It was one of the Ancients (I cannot remember which) who in the depth of despair at the absurdity of all things was captivated by the beauty of the first dandelion in Spring! It led him to place his faith in a Creator God over against the pantheon of gods being worshipped at that time.
Walking through the 14 acres, normally the driest field on the farm and squelching across grass that felt like a sponge, I came across the humble dandelion shining brightly in the wet. I know it is a poor substitute for a rainbow but it is a portent of growth to come.

Much ink has been spilt recently describing the plight of farmers trying to cope in the longest, wettest, stormiest winter in our lifetime. It has left a trail of blown timber, broken fences and flattened hedges that will take some time to repair. Constant rain and poor drying conditions have taken a severe toll of the land. But it is the stock that have suffered most. The sheep in the front field normally get plenty to eat but there is little or no growth of grass. There is normally a bit of mud but this year the ground is so slippery that it is difficult to walk across it. The ewes tend to get a little dirty but now even the lambs, usually white, could do with a wash!

It is not all that unusual to have cattle in sheds on the 7th April although a few may have been let out by this time to sample the fresh grass but not this year. With the water table literally at grass roots their hooves would destroy the vegetation mat and retard any grass growth that had occurred. This puts pressure on the remaining fodder and creates major difficulties in farms where it has all been eaten. To ease the situation fodder is being imported from the UK and the Continent and the government is assisting with its distribution.
Most of the calves are now born and these have increased pressure on shed capacity. There is also a bedding problem as the straw used for that purpose has been served up as food.
All in all, it’s a difficult time to be a farmer in Ireland!
However today we had a taste of spring sunshine. Metaphorically its perhaps the time for Noah to put out the dove (Genesis Chapter 8 verses 10/11).

The view in the garden is somewhat brighter. Primroses with their shining yellow faces have spread themselves in the rockery and the heaths have put on a show of purple outside the kitchen window. The faithful daffodils are again brightening up the farm road and the Blue Tits are investigating the nest boxes on the Scots pine. Just a few moments ago I watched a Tree Creeper poking his long curved bill into the bark of a Poplar tree so the insect world must be alive and available! All are harbingers of Spring – and we complain because they are a little late!

Severe weather has long been considered to be connected to the judgement of God. The residual guilt in our nature prompts such conclusions. But the blessings and benefits of God are not related to our behaviour but come to us by his grace. God is in no doubt regarding our sinfulness “every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood” (verse 21) but this knowledge does not curtail his promises. Amongst these are this promise out of his providence “As long as the earth endured, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease” (verse 22).
And promises out of his redeeming love in Jesus “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good” (Titus Chapter 2 verses 11/14).
This salvation is from God who does not change his mind. St James writes “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us (new) birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created.” (Chapter 2 verse 17/18).

After an 8 week-long trial a number of rugby players were acquitted of the charge of rape. The woman was placed behind a screen in the court to preserve her anonymity. The rugby players were in the full glare of the media which reported the case in great detail.

The men’s acquittal sparked protests around the country as many came onto the streets in sympathy with the woman. There was a feeling that after being cross-examined for 8 days during the trial the case had been made, by the then 19-year-old woman, that there was no consent. It was on this matter of the woman’s consent spoken or implied upon which the case hung.
What happened in Belfast is the outcome of an increasingly relaxed approach to sexual intercourse. The goddess Aphrodite has shaken off the self-control that curbed her activities in the past. Many now worship at her altar sacrificing lasting relationships, unborn children and emotional maturity for promises of instant gratification. But it is her addictive properties that are so damaging causing her worshippers to return like a dog to its vomit (2 Peter 2v22) time and again.
This self-control comes from the Holy Spirit. St Paul lays it out for us in his letter to the Galatians in the 5th Chapter verses 19 -24.
“The works of the sinful nature are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” It is the absence of self-control that is evident today. St Paul continues, “And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

Christ and the Spirit come together in this passage as the source of the believer’s life. Christians have crucified the flesh or died with Christ to sin. The old order has passed. Our trouble is that we get down from the cross then are overcome by the resurgence of the sinful nature. It caused St Paul to go into fitness training as he mentions in his first letter at the start of his ministry “But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified” (1 Corinthians Chapter 9 verse 27).

