The Jesus Narrative

The Effect of the Bible

2011-10-28T17:45:00.002+01:00

The Bible started out looking like this fragment of the Dead Sea Scrolls, but more pristine. In other words, before we called it the Bible and used it in the modern book form, it was scriptures copied by scribes on scrolls of parchment. It became perhaps the most influential books ever. For hundreds of different reasons, people all over the world have come to be familiar with its stories and truly love this remarkable collection of sixty six books.

Last Sunday was Bible Sunday and all over the world there would be services prepared around this amazing and captivating book. At my church I happened to be the preacher and so I used the whole service to highlight this wonderful publication. We had a dramatic sketch courtesy of Bible Society. In it we imagined what might have been said by and to King James I who authorised it for use in churches 400 years ago. The hymns were about the Bible - "Lord thy Word abideth etc". Of course, the sermon was very much about the Bible.

I started by telling my congregation about a day I spent at Caernarfon Airport last year. A number of light aircraft and their pilots were pressed into service to give pleasure flights to disabled children and young people. I was there to represent Mission Aviation Fellowship who fly light aircraft in developing countries to promote the gospel and provide for the needs of otherwise helpless people in far flung places. Two others were there as representatives of The Gideons International and they ensured that each youngster who flew received a Gideons Bible (New Testament and Psalms) to commemorate their flight. I too was presented with a Gideons Bible, even though I had remained earthbound. This book is now a prized possession! It looks beautiful and in the earlier passages there are recommended passages to read in a number of given circumstances, good or bad. This is very useful for the days when life becomes very difficult and you cannot see the way forward.

For Bible Sunday it was suggested to use Nehemiah 8 as a passage for development. This caused me to read this Old Testament book for the very first time. Chapter 8 was about the day when the remnants of Israel who had returned to Jerusalem and, under Nehemiah's guidance, had rebuilt the walls of the city. Crowds of Israelites had gathered before a platform on which Ezra the priest and scribe stood and read the entire five books of the Pentateuch. The crown went mad as Ezra opened the scrolls. Having returned to Jerusalem and restored its walls, they now wanted to be taught the Law of Moses and what it meant to them. I have preached the Gospel for fifty years but I cannot say I have ever preached before a crowd so "up for it" in relation to the Bible!

It was during the Second World War that Pastor Martin Niemoller was imprisoned for his preaching in Germany. He is famous for the following statement with reference to the indifference showed by intellectuals under Nazi rule:

Firstthey came for the Communists,

AndI didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Communist.

Thenthey came for the trade unionists,

AndI didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist.

Thenthey came for the Jews,

AndI didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew.

Thenthey came for me,

And there was no one left to speak out for me.

As a young teenager I went with a friend and his family to hear him speak at the Municipal Hall, Colne, Lancashire. I can remember only one thing which was that, when he was imprisoned, he counted the doors that slammed shut between him and "the book". He was referring to the Bible. This reminds us how important this book is to a Christian.

Johanna-Ruth Dobschiner was a German Jew who moved to Holland to escape the Nazis. Let's call her by her familiar name, Hansie. Incredibly. she managed to escape from transportation to the death camps four times. Eventually, she was advised to go "underground" which meant hiding in the house of a man she knew as Domie. Domie was an evangelical Lutheran Pastor who helped a good many Jews at that time. Sadly, he was executed by the Nazis for his work. During the time she was in that house she was given a Children's Bible. She was amazed to read about Jesus, whose name she had never heard before. She found it amazing that during her education she had not heard of Jesus. Later she got hold of a Dutch Bible which she kept all her life. Jesus became a hero to her. One day she asked if she might be baptised and this was agreed. Now she was a Messianic Jew or Jew turned Christian.

She never forgot those days or the people who had helped save her life. Interviewed in her latter years, she had a radiant smile as she spoke about her experiences in Holland. Put her name up on YouTube and find the interview for STV.

How can we, therefore, say the Bible is not an influential book? Hansie died in her seventies in 2002 in Scotland where she had met and married her husband. Her book, "Selected to Live", is still in print and well worth buying. Like Hansie, many others have read the Bible and then started on an amazing faith journey. Inspired by God, it speaks to us today just as powerfully as when people read it during the days of the early church. We all need encouraging in our journey through life and the Bible is the book that does it!

God's handiwork in Spain

2011-09-02T21:52:00.000+01:00

It was in September 2010 that we flew to Malaga Airport to begin our best holiday ever.   I had heard Spanish music and Concerto de Aranjuez in particular.   Passages from this made me yearn to see the plains in a hot season.   I got my chance as we travelled around Andalucia and I was not disappointed.   There w3as a wonderful 360 degree view from our old farmhouse of the Montes de Malaga.   Later we saw the sights from the top of Antequera and from a small village called Zuheros.  The latter was of literally millions of olives.   There was a castle sitting on a cleft rock, looking as if some cosmic axe had struck the rock on which the castle stood.

Next week we are off again to the same area and staying in the farmhouse next door.   Recently I read Chris Stewart's book, "Driving over lemons".   It is all about setting up home as a sheep farmer in a district called Alpujarras.   I shall take a look at this area where many British settlers have come to enjoy the natural life which involves a wide variety of beliefs and diets.   It is said that they arrived after reading "Driving over lemons".

Unlike the UK Spain is a huge country with long distances between towns and cities (except on the Costas!) and good motorways and smooth lesser roads to use.   This year we have made the decision to take the car by way of a 24 hour cruise to Santander and then 2 days driving via Madrid to our destination 7 kilometres from Colmenar, capital of the Montes de Malaga.   It is our wish to see what Spain is like from north to south and then look deeper at Andalucia.

It is, of course, God's domain like anywhere else in the world.   It reminds us that all around is the evidence of Creation.   Each country has its own beauty and grandeur.   From our roof terrace we shall be able to star gaze and get ourselves down to size in God's wonderland.   What a privilege!

"O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder, consider all the works thy hand hath made, I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder, thy power throughout the universe displayed.   How great thou art!"

No Guarantees

2011-07-30T19:43:00.000+01:00

All of us live out our lives and think, looking back, how much difficulty we have experienced in getting to this point. We look back and see the many ups and downs of our lives. Those of us who are married imagine that we shall be together for an extremely long time. We say, “Till death us do part” never thinking that death might come early. Today, people are living much longer and this is borne out in an email I received a short while ago. I had been sad to learn that Brenda, a friend from my previous church, had lost her husband aged 72. I sent her an email to express condolence and Brenda, in her reply, said “I really thought we would grow old together.” I think this expresses all our thoughts. We all expect to grow old gracefully – some disgracefully.

Thinking about that short lived life in Lebanon, I wonder if we can match that faith? This young man lived in a country where opposing forces were creating havoc for each other. We all remember the news of 20^th January 1987 that said Terry Waite had disappeared and eventually his capture by an Islamic militia was confirmed. Terry Waite was to spend over four years in solitary confinement before joining the hostages whose freedom his tried to negotiate. He had set out in faith and was attempting to negotiate with a group who was holding British hostages. He went out to meet this group who immediately broke trust and added him to their hostages. The country of Lebanon was a beautiful place that had been ravaged by war. Today we can name many more. For people living in such places life is very much different from life in Anglesey.

Very few of us know what it is to live on the edge of life, not knowing if we will survive the next few hours. It is, therefore, much easier for us to express faith in Jesus. We live in relatively secure conditions. Whereas, a 22 year old Lebanese man, living with the real threat of death on a daily basis, expressed the most amazing statement of faith in that letter he wrote.

The story of Ghasibeh Kairouz reminds me of the last days of Jesus as he contemplated death on a cross. I am reminded that Jesus did not decide to embark on his ministry with a guarantee of a full life, dying as an old man. He did not enter onto that journey around Palestine provided he made it into old age. He set out with no guarantees.

Can Jesus have known that after his death there would be resurrection and after that the certainty of men being prepared to die for him as he was prepared to die for them? Can he have known that all this would happen? Can he have known that in time millions would commit themselves to the cause he started? Was his death conditional upon all this? Here is an example we find hard to follow and one which tests our self belief for all time. Yet it is the great challenge. Are we prepared to accept that we have no guarantees and carry on anyway? Now that really is a big question and it is one we shall probably never answer. To be honest it is the sort of question which haunts every Christian, knowing that ultimately this is what is asked of him or her.

