The repetitive cry emanating, usually from the back seat of the car, is guaranteed to test the patience of the most tolerant parent. It speaks of the desire for the tedium of the journey to be over and the destination reached. It is full of hope that the future will be better and that the present ordeal will soon be over. The phrase underlies the Moriarty Tribunal as it seeks to root out corruption. It has been attacked by those it is investigating and the war of words continues into its 14th year. We are not there yet! There has been a move to stop the investigations into clerical sex abuse after the report on the Cloynes dioceses. The length of time and the pain produced by the Murphy Report on the Dublin dioceses has prompted some to cry “enough”. The hope is that lessons have been learned by the church without the need of further exposures. But we are not there yet! The repeated underestimating of the banking bailout has rattled the money market. Despite Governmental assurances that the astronomical amounts now pledged are sufficient we may not be at the bottom of the debt yet. It seems that the only certainty is that today we have entered a New Year and we can say with some confidence that we are in 2011! Those reading the Bible for a motto text for the year will be conscious that we are not there yet. Even looking at the world through rose tinted spectacles there is a long way to go before we can speak about peace and justice. The all prevailing sin that puts man instead of God at the centre of our decisions empties lives of their real purpose and meaning. Instead of having a reason for living we end up with the flat earth view that excludes the God dimension and the tedium of life’s journey is exacerbated by the absence of having any destination. For many the universe is empty; there is no place to go to. The words of Jesus to questioning Thomas gave him point and purpose for living; “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (Saint John Chapter 14 verse 6) The Bible catalogues many who took that advise and encourages us to; “lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God”. (Hebrews chapter 12 verses 1/3) Are we there yet? Not quite but for those who trust in Jesus ability to “save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him” the journey is as good as over.

The severe weather which closed the airport caused major travelling disruption. Passengers were sleeping in Airports across Europe with runways closed and nowhere to go. The weather replaced the economy as the chief topic on the news with expert opinion being sought from an apologetic met office, caught on the wrong foot! “Home for Christmas” became something of a mantra. People, like confused lemmings, were migrating in great numbers in every direction. They all had this one thing in common; they wanted to get home for Christmas. The more it seemed unlikely the greater the efforts of the airlines and ferries efforts to make it happen. Christmas at home was never so desirable as when it seemed unattainable! So what awaited the travellers in this mass migration? What made Christmas so special as to throw money at airlines to get home for Christmas? Was it the delights of a family reunion? Perhaps the thought of the presents about to be exchanged or the turkey or the plum pudding or the drink? Or even the “crashing out” in front of the “telly” with stomachs distended from one mince pie too many! Whatever the attraction it is unlikely to have much to do with the climactic event which took place in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago. References to the Christ child may appear in the traditional Christmas cards and a few may even quote scripture but the magnitude of the event has been eroded by our disbelief. Even when taught to the children the coming of Christ is gazumped by Santa Claus who now reigns supreme. So what does the Bible have to say about all this? Well there was a journey – from Nazareth to Bethlehem. It was arduous and Bethlehem was full of people – probably some sleeping rough. Accommodation for the young couple was eventually found in a stable where the Saviour was born. The first visitors were shepherds, tough folk who wouldn’t have been put off by the angels directing them to a stable. They believed the message and were the first to meet Jesus. Later when the family went up to Jerusalem to observe the purification rites they met two other believers, Simeon and Anna, elderly folk who were anticipating the arrival of the Lord’s Christ. The Magi came later and then came the flight to Egypt for safety. Not a very auspicious start to a ministry whose followers now are to be found in almost every nation on earth. Never the less it’s a birth which triggers the sometimes frantic scramble to be “home for Christmas”. And among those who find their way into churches there will be the Simeon’s and Anna’s of today, men and women who recognise the powerful love of God in Christ and the life transforming impact His love has on all who will receive it. His initial rejection was predicted as was today’s faithful family of believers. As Saint John put it in chapter 1 verses 11 to 13, “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