There is no other way to combat moral evil in a sex-sodden society. In the absence of other moral defences, if we try to make consent the solitary moral norm, we will not be able to protect anyone in the long run. Without the Biblical marriage ethic, it may well be that the ultimate goal of those who introduced same-sex marriage will succeed. That goal is the destruction of marriage and redefining of family.

The only consent that we should follow is like that of Israel as recorded by Jeremiah in Chapter 18 verse 6, “Can I not do with you as this potter has done? Declares the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel”.
Our response; Have thine own way Lord, have thine own way…

“The only thing George Orwell got wrong” said Tony in the Men’s Shed “was the date 1984”!
The famous futuristic book has come to pass. The ‘thought police’ have arrived. You are known and that means a lot more than your postal address and email!

Recent revelations have shown that the data-mining and consultancy company, Cambridge Analytica, have been harvesting the personal information of Facebook users, without the permission of the users. Everything you ‘like’ is recorded in the famous algorithm which analyses what matters turn you on and what you dislike.

With such a wealth of information, when Trump was electioneering in Ohio for instance, he could get location specific details to tailor his speech to suit the ‘likes’ of the majority of his audience! Before you write this off as a US problem you should know that Cambridge Analytica were involved in the Brexit campaign which may help to account for the result which took even Johnston and Farage by surprise.
It seemed a small piece of research that Cambridge Analytica carried out. It was in the form of a personality quiz in which existing Facebook users revealed their thoughts. These were matched against the existing data (the ‘likes’) to fill in the thinking which led to the choices. Only 270,000 people completed the quiz but the company now had access to their friends! Again, without permission, and it is reckoned that the friends amounted to 50 million, providing a rich data harvest!

So what about the other networks? There is Instagram. Always a favourite for those who like pictures. It is owned by Facebook and if you are using the same email address for both this helps to locate your data and especially your home location. Then there is WhatsApp another Facebook acquisition. It is encrypted so your messages are safe. However, there is a lot of background information such as the frequency of usage, phone contacts and use of ‘cookies’ to harvest. Then there is Messenger. Facebook has admitted scanning their messenger chats to better understand their user’s needs.
Facebook has itself reaped a large revenue from advertisements targeted at user’s preferences. This has seen something of a setback this week with the withdrawal of Mozilla and other major purchasers of advertising space. Cambridge Analytica will come under more scrutiny but the fact remains that the preferences of millions and more importantly the thinking that influenced those preferences is ‘out there’ and there are no controls on its usage!

The Bible has always shown God to be all knowing, all seeing and ever present. The Psalmist recognises this and writes “You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar” (139 verse 2).
Jesus, who the writer to the Hebrews states is the exact representation of God’s being, knew what was in the heart of man (St John Chapter 2 verse 25). This understanding enabled John to go on to write chapter 3 of his Gospel when Nicodemus came looking for Jesus one night. Nicodemus was looking for information and addressed Jesus as teacher. It wasn’t more information he needed it was a correct understanding of what he already knew. After telling him that a radical change was required he revealed that he, Jesus, was to be the crucified (lifted up) opening up a way for those who believed in him to have eternal life (Chapter 3 verses 3 to 14).

Nicodemus went on to defend Jesus before the Pharisees and later to assist in bringing Jesus body to the tomb. These were courageous acts for a man who was not only a Pharisee but a member of their ruling council (St John Chapters 19 and 7 verses 39 and 50).

We don’t need to be concerned by “thought police” but we do need to grasp what Nicodemus came to understand, it’s not more information we need but faith in the crucified and risen One.

This is the date St Patrick died. Many would have wished he had chosen a date in the summer as they stand shivering at one of the many parades. This year the Siberian airflow has come back to have a second bite of Ireland. There will be many groups of ‘Cheerleaders’ from the US with their minimalistic clothing returning with more than chilblains to show for their brief encounter with our erratic climate!

There is some mystery surrounding the Saint. That there was more than one seems certain. Perhaps there were a number of little Patricks, as E. O’Brien suggests, and history has lumped them into one great one! Was he perhaps mixed up with Rome’s first Bishop to Ireland – Palladius Patricius who also had a hand in converting the Irish? The popularity of the name Patrick complicates the historian’s job!

Fortunately, Saint Patrick left written accounts of his life and ministry along with a hymn which indicates the central place Christ had in his theology. These writings are to be found in the Book of Armagh (the short version) and in the rest of the manuscripts (the longer version) traceable to an Irish foundation in Eastern England around the year 650 AD.

