As I drove home from Dublin the car radio belted out Cherubino’s aria “What a glorious thing is war” from Mozart’s opera “The Marriage of Figaro” and I couldn’t help feeling how the arts perpetuate the fallacy that war is glamorous.    It is a major component in our childhood.

As children in the playground (we were segregated from the girls) we acted out our aggression from the earliest age, ironically using the concrete air raid shelters in the school yard as part of the battleground.    Later when we developed bicep’s these were used to settle disputes which usually ended with someone drawing blood or the arrival of a teacher – whichever came first!

Throughout the teenage years energy was expended in various sports and any fights were carried out in the controlled environment of the boxing ring.

WW2 had ended and the bomb damage was considerable especially around harbours in the UK as the enemy had tried to starve the population.    Damage to soldiers who survived was infinitely greater, many bearing physical wounds and dreadful mental scarring.   It was the latter which was cloaked in silence.    Men returning from the front, after both world wars, did not speak about the horrors they had experienced. The contrast with Cherubino’s aria could not have been greater.  

The use of war as a means to settle matters of nationalistic pride is worse than useless, frequently copper fastening the dispute it sought to resolve.   It festers in the folklore and may erupt long after the fighting has stopped.   “Freedom fighters” globally believe the opposite!   All they want is a cause, weapons and a martyr’s death.   The school playground battles are played out on a national scale the appeal of the gun trumping the ballot box.

It was so from the beginning.    Did not Cain kill his brother because he was a murderer (1 John Chapter 3 verse 12) and this was the Bible’s first family!   Later when there were Kings we are told that at least part of King David’s problem was his absence from the battlefield (2 Samuel Chapter 11 verse 1).   The need to defend borders with arms was (and is) universal.

The New Testament covers the period when the Roman armies controlled most things in the region.    Jesus’ attitude of friendly assistance must have been hard to follow (St Matthew Chapter 5 verse 41). 

In a world where war is the norm the Scriptures use war as a metaphor for sin living within us battling against our desire to do the right thing (Romans Chapter 7 verse 21-25).    St Paul asks the question, who will rescue me?   The answer comes forth in the resounding claim that rescue or rather salvation is found in our faith being planted in the work of Jesus Christ.    He is both the immediate rescuer and the ultimate rescuer of those who surrender to him.

We will have our Cherubino’s who want to celebrate the 1916 Rising as something glorious.

Instead it should be remembered as part of our history and do something about the ongoing war within which robs us of our peace with God and with our fellow human beings.

It had been a long wait but God had given Simeon great patience.   It had been revealed to him that he would live to see the Messiah.   The Holy Spirit was upon Simeon when he went to the Temple at exactly the time Mary and Joseph brought the infant Jesus, now 40 days old, to the Temple to be circumcised and to make the appropriate thanksgiving offering.

Simeon took Jesus in his arms, blessed God and declared that his life’s work was over.   He had seen the ‘bringer of salvation for Israel and the one who would enlighten the Gentiles’ (St Luke Chapter 2 verses 22-32).

The next visit to the temple was at Passover when Jesus was age 12.   He had now reached the age of accountability. He is responsible to keep God’s commands.   This was probably his bar mitzvah.  The boy would be brought to the Temple courtyard to receive the priest’s and elder’s blessings. We can only speculate, but perhaps the Bible accounts of the twelve-year-old Jesus in the Temple were included, among other things, to show us that he passed through the traditional Jewish rites of his day.

In this case Jesus not only received blessing, but He was also a blessing to all who spoke with him.

His parents were three days without him.   One day’s journey before he was missed.   One day’s journey back to Jerusalem and one day looking in all the wrong places!

The three days with the teachers must have covered a lot of the Law! (St Luke Chapter 2 verses 41-49).

At the start of his ministry Jesus was in Jerusalem at Passover time.   He entered the temple and finding the place a market made a whip of cords and drove the traders out.   Instead of being fazed by this the disciples remembered the scripture, “Zeal for your house will consume me” (Psalm 69 verse 9).