Perhaps you, like I have done, have pondered the question, “What difference does it make to be a Christian?” Looking at the lives of people who have been remarkable in their altruism and love for humanity, but yet have not been Christian, can we see a difference that Jesus has made? Humanitarianism does not have the Christian faith as an automatic motivation. In short, community minded people can be lovely human beings yet never espouse Christianity. I am quite sure that you will know people who commit themselves to God who you would wonder about in terms of their charitable outlook on the world.

In terms of personal pilgrimage does it really make a difference believing in God? Would we still make journey’s end on our own? Thoughts like these have often been in my mind as I have viewed the world in which I live. I find they arise more often as the church appears to become less relevant viewed in terms of redundant buildings in our villages, towns and cities.

Having totally depressed you, I want to finally ask the question, “Would you rather walk this life with or without Jesus of Nazareth?” I know what my answer is. Having fallen over a cliff, whose hand would you prefer to be let down to hold you? I know what my answer is. In this life of great uncertainty when people are in danger of death in given circumstances, who would we turn to for the strength to carry on? I know what my answer is. When the chips really are down where will our strength come from? I know what my answer is.

There are no guarantees in life for Christians and non believers alike. Yet it is better to walk with a man who knows what it is like to be tortured and scorned and put to a painful death and promises never to leave your side than to bet everything you have on a world that offers everything you desire but can then cynically abandon you in your worst moment. Sufferers have always found comfort in talking to others who have known suffering. One of the most beneficial ways to help others is to organise self help groups where the grinding pressure of life can be shared among people who are fellow sufferers.

There were no guarantees for Jesus as he set out to show God’s love to the people. There were no guarantees that he would be well received and his teachings accepted. He just set out and did it. There are no guarantees for us as we seek to live as Christians. Our commitment to Jesus does not carry a guarantee of a safe life – far from it. We are not assured of an easier passage. Yet we stake everything on the promise that Jesus will always be with us, regardless of what we might face on our pilgrimage. That promise is firm and sure. It is no guarantee – just a promise.

No Guarantees

2011-07-30T19:36:00.000+01:00

It was in 1997 that I came across a story which captivated my attention. As David Jones might say, “It challenged me.” Let me read it to you:

Listen to a unique story which is about a young man, Ghasibeh, travelling home from his studies in Beirut to his village in Northern Lebanon. His father had died some years previously, and he wanted to be with his mother and sister for Christmas. He never reached his village, and was never heard of again.

It soon became clear that he must have been a victim of one of many killings and kidnappings that were being organised by gangs of Muslims and gangs of Christians. It was the old story of reprisals and counter-reprisals between the two communities. For a hundred years Lebanon had been virtually free of this curse. But in 1975 it had reappeared.

Ghasibeh was 22 when he died. He was a Christian from the Greek Catholic community. Before he left Beirut on his last journey, he had an intuition that he might never reach home safely. He wrote this letter, which was later found on a table in his room in Beirut.

"In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen. As I begin to write this letter, I feel almost as if there is someone else speaking through me. In Lebanon these days everyone's life is in danger. I myself have imagined that I am travelling to my village of Nabha, when suddenly I am kidnapped and killed. In case this is a true premonition, I have decided to leave this letter for my family, my fellow villagers and countrymen.

Firstly, to my mother and sisters: do not grieve beyond reason. Our separation will be short and we will meet again, in heaven, the kingdom of eternal joy. Do not fret: God in his mercy will reunite us there. My only request is that you forgive those who have killed me, from the bottom of your hearts, and join with me in prayer that the shedding of my blood may be a ransom - though it is the blood of a sinner - for the sin of Lebanon: that it may be mixed as an offering with the blood of all the victims who have fallen, from all political and religious factions, an offering which may restore to this country the peace, love and harmony which has disappeared, not only from our country but from the world.

Encourage the people to love one another because of my death, and God himself will be your comfort and consolation. Do not be afraid; my only regret in leaving this world so abruptly is the sorrow it will bring you. But pray, pray and love your enemies. To my fellow Lebanese I say: people of one house may disagree, but without hatred. They may get upset with one another, but without fighting. Even if they fight, at least they do not kill one another.

And so remember the past days of understanding and love, and do away with these days of intolerance and strife. For together we ate; together we drank; together we worked; together we prayed; and together we will die. My father was a partner with a Muslim. I called him "Uncle Hussein", and my heart would be at peace when I said his name. they were partners for 57 years.

They died without breaking their partnership, and without even reckoning any accounts between them. And so I remember that sometimes if one was unable to borrow a sum of money from his brother, he would go to a fellow villager: to a Muslim, a Christian or a Druze, and that person would help him through.

Yes, we have all known those days, but our sin blinds us to them now. Everyone must pray as his heart believes; God himself will bring an end to our tragedy, and prevent the outside powers from turning Lebanon into the battleground for their conflicts. I sometimes think I will know sorrow, even in heaven, if Lebanon remains in this plight.

For the funeral: Father Peter should take the service as simply as possible. No great show with ranks of clergymen. And my soul will rejoice if Abou-Khalil makes the coffin with wood from some old boxes. Let the people remember me without a great display of mourning. People always have a lot to say, but without sincerity, otherwise these killings would not take place. But let the choir sing with all their heart, for this thought comforts me.

I am thinking of you all as I write this letter. I have not forgotten any one of my relations, close friends and companions. But I must not let my emotions blur my Christian hope; now I have found the word to say to you all: pray and fear and love God.

Finally, as to various obligations which are on my mind - I am a debtor myself, but redeemed by my Lord - here are some debts which need to be paid. Please sell a piece of land if necessary.

8,000 Lebanese pounds to Nakhle

25 Lebanese pounds to Ahmed

650 Lebanese pounds to Fahda

200 Lebanese pounds to Muhammed

Finally I ask of all people forgiveness, and from God through Christ, for I know that in sinning my sins have been against all." GHASIBEH KAIROUZ.

Further thoughts on this are contained in the next posting.

When the cheering stopped (For Palm Sunday 2011)

2011-04-18T12:37:00.000+01:00

Some years ago a book was written by a noted American historian entitled
"When The Cheering Stopped." It was the story of President Woodrow Wilson
and the events leading up to and following WWI. When that war was over
Wilson was an international hero. There was a great spirit of optimism
abroad, and people actually believed that the last war had been fought and
the world had been made safe for democracy.

On his first visit to Paris after the war Wilson was greeted by cheering
mobs. He was actually more popular than their own heroes. The same thing was
true in England and Italy. In a Vienna hospital a Red Cross worker had to
tell the children that there would be no Christmas presents because of the
war and the hard times. The children didn't believe her. They said that
President Wilson was coming and they knew that everything would be alright.

The cheering lasted about a year. Then it gradually began to stop. It turned
out that the political leaders in Europe were more concerned with their own
agendas than they were a lasting peace. At home, Woodrow Wilson ran into
opposition in the United States Senate and his League of Nations was not
ratified. Under the strain of it all the President's health began to break.
In the next election his party was defeated. So it was that Woodrow Wilson,
a man who barely a year or two earlier had been heralded as the new world
Messiah, came to the end of his days a broken and defeated man.

It's a sad story, but one that is not altogether unfamiliar. The ultimate
reward for someone who tries to translate ideals into reality is apt to be
frustration and defeat. There are some exceptions, of course, but not too
many.

It is equally true that Winston Churchill was heralded as the great warrior-Prime Minister who had led his country to defeat Adolf Hitler and all his forces of evil. The cheering on VE Day and VJ Day must have been deafening. But afterwards when it was necessary to get down to bringing in reforms to make the world a better place the name of Winston Churchill was not the one on everyone’s lips. He had been the man of the moment, but not of the future. He was defeated in the first post war election and the Labour Party got down to creating the Education and Health policies which can still be seen today. Poor old Winston! A truly great wartime Prime Minister, but not a man for peacetime.

We all remember the days when we were glued to our TV screens as the Apollo 11 crew set off for the first human lunar landing. It was a truly amazing feat carried out with almost no fuel left in the lunar landing module’s tank. The world went mad and we immediately had world heroes led by Neil Armstrong. But then, as the following missions took place the whole programme became treated as an everyday event.

Looking back some 2,000 years, we see much the same thing happening in the Holy Land. In three years a travelling Galilean gathered a great following who thought he was the one to defeat the Roman occupiers and establish a new kingdom. He brought to their thinking new ideas about how God. Looking back to the point in the wilderness where Jesus rejected a mission of showing his divine power through acts of great awe inspiring style. At this point he rejected the sort of mission that would bring him instant acclaim. Yet, as he took the road to Jerusalem it was certainly acclaim that greeted him. But on this day he entered Jerusalem with the other pilgrims to Passover with cheers and greetings ringing in his ears. But very soon we would see a different scene “When the Cheering Stopped.”