It is unlikely that Patrick viewed himself as writing for posterity but simply wanted to place an account of his life on record. He was concerned regarding the authenticity of his ordination, which was questioned by some of his contemporaries, and he may have felt the need to demonstrate that indeed he was ordained by nailed pierced hands.

Then there is the difficulty of language. In Dr Bieler’s translation Patrick says, “What I had to say had to be translated into a tongue foreign to me, as can be easily proved by the savour of my writing, which betrays how little instruction and training I have had in the art of words.” Patrick would have been reared in the Celtic language, learned Irish when he was a slave in Ireland for 6 years and picked up conversational Latin during his time in Europe.
It is likely that Patrick dictated his material which would have been taken down on wax tablets by a scribe using a kind of shorthand. This then would have been written in full on papyrus.
For important documents the text would have undergone perhaps several revisions the final version being passed to the copyist for circulation. Normally the earlier texts would have been destroyed but some may have survived adding to the difficulties we have today.
Let us rejoice in what we do know; the Hymn known as St Patrick’s Breastplate. This portion was translated by Mrs C J Alexander.

Christ be with me, Christ within me, I bind unto myself the Name,
Christ behind me, Christ before me, The strong Name of the Trinity;
Christ beside me, Christ to win me, By invocation of the same.
Christ to comfort and restore me, The Three in One and One in Three.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Of whom all nature hath creation;
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Christ in hearts of all that love me, Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger. Salvation is of Christ the Lord.

The Supreme Court has spoken. There is no legal protection afforded by the Constitution to the baby in the womb. He or she has no rights except the right to life. This right to life is that our government want to get their hands on. That’s what the impending referendum is all about. It’s been a bad week for the unborn!
In the old days it could have been said that the Catholic Church controlled the womb. Now in a modern secular State the government want to be in control. They want it out of the Constitution where the people of Ireland placed it on 7th October 1983 when they carried a referendum to grant equal right to life of the unborn with that of the mother, saving countless lives over the last 35 years.
To gain this control they are required to de-humanise the unborn. By promoting the notion that it is not really a child but a foetus for the first 12 weeks they hope will make abortion more palatable during that period. Then there are the hard cases where they have decreed that no gestational limits should apply. These are where there is a risk to the mother’s health, rape, incest and the diagnosis of a fatal foetal condition. Actually the existing wording allows abortion in these cases.
They state their underlying principle is the make abortion safe, legal and rare copying the words uttered by Bill Clinton when he was President of the US. The “rare” aspiration has become a joke. Tacitly acknowledging this, the Minister for Health is considering the introduction of free contraception in an effort to head off the rise in unwanted pregnancies should this referendum succeed.
In the face of all this what should we do? Where is the nub of the problem? Abortionists know that they must promote the lie that the unborn is not human – only a collection of cells they say. To challenge this concept a group called the Irish Centre for Bio-ethical Reform (ICBR) are conducting a poster campaign which has two aims. The first to demonstrate that from day one of a pregnancy there is the beginning of a new, whole and unique human being with its own genetic code. The second to refute the assertion by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service that abortion is a gentle suction to remove the pregnancy. In fact, the baby is torn apart inside the mother and suctioned out in pieces.
The posters of ICBR show in clear pictorial detail both the humanity of the child and the violence of its death. So stark and irrefutable is the display that abortionists cannot bear to look at it. ICBR have sought and given interviews to the media but our media have not published any of them to date. When the display was located on the pavement outside the Irish Times the newspaper pulled down the blinds – they were unable to handle the consequences of their own editorial convictions. Similar reaction has arisen when the display was mounted outside other key locations. At the entrance to the Dial reporters took pictures but these were scarified when published.
Interestingly every major campaign in the past has required an image to bring the cause home to the public. This makes the imagery of ICBR of crucial importance.

The Bible makes no distinction between the baby in the womb and the baby in the manger. The word in the Greek ‘brephos’ applies to the baby in Mary’s womb (St Luke Chapter 1 verse 41) and the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes (St Luke Chapter 2 verse 12). There is no 12-week period of non-personhood in the Bible!
We have an amazing God who has fearfully and wonderfully made us knitting us together in our mother’s womb (Psalm 139 verses 13/14).
Just as God carried his people in times past so he will carry them through the difficult days of the present (Isaiah Chapter 46 verses 3-4).
“Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
all the remnant of the house of Israel,
who have been borne by me from before your birth,
carried from the womb;
even to your old age I am he,
and to grey hairs I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear;
I will carry and will save”. Praise Him.