The release of Chapter 19 of the Murphy Report has renewed the mental anguish for the many children Fr Tony Walsh sexually abused. Sadly some have committed suicide but the trail of misery does not end there it continues in the distorted sexual behaviour in many families throughout the land. It becomes the family secret. It haunts the lives of those affected. It becomes the pit from which there seems to be no escape. From whence came this convoluted sexuality? The failed sexual revolution of the sixties spawned the notion of “free love”. This proved to be neither love nor free but simply created the environment for lust to flourish. This was followed by “woman’s liberation”. The results were similar and whilst acknowledging it produced some benefits there has been a distortion of the female figure to that of a sex symbol. “Liberation” has become bondage to the fantasy of the beautiful body. This quest has been fuelled by newspapers, magazines, novels, film and TV. Each puts an increasingly high value on explicit sex to sell its product in this race to reach the lowest common denominator. But the breakthrough in the race to the bottom came with the internet. Previously you got what you bought but now you are in control; you can pick and choose your poison. Sexual addiction flourishes behind closed doors. The laptop in the bedroom or the iPod in the pocket need to be handled with self control – an ingredient which is in short supply these days. What help can the Bible offer? Muslim States have their own problems but they cannot understand how Christian countries can end up with the opposite values to Jesus Christ. His values of purity and self-control are scarce in our Western culture. It seems that having let the genie out of the bottle there is no way it can be returned. Saint Paul’s advice to young Timothy was to “flee youthful lusts” and in a wider context to the church at Rome, (as in J B Phillip’s paraphrase) “do not let the world squeeze you into its mould”. But who is listening? Perhaps it was like that at Ephesus where Saint Paul, (in chapter 4) makes a distinction between the non-believing Gentiles and the converts to Christ: “Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.18They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” In verses 22/24 Saint Paul describes the conversion experience focusing here on the believer’s minds to come under the guidance of Christ. That is the only way of escape from the sexual addictions so rampant today.

Tears and anger were vented at the felling of the “holy hawthorn” of Glastonbury. Someone with a chainsaw stretched over the circular fence which surrounded it and severed the ancient tree leaving a six foot stump. Apparently the last time it was cut down was by Cromwell’s soldiers. They seemed to have done a better job as only the roots remained. These roots were allegedly planted in 1951 to product this tree and three others growing around the town. Of course the original tree is attributed to Joseph of Arimathea who brought the seed (along with the “Holy Grail” the chalice which Jesus used at the last Passover) to Somerset. Why he should have brought either to “England’s green and pleasant land” is a question that only a British Israelite could answer! The fence surrounding the tree is shown festooned with token rags reflecting the devotion of many to their belief in pantheism. Perhaps someone will tell the mourners that hawthorn has a habit of sprouting so they can look forward to a “resurrection” in due course! My question is, are they barking up the wrong tree? What does the Bible say about trees? There are three notable trees in Scripture. The first in Genesis is called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The description of such knowledge encompasses the entire spectrum of moral experience. Nothing is omitted. This is why the tempter could accurately say that with this knowledge they would be like God. But the knowledge came with a promise – that of death – which in its immediate form was separation from the God who had made them. At the end of the Bible we read of another tree. The Apostle John is given the vision of death removed and healing completed. “The tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.” Revelation chapter 22 verses 2/3. For this change to become possible the separation caused by sin had to be removed so that we could enter into that intimate relationship with our creator God for which we were made. The third tree is referred to by St Peter in his first letter when he calls the cross a tree. Indeed it was a wooden cross, a Roman gibbet, an instrument of execution. Referring to Jesus he writes, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live for righteousness. By his wounds we are healed.” Chapter 2 verse 24. Christians are those who by faith have seen their sins laid on Jesus and recognise that his death brought that life to them which Adam forfeited in the garden of Eden. This healing comes, not when we trust in a tree, but in a living saviour.

The Wikileak website has achieved prominence these last few weeks by releasing some of its “classified” documents to the media. Apparently its founder, 39 year old Australian Julian Assange, has obtained 250,000 US diplomatic cables so we will be hearing a lot more about what the US thinks about other countries! Understandably the US has blocked his website but Julian has been in this business since 2006 and has allegedly 20 websites in other countries from which he can broadcast this material. Just how he came by this sensitive material is causing the US some consternation. It appears that a soldier was accumulating the cables, presumably on disc, and made a deal with Julian. Some US politicians are calling this an act of treason but Julian reckons he is simply correcting the free speech deficit that exists! There are those who agree with him and liken the US clampdown on his website Wikileak.com to China’s censoring of Google which the US scorned. Julian, who is somewhere in Britain, is the subject of a European arrest warrant issued by authorities in Sweden, where he is accused of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion. It seems that Julian may have been pursuing more than free speech! What has the Bible to say? There is an almost universal notion that God is both blind and deaf. That things done in secret will never come to light. That so long as others do not find us out, all will be well. “Your secret is safe with me” assumes a consistency humans are seldom capable of. This idea of an impotent God was voiced by Isaiah in Chapter 29 verse 15 which reads Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the LORD, who do their work in darkness and think, “Who sees us? Who will know?” The US diplomats thought their work was being done in secret with no-one to see what was going on. They thought that through encryption no-one would know. Now it is being broadcast through the world wide web! Jesus spoke of a day when all will be revealed – There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the rooftops. (Saint Luke chapter 12 verses 2 & 3) We may not have stolen US “classified” documents or been involved in sexual crimes but we need the Psalmist’s prayer: “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting”.