Within our experience the cheering always stops eventually, doesn’t it? We reach the point where suddenly we wonder how we shall follow the activity that brought such acclaim. When we came to Anglesey in 2004 we visited the brightly lit cottage on the road to Benllech. On our tour we were shown a tableau to commemorate the religious revival of 1904. At the time I wondered what this was. As an incoming English person I had not heard about this event a hundred years before. Later I was to learn of the prairie fire that swept across Wales as the evangelists took the gospel to the people wherever they were. Now I understood why there were so many empty and grossly underused chapels in rural locations. Like all great events the cheering came to an end and no one knew quite how to continue the momentum that had been happening throughout the revival.

Do you remember those televised programmes produced by Ralph Reader? The annual “Gang Show”, entirely consisting of Boy Scouts, was known for its song, “We’re riding along on the crest of a wave.” But you cannot sustain that sort of living, can you? Following Jesus all the days of your life was never going to be “riding along on the crest of a wave.” First we would experience the joy of finding our personal relationship with our Lord, but then followed the bit where we got down to living it out. The application of Christianity to daily life is never going to be described as the high life, meaning great experiences and revelations. That sort of life is quite unsustainable.

Looking back to the high points of family life I see the joy expressed on the occasion of the birth of a child. Everyone is so full of joy and expectation. “Doesn’t he look like his mother?” “She’s got the family nose, hasn’t she?” Small items of clothing are created on the family knitting needles; father’s take their new born child our in the pram; preparations are made to have the child baptised with a party to follow. It is later that the problems of raising the child in a world that seems so alien arrive. The everyday experience of changing nappies and feeding the baby are the real experience and nobody cheers you on as you sit there feeding a hungry child at three o’clock in the morning.

Consider the wedding with all its detailed arrangements. It all eventually culminates in church with smart clothes and a beautiful bridal dress. We move on then to the reception and the atmosphere lightens after the formality of the church service. Much back slapping suggests a certain intake of alcohol and the affair is quite jolly. The day after, the guests return to daily life and life is maybe dull after the cheering on that great day. Eventually the newly married couple knuckle down to normality and the problems of living life in times of uncertainty about employment and financial constraint.

From now on only Christmas is going to raise the cheers again. Now that will be an expensive affair as people rush out to buy presents that are very expensive and perhaps inappropriate. Maybe the family gets together for Christmas Day and tucks into turkey as if it is the last one they will ever eat. Then, as is always the case, the shine goes off the presents and life returns to its usual state. The thing is that the shops that are open are now selling off the Christmas stock and the supermarket seems denuded of stock. Not that anyone will starve, but it looks less exciting than on Christmas Eve. The whole thing goes flat – just as it did each Christmas before. Every high point is eventually followed by a period where we feel to be bumping along the bottom of existence.

But, in Christianity it’s more a matter of “and now for something different.” Injected into our Christian experience is the presence of the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised to his disciples, and therefore to us, that he would be replaced by “the advocate”, “the comforter”. Turning to John’s gospel, we hear Jesus saying, “I will ask the father, and he will give you another to be your advocate, who will be with you forever.” Then we turn to the Acts of the Apostles and – Enter the Holy Spirit. Now the work begins to gain a momentum that took people’s breath away.

From that point on the believer would find he or she helped in many ways difficult to understand. In their lives they would find a contribution that would enable them to achieve difficult goals. In dark moments they would experience a light force keeping them buoyant, rather like a small inflatable boat. It was the Holy Spirit, and they responded with zeal. They took the message of Jesus to the uttermost parts of the known world. This work has continued ever since.

Over our lives , as Christians, we have experienced highs and lows of a great kaleidoscope in nature. Others, non believers, have experienced the same. Yet for us there has been, on occasion, a buoyancy not experienced b the rest of the world. I have spoken often about the opportunity I have found, when leading funerals services, to explain to non believers how God will come to them in their grieving. I explained that he would come to them in the guise of another human being. After all, he did this in the case of Jesus, so long ago. In fact, it is the Holy Spirit who acts as comforter in such circumstances. But it is hard enough to explain the nature of the Spirit to believers, let alone those who have no knowledge of current Christianity.

I am sure that all of us have spoken to people at one time or another who have referred to a feeling of lightness coupled with an assurance that all is well during very difficult times. Many Christians speak of God’s intervention at high points in their lives. They have referred to times when, perhaps, he has saved their lives in car accidents or the like. But I feel that the feeling of God’s spiritual nearness comes more often in our difficult times and times of grieving are classic examples. We grow up and when the first serious downturn hits us we wish we could run to mother or father to experience their arms around us once more. The Christian experiences this in his or her low times and finds a presence that comforts or seems to make sense of a feeling of better times ahead. Some voice seems to be saying quietly that all will be well.

Personally, I cannot subscribe to the idea that all our high points are God’s gift to us. If so, then I ask, “What about the black days. Are these his gift too?” So many times I have heard people say, “These things are sent to try us.” Include me out! Toplady’s hymn rings in my head, “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling.” At the very depths of our experience we can find God most easily. When you think about it, that’s the best place for him to be. It is at this rock bottom that starting to climb back is the hardest.

For me, the cheering might have stopped but the work goes on and it is made possible right at the point where it looks to be failing. To look for the Holy Spirit at the heights of life is to look in the wrong place. We are called to serve the greatest cause of all and given that extra support when our own strength fails. Bob Gordon was a student for the Congregational ministry in the sixties. He preached one day on the three ways that God helps us get through life. The three ways are 1) We are given sufficient strength to cope with life most of the time; 2) God helps us with the heavy loads that need that bit of support: 3) God takes the task to himself and relieves us of the duty. The third example is a rare occasion and might not come within our experience.

A man went to his minister to talk about his problems. It was all about work and the way he was being treated by the boss’s son who had taken over the reigns. The minister said, “Did I ever tell you about my operation?” He was not too keen to hear about the minister’s operation but listened. “I had to have an operation and I was absolutely scared stiff of going through it, So I prayed about it.” “Don’t tell me,” said the man, “God cured you and the operation wasn’t necessary!” “No”, said the minister, “I had the operation. But I found I was no longer afraid of it.”

This is an example of how God can help us carry that heavy load. The cancer victim, Pat Seed, once told of advice she had from a nun. The nun said, “God never gives you a cross too heavy to carry.” This is the good news we possess, that when things become impossible, God makes them possible.

Let Jesus have the last word:

Jesus looked straight at them and answered, "This is impossible for human beings, but for God everything is possible."

The Glory of God

2011-03-07T17:36:00.000Z

On a splendid day we look at the countryside and declare, "Isn't it glorious?" Do er truly know what glorious means? If asked to answer the question, "What is glory?" what would we say?

My answer is that glory means sheer, exuberant beauty. When Moses stood before God to receive the Ten Commandments he believed himself extremely lucky not to have perished. The power of God's glory was considered to be capable of striking a person dead. Throughout the Old Testament we see glimpses of God's glory but never the full monty! We go through life not knowing what God's glory is really like. Many years ago, at a church youth conference a minister was asked, "What do you think heaven will be like?" His answer was that he thought of heaven as a place in which God was in the centre with bright light shining from him. The rest of heaven was like an amphitheatre with everyone basking in that light. By your earthly deeds you were seated nearer to or further from the throne.

In the Gospels we have the Transfiguration that reflects some of this glory and the light shines out from Jesus. Peter, one of the three disciples that accompanied Jesus, was amazed and blurted out that he wanted to build three shelters to mark the place that others might see where it happened. After the vision Jesus told the disciples to keep quiet about it until he had died. I think this was an occasion that the three men would back to and say, "I was there!" This would be the sort of remembrance that would enthuse them whenever they felt their mission was flagging.

For the most part, references to glory in the New Testament were about something yet to be witnessed. There were, however, two occasions that we exceptions. The first was when Stephen cried out to his stoners, "Look, I see heaven opened and the Son of Man standing at the right-hand side of God!" Then there was the moment when Saul was struck down and the voice from the storm asked, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" Saul knew in that moment that he was in the presence of a power and a glory well beyond him in a very much higher place. His words were, "Tell me Lord who are you?"

