The school exams are over and the universities are coming the end of the semester.
The recent heatwave has whetted appetites for more of the same leading to packed flights travelling south.
However, it is not just the sunshine that we have in common with Bermuda, the Caymans and the Virgin Islands. We are in there with well-known tax-havens of the world. In fact, some have said this week that ‘little old Ireland’ leads the pack!
Of course we have tried to earn some ‘brownie points’ by not cashing Apples cheque for something in the region of $13 billion which now lies in an escrow account costing $800,000 a year to look after it! How it will be eventually carved up is not clear. One thing is certain and that is Apple will contest the outcome and a decision will be hard to come by.
Our official corporate tax rate of 12.5% suits the multinational companies because it is lower than other countries and has been stable. The actual rate charged, when various exemptions and discounts are applied, is often much lower. For instance, in 2015 the effective rate was 9.8% with some of the larger corporations paying less than 5%.
Our method of accounting the national finances cannot cope with the situation where the top 100 companies pay 70% of the tax bill and the remaining 44,000 companies the remainder! Fluctuations in income such as we had in 2015 produced an increase of nearly 26%, a figure that was derided as “Leprechaun economics” by Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Krugman. Of course there could be losses of a similar size destabilizing the country!
What are we to make of all this shuffling around of the “Gulliver” size profits created from highly successful global trading? Well for a start if they can be kept intact by paying minuscule amounts of tax they pour wealth into the pockets of the Companies decision makers and shareholders. Some might trickle down, usually in the form of incentive bonuses to the employees.
The countries where the profits on sales are made get no tax to assist them in providing schools, hospitals, etc. Whilst the citizens of these countries may be able to talk to each other by mobile phone progress in developing the surrounding infrastructure is not helped by the tax portion of the value of the phone being hived off to a tax-haven – probably Ireland where we settle for a much reduced amount!
So didn’t Jesus say the poor would always be around – so much for equality!
What Jesus said would have been understood by those who knew the full quotation – “If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be…For the poor you will always have with you in the land. Therefore, I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’” (Deuteronomy chapter 15 verses 7-11)
In the light of these words we stand condemned nationally and individually. We need to check out what/who we are trusting in (1 Timothy chapter 6 verses 17/19).

In a week where we had multiple murders the Rugby Test match in Australia came as a welcome relief. It would have been better if Ireland won but with all the wins in recent years perhaps we needed to realise we are not infallible!
For the pundits the scoreline was 18 – 9 with both sides having tries disallowed thanks to camera technology. What seemed an advance for the game has now reached new heights with the TMO (the match official) in one query referring to the pictures on camera number 7.
The all seeing eyes of the camera record incidents both on and off the ball on one occasion – it reminded me of Hebrews Chapter 4 verse 13 – “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”.
All other games drive the ball/slither forward striving to reach the opponents goal. What makes rugby unique is the rule that the ball must be passed back to the players behind you while you make every effort to progress forward. Natural instincts to pass forward must be curbed and progress forward must be made through a wall of opposing players all equally determined to secure the ball and take it over the try line at your end of the pitch.
And crossing the line proved to be enormously difficult in today’s match. Australia had the edge over Ireland as they achieved it twice. It should be added that we did also cross the line twice but both attempts were disallowed.
Crossing the line is an expression now commonly used to indicate the moving through a boundary. Politicians talk about something being a red line issue by which they mean that crossing it will bring severe consequences. In Christian circles the expression is sometimes used to denote a move into Christ. Once Christ was a distant historical figure but now a decision has been made to look into the matter.
A line has been crossed, the will is now inclined towards Christ. We are no longer spectators but have become participators. We have taken up Philip’s invitation to Nathanael when Jesus was recruiting his team of disciples; “Come and see”. When he looked into it his scepticism “can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” changed and he became a follower of Christ (St John Chapter 1 verse 46).
The crossing of the line is best seen in marriage. The initial attraction is followed by many hours together leading to a falling into love. As knowledge of each other increases so the desire to be together grows stronger. The culmination comes in “will you take this man/woman” when you confirm your belief with active participation – “I will”. To never reach that point makes you spectators of your own beliefs. In fact, you are probably not in love at all: you are simply playing irresponsibly with a profound relationship.
The day of grace is still on – Jesus is still calling his followers from every type of background. He has revealed himself to us in scripture, he is not put off by our lack of understanding or our sins – he knows us and loves us. Will we respond to his “follow me” with “I will”?