At the end of his ministry, it was again Passover time and he repeated his cleansing act referring to the temple by the name Isaiah used – “a house of Prayer”.

Possibly the first cleansing was a warning and the second a judgement on the leaders of Israel (Isaiah Chapter 56 verse 7; St Matthew Chapter 21 verse 12-13).

The final visit to the temple was by the Holy Spirit.  The visit coincided with Jesus breathing his last on the cross and yielding up his Spirit.   The temple curtain which was 60 feet high and 30 feet wide, was supernaturally torn in two from top to bottom opening the way to the Holy of Holies (St Matthew Chapter 27 verses 50-51).    Previously, entry was only made by the High Priest once a year carrying the blood of the animal sacrifice to make atonement for the people.

With the death of Jesus a new and living way was opened through his sacrifice on the cross.   Animal sacrifices were now made obsolete and the work of the priest altered to proclaiming the Gospel.   In his letter to the church at Rome St Paul writes that the fruit of this ministry is Gentile converts, duly sanctified by the Holy Spirit and offered up to God as acceptable offerings (Romans Chapter 15 verses 15-16).

There will be no more trips to the temple (rebuilt?) until the Lord returns.  In the meantime the priestly work continues culminating perhaps with a turning of the Jews to Jesus in your lifetime?    God willing it may be so (Romans Chapter 11 verses 25-27).

We knew it happens.   It’s embedded in our nature.  But the sheer audacity of the phrase coming over the airwaves was astonishing.   No such thing as nuance!   No subtlety involved – just straight out with it – what’s my cut?

In the world of kickbacks, Irish business has never been behind the curve.

This incident was recorded by RTE who set up a fictitious company which was looking for permission to build wind farms.  It approached local councillors to see how this could be achieved.   The three representatives who were secretly recorded were caught seeking to feather their own nests.

When challenged by the airing of the programme this week the trio were combative and self-confident with one actually claiming that he knew it was a set up and was playing along with his questions!    In another case his fellow councillors have required his resignation.   Resigning electorally is a bit of a bonus!   History shows that it does the felon’s candidature no harm at all.   In fact the result is usually a substantial increase in the polls!   The guilty who get caught cry out infamy, infamy.  They have got it ‘in for me’!!  The sympathy vote follows.

So much for our keepers of civic order.   Pity the constituents, had it been a real application, to have a wind farm imposed upon them.    The tribunals of the last 25 years testify to a level of corruption from the top down.   With the prevailing culture of impunity, the guilty go free even getting their legal fees paid!

Perhaps the clearest parallel in the Bible came from the mouth of Judas who, when conversing with the Chief Priests over the betrayal of Jesus, asked “What’s in it for me?”

St John has the official version, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?”   And they paid him 30 pieces of silver.   And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.”

Judas was known to be fond of money.   In fact he was a thief and as the treasurer he had plenty of opportunities to help himself (St John Chapter 12 verses 4-6).    Greed had blinded him and the devil had possessed him (St John Chapter 6 verse 70).   The devil’s promptings are recorded at the foot-washing of the disciples when Judas saw a way to make some money by informing on Jesus.   This grew to a full-blown satanic attack.   Judas was now in the evil one’s control (St John Chapter 13 verses 2 and 27).

When Judas saw that Jesus was condemned to death, remorse seized him.   He made his confession to the Priests who didn’t want to know.   He threw the money into the Temple and went away and hanged himself (St Matthew Chapter 27 verses 3-10).

The story of Judas’s downfall is not a pleasant one.   Nor is it intended to be.   It is a wakeup call to all who read it, to look to our own guilt.   It cannot be offloaded to priests.   It needs to be repented of.   The repentance needs to be from the heart – “godly grief” St Paul called it when he contrasted it with the “worldly grief” shown perhaps by Judas (2 Corinthians Chapter 7 verse 10).