Believe it or not, I was once a teenager! One day a group of us went to the other Congregational Church in my home town of Nelson. It was their Anniversary Sunday and they had a guest preacher we wanted to hear. As he preached the sermon I was aware of a light surrounding him and then he disappeared and in his place was Jesus with light shining from him. To this day I cannot explain this vision but simply refer to it as a religious experience. It set me on the road as an itinerant preacher among the churches in that area. Was this not a short glimpse of the glory of God?

George Macleod, founder of the Iona Community, spoke of a Pentecost that stood out for him. He had been working very hard to get everything ready for the Sunday service and had gone to bed very tired on the Saturday night. Next morning he awaoke, feeling very refreshed. Then he heard the sound of a wind blowing. He looked out of the window and the sea was flat calm. Yet he could still hear this wind. He went all round the house to check on doors or windows that might have been left open but nothing was left open. Then he noticed the carpet rippling as though a current of air had got under it. Yet there was not a breath of air moving! This was a pentecost when God was communicating a a special way. Was this not also a glimpse of glory?

Turn to the final new Testament Book, Revelation, and read in chapter 21 "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth disappeared, and the sea vanished. And I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from god, prepared and ready like a bride dressed to meet her husband. I heard a loud voice speaking from the throne: "Now God's home is with mankind! He will live with them, and they shall be his people. God himself will be with them, and he will be their God. He will wipe away all tears from their eyes. There will be no more death, no more grief or crying or pain. The old things have disappeared."

Think of life when you experience a great knock down with force and weight of everything. All this pain and tears will be gently wiped away by God as you stand before him. What a thought! What a promise! Just think of that vision describede as a bride adorned in wedding dress. Married men will all know how they felt as they saw their bride approach them in the church on that special day.

The second passage here reads, "The angel also showed me the river of the water of life, sparkling like crystal, and coming from the throne of God and the Lamb and flowing down the middle of the city's street. On each side was the tree of life, which bears fruit twelve times a year, once for each month; and its leaves are for the healing of the nations. Nothing that is under God's curse will be found in the city. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. there shall be no more night, and they will not need lamps or sunlight, because the Lord God will be their light, and they will rule as kings for ever and ever."

John's vision is to prepare us for that future in God's glorious presence. There is so much to look forward to! Today's life is very hard for many but then it will be wonderful in the very house of God. The church banner in Nelson read, "Where there is no vision the people perish." We need to have that vision of glory in order to continue in service and it is God's gift to us! Praise his Holy name!

Going to Church

2011-03-05T20:36:00.000Z

When the early Christians met together for worship it appears they were not forced to attend their meetings. They attended because they were incredibly keen to hear about Jesus and to be charged up with the forward push in promoting the Gospel.

Centuries later, when Christianity had been accepted as national religion by many countries the faithful were required to attend church. It was a serious offence not to attend. In the United Kingdom it was farcical because when the people assembled in church they stood around talking whilst the priest and choir went through their holy office. No doubt the congregation remained on the move as services were long and tedious. Most of them had not a clue as to what worship entailed because it was conducted in Latin and they did not speak the language.

In fact, in the Roman Catholic Church, it was only following Vatican 2 that the mass was said in the vernacular and the priest faced his congregation! At the end of the fifteenth century it was still punishable by death to print and/or publish the Bible in English in this country.

Everyone had to state belief in the same aspects of the religion. There were no opinions allowed. Orthodoxy was all. To say that you believed even the slightest departure from standard belief could end in death. Heresy was punished in many different painful ways by the torturers used by ecclesiastical authority. In other words, people were told what to believe! It is quite amazing to us in the 20th century that belief was not considered a personal matter.

Although many people of the Victorian era stayed away the perceived way was to attend church. If you were a non church attender you were considered to be very low as a person. No value could attach to you and you would not be invited to families of churchgoers. Moving into the 20th century there were flurries of ups as certain events influenced people. The First World War was one that saw numbers increase as the perception was that God was “on our side”. In Wales there was an amazing uplift in church numbers, let alone congregations. The 1904 revival saw many churches being built right across the principality. It was not long before the revival stalled and things began to return to normal.

The Second World War drew a further increase, again on the basis that God could not possibly be on Hitler’s side. But from the beginning of the century the numbers had begun to slowly fall away. The Roman Catholics, as I remember them in the 1960s seemed to be doing so much better than everyone else. As I passed the main Catholic Church in Burnley on my way to preach in a country Baptist Chapel on the moors above Todmorden there were three masses every Sunday morning. There were crowds standing on the pavement, waiting for the earlier service to close.

By 1969 when I left to live in East Anglia for four years I was the very last “young person” to worship at Manchester Road Congregational Church, Nelson, Lancashire. By the time I returned four years later the numbers were even less and the decision had to be taken to close the Evening Service which had recently been attended by just a few Elders out of duty.

Work took me away once more and I lived in the Oldham and Rochdale area for the next 31 years. During that time I saw the congregations diminish at Shaw United Reformed Church. The old Sunday School building lost the entire outer leaf of its rear wall and had to be demolished. We raised enough funds to build a new church hall which was much smaller but designed for purpose in the millennium period. I left in 2004 to live in Anglesey, North Wales. Since then the church no longer is in use and plans are afoot to extend the new church hall.

Within my lifetime (67 years) I have watched the numbers fall away. Today the church attenders comprise a mere 10% of population. Indifference is the prevailing feeling of the populace towards Jesus, his crucifixion and resurrection. Yet still the church people try to think of ways to get people to come to church. They forget that they were never required to achieve “bums on seats” but to enhance the lives of those who suffer.

In John 21 Jesus asked Peter three times, “Simon Peter, do you love me?” To each affirmative answer he replied “feed my sheep.” So few people today really connect to this. They still think that if the church isn’t warm on a Sunday “they won’t come.” I have news for them. They will certainly not come and they might as well forget the heating system because that is not a draw. Those who come to church do not come to get warm on a cold day. They are the faithful few who recognise their need to worship God because of what he has done for them.

How we got the New Testament

2011-02-28T18:17:00.000Z

Have you ever considered how it was that we ended up with a new Testament of 27 specific books? I always thought a council was called during the early years to select those books considered to tell the story as it was. However, I was far from the truth. You will be aware of the famous Dead Sea Scrolls that were discovered back in the late 1940s. These, of course, included copies of original scrolls of a number of books we know from the Old Testament as well as some which gave us a snapshot of religious life at the time Jesus was about his ministry. In addition to the New Testament books we know and love there were a number of books that were declared "beyond the pale". You will remember that not long ago there was a massacre carried out near a Coptic Christian Church in Egypt. In fact, this was the area where another young man discovered some ancient books in December 1945. These were quite different from the Dead Sea Scrolls because they were concerned with the activities of Jesus.

These books were papyrus and bound in leather. The titles include "The Secret Sayings of Jesus", "The Gospel according to Thomas", "The Gospel of Philip", "The Gospel to the Egyptians" etc. These and the others included in what we now know as the Nag Hammadi Library were books considered unacceptable by church leaders who would eventually represent orthodox Christians. As a find they were very exciting but eventually scholars were able to dismiss some as forgeries and others as not truly representing Jesus and his ministry. Some of them were clearly written to support the extreme views of small groups of believers who were at variance with mainstream belief.

Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria wrote a letter in 367CE to his churches that the 27 books that now form the New Testament were the texts that should treated as scriptures on which to base belief. It was quite some time before the convention truly came about but the bishop was the very first to advocate the acceptance of only these documents to represent scripture.

Were any of the Nag Hammadi books to have found their way into popularity we should have a very different and, dependent on which books, possibly confusing scripture. However, this is not to say that some of them did not creep into the new Testaments accepted by some Christian churches such as the Syrian Church and the Coptic Christians. If, today, you or I were to attend a service in a church from either of these two branches of Christianity we should be probably quite alarmed to hear readings from these books of which we have little knowledge.

The scholars of the day persevered in their quest and finally arrived at the 27 books with which we are familiar today. It is interesting to learn that although a number of the New Testament books appear to be attributed to certain authors such as St Paul, this is by no means certain. It is only convention that ensures that some of the epistles are still attributed to Paul and others. In the days when the books were in general acceptance there was disagreement as to their authorship. In fact many of them were copies of copies of copies. Not one original document has ever been held by a believer. The entire new Testament is based on copies taken from earlier documents. It is quite possible that the scribes who copied out these scriptures altered the wording in places where they thought amendments would give a better understanding of what was written.