With the summer sun comes the attraction of a swim in a nice cool pond. Unfortunately for two lads this week their choice of a flooded quarry proved, for them, to be fatal. Tragically for these 15 year olds help came too late.
There was the temptation to swim across to the other side of the abandoned quarry, a feat which the boys thought they could accomplish with all the energy of youth to drive them. It appears that when the first got into difficulties the second boy went to his aid and both were drowned.
Fresh water lacks the buoyancy of salt water which can be an asset when it comes to an emergency. The normal thing is to roll onto your back and float. This is easier in the sea than in a pond. It becomes especially difficult if the person gets cramp. Rescue by another is difficult as a degree of panic sets in and the simplest instructions can be easily ignored.
This incident brought to mind the drowning of Isobel Keith. A number of us went swimming in the sea near the Ythan estuary in Scotland. We were told to go beyond the Salmon nets, along the coast, which would take us away from the influence of the river’s flow. It may be that the nets had been moved nearer the estuary (there was always some dispute between the anglers on the river and the netters who wanted their salmon nets to be as close as possible to the river where the catch would be much larger) but all I can recall was a strong current. This was aided by an off-shore wind which carried the shouts of my cousin away from me. I was the youngest and had a tyre tube to play with at the water’s edge. It was this tube that my cousin wanted to assist Isobel who was in difficulties. Despite his best efforts Isobel was panicking and unable to hold onto the tube. She was swept out to sea and drowned.
A healthy respect for water is required. This was not evident in the abandoned quarry as two people were seen swimming in the same area shortly after the lads were drowned and this despite the fire engines, helicopter and divers in the vicinity. There were also notices prohibiting swimming!
The speed at which it all happens and the irrevocable results of the drowning are indelibly etched on the mind. There is the parent’s grief at the loss – both boys were only sons. As far as I can recall Isobel’s mother was a widow. I remember my Aunt taking the bad news to her and the gloom that settles over the community as soon as the tragedy becomes known.
There is a similar incident recorder by St Luke when Jesus had compassion on the widow of Nain when Jesus brought the dead boy back from the dead and using the same words as Elijah uttered in a similar incident gave the boy back to his mother (St Luke Chapter 7 verses 11 to 17 and 1 Kings chapter 17 verses 19 to24). The gloom turned to joy as the people recognised the God had visited his people.
The other case is where the Father in an Abrahamic like sign offers his only son up as a sacrifice on the Cross for sinners that all may have hope even in heart-breaking grief. (Genesis Chapter 22 verses 1 to 18 and Romans Chapter 5 verse 8).

The people have given a clear mandate to government to proceed with the legislation to introduce termination of pregnancy to Ireland. So away with the badges and down with the posters! We are now entering a new landscape where the majority of people believe that a woman has a right to an abortion on demand.
This right is part of the new moral authority. I was reminded this week that it includes Gay rights. We added Same Sex Marriage and now Abortion. For some these have been introduced at a snail’s pace; for others the pace has been breath-taking. Have we reached the end of the line? Not at all! This century has seen the removal of so many ethical boundaries that there must be a temptation to remove the lot!

Perhaps on this day of jubilation for women, who see their quest granted for control of the unborn in the womb, we might spare a thought for the child. The weakest in society always have difficulty being heard but were given a voice in this campaign. Unfortunately, it was not amplified by the media although there was some attempt at even-handedness.
The government have said that they want to see abortion become “rare”. This laudable desire has not yet happened in the Western world but they are to be commended on their wish. They must have faith in women not having so many crisis pregnancies in the future.
This is a possibility as we now have a pill for everything except salvation!

Some have recognised that the inclination of every sinful human heart is to find its security and salvation in something apart from Christ. If only pills, therapy, or a surgical procedure could fix our problems then we would not have to deal with the reality of our sins. Our tendency is to try everything else rather that trusting Christ. He said “I am the way, the truth, and the life no man comes to the Father but by me” (St John Chapter 14 verse 6).
He accomplished on the cross the salvation so many are looking for today. It offers that peace of mind which comes from the forgiveness of sins and the promise of his presence in the life surrendered to him. As the Rev. Jonathan Edwards reminded us that, “You contribute nothing to your salvation except the sin that made it necessary.”

This is not a call to be more moral. I am not saying that by the right behaviour you can be saved. Salvation is the gift of a gracious God to the repentant person (Ephesians Chapter 2 verses 8/10). Behavioural changes flow to those who receive the gift.
In the light of this enormous truth, whether or not the result of the Referendum makes you happy or sad pales into insignificance.