The irony of the story is that while all this was going on an atonement was being made on a hill outside the city wall as the crucified Christ provided a redemption for us repentant Judas’s of this world.  ‘In our place condemned he stood.’  And on the cross he ‘sealed our pardon with his blood.’   And we can add with the hymn writer Philip Bliss ‘Hallelujah what a Saviour.’

The utopian vision of a clean and green planet may be just round the corner if only we could get our act together.   Co-operation between the G7 and many countries at the mammoth meeting in Paris this week produced much hot air and did little to reduce the global warming!

Peter Heslam has traced the pollution process from around 1780 when, thanks to steam power production moved from the weaver’s cottage to the factory.

The second industrial revolution came with the availability of electricity and the production of steel.    This was followed with Henry Ford’s brainwave – the moving assembly line where work came to workers at the speed the boss dictated!

These three stages provided the wherewithal to expand (amongst other things) our system of education, developed democracy and produced the modern city.   They also plundered the planet’s coal, gas and oil supplies polluting land, sea and air in their extraction.

Whilst these continue the next three development stages promise better things.

The computer age started some 60 years ago.   This continues to evolve into ever smaller devices dramatically changing how things are done.

Next came the development of the internet with its great fount of knowledge rendering encyclopaedias redundant overnight!   The dynamic of digital marketing is still in its infancy but is already transforming how we do business.

The factory is returning to the weaver’s cottage – this time however the cottage could be in Africa as working from home progresses!

And finally, the drive for clean power.  One initiative, launched in June 2015, is the Global Apollo Programme.  This is a call for a major global science and economics research programme to make carbon-free electricity less costly than electricity from coal by the year 2025.

Another is the plane “Solar impulse”.   It left Abi Dhabi in March this year on a solar powered flight to circumnavigate the globe with 13 stops en route.    It reached Hawaii in July and is undergoing repairs to the batteries.   Its last leg of the journey was the world’s longest solo, solar-powered flight both by time (117 hours, 52 minutes) and distance (4,481 miles).

The drive for clean energy is on!   Perhaps this is what was expected of us when our first parents were called upon to be stewards of all that was created, not to exploit it but to cause it to flourish (Genesis Chapter 1 verses 28 to 31).

Some would agree with Abraham Kuyper that God kept hidden the ‘discoveries’ of man until the time was ripe for them to be revealed.   This controlled revelation was unfortunately shot through with greed and exploitation at the hands of sinner man.

Neither is it any accident that the great revivals of Christianity followed some of the darkest days of the industrial revolution.   God’s hand can be seen in history.   It is His – story!

The burning of fossil fuels to release their non-renewable energy is like man’s efforts to get right with God by his own efforts – doomed to end in a mess!

Solar energy, which comes to us from above, could be likened to God’s gift of transforming grace in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross, imbuing us with all the energy we need to engage in our task of stewardship of all that he has created St Mark Chapter 16 verse 15).

 It comes to all of us sooner or later.   That is assuming we are fortunate to have a pension in addition to the State one.   There is the further assumption – that we are enthusiastic about meeting with former colleagues who once may have lorded it over us or vice versa!

Then there is the seating arrangements!   By and large the HR department do a good job at observing who gets on well with who and are to be congratulated.   There are always going to be the smart boys who gang up to ensure that they sit together over-riding any arrangement which may have distributed them around the tables.

Unless you are endowed with steel tonsils your voice will only reach a maximum of three at the table so sustained conversation is hard to achieve.   It is made all the harder by the constant canned music without which it seems there cannot be a party!

The public saying of grace was dispensed with some 10 years ago.   This seems a pity as we are treated to a recital of the company’s fine results with especial emphasis on the performance of the pension scheme!    There follows an excellent meal with all the appropriate seasonal fare.   So much to be thankful for.   So much taken for granted!

Of course there is the sobering moment in the proceedings when the names of those who died in the past twelve months are read out.    This reminder of our own mortality is not dwelled upon and is soon submerged in the pulling of crackers, paper hats and the usual junk that falls onto the table.