During the first 300 years or so there were beliefs that today's Christians might find surprising. It was when these off-centre beliefs were being advanced in scrolls and books that it was found necessary to apply the brakes and prevent them finding their way into "official" scripture. For instance, there were some people who sincerely held to the view that Jesus was wholly divine and therefore did not suffer on the cross because he had no humanity in him. You can imagine our problems if such beliefs found themselves in print today in our beloved book! Throughout history the idea of how to understand the blend of humanity and divine status has been extremely difficult to thrash out. People argued "How can Jesus be God and God too be God?" Others asked, "How can a human being be called Son of God?" I have no doubt these problems will beset us for many more centuries. But just imagine our problems if the dodgy books had become part of the New Testament Canon!

When I first read the writings from Nag Hammadi a few years ago I was extremely confused and wondered if I was wrong in any of my beliefs. What I had failed to see was that you cannot simply read a book and take it at face value in these circumstances. You have to ask who wrote the book and what was their agenda. When these questions are tested you tend to come up with a common sense answer.

I have to say that having studied these problems I am glad the scholars of old made good decisions. I am sure they were good decisions because they were agreed by so many different scholars and scribes. Having tested the ideas in the "other" books I am of the opinion that we are safe with the books we rely on to tell the story as it was.

Anglican to Catholic

2011-01-15T16:21:00.002Z

I would not ordinarily use this blog to comment on such matters, but I feel it more appropriate to break from my preachings and take up a discussion.

It is one of the blessings of the Christian faith that we find room in a number of different traditions for a very wide spread of belief. As the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is about to start, I think the timing of the ordination in the Roman Catholic Church of three former Anglican bishops very unfortunate. Up to last year in our small group of five denominations we included an Anglo-Catholic priest who played a very supportive role. Sadly, he decided to find pastures new and left the area to serve in another Church in Wales pastorate.

The point is that we all got on together so well and worked at bringing worshippers together. I think it is all too easy to search out and espouse different beliefs and opinions which can lead to disunity. From its very inception the Christian Church was obviously likely to take many paths fanning out from the cross and resurrection. Look back to mediaeval days and you would not recognise the Christian faith we share today. But we did make it to this point where love and care are the building blocks of Christian effort. No longer do we consider the burning of those we term heretics. No longer do we insist on the Bible being restricted to a language not spoken by the local population.

We no longer follow the same traditions as the church we read about in the Epistles of Paul. So there is no case to exclude women from ordination. The two denominations to which I have belonged for 60 years had women ministers all through that period. Many of them have proved very effective Christian leaders. Gay priests in New Testament days would have been put to death. Today we can accept them for what they are and not what we would have them be. In fact, it was my trade union as a local government officer that convinced me to stop marginalising gay people and share our campaigns with them.

The diversity of life helps us enjoy our interaction with one another. It brings variety to dullness and blinkered thinking. We ought to be able to celebrate diversity within our various denominations without marginalising so many people. To the former bishops who have now signed up to Catholicism I say, "Be happy in your new home but stop wearing blinkers and try to find peace through prayer and a determination not to step on the toes of others."

Today we face a great enemy together - INDIFFERENCE. I feel sure that fighting this enemy is the hardest effort brought upon Christians in recent times. Despite the increase lately of those studying various aspects of religion the worshippers each Sunday are diminishing. Our thrust must be commitment to humanity, regardless of which church we attend. I can promise fun when we start to debate our differences but the journey is very worthwhile in that we see and understand why we stand so far apart on some issues.

As we commit to another celebration of unity let us pray that God will support togetherness and difference and use us to achieve great goals for him

Star Gazing

2011-01-06T21:21:00.005Z

Over the previous three days we have been able to share a spot of star gazing centered on Jodrell Bank Radio Telescope near Macclesfield, Cheshire. The programmes introduced us to basic star identification and then began to explain some of the amazing facts about the universe in which we find ourselves. We learned that some of the stars we see in the night sky actually transmitted the light we see many billions of light years ago. So when we look at the night sky we are seeing history and not the present.

Every winter I have looked at the southern sky and marvelled at the great constellation of Orion, along whose "belt" a line of sight takes us to Sirius, the dog star, brightest star we see. The awesome universe is breath taking and often overpowers us because we struggle to find words adequate enough to describe it. It makes us feel incredibly small and very insignificant.

A former president of the USA used to entertain a friend at dinner and would lead him out of the White House to look at the stars. Pointing to the galaxy of Andromeda (pictured at the head of this post) he would say, "That is the great Spiral Galaxy of Andromeda which is approximately the same size and shape of our own galaxy, the Milky Way. It is two and a half million light years away but is the nearest galaxy to us. Now that we are down to size let's have dinner!"

It is a fact that in the entire scheme of things we humans are incredibly small. What all Christians agree is that God is the creator of all things. We may not all agree that it was done in six days and in the manner set out in Genesis. However, the point of agreement is that God is our great creator. Look at the heavens and see the immense canopy of lights all set there in dependence on each other. Limit your thoughts, if you like, to the activity of our star, the Sun, and its planets in orbit around it. On earth we are totally dependent upon a continuing activity of nuclear fusion of the gases of the Sun. This is our energy source and it is set to continue for millions of years. Prehistoric people realised this and worshipped the Sun. We see their ancient religious sites aligned to the Summer Solstice and find their votive offerings in waterways - thanks for water by which they lived under the energy of the Sun. These people were no fools. However little they understood, they knew from whence came their life!

And so we, today, can look out into the universe and marvel at the creativity of God. However this great action was contrived it certainly had a snowball effect. Like a stone thrown into a pond, making ripples, so far off activity has impact right across creation. It may be true that we have been ingenious in sending men to the surface of the moon but we are not even scratching the surface of creation in doing so. We are surrounded by a great mystery, the mystery of God. As we consider everything God made we ask the perpetual question, "Why?"

We have just passed through Christmas once more. It is a time when we celebrate and think about God's intervention through Jesus. In the birth of Jesus we see the world given a chance. We see another picture which is of God throwing a pebble into the pond of life to see the ripple effect and arrive at a target - salvation. I feel that God had, by the year 1AD, seen that the chance he had offered the world had been squandered, so he gave us a second chance and it is this second chance that we are preaching every day.

Despite being so small in creation, we are still incredibly well equipped to go out and make a difference in the name of Jesus. We were not simply created as animals, rather we were given feelings, emotions and so on in order that we could respond and give the world the God who created it in the name of Jesus. I am saying here that we are more than well equipped to perform our task. God has,through Jesus, given us everything we need to succeed in his service. May we respond and make the difference that is needed.

This is God's World

2010-10-01T14:23:00.004+01:00

We now live in an educated society in which we are challenged to take care of the world in which we live. Right at the beginning of the creation story we have laid upon us the "duty of care" for everything in the world. Even atheists agree that we have this responsibility as humans. These are challenging days as we see problems facing humanity which we have the ability to correct and yet our leaders have not the capacity or will to take on the task.

Whilst this continues in the form of world political conversations the world is crying out for someone to take up its cause. Rain forests have been raped for their wood and trees and wild life have suffered much. Massive mudslides have occurred where hillsides are longer bound together with the roots of trees. People have been killed. Huge open cast mines have appeared with global dimensions to provide humankind with minerals. People have been thrown off their land and must seek new homes. Animals have been deprived of habitat with everything they need for survival.

As a child I used to wonder what would happen when the coal was all gone from beneath the ground. I never voiced these thoughts for fear of derision, yet today the answer is so clear. Those trees in South America have gone because of a worldwide demand for timber and the greed of the timber companies, happy to keep on ripping up the lungs of the world for profit. We then consider the whole area of climate change and can see a dreadful rise in sea levels if the climate continues to change because large companies and governments are too greedy to stop or slow down their activities.

I leave the arguments on scale to others, but I do see the importance of looking to do something as individuals to make even a small difference. Many forecasts look certain never to affect me but I have grandchildren who will be affected and this reminds me that I am responsible, within reasonable limits, for these and other future generations. Every time I say "it does not affect me" I am loading the burden on shoulders yet to come which must bear an even greater load than me.

In my favourite gospel passage Jesus says to Peter, "Simon Peter, do you love me?" The answer comes, "Yes, Lord, you know I love you!" Jesus simply says, "Then feed my sheep." This is our reminder that we are responsible for others and that we must see them as people to whom Jesus wishes us to go. That all life is sacred is not a new concept but many act as if it was never declared. In earlier years I remember the focus we placed on mission work. I accept that this is still with us and that the mission field still is our concern. But today, I believe that this mission field has expanded tremendously and includes new areas like the environment.