After the First World War the Allies decided to teach Germany a lesson. They had fought a very costly war and Germany, it was decided, must pay. The result was a resurgence of nationalism which brought a certain Austrian called Adolf Hitler to the fore and in due course we had the Second World War. After WW2 it would have been easy to make the same mistake and decide to make Germany pay but wiser council prevailed and the Marshall Plan was crafted. It embarked on a program of post-war recovery which poured aid into the stricken country to get it back onto its feet. After Ireland broke the European banking system causing huge problems for the economies of the EC it would be understandable for the countries that paid dearly towards Ireland’s bailout to decide to teach Ireland a lesson and make her pay. The result could be the resurgence of nationalism which could bring a certain ….! Hopefully Europeans are good at history and have learned their lessons. We will know the answer sooner rather than later! What light can the Bible throw on all this? Jesus countered the legalism of his day by twice quoting Hosea’s pronouncement, “I desire mercy not sacrifice” (sacrifice meaning the practice of religious rituals). The first time was to counteract the Pharisees criticism of Him eating with “tax collectors and sinners”. They would have preferred that Jesus condemn them. (St Matthew chapter 9 verse 13). The second occasion was when Jesus was being censured for permitting his disciples to “pluck heads of grain and eat them on the Sabbath”. Clearly those censuring Him would have preferred the disciples to go hungry. Their desire to see the innocent suffer prompted Jesus to remark that if they had known what “I desire mercy not sacrifice” meant, they would not have condemned the guiltless. (St Matthew chapter 12 verse 7.) The ordinary people of Ireland are not guilty of the money manipulation of the banks nor were they complicit in the St Patrick’s Day massacre of Anglo Irish bank’s shares. These enormous debts should not be laid to our account. As to those responsible for the economic meltdown, they may appear to go free but are answerable to a higher court. There they need the services of the only Advocate who has made the ultimate sacrifice for sinners so they had better be good at their history lessons and put their trust in the Saviour now.

Economic reality overtook us this week when the bailiffs arrived! They were the representatives of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Nemesis has finally caught up with us. The Bankers valuations of their own assets, which we have tacitly accepted for so long, will be scrutinised and found wanting. The Government will bring forward its budget proposals as it continues to live in denial – (it was rumoured that some of the Cabinet thought “De Nile” only referred to a river in Egypt!) The people, currently venting their anger in our traditional way of writing to the editors of the local press, are frustrated at the lack of anyone being brought to account for our bankruptcy. The Garda investigation into the bankers’ misdeeds is proceeding slowly as tonnes of shredded paper is being examined for clues. Our UK neighbours have expressed willingness to give us a dig-out causing some to hear the low rumble of the State’s founding Fathers rotating in their graves. What has the Bible to say about all this? Despite the efforts of many to edit out the fact of the Fall, it happened! We are not the people we should be. We are not the people we could be. “In the world you will have tribulation” said Jesus in Saint John’s Gospel – and that was to his followers! Now, as a result of man’s basic optimism, continuous efforts have been made to thwart this tribulation. All sorts of self help devices have been put in place in an effort to govern sinners. These range from democracy to dictatorship and everything in between. Some have lasted longer than others but the only certainty is that they will fail. Saint Paul writing to give hope to the believers in Rome recognised that God was behind this state of affairs – in order to create something better. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. Saint Peter also wrote about God’s promise – “But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.” Christopher Idle encapsulated these thoughts in his hymn: – Come and see the shining hope that Christ’s apostles saw;

on the earth, confusion but in heaven an open door,

where the living creatures praise the Lamb for evermore:

Love has the victory for ever. The full number of the children of God may soon be here – ensure that you are in that number through faith in Christ.

The photographers command before a photo-shoot took on a new meaning this week when our Minister of Agriculture, Brendan Smith, took credit for a consignment of cheese from the EC. This act of benevolence, which is intended to alleviate poverty in the distressed areas of Europe, is something we have benefited from since 1987. The Minister smelt something good, got onto “Morning Ireland” and announced this particular piece of largesse as if the Government had churned the whole thing themselves.  Alas for Brendan the trap sprung and before you could say “camembert” his moment in the sun turned mouldy. To try to make political capital for something which had been going on for over 20 years added to the feeling of being cheesed off with the Government. It was rumoured that the cry, “Let them eat cheese” (paraphrasing Marie Antoinette) was heard emanating from the departing Merc as they took Brendan back to his Cavan constituency! Fortunately there are no big cheeses in the Bible! In fact the Person it’s all about – Jesus – invited His followers to die to self. In case they missed the point he inverted the world order and said that “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and the servant of all”. (Saint Mark chapter 9 verse 35). When the disciples wanted to know what a servant looked like he took the lowest place and washed their feet. (Saint John Chapter 13). In case anyone still did not get it Jesus offered his followers a cross. Saint Luke records the incident, “Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. It may be easy to dismiss some of the things a politician says but the trouble with Jesus’s sayings is that he modelled them with his life. You cannot walk round this Man. You need to face Him – preferably in this life!