There are overtones however in the dominant themes of our conversations.   “How’s the health?”   “You are looking well.”   And the white lie, “You are looking younger than ever!”   Then there is the age question!   This only applies after you have been going to these events for a number of years.

“But what age are you?”   A competitive edge creeps into the longevity stakes!   Regression to the childhood fixation with wishing to be older – and still standing!

The Bible tells us to “Number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Psalm chapter 90 verse 12).   And where is this wisdom to be found?   It is in Jesus who became to us wisdom from God (1 Corinthians Chapter 1 verse 30).

Let’s tune into some of this wisdom.   “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?  And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?  And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor pin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.  But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (St Matthew chapter 6 verses 26 – 34).

It’s so simple, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness”.   Jesus is our righteousness (1 Corinthians Chapter 1 verse 30).    Jesus is the door to the kingdom.   The way in is through Him.   “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved” (St John chapter 10 verse 9).   Trust Him.

Uncle John was the life and soul of the party! He was a very capable farmer in his day. It was largely due to his efforts that he broke in a bare piece of Aberdeenshire and carved a farm out of the hillside at Feith Hill.

Much of the stone and rock had been cleared away in his father’s time but John brought the land into fertility.

Unfortunately it was not the only thing he has a passion for. Uncle John was an alcoholic. Initially he disguised it well and managed to handle his weekly visit to the mart although the journey home got increasingly difficult. Our house was a regular port of call where strong coffee was ministered to better prepare him for the road.

John died of throat cancer. The family diagnosis was that the whisky had burned his throat. He died bankrupt. The farm sold. The family scattered.

The revelation on social media by Natasha Eddrey this last week of her famous Jockey father’s alcoholism brought Uncle John to mind. Many were aware that Pat Eddrey had a drink problem but it was surrounded by the usual conspiracy of silence. The breaking of the silence went right to the national conscience where buried lies the heartbreak of addiction in almost every family in the land.

“I don’t have a drink problem” usually heralds its arrival! Denial, that ever present component of the culture, kicks in. Relationships with those you love become frayed. The subject becomes taboo. The behaviour gets more erratic. Isolation follows.

It doesn’t have to be drink. The pain of being me can be dulled by drugs, whether painkillers or pot. Comfort food, sugar and obesity are often precursor to problems. For the tecky there is the addiction of the internet with its cesspool of porn. All these family secrets get exposed sooner or later. Addictions nearly always win in the end.

It is such a pity that our patron Saint gets lampooned these days instead of being listened to. In his major work ‘Confession’ he starts with the humble words “I, Patrick, a sinner.” This is where we need to begin if we are ever to be freed from our addictions right there in the heart of Romans Chapter 3 verses 10- 31! The language is so stark that we may have difficulty in recognising ourselves in it. Strange we have no such difficulty in recognising others in there!

Having shown the futility of law keeping, of trying to do better, as a means of getting right with God, (and with ourselves), St Paul unveils the way of faith in the work of Jesus redeeming love on the cross. This faith which redeems is the only hope for us addicts to break the power of addiction, but even if it does not, still present us faultless before the throne of God. Jude verses 20/25.

There will be many in heaven whose addictions robbed them of their joy on earth. There will be none in heaven whose faith was in themselves and not in Jesus alone.

‘Jihadi John is dead – long live Jihadi John’.

By removing one Jihadi John with a Hellfire Missile, carried by a drone which was launched from the UK, the US has paved the way for more Jihadi Johns’.   Like the serpent in Greek mythology, the Hydra of Lerna, when one of its heads is cut off it is replaced by two others!

It would be crediting ISIS with perhaps too much organisational ability to say that the events last night in Paris were triggered by the demise of Jihadi John but then again how much of a command structure is required to launch a group of suicidal killers?   No plans for a safe return are necessary as the combatants intend to blow themselves up when their ammunition runs out.