Cain asked God, "Am I my brother's keeper?" Well, the answer is simple and is "yes!" We are not be keepers like zoo keepers but to become carers - now that is a word all understand in 2010! We are called to care for our environment and all that is in it with us.

It is vital that we answer this call and campaign for world concern. If the seas rise then there will be millions of people in Bangladesh who will have to be relocated on a permanent basis. They are not the only ones for many others live in like areas. As rivers dry out many people will lose their cattle on which they depend for life itself. Where will they turn? Without expensive projects to protect them many people in the UK will be affected. The time is coming when the Thames Flood Barrier will have to be replaced! Think of those beautiful low lying islands where many people holiday. They will not exist! Without intervention, the world will suffer a great calamity and now is the time to set plans because tomorrow will be too late.

It is God's world we are talking about here and this tells the Christian that he has much work to do to save the planet. When Jesus said, "Feed my sheep" he meant go on feeding them, not bailing out when the cost becomes prohibitive. We have a continual and continuing task as Christians and we need to pray for the energy to pursue what are clearly objectives we need to recognise within the scope of our duty to God.

The Gospel of John

2010-09-28T13:01:00.007+01:00

John's Gospel has a value which increases beyond that of the others. The synoptic gospels tell us principally about what Jesus. The Gospel of John speaks more about who Jesus is, and this is of great importance in the current age of consumerism and self-image. It was crucial to John that Jesus was a real human being who lived at a particular point in time in a backwater of the Roman Empire. His great statement "The Word became flesh......and we have seen his glory" is an assertion that encountering the particular and the physical Jesus is a way, the way above all others, for humans to draw near to God.

In this gospel we find the great "I am" sayings of Jesus. "I am the Light of the World" - "I am the Bread of Life" - "I am the Good Shepherd" - "I am the True Vine" - "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life". When the church of the fourth and fifth centuries strove to articulate its doctrine of the Trinity it was the gospel of John to which it turned as its main biblical resource.

We hear in this gospel of water which meets the human needs of a thirsty Jesus, life-giving water that springs from the side of the crucified Jesus, water linked to the coming of the Spirit, water as a vehicle of baptism.

It is noticeable that this gospel does not include reference to two key incidents chronicled in the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke. In John we find no record of Jesus instituting Holy Communion at the Last Supper and neither do we find the story of the baptism of Jesus by John in the Jordan river. We are told that at the time this gospel was written people were treating these sacraments almost like magical events to be taken like pep pills. John wishes to demonstrate that these sacraments are related not simply to one moment in Jesus' life but to his whole self-giving life and ministry, summed up in a sacrificial death.

This great gospel of John has been cherished down the ages by the church because it was written for those who were not eye witnesses of Jesus' life, or their contemporaries. From his "eye in the sky" view John saw things in a perspective that makes sense to our generation for whom Jesus has been the lynch-pin of history.

My favourite story is from the end of John's narrative where Jesus challenges Peter, Saying, "Simon Peter, do you love me?" "Yes, Lord," says peter, "you know I love you!" Jesus replied, "Then feed my sheep." Sitting by this beach barbecue that include some of the great haul of fish, Jesus shared with his friends the mission to follow. They were eating the food they had sought all night but could not catch and it was a reminder of the food they were to offer in days to come. It is our reminder that we, in our time, are called to be "fishers of men" and also to feed those sheep that belong to Jesus, even though they deny it.

This redemptive work of the church will never be finished. All through our lives as Christians will be threaded a golden sacramental strand linking us to a saviour who gave up his life that we may have life in God's service.

As I have stated, this is the gospel that says who Jesus was and is. But it seems to me that it is also calling for a response from us. The story of Nicodemus tells us that we must be born again and ultimately the gospel closes with the same message. Reading through John's gospel keep on remembering, "So the Word became flesh; he made his home among us, and we saw his glory, such as befits the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth."

".......So Peter there is work for you to do. You are going to leave the fish business, which you know so well; you're going to leave it for good, and you're going into the sheep business, which at the moment you know precious little about. I want you to feed my lambs. I want you to look after my sheep. I want you to be you, because I love you and have redeemed you; and I want you to work for me, because out there are other people that I love, and I want you to be my word-become-flesh, my love sitting with them, praying with them, crying with them, celebrating with them. And how can you do it?........Peter, don't just tell them in words. Turn the words into flesh once more. tell them by the marks of the nails in your hands. tell them by your silent sharing of their grief, by your powerful and risky advocacy of them when they have nobody else to speak up for them. Tell them by giving up your life for them, so that when they find you they will find me. And Peter, remember: follow me."

John's is the gospel for us. Written for those who never saw Jesus, it speaks of what he did, where he went, to whom he spoke, but most importantly that Jesus is the word made flesh. John speaks about Jesus and he speaks about the real thing. We are linked not to baptism and a supper with friends but to a living Jesus who taught that everyday things like bread and water are the tangible signs of grace. This the gospel in which we read of the raising of Lazarus from death as a precursor to the resurrection of Jesus. He tells us who he is through the "I am" sayings. This is the gospel with the vast panoramic view of Christ's ministry in which we learn the truth

Caring for the planet

2010-07-01T20:25:00.005+01:00

In prehistoric times it was customary to throw perfectly crafted tools into ditches and waterways etc to give thanks to the spirits assumed by the people to ensure that their lives continued with sustenance and care. Just as in biblical times when sacrifices had to be perfect in every way, so the prehistoric hunter made sure that his axe, scraper or arrow was perfect in order to become a votive offering to the spirits whom he assumed were the controllers of life. He knew whence life came. He saw energy in the sun, fertility in the soil and the means of assuaging thirst in the waterways. So he gave thanks by casting into the voids these implements which he had made.

The prehistoric hunter and farmer was no fool. He understood where all life came from and worshipped that source. Today we do the same and put a name to that great source of life. God has given us all that we have and all that we are. His generosity has known no bounds. He has provided all that we need in terms of sustenance. When we say, "God is good!" we mean it. The statement is justified!

Going back to the Book of Genesis we read how God's spirit was hovering over the surface of the water. At that time the earth began to take shape. We may say that it was all created as a single entity or we may say we see a process called evolution. Either way we see that it is God's creation. From that ancient story of creation we see that God placed us in charge of the planet and its animals of each sort.

This, therefore, gives us very important levels of responsibility. As a small boy I used to wonder when the reserves of coal would run out and what we would do without this precious resource. My mother sued to smile at the thought of the earth running short of resources, thinking this was simply childish thinking on my part. Yet I have been proved correct. The World's resources are gradually getting less and therefore unable to sustain us. To continue to just take, take, take from the earth is to close our eyes and say, "Well, it will see me out" is completely wrong. It is to be totally unconcerned about what God has given us, and that is not right!

Just imagine - God has made us in his image which means we are to see everything from his perspective as trustworthy custodians of this planet on which we have been set. It is not just a place to be raped of every resource and we just expect the whole thing to be topped up again. God made me a responsible person. Therefore I must act that way in my approach to caring for this beautiful planet.

In John 21 we have the story of Jesus and the beach barbecue. Sitting there by the fire on the beach, Jesus asks Peter if he loves him. "Yes, Lord. You know I love you!" says Peter. Jesus answers, "Then feed my sheep." In other words, if we have responsibilities we have to discharge them sensibly and carefully. To be a responsible Christian includes not just church worship but also includes going out and caring for the planet and its people. We can see the single reason why the problem faces us. It is because resources mean power and power is lusted after by the greedy. The powerful people of life are quite prepared to denude the earth of its resources as long as there is profit in it for them.

The whole reason for nations being unable to reach agreement on carbon discharge and climate change is that it will cost a great deal of money and mean their profits take a plunge over the short term. Where would they get a fix to fill the gap? We already see nations turning off oil supplies that pass through their land for political gain. So we even have resources used as a weapon.

It is time that the penny dropped and made us all realise our responsibilities whilst we prepare to safeguard generations to come. If we continue to keep on worshipping power and money we are doomed. Only when we see the light that illuminates the work to be done is the world going to become a safe place for many generations to come.

What do you do for the Lord?