As we move into the last week before the Referendum to repeal the 8th amendment to our Constitution, clearing the way for the introduction of a law on abortion, various things are becoming obvious.
Healthcare has become selective. It is to be denied to the unborn child at the mother’s choice. It is enshrined in the slogan “My body my choice”. The unborn baby has no choice!
The unplanned pregnancy has become the crisis pregnancy but no-one asks who created the crisis. Babies are not created without “choice”!
To create legislation to cater for the result of what the Bible terms ‘sexual immorality’ may seem to be a good thing i.e. it helps to clean up the mess – until you realise it sets a new norm for society. The bar is lowered to accommodate what Scripture censures.
For the believer who has the Holy Spirit within him or her the pollution is clear. The practical advice is “Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body” (1 Corinthians Chapter 6 verse 18). This despair need not be permanent. There is a way back through the provision of God’s mercy in providing a Saviour suited to our prodigal needs (St Luke chapter 15 verse 21).
But we live in a hedonist age where instant gratification trumps responsibility. It was for a good reason that the Taoiseach was concerned to pitch the date of the Referendum in university term time to garner the student vote which would favour his introduction of abortion. The current preference for secular humanism was also present in “Sodom…which indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire” (Jude 7).

So what about ‘Healthcare in 2018’? Previously there was Physical health and Mental health. Now, following the UK, we have done away with the distinction which facilitates doctors prescribing abortion. In the UK where they have had many years’ experience of operating the system 98% of abortions come under this conglomerate health reason. In other words, ‘abortion on demand’ and the doctors, in most cases contrary to their Hippocratic Oath, do the killing of the infant in the womb.
No animal behaves in this manner! Sometimes a male swan will kill a cygnet in some bewilderment as to who is in the nest. But nothing comes near man’s premeditated killing of an innocent human life. The tragedy is that those who have had an abortion tend to go on to have others. It then becomes a last ditch form of contraception.
We have no reason to believe that God will answer our prayers for the retention of the 8th amendment. As a country we have turned our back on Him and certainly do not deserve to be heard. But in repentance and faith in Jesus we ask that whatever happens the outcome might be to His glory.

Just as it is the victors who write their biased view of history so it is that it is the Government allied to the media that produce their biased script for the referendum.

The word ‘repeal’ has become something of a mantra in the hands of those seeking to introduce abortion. ‘Repeal the 8th’ trips easily off the tongue but it is only part of the story. Their repeal not only involves the 8th amendment but the 13th (Right to Travel) and 14th (Right to Abortion Information). These came about as a result of the X Case where a young girl, who was claimed to be suicidal, had been prevented from having an abortion in Ireland. This was then catered for in the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013. It
made provisions for the finding of the court in the X Case, allowing abortion where the life of the woman was at risk, including a risk of suicide.
These changes permitted abortions in the ‘hard cases’ where medical intervention is required to safeguard the health of the mother. But what of the unborn child. What steps have out Government taken to attend to the child’s welfare? They had the Supreme Court comb the Constitution to see if the unborn child might have any other rights (other than the right to life) and when the answer was negative proceeded to produce this Referendum which attempts to remove from the unborn baby its right to life. So much for Pádraig Pearse’s declaration of the new nation’s resolve to cherish all its children equally!

Just as the word ‘abortion’ has been sanitised and has lost something of the horror which always attends that sad and bloody event so has the ballot paper been shed of any distracting text. We are to be asked a plain ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to approve or not to approve the 36th amendment. But even the sanitised ‘abortion’ word does not make it on to the paper.
We are being asked simply to do our duty and vote ‘yes’ so that the Government can deal with the rights of the mother and her unborn baby without having to trouble us again!
The only answer to all this is a resounding ‘NO’.
Of course the Government is not as insensitive as all that. They have been educated into believing that the child in the womb only becomes human after a certain period. About the length of this period there is a great deal of uncertainty but without any other terms of reference to guide them 12 weeks will do. The fact that science says that all the DNA is present at conception will just have to be ignored. After all humankind is more than a clump of cells!
Of course the Bible agrees with science! David the Psalmist recognised his sin and in psalm 51 we have his repentance. Without mitigating in any his own guilt he saw that he, like the rest of us, had inherited the sin of Adam. This did not happen after a certain period in the womb, and not after 12 weeks, but he writes “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me”. David reckoned that he was present in the womb from conception. He also was given to understand that he, and we all, are a creative work of God. He writes in Psalm 139 verses 13/14 “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”

So what is all the fuss about? We have a tiny percentage of the female population who are pregnant and wish they were not. Surely the charitable thing is to assist both mother and the child to delivery when a decision for the child’s future can be made. The current offer of legally killing the child is not a Christian solution. Vote NO.