Again we need to consider the religious aspect of the mission.   In ISIS brand of Islam death appears to be the highest value.    This value is enhanced by the number of kafirs (disbelievers) they can take with them.    By any count last night’s massacres can only be an encouragement to their colleagues.

In selecting restaurants, a concert hall and the national stadium as places to target people the gunmen appear to be randomly selecting locations where people congregate.   This is unlike the “Charlie Hebdo” shoot-up in January where the magazine’s cartoons were provocative, attracting ISIS warnings and eventually action.

ISIS shooting escapade in Tunisia and the bringing down of the Russian plane in Arabia proved effective in, amongst other things, wrecking the tourist economy upon which these Arab countries rely.    Last night’s attacks appear to have been designed to create fear in the Parisian population and demonstrate how easily the group could target other cities.

Fear is one of our basic instincts.  ISIS black garments with eye slit in the hood are fearful.   Their targeting of Christians (among others) in their deadly campaigns brings us right into Jesus words to his first evangelists who were to go to the Jews, who thought they knew it all, with the good news that the Messiah had come!    He promised them a torrid time.    Christianity always runs contrary to the will of the flesh (St Matthew Chapter 10 verses 17-25).

But Jesus did not leave the disciples with their fears.   He taught them the ‘healthy’ form of fear which is the beginning of wisdom.    “Do not be afraid of them” that is the people you see.  “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul” they are limited in what they can do.  There is one to fear and that is God who has the ultimate sanction of hell (verses 26-28).

Does Jesus know about ISIS?   “There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known” (verse 26).   Does Jesus know about us?   “He sees the fall of the sparrow and even the very hairs of our head are numbered.   So don’t be afraid you are worth more than many sparrows” (verses 29-30).

Then comes the Christian’s mandate for times such as these; “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.   But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven” (Verses 32-33).

It’s been an interesting week for banks.   One took a gamble that it would remain popular and rid itself of those expensive commodities – the small time customer.   The other offered to repay some of the mountain of debt which, though welcome, simply goes to repay the money the State borrowed to bail it out in the first place.

The audacity of the first bank’s approach in forgetting that it wouldn’t exist if we had not stepped in to save it during the recent recession shows how detached a service industry can get from its customers.

In forcing its clients to deal outside the bank door at the ATM increases vulnerable people to theft.   Nor does today’s picture of our border bandits’ destruction of a petrol station, where an excavator was used to dig out the ATM, do anything to inspire confidence in these machines.

We also had the Taoiseach’s spoof in a speech in Europe last week describing the dire state of Ireland during the recession.   In it he recalled a conversation with the governor of our central bank in which he said the use for soldiers to guard ATM’s was considered.   Perhaps his words will yet be seen to be prophetic!

Everyone knows that the root of all kinds of evils is the love of money (1 Timothy chapter 6 verse 10).   It is not money that is the problem but our love of it.

The god mammon is not only attractive to bandits but also bankers.   The former take enormous risks to get other people’s money.   The latter likewise but on a larger scale.   In fact large numbers of graduates shun creative work for the pleasure of playing a numbers game with other people’s money in a global giant corporate roulette!

Jesus knew all about mammon.   He could see how easily it could capture the heart.   His teaching to his followers to do their banking in heaven (the money would never be safe on earth) concluded with “for where your treasure is your heart will be also” (St Matthew chapter 6 verses 19 to 21).

We know just how much we love money when we come to give it away!   Mammon will give you many reasons why you should keep it.   You have earned it.  It is yours by right.   There must be reasons why others are poor!   They would only waste it!!

St Paul’s antidote to this way of thinking is written down for us in his letter to the Philippians.   “So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.   Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.   Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Chapter 2 verses 1 to 4).

Mammon or Christ?   Make sure who you are following.

Governments and other power brokers have always recognised the strategic importance of the womb.    Gaining control over the reproductive process is one way to play god.   This week the Chinese law restricting married couples to one child is to end.   This concludes the largest population control experiment, designed by Chairman Mao and inflicted on his people.