The Beast is no longer ferocious. It is snowing gently now. The footsteps of last nights’ visitors, which cut through the snowdrift, have almost disappeared. Where the wind has swept the ground to a thin layer of snow, Tess the pup’s footsteps are the only signs of life.
An exception would be found around the bird feeders. The height of the snow enabled birds to eat the fat balls while standing on top of the drift. The bird table got buried when some snow came off the roof piling up to the kitchen windowsill. Feeding and drinking now is now facilitated through the window and onto the ledge.

So where did “The Beast from the East” originate? Apparently there has been a spike in Arctic temperature. Over 10 consecutive days in February the temperature, for at least part of the day, was above freezing. These recordings were made at Cape Morris Jesup on the northern tip of Greenland. At another monitoring station in Greenland the temperature rose 36C above the annual average, and for two days in February the north pole has been warmer than Zurich in Switzerland.
This jump in temperatures high over the Arctic, has weakened our jet stream that brings warm air in from the Atlantic to Ireland and Britain resulting in cold air from thousands of miles away being dragged over to us, bringing a severe chill – enter the Beast from the East!

So what happens when the Beast meets Emma? She came from Portugal whipping up a storm and tons of water as she passed over the Bay of Biscay. Despite the fact that she came from the South the rain clouds rapidly turned to snow when she met the Beast depositing her load in selected places largely in Munster and Leinster. (The UK got a hammering as well!)
The high winds which drove these meteorological events ensured that the snow would form large drifts such as those which have blocked the all the local side roads. However, the thaw has set in and there is a promise of rain which will hasten the melt.

Global climate is complicated and full of feedback loops that are not properly understood. The freak warming of the Arctic marks the emergence of a new feedback loop where increasing temperature leads to still more destabilising rises. The polar vortex, a great girdle of winds that keeps the cold air of the Arctic separate from the warmer air of temperate regions, seems to be weakening. Warm air goes north; cold air comes south. In the long run, everything grows warmer and wetter!
The weather in the Arctic has always shifted dramatically over short periods, but the drama has never been this intense since records began.

Ever since the Fall the world has been subject to futility. Indicators that point to this fact are found in many places but highlighted in the Bible in the profusion of weeds that appear in uncultivated land and in the pain of childbirth in humans (Genesis Chapter 3 verses 16/19). There is a parallel between the creation’s bondage to decay and the human sufferings of the present time. There is a groaning over the frustration of the present state we are in which will be restored to perfection when the last soul is redeemed (Romans Chapter 8 verses 18/25).

The new heavens and the new earth will have no more bondage to decay, no more groaning’s, no more Beasts from the East (Revelation Chapter 21 verses 1/4). But this is all bound up in salvation history. The Bible ties the consummation of all things to the completeness of the church – the Bride of Christ and looks to the day when the last name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

There is an intimate connection between an individual’s salvation and the renewal of the entire created order where the risen and reigning Lord Jesus will be with his people for ever (verses 5/8).

The death of Billy Graham this week at age 99 (he would have reached 100 in November) ended his ministry on earth. He was the doyen of evangelists, outliving his contemporaries and continuing to be involved in ministry well into his 90ies.
It was back in 1954 when Billy came to London and the first Crusade took place at the Harringay Arena. It was well prepared. There were 800 people praying through the night before the event began. The Crusade ran from March to the 22nd May to large crowds filling the arena. At its conclusion Dr Fisher the Archbishop of Canterbury said that Billy had taught them to begin again at the beginning with their evangelism speaking by the power of the Holy Spirit of sin and of righteousness and of judgement.
In 1955 the All Scotland Crusade took place in Glasgow’s Kelvin Hall. Billy was encouraged when he learned that Glasgow’s motto was “Let Glasgow Flourish by the Preaching of the Word and the Praising of His Name”. He preached to capacity crowds and the sermons were transmitted to many other cities and towns throughout Scotland by telephone lines.
A feature of these events were the provision of trained counsellors. These were ordinary born again believers who had to learn key verses ‘topping and tailing’ them; for example, Romans 3 verse 23 ‘for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’, Romans 3 verse 23. These key verses were explained to ‘enquirers’ (those who had responded to the message) who were then committed to the Lord in prayer and sent home with a booklet to read. The ‘enquirers’ were encouraged to attend a weekly Bible Study where many were grounded in the scriptures and went on to become members of the local church that nourished them.
There were many Crusades in the following years both in these Islands and globally. In many Ruth Graham, Billy’s wife (herself the daughter of missionaries to China where she had lived till the age of 14) was a great help to him, critiquing his sermons and raising his 5 children. On one occasion when she was home alone a man knocked at the door and when she opened it he said he was Jesus Christ!
She asked him why he knocked – why didn’t he come through the door? Dumbfounded the man went away hopefully to reconsider his misguided claim!