2010-05-26T13:09:00.003+01:00

It was in 1973 that a preacher at my original church, Manchester Road United Reformed Church, Nelson, Lancashire, told of his meeting with an old lady who was leaving church after his service. He had been asking what each member of the congregation did for God as they left for home. Greeting this old lady, he shook her hand and asked, "And what do you for the Lord?" Quick as a flash, she replied, "I wash up!"

It is a reminder that even the most menial of work within a church fellowship is done to the glory of God. When I heard those words in the sermon my mind went back to my days as a young boy growing up within that fellowship. I remembered important weekends when we all got together and worked hard to get the church or the school building ready for a big event. Over a few days each year we had the Annual At Home Days. For this we brought out all the most comfortable furniture and carpeted the floor of the hall to make it look as if we were at home. There we were entertained by concert parties and even an orchestra! What some churches called "The Annual Sale of Work" we called "The Big Effort" and we were known for this event across the town. Much work went on arranging the staging for the augmented choir's annual rendition of Handel's Messiah. We invited gifted singers as principals and the accompaniment was by the Nelson Orchestra and the church's own Carnegie organ. The event was in two parts, afternoon and evening.

All these great events were eagerly anticipated each year. Each one of them took an amazing amount of work by people of the church. We loved it because we were "doing it for the Lord". Christians believe in the "priesthood of all believers" and this was shown through the work put in to organise a great event in the life of the church. Each individual believer has his/her own priesthood. This is one of the wonderful privileges of being a Christian.

In these almost Godless days in the United Kingdom we are apt to write off the church as ineffective in working "for the Lord". Don't you believe it! Although the numbers are fewer there is an incredible amount of work being done at home and abroad by Christian believers. On the 15th May I was proud to have been invited to represent Mission Aviation Fellowship at a flying day at Caernarfon Airport. Yes, Caernarfon does have an airport! A new Christian Trust had been formed to help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to train as pilots. The Trust asked the Douglas Bader Foundation to come along and operate their Bader Braves event whereby youngsters with disabilities are able to have short pleasure flights accompanied by their families. To see the smiling faces of the young passengers as they completed their flights was amazing! The event will be run again in September because this event was oversubscribed. At that event the charity, Mercy Ships, was present as well as the Gideon Society and Mission Aviation Fellowship. There was also a group of young Christian musicians who were very talented.

We tend to think nothing is happening in God's service, particularly in Wales, but this is not true. Cast your net further afield and you will see Christian missionaries still beavering away all over the world. We at Mission Aviation fellowship exist to be their transport when difficult and impossible terrain would otherwise slow down or stop the work. We fly medics from Medecin San Frontieres, the Christian Blind Mission, Wycliffe Bible Translators and many more. Ask them "What do you do for the Lord?" and you will have a long list of activities that go to helping disadvantaged people everywhere.

Through my presentations for MAF I have learned just how many times people in inaccessible places are being reached and affected by the Gospel of Jesus. Experts are flown by MAF to help to every part of their lives. Even today there are people still being reached who have never been contacted by the world before. They are adding to the millions of those who continue to be reached in the name of Jesus. A great reason to shout, "Praise the Lord!"

So don't write off the Christians of today because their work is continuing everywhere it is needed. Remember that old hymn, "God is working his purpose out, as year succeeds to year." It remains true and we should give thanks that it is so.

Touching the Rock

2010-03-27T13:41:00.006Z

This week I led a lent discussion on the final part of this year's York Course, "When I survey...Christ's Cross and ours."

The Soviet dissident, Alexander Solzhenityn, lost everything except his life. Banished to the harsh labour camps of the Gulag Archipelago, he was known only by a number, stripped of clothing and made to dress in rags. he had no books, no pen and no paper. He was allowed no work that might give him dignity. He was now a slave with no contact with the outside world and succumbed to cancer. he dealt with this by sinking to the bottom from where he could slide no further. He could rely on the rock beneath to support him. Looking at Jesus, we see that he too was brought to the bottom of the abyss. But his words tell us he did not despair, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." Traditionally we think of Jesus as one with God the Father. But Paul writes: "Jesus being in the very nature of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross."

In the Apostles' Creed we read "he descended into hell." This really is a great mystery to us. How can we picture Jesus descending into hell? But we have the assurance that wherever the cross takes Jesus he finds his father there. In Psalm 139 we read, "If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in hell you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast."

For me, Job is a man who displays the marks of one stripped down to the bone and standing on the firm rock of hardship. "If only I could go back to the old days, to the time when God was watching over me, when his lamp shone above my head, and by its light I walked through the darkness!" God speaks to him through a storm: "Who is this who darkens counsel with words devoid of knowledge? This is the ultimate "put down line". God's tirade is terrible and frightening. But it speaks poetically of the role of God and how Job, a human being, has no part of it. The role of creator and created are completely separate. How dare the created one speak about his creator as he did?

Then Job sees where he has gone wrong and repents, knowing that now, in his misery he has found God so that he sees him face to face. Many people report having found God closest to them in times of hardship or great sorrow. This is the point where they are exposed to0 the widest limit to his love. This is the point from which they are able to restart their life's journey and rebuild that which has fallen. I once heard a preacher ask "How does God help us?" The answer was and remains, God has given us intelligence and physical strength with which to do most things. When the task gets too great he helps us carry the load. When it becomes just impossible he takes over our load. Only those who have been brought this low seem to be able to witness to having experienced God's presence.

It is God's love that offers us salvation. There appears never to be a point in our lives when we cannot repent and take Jesus into our hearts. Give thanks that this is the case. Yet this also brings us a challenge. God forgives and saves all, but there are those we human beings consider beyond redemption.

The German war criminal, Hermann Goerring used to be visited by his wife and daughter whilst awaiting trial at Nuremburg. To give privacy to husband and wife the Lutheran pastor in the prison would take the little girl into his office and talk to her. "Do you pray?" he asked on one occasion. "Yes," she said, "every might I ask God to make Daddy take Jesus into his heart." Even a child can see the great possibilities of salvation for all.

Finally, we think of the lowest point in life and see that God is there. His love is there and never waivers. In the hymn, "Rock of ages" we sing as people stripped of everything: "nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling." Can we make it? yes we can!

Overwhelming

2009-10-16T16:02:00.005+01:00

Just now the Revised Common Lectionary is covering the Book of Job in the Old Testament. This book is one of the most wonderful books of the Old Testament. It deals with the universal problem of suffering. Even today people say "What have I done to deserve this?" In the time of the story it was believed that to suffer was to be paid out for wrong doing. This is what Job's so-called comforters were trying to impress on him. Probably because he thought he really was being punished, Job could not understand his predicament. He had been immensely rich with a wife, children and vast flocks and herds of animals. He suddenly found himself divested of all these and had a dreadful smelly condition to worsen things. No one wanted to remain in his company for long!

For us, today, there remains the problem of how to deal with acute suffering. This will always be with us. Many people suffer pain throughout their lives and they know there is no pill that can make a difference. Quite often sufferers have found relief in a particular drug only to find that it is withdrawn as dangerous or having serious side effects. How will they carry on?

Sometimes it is just a great list of problems that beset a person and he or she must bear this load somehow. Perhaps they have been ill treated by someone, maybe abused sexually or otherwise. The fact is that that carry a burden that will not go away. Sleeping becomes a problem and perhaps nightmares add to the load. How can they cope with a burden this heavy?

Some people turn to prayer in order to pursue the road to release. But what if, once the prayer has been offered, there is a silence? What is their next move?

Throughout the world there are thousands and thousands of people who are suffering to this sort of degree. What do we say to them? What is the answer when they ask the question? Many of them have suffered an abuse, the memory of which remains throughout life. So there is no prospect of a release from this, is there? Be assured, there are many who find it difficult to cope with their own personal load. But they need help. Who can help them?

Some years ago I spoke to a woman who told me about the response from a Christian I knew. The woman had suddenly lost her husband and the Christian said to her, "Don't worry. God will give you strength. Just have faith and you will get through." The one thing lacking here was empathy. A few years later the second person lost her own husband. When she met the first woman, she could only apologise for the way she had spoken before.

We have to be honest and say that from time to time life can be completely overwhelming. So what is our response? In the news we come across many tales of people being so overwhelmed by their problems that they commit suicide. Sometimes, a member of our family takes this way out and we have to come to terms with what has happened. I have to say that there are no easy answers to situations like these.