The rhythms of nature play out their familiar but often overlooked tune, “While the earth remains, seed-time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease” Genesis Chapter 8 verse 22). By this promise we can be sure the sun will rise tomorrow, not because of the balance of probabilities but because we have a faithful God who is true to his word.
Our friends the House Martins arrived a couple of days ago and promptly started nest-building. The crumbling remains of last year’s nest were removed and fresh mud applied to the nest site. The Martin’s were out-flown by a couple of swallows who arrived in the yard before them. Until quite recently we called them all swallows – they fly so fast we couldn’t tell the difference. But now having recognised the distinctive markings we find it hard to understand how we could have thought they were all the same.
Along with the birds come the weeds and thorns, those emblems of the curse that make life on earth difficult and gardening such a chore (Genesis Chapter 3 verse 17/19). St Paul recognised the full extent of Adam’s sin and sees the curse as subjecting the creation to futility (Romans Chapter 8 verses 18/21).

But there are more distinctive markings in the Bible concerning God’s curse. It was made visible when a murderer was first executed then hung on a tree until sundown in demonstration of God’s disapproval of the criminal’s sin (Deuteronomy Chapter 21 verses 22/23). In the same way the whole of God’s law pronounced God’s curse on anyone who broke any part of it (Chapter 27 verse 26).

Come now to Calvary and look with fresh eyes at our suffering Saviour. The law had become a curse for those who rely on it to save them, because none could keep it – that is except Christ. By his death he redeemed us from its curse becoming himself a curse in our place (Galatians Chapter 3 verse 13).

And finally he took Adam’s curse on the ground with its emblem of thorns placed on his head so that when the number of the redeemed is complete the new creation will become a reality (Romans Chapter 8 verse 23).

The next time we look at a crucifix we will see Christ through new eyes. His sufferings which formerly made us feel sad now are full of meaning. We now see how God can freely pardon all who admit to their guilt, turn from it and put their trust in Jesus.

Distinguishing between Swallows and Martins opens up the avian world a bit more.
Distinguishing between a dead Christ and a Saviour who has cleared the way to God opens up the possibility of personally recognising Him as my Redeemer and Lord.

This week St Laurence O’Toole’s heart was recovered from the Phoenix Park in Dublin where it appears to have been hidden since it was stolen in 2012. The event brought jubilation to many especially those of Christ Church Cathedral who received it back gratefully from the Garda on Thursday.
When the heart was taken two candles were lit and placed on the Trinity altar, presumably by the thief. This would seem to imply that the thief was endeavouring to focus attention away from the Saint and onto the Trinity!
What do we know about O’Toole? He was born in Castledermot, Co Kildare, in 1128 and appointed Archbishop of Dublin and Glendalough in 1162. He began a policy of Church building and laid the foundation stone of Christ Church Cathedral.
To assist in the spiritual teaching of priests and people of the Diocese he invited the Augustinian monks to become part of the Cathedral Chapter. Later he travelled in Europe and became an Augustinian. In an interesting act of penance each Spring he returned to Glendalough, in Co Wicklow, where for the 40 days of lent he lived in St Kevin’s Cell, a cave situated above the waters of the loch.
He is the patron saint of Dublin.
He died in November 1180 in Normandy, France, and was canonised in 1225 because of miracles said to have happened at his tomb. His bones were placed in a church in Chorley, England until they were destroyed at the reformation. His heart is encased in lead and set in a wooden frame which was placed in a steel cage. The bars of the cage received some damage when it was stolen. It is planned to be restored and returned to the cathedral for his Feast day on 14th November.
Relics are quite common in other religions such as Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism and Shamanism. In Christianity they are mainly to be found in Roman Catholic rather than Reformed churches. Calvin, the theologian of the Reformation, said there were enough pieces of wood in churches, allegedly taken from the cross, to build a ship!
When there was signs of rebellion in the Israeli camp, God told Moses to erect to a pole with a bronze serpent. The Israelites who looked in faith towards it believing they would be saved from dying from the bites of the “fiery serpents”. These God had sent to punish them for speaking against Moses (Numbers 21:4-9). This pole, perhaps the nearest thing to a relic in the Bible, was carried around by the Israelites becoming an object of worship until Hezekiah had it destroyed (2 Kings Chapter 18 verse 4).
Jesus used it as an illustration of his approaching death. He likened his being raised up on the cross as a sin offering to the serpent’s lethal bite (St John Chapter 3 verse 14/15). A major difference was that in Moses day the salvation on offer was the gift of life. Now looking in faith to Jesus bearing sin on the cross, by God’s grace, produces the gift of eternal life.
Later Jesus said, “For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day” (St John Chapter 6 verse 40). Look away from relics and yourself to Him!