In many ways Billy was before his time. He was insistent that “God wants to use you right where you are. Every day you probably come in contact with people who will never enter a church, or talk with a pastor, or open a Bible – and God wants to use you to point them to Christ.” And this in a time when it was largely left to the paid professional!
He saw the need of every person being actively involved in spreading the word by lip and life.
‘Becoming a Christian’, he wrote, ‘is the work of a moment; being a Christian is the work of a lifetime’. He challenged people to pray for their colleagues and to empathise with their struggles. They should also model integrity: ‘Christians should be known in their neighbourhoods or places of business as honest people’. With such words he laid an axe to the root of the fabled Sunday Christian!
Unfortunately, today we have fallen back into the jargon. Jesus said we were to make disciples so we set up discipleship programmes inevitably identifying peoples’ minds with the 12 in the Gospel.
Perhaps we should listen to the simplicity of his language and the clarity he brought to the text. Hear him a few years ago on the subject of his death!
“Someday you will read or hear that Billy Graham is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it. I shall be more alive than I am now. I will just have changed my address. I will have gone into the presence of God.”
There is not much left to say except that he always preached the cross of Christ: –
Just as I am without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me
And that Thou bidd’st me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God I come.

It is often said that we live in a global village. Things happening on the other side of the world become news competing with our own backyard bulletins. This week the influx of Chinese material to the WhatsApp Eire CCF site on my smartphone spelled out in strange letters “A Happy New Year”! This piece of technology has been developed by former members of the Chinese Christian Fellowship in a laudable attempt to retain the good things of the past and give them an airing in the present.

The greetings were accompanied by a group photograph showing that the faces are still very recognisable despite the passage of time! Virtually all of them received their tertiary education here and some completed their schooling in our system. A number settled in Dublin and we have the joy of having in Lake in our own family circle.
The Fellowship grew into a church and divided into two Dublin churches one preaching in Mandarin and the other in Cantonese. There are a number of others in rural Ireland, the gospel flowing more easily along linguistic and cultural lines to where Chinese are resident.

The Chinese use the lunar calendar. Chinese astrology has a 12-year zodiac cycle with a different animal for each year, each with their individual characteristics. There are 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac. They are: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig.
This New Year, 2018, is the Year of Dog and people born in 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006 and 2018 are dogs! When you discover a persons’ Animal you can easily work out their age – do the maths!
Then there is the practice of ‘Red Packet’. It is mainly given to children. The red colour of the envelope symbolizes good luck and is a symbol to ward off evil spirits. The content is usually money; importance being given to whither the figure being an odd or even amount. The total number of notes in the packet carry meanings associated with good or bad luck. The distribution of red envelopes via mobile payments over the Internet is extending the practice at the expense of some of the fun!
As with Western Zodiacs all the characters are given attributes. From these can be deduced meanings or behaviours which transmit to the individual. In the case of childbirth, the mother’s birth date and the date of conception are used to make up the child’s chart.

For the believer the Bible provides guidance through life, superstition and fear being replaced by promises such as God gave to Moses for his people Israel “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 v6).

In common with the Chinese we live in a society where luck features in the reckoning of almost everyone. The concept of an all-powerful God who is in complete control – even down to the turn of the dice, “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord” (Proverbs chapter 16 verse 33) does not come naturally.

The idea that God is sovereign over all our plans is not something we are born with, “The heart of a man plans his course, but the Lord plans his steps.” Proverbs Chapter 16 verse 10).
The fact is it is in our nature to want independence not to be dependant and when that stubborn nature is conquered by God’s grace the enormity of His goodness would make us cry with the Psalmist “Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (73 verses 23/6).

