the farmer and the surgeon.
Skillnetireland.ie will give a flavour of what’s on offer.

Work in future, we are told, will resemble more of the free-lance journalist who earns his bread from writing article after article. There is no safety net. If the inspiration dries up so does the job. The land of permanent pensionable is a distant memory. So the Millennials coming out of secondary or tertiary education can look forward to a life of assignments, tasks and projects offering short-term contracts but little promise of permanent work outside of the Civil Service.

Along with this ‘independence’ comes the ability to set your own hours and your own location i.e. home working may be one option. On the plus side you can achieve a better ‘work-life balance’. In some cases, this may enable a couple to raise a family while continuing to contribute to the workscene often, for them, an economic necessity.

Courses are available, such as at IMI, or more direct tuition by hiring an expert to instruct staff on their particular field. In the Christian realm Irish Bible Institute offers tuition locally whereas both Cork and Belfast have colleges. St Paul’s advice to Timothy holds good today “Study to present yourself to God, as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Timothy Chapter 2 verse 15).

The old joke of the Preacher sitting by his fireside finishing the last chapter of the Bible and exclaiming “Thank goodness that’s finished” is about as far from the truth as you can get! The Psalmist’s assertion “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Chapter 119 verse 105) was never more necessary than today.

Our problem of congenital blindness when it comes to understanding the Bible is addressed by Jesus immediately before the ascension “Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (St Luke Chapter 24 verses 45/47). We are his witnesses today.

The decline of the Post Office in Ireland continues with the planned closure of 169 of them. This week’s announcement brought a flurry of letters to the correspondence columns of the national press the vast majority of them sent, no doubt, by email!

It is not possible to be on any street in central Dublin without bumping into someone immersed in their smart phone. People pass you on the pavement apparently talking to themselves. You look closer and notice a white flex joining their ears and disappearing under their chin. An even closer look reveals a miniscule microphone built into the flex transmitting messages with replies entering the ears.

Back at the Men’s Shed one of our number produced a new mobile phone which the supermarket was virtually giving away with the groceries. It seemed a simple enough gadget till it came to add ‘contacts’. The instructions, translated no doubt from Korean defeated us and could only be mastered by someone in junior infants!

Who are these modern Behemoths? They bear familiar names; Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, WhatsApp and hidden behind some of them are Amazon, Apple and Google to name but three. Their ability to collect information about their users is aided by users having to comply with their demands in order to use the computer or smart phone. This data, which accumulates at a formidable speed, needs to be stored on a piece of land where the climate is cool (to reduce the air conditioning costs) and Ireland appears to tick all the right boxes. So we can expect a large Data Centre to locate here soon.

These behemoths are wealthy. Apple announced a cash reserve of $267.2 billion (a billion is a thousand million) for the second quarter this year. With their product being produced in different countries and sold globally they have been able to avoid paying tax other than at a tiny level which we, in this country, are increasingly dependent upon.

Controlling the means of communication and accumulating personal data places enormous power in the hands of non-elected and non-answerable leaders. At least non-answerable other than to shareholders whose primary interest is profit. The worth of their Data has now been revealed.

Cyber-crime involving the capture of British Airways passenger data of 380,000 people came to light this week. The investigation is on-going but it appears some of the data was sub-contracted and the sub-contractor’s security was less robust to withstand an attack than the Airline’s. Interestingly nothing has been stolen yet but a lot of people have to cancel their credit cards to prevent their account being hacked.

It is good to remember that Behemoth in the Bible is made by God (Job Chapter 40 verse 15). Also we are living in the day of His grace; this is Gospel country. Hebrews Chapter 4 verse 13 puts it – Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
And that is really big data!

This week, in conversation, one of us remarked that the Christian year actually begins now. Our new year should not commence on 1st January but 1st September! All the church activities that took a break during the summer resume. The Christian community arouses from its slumber and what better time to remind ourselves of the Gospel.
As the Apostle Paul said, “Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…” (1 Corinthians Chapter 1 verses 1-4).
We need to be reminded because it is so contrary to our natural instincts. We want to do something, help someone, be nice. What a slap in the face to find it has all been done by the grace of Jesus and our task is to simply believe. In fact, it is worse – if it were not for the work of the Holy Spirit we would not believe at all. Our very faith comes from God as a gift out of his grace (Ephesians Chapter 2 verses 8 -10).

We need to be reminded that we are saved by grace through Christ and not by works; that we are accepted by God so we obey, not we obey so I’m accepted.
It is God’s grace (the word means giving us what we do not deserve – in fact we deserve the opposite) in sending Jesus, his grace in placing our sin on Jesus on the cross so that we can say “in my place condemned he stood”. It is by God’s grace that Jesus conquered death and sent the Holy Spirit to incline our stubborn hearts to believe that we are now forgiven and by a grace given faith can now work out the implications of our salvation as God works in us (Philippians Chapter 2 verses 12 -13).

Many things flow out of the Gospel of grace. There is freedom from the doubt as to whether or not I have done enough, been good enough etc.(to gain God’s acceptance), that plagues those caught up in religion. No more the treadmill of trying to be a good person by doing good things. That is all in the past, accomplished by grace for every believer in Jesus. His grace in salvation blessing reaches the depth of every repentant heart (Acts Chapter 3 verses 19 – 20). Past sins are blotted out and future sins covered by the blood of Christ’s sacrifice (1 John Chapter 1 verse 7).

Entering into this freedom enables us to live in obedience to God’s Word just as Jesus did. His obedience to the Word is paramount. Here are two examples in extreme situations (1) answering Satan from scripture and (2) believing he would be resurrected he handed his life over to his Father’s will (St Matthew Chapter 4 verses 4 – 10 and St Mark Chapter 14 verse 36).
“If the Son sets you free you will be free indeed” (St John Chapter 8 verse 36).