This week the largest newspaper in the country was embroiled in controversy. The problems are multiplying and the High Court Judge recused himself from those involving other media acquisitions in order to concentrate on the matter of journalist’s confidentiality i.e. the protection of their sources.

Apparently there was an inordinate interest taken by the major shareholder in the information journalists gleaned over the years. This would have included the coverage of the Moriarty tribunal which was set up to investigate the allocation of the States’ first mobile phone licence. The licence was won by the major shareholder in competition with 5 other companies. The tribunal’s findings were not conclusive but neither were they entirely satisfactory and unanswered questions of insider knowledge in the bidding rumble on.

There can be few if any of us who would not like to know what our competitors were doing. The Bible’s diagnosis is “the inclination of man’s heart was only evil continually” (Genesis Chapter 6 verse 5) which means that left to ourselves we get into a mess! In this case the desire to find out where the information came from led to the newspaper’s data being taken out of storage, shipped to a firm in Wales, and professionally interrogated in order to extract the background material.
This material would presumably reveal who said what and to whom. This is the stock in trade of the journalist – his source – whose identity has always been a closely guarded secret (otherwise no-one would tell a journalist anything!). Journalists have gone to prison rather than reveal their sources. To avoid such measures, it is rumoured that legislation to protect journalistic confidentiality is being considered.

There are 19 ‘persons of interest’, as the news calls them, whose confidential information has been mined and is known by others, as yet unspecified. This is approaching the ultimate in control of one person over another.
It is a god-like ability which cannot with confidence be intrusted to the hands of man.
But when Jesus say’s “I am the good shepherd I know my sheep and my sheep know me – just as the Father knows me…” (St John Chapter 10 verse 14) we can confidently entrust ourselves to him.
His knowledge of us is complete – ‘as the Father knows me’. We are transparent to him. No place to hide anything. All is in the open (Hebrews Chapter 4 verse 13).
Our knowledge of Jesus is partial, limited by our sinfulness. St Paul writing in his first letter to the Christians at Corinth, about seeing and knowing Jesus, wrote “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror, then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known” (chapter 13 verse 12).
For all committed to Jesus he promises “you will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (St John Chapter 8 verse 32).

If you use chemicals you return to the “weapons of mass destruction” beloved by George Bush during his time as President of the USA. The difference this time is that there seems to be evidence of their existence from the carnage in Douma.
The Syrian-American Medical Society said more than 500 people were brought to medical centres with symptoms “indicative of exposure to a chemical agent”. It said this included breathing difficulties, bluish skin, mouth foaming, corneal burns and “the emission of chlorine-like odour”.
It appears that bombs filled with toxic chemicals were dropped on Douma, in the Eastern Ghouta region, near the capital Damascus, by Syrian government forces. The gas, being heavier than air, seeped into the underground shelters where many were taking refuge from the bombing. The current death count is 70 but this is guesswork. Those suffocated can be counted. Those contaminated face a lingering fate.
The US, UK, and French rocket attacks this morning came a week after the chemical attack. They were aimed at alleged chemical plants. The intention was to be precise avoiding hitting the Russian military who are there to assist the Syrian army. The objective was to make Assad think twice before he used chemicals again. It was not to interfere with the war Assad has been conducting against ‘terrorists’ over the last seven years. In it he has not only been aided by Russia but by Iran and Hezbollah. None of them could be termed friends of Israel, their next door neighbour who is busy repelling the Hamas inspired stone-throwing on its Southern border.
There are many agenda’s operating here. Russia requires an ally and a Mediterranean Sea base for her ships. Bashar al Assad wants to cement his dictatorship. Iran wishes her ally, the Hezbollah, to have a good base to wipe out Israel. The West need to appear strong in the face of the new threat of chemical warfare posed by the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury last month.
So what is God’s agenda? To work this out you need to listen to Jesus and take a long look at Israel. “Tell us,” asked the disciples “when will you come back”? After warning them against false ‘Christs’ he spoke of, among other things, wars involving nations against nations (St Matthew Chapter 24 verses 4/14).
The Prophet Ezekiel foretells the destruction of Israel’s pagan oppressors (Chapter 38 verses 21:39/6) and St John writing from Patmos envisages the end times as the pagan armies’ surround Jerusalem and ‘fire came down from heaven and consumed them’ (Revelation Chapter 20 verses 8/9). The believer in Jesus is part of the new Israel of God – “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.
Take it to heart and make it your own this great statement of St Paul written in Galatians Chapter 6 verses 14/16.