I may be a few days early but the 14th will come round and you still will not have purchased that card/flowers unless you heed this reminder! The Saint is not nearly so busy these days but he is punctual, showing up each year on his anniversary!
Legend has it that Valentine was a successful promotor of marriage. It is said that his success gave Claudius the Cruel a difficult time getting soldiers to join his army. The men preferred family life! Claudius’s remedy was to ban marriage, a law which the Saint ignored, resulting in his martyrdom around the year 269AD.
Dublin’s interest has been kept alive by the Reliquary containing some of the Saint’s bones being located in Whitefriar Street Church in 1836. These are placed on the high alter on the 14th February annually when marriages are the focus of the masses that day.

The phrase in the marriage ceremony “till death do us part” is said to be an unreasonable expectation in today’s ‘flexible marriage arrangements’. Life circumstances, mutual interests, careers and other factors fluctuate and so our expectations concerning marriage should also be flexible, so the Millennials say. “It is different now-a-days.” “Mobility is the name of the game.” Flexible working hours have now morphed into flexible working premises with many working at least part-time at home. For others the mobile phone has enable the car to become their office with meetings arranged in the nearest hotel. Relationships become more fleeting and work can become a substitute for life!
For many permanent jobs are beyond reach. The boom and bust economies in the West consign saving to the past and uncertainties abound in the world of today.
So how does God view marriage? How could he convey his thoughts to his people in the most unforgettable way? What is it he loves? The church of course – the global assembly of his people.
To his people Israel he presents himself as their husband; “Your Maker is your husband– the Lord Almighty is his name– the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth” (Chapter 54 verse 5).
This binding of himself to his people using the language of the marriage bond is used throughout scripture and speaks volumes of permanency and security. It finds its highest expression in Christ’s relationship as head of his church. It breaks out in the sacrificial love of Christ for his church, his bride (Ephesians Chapter 5 verses 22/23). There can be no more powerful illustration of the value God puts on the marriages of his loved ones than that of Christ’s loving to the death his bride – the church. And he gives this example for husbands to follow!
Marriage Week starts in many countries this coming Wednesday, to encourage those fortunate enough to be married to give special time and attention to that relationship. It also provides an opportunity for those not yet married, but who do not have the gift of singleness to prayerfully decide who should get the card or flowers!

Recently at the Golden Globe’s Awards the audience of media stars were treated to a rousing address by one of the recipients. It came from Oprah Winfrey. The content of her 9-minute speech was perfectly in tune with the mood of the gathering which was female solidarity in the face of powerful male exploitation.
It was a rallying cry and all the more surprising because of who uttered it! The evening had been full of the usual sentimental jargon and seemed to be otherwise unremarkable except for the black dresses. These were being worn to show sympathy for women who had been sexually harassed, many having joined the ranks of the “me too”.
The words Oprah delivered were carefully chosen and were of the “never again” variety. Now was the time for women to take control. Men would not get away with such conduct again. Her considerable oratory powers came into play and had the effect of one well-known star recommending her as the next President!
Well-chosen words were again in evidence at the conclusion of the trial in the US of the gymnastic trainer, Dr Larry Nasser. His reign over young female gymnasts had gone on for years. His standing in the sport was so high as to make his position untouchable. With his medical background he cast an aura of authenticity over the various procedures he carried out on these athletes. He even had the support of parents to the degree that he could carry out his perversions on their daughters in front of them.
After many years of paedophilia he was tried recently and sentenced to 137 years in prison!
The victim impact statements matched the enormity of the offence. The measured delivery of the speech made by Rachel Denhollander gave great gravitas to her words. She is a Christian girl and incorporated the Gospel into her impact statement in a very clear manner.
Jesus had been saying some hard things and the crowds had faded away. He then put it to the disciples “will you too leave me?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life (St John Chapter 6 verse 68).
In a week when Bishop Dolan outlined the possible trajectory stemming from ‘abortion on demand’ to the killing of the disabled and then the elderly, in other words a culture of death, we need to be reminded of a better way.
The way of sacrificial love, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him (Jesus) shall not perish but have eternal life. Wise words and wise are those who put their faith in Jesus!