It is reckoned to have prevented 400,000,000 births since first imposed in 1980.   These are the sort of figures we usually associate with the number of abortions in the US over roughly the same time period.   People power or Chairman Mao’s power produce the same outcome.

In China, where women have little say in the matter, there has been a preference for boys.   This has produced an unnatural imbalance of 30 million more males in the population.     There may have been a predisposition to this as a Chinese proverb on marital bliss says “may you be blessed with 100 sons and 1,000 grandsons”.   Daughters don’t get a mention!

The law was first relaxed in 2013 with permission to have a second child being granted to those who were themselves only children.   It was assumed that this would alter the demographic but it seems that things have not gone according to plan.

China is rapidly being urbanised with city life attracting many of childbearing age to take up careers.   This in turn has produced a disincentive to have children or perhaps, as in the west, defer starting a family till later in life.

It is a recurring theme in Scripture that the Lord has control over the fruit of the womb.   In the case of Hannah, who was barren, the Lord marked Samuel’s birth by the years of devotion of the godly Hannah in the face of provocation from her rival, Peninnah, which led to the high priest Eli blessing her and prophesying the birth of Samuel.

One of the things that encouraged the hesitant Jeremiah was the revelation that came to him in his teens confirming his calling: – “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations” (Chapter 1 verse 5).

Again when Jesus entered the world we learn that the naming process took place before he was conceived in the womb (Luke Chapter 2 verse 21).  As so often in the Bible the person’s name equals their nature.  It gives you the clue as to what they are about.   St Matthew tells us the angel gave him the name Jesus because “he would save his people from their sins” (Chapter 1 verse 21) this was to be his job.    He did it faithfully till on the cross he uttered his last words “It is finished” (St John Chapter 19 verse 30) not “I am finished” as we might have said.    His work of salvation was completed.  Nothing is required to be added to it.  It has been accomplished.

While mankind will always be tempted to mess with wombs as it plays god with others’ lives there is forgiveness and a new start for those involved in the mess who change direction, sincerely repent and receive the love gift of the Holy Spirit who will remain in you forever.

Being part of a multi ethnic church affords us glimpses of the wonder of the seasons through the eyes of folk from the tropics. We are blessed with four seasons each with its own beauty. The freshness of spring flows into the glories of summer and then comes the wonder of the autumn tints to be followed by winters’ sombre hues.

All this we take largely for granted whereas the transformation is dramatic when viewed for the first time through the eyes of someone from a mono-season climate.

Perhaps the beauty of the seasons inspired the German Christian who penned the hymn ‘Fairest Lord Jesus, Ruler of all nature, Son of God and Son of Man!

Written in 1677 the second verse makes the comparison; –

Fair are the meadows, fair are the woodlands,

Robed in the blooming garb of spring:

Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer,

Who makes the woeful heart to sing.

All of which reminds me of the conversation between an Oxford theologian and Sadu Sunder Singh at Keswick Convention many years ago. The Sadu had been converted when a vision of Christ appeared to him in the night proclaiming “I am the Way the Truth and the Life” (St John Chapter 14 verse 6).

A life of hardship followed starting with being poisoned by his family who were high caste Sikhs.

His passion, like St Paul before him, was to take the gospel to places where it had never been before (Romans Chapter 15 verse 20) making an annual mission to travel into Tibet where he met with fierce opposition but also miraculous conversions.

At Keswick the theologian asked him what attracted him, a high caste Sikh, to Christianity? Was it the ethical teachings? Was it the laws? Was it the care for the outcast? To each question the Sadu answered with his face beaming, “Jesus Christ”!

We all want to divide up Christ but he is more than the sum of his attributes.

It was in the context of Christian giving that St Paul could not find words to express the wonder of God’s gift to us in Jesus Christ; “Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift” (2Corinthians Chapter 9 verse 15). Or as our hymn writer put it; –

Beautiful Saviour! Lord of the nations!

Son of God and Son of Man!

Glory and honour, praise, adoration,

Now and for evermore be Thine.