Many of you will know the story of Joni Eareckson Tada. She was involved in a diving accident when she was 17 which left her as a quadriplegic. That was 43 years ago. Over the last decade she has suffered from chronic pain and in June this year she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her advice to female readers is, “Go get a mammogram!” Joni has written 35 books and in the latest “A Place of Healing” she gives us an outline of her “Theology of Suffering”. Some of us will be familiar with the Romanian, Josef Ton, who wrote of his experiences of suffering at the hands of the KGB. His “Theology of Suffering” which later formed his doctrinal thesis, was the more usual experience of someone being threatened with martyrdom for his faith. In Joni we have the more difficult to handle experience of an accident, with no apparent sense to ease the pain of the “WHY” question. Because Joni is a Christian she followed the instructions of God’s Word and after her accident had a special prayer service where she confessed her sins, was anointed with oil and had hands laid on her in prayer. God answered, not by healing her body but by drawing her more closely to Himself and showing her how she could glorify Him through her disabilities. In a recent interview she gave this answer to the question of how her relationship with God was deepening. In John 14 verse 12, Jesus says, “Anyone who has faith in me will do … even greater things than these.” We tend to think Jesus was talking about miracles, as if Jesus were saying, “Hey guys, look at these miracles! One day, you’ll do many more miracles than me!” The thing that Jesus was doing wasn’t necessarily the miracles. He was giving the gospel; he was advancing his kingdom; he was reclaiming the earth as rightfully his. When Jesus gave that promise, he was saying, “I’m giving you a job to do, my Father and I want the gospel to go forth, and I promise you’ll have everything you need to get that job done, and you’ll do an even better job than me.” Jesus ministered for three years, and at the end, he had a handful of disciples who half-believed in him. After Jesus went to heaven and the Holy Spirit came down—my goodness, Peter preaches one sermon and thousands believe. That’s the greater thing that God wants us to do. That’s what I have been seeing this past month. Every x-ray technician, every nurse, every doctor’s secretary, every clinician, every person I meet in nuclear medicine and at the MRI—it’s amazing how many opportunities I’ve been given to see people hungry and thirsty for Christ. I knew that was true before, but there seems to be something special that is accompanying this diagnosis. I’m just so amazed by people asking me, “How can you approach this breast cancer with such confidence in a God who allows it?” And I’m being given the chance to answer. The greater thing is not the miracle; it’s the advancement of the gospel. In this Joni shares the joy of Jesus – “Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12 : 2)

Among the many strange nautical species that run aground on the coastline of the Isle of Skye the HMS Astute must rank as the strangest. This 2 month old baby weighed in at 7,800 tonnes and is reputed to have cost £1.2 billion. Pity Cdr Andy Coles as this sub is controlled by a platform management system – untouched by human hand! This fly by wire technology has been designed to deliver high tech troops onto foreign soil – unseen and unheard. To do this the sub is required to navigate in shallow water which explains why the vessel was in the narrow Kyle of Lochalsh. The sonar equipment will need some fine tuning before venturing into the Kyle again! The Bible has quite a lot of subversive material, much of it surrounding the person and work of Jesus. He was recognised from the outset by Satan who was out to destroy the Messiah. Sadly those who should have recognised Him, the religious authorities who were living in anticipation of his arrival, failed to do so. But those of every class who recognised their need of a saviour had their spiritual eyes opened and followed him. However all seemed lost when the fickle crowd changed their cry from “Hallelujah” to “Crucify him”. Pilot asked the question at his trial, “What is truth” thinking that the answer might be in a proposition instead of a person. Jesus is the truth. The dying thief recognised this fact and committed his life to him. His accomplishment of dying in the sinners place to make a complete atonement for sin, opened a way of deliverance for the believing sinner to be with his saviour God for time and eternity, and was totally subversive. It went under Satan’s radar. It went under the authorities’ radar. They were spiritually blind. Many today are still blinded by Satan and cannot see the relevance of putting their faith in the one who, as Saint Paul put it, “loved me and gave himself for me”. Cdr Coles may not have lived up to his vessels name, “Astute” but for those astute enough to admit their culpability before a Holy God and commit themselves to him the words of Jude’s doxology are packed with timeless meaning. “Now to him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Saviour be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.”