Many years ago there was a great Christian called Dr Thomas Grenfell who worked as a doctor with the Labrador fishing fleets. He told the story of a young woman who had joined the crew of a fishing vessel as ship's cook. She was pregnant and Grenfell was called in to help her when a complication occurred. He took her off the ship and took care of her in a Moravian Mission Station. Her successfully corrected what was wrong in physical terms. But she just turned to him and said, "I can never go home, Doctor. I just want to die." When she died he had her buried on a headland and had placed on her grave a headstone which read, "Suzanne. And Jesus said,'neither do I condemn thee.'"

There are times when we do not know where to turn to get rid of a burden. We are simply overwhelmed by it. So, what can we do to deal with our load of worry and care? Well, I suggest we turn to Jesus to share it with him. It will not make our burden disappear but we shall know we are talking to one who empathises. The man on the cross endured great pain and agony for us. He knows what suffering is and he will not turn away if we go to him.

Speaking about the human condition, the ancient philosopher, Senecca once said, "What we need is a hand let down to the place of suffering." It has been my personal experience that this is not the way it works. I have taken ninety funeral services over the years and I have never shirked the problem of coping in grief. I have said to congregations of mourners that they will not be left alone to grieve. God will come to them and help them through. But how do this operate in practice? It works because God sends people to us (with or without their knowledge) and it is they who help us through. God always comes through fellow human beings. So what we experience is not a "hand let down" but a hand extended.

The problem of pain and suffering is always experienced as if we are alone. So when someone comes to us and offers their hand we have that realisation that no longer need we feel alone. As a teenager I listened to Pastor Martin Niemuller speaking to an audience. He spoke of his imprisonment by the Nazis and counted the doors that closed between him and "the book" as he was led to his cell for the first time. Without his Bible he felt alone. To feel alone and maybe forgotten is a dreadful feeling. So when a friend appears it is a great moment indeed.

We Christians declare that we are never alone but there are times when it really seems to be the case. It is frightening and marginalising. We become like poor children gazing through a sweet shop window at food we know will never be ours. It is a very effective ploy to make someone think they are alone and forgotten. Yet we have to get through somehow. No easy or trite answers can ever be expected. There will be those who will venture to suggest some platitude or other but ignore them. When the burden weighs down on you, simply remember that Jesus had a burden to carry too - a cross on which he was going to die. Whenever troubles pile up we can turn to one who has suffered before us and knows the feeling. No longer alone, we start to go forward with our burden. the burden remains, but the journey continues.

Liverpool Visit

2009-07-23T22:38:00.006+01:00

Yesterday I travelled by coach with a number of English and Welsh Christians from the Amlwch area of Anglesey to visit Liverpool. We have formed a group called Churches in Amlwch to explore what the different denominations in the small town can do together. Each year we meet during Lent and Advent to discuss our faith and how we relate as Christians to the world in which we live. We organise a Harvest Supper where we share a little entertainment after our meal. It is held at Bull Bay Golf Club which has become a popular venue for our meals together. In January we end the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity with another supper at the Golf Club.
But in July we have a day out. Last year we visited Bodnant Gardens in the Conwy Valley. This year, as with the Bodnant visit, our coach was full. We set off at 8.30am on a day of doubtful weather. How should we dress if rain was threatened? I spent the whole day in the company of Father Michael Ryan from the Roman catholic church in Amlwch. He was great company! Mike comes from Birkenhead so he gave me a commentary on just about every landmark we passed, going into Liverpool. He remarked on the level of change since he was last in the city. It didn't seem long since I last was there but the landscape had changed dramatically.
Our first stop was at the Roman Catholic cathedral and it was a magnificent building indeed. I felt very comfortable inside it and very much connected with it. For me it is a "people's cathedral" and more relevant to present times than any of the Gothic cathedrals I have visited. I say this as someone who is very interested in cathedral architecture. I feel the older cathedrals are wonderful in terms of design and status but I have to admit that this place truly impressed me.
The building is crowned with a massive lantern of multi-coloured glass and the effect of this is to admit the most amazing colours. As our guide was speaking the sun came out for a minute or so and we thought a spotlight had been switched on. The altar in the centre has above it an array of light and sound equipment which, to the outward eye, is simply a great crown of thorns. All the equipment is concealed within the design.
Around the great church are many side chapels and only one has a door. It was in this chapel that we held a short service and what an experience this was. Every chapel contains modern, and sometimes extraordinary, artwork. There is a wonderful modern depiction of Abraham about to kill the lamb caught in the thorn bush in place of Isaac, his son. But one chapel contains the slate tomb of the late Archbishop Derek Worlock, the previous Archbishop of Liverpool. He and the late Rt. Rev David Sheppard, Anglican Bishop of Liverpool, did much to defuse the Toxteth riots some years ago. These two men cared deeply for the people of Liverpool and risked their lives as they toured Liverpool 8 at the height of the rioting. Archbishop Derek expressed a wish to be buried in the cathedral and his wish was granted. Although he must be the only Archbishop to be buried over a car park. His remains are within the tomb and not below ground because the cathedral car park is just below his last resting place!
Mike and I had a light lunch in the cathedral cafe which is a wonderful eatery in its own right. then we went into the gift shop. It was there that we each bought a "holding cross" made from olive wood in the Holy Land. A holding cross is a small cross with offset cross pieces so that it can be held comfortable. You can use it to help with prayer or simply hold it in silence. Either way you end up holding on to the cross of Jesus which all Christians should do.
It was soon time to rejoin our coach and drive round to the Albert Dock. There the two of us wandered around the shops that lined the Albert Dock in which a number of small craft bobbed alongside the dock. We decided to visit the Maritime Museum. The top floor was dedicated to Liverpool's involvement in the slave trade. We learned a lot about how slaves were taken and transported to work for plantation owners in the New World. Lord Penrhyn, the founder of Penrhyn Castle outside Bangor was heavily involved in this vicious trade in humanity. His profits went towards the development of the slate quarries of North West Wales. In the end he could afford to build a castle to brag with to his friends.
The rooms below contained exhibits showing the war at sea involving the Merchant Navy. Many ships set out from Liverpool and never returned. There were depictions of sea battles and views through a periscope. Another area was all about the great Transatlantic liners that sailed from Liverpool to America.
After the Maritime Museum we entered the Tate Museum. here we saw the most unusual objects arranged to become sculptures. I came away from this establishment wondering what was art and what was a confidence trick!
We met to board the coach at 4.30pm and set off home by way of a hotel where we had a pleasant meal together. I arrived home very tired but convinced the journey had been worthwhile. I looked back and saw us as a little group of pilgrims on a journey together. We had seen some extraordinary things, many created to glorify God. It was worth it!

Chosen people

2009-05-17T16:58:00.006+01:00

How special does it feel to be some one's friend? I think we can assume it is a good feeling. To be without friends is to be left all alone with little to do. Today's lectionary reading in John's Gospel is another of what are sometimes called farewell discourse. It was a point in his ministry where Jesus was preparing for the continuing of the mission by his disciples after he had gone. He was, we could say, getting them ready for service.

"No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is about. I have called you friends, because I have disclosed to you everything that I heard from my Father." So now the disciples become friends and as such are taken into Jesus' confidence to prepare them for service. No longer servants, they are now in the picture. From now on they take on greater responsibility as friends of Jesus.

Speaking to us in 2009 the passage is preparing us for intensive service in spreading the good news. Of course, in 2009 it is not the most popular talking point. Christianity is not losing but has lost its popularity. So we are being prepared to fight a battle where the odds are heavily against us. But battles have been tilted against eventual winners before. The prophets of old found their work was just as hard and just as unpopular. But in the Old Testament we are reminded through the story of David and Goliath that even when the odds are very uneven we can still achieve our aims.

It is not be be forgotten that we are not just friends of Jesus but chosen friends of him. Jesus chooses us by calling us to service. So now we consider the new status of chosen friends. That makes us vital to the cause. Of that there can be no doubt. Two weeks ago I considered the idea of the "Good Shepherd". There is a popular shepherd image where the man carries a tiny lamb home to be cared for individually by his fire. Often, this image is treated as an "adorable fluffy little creature" picture. Yet, when you examine it closely the tiny lamb is important to the shepherd because he eventually wants to sell it at market. After all, he has to live! But don't consider this view as cynical for there can be no doubt that we too are in that same position where God is concerned. In a very real way God has invested in us.

If God has not invested in us then how will he get his job of salvation done? We are his only hands and his only feet. So, once again we are elevated - this time to the status of being indispensable. But don't let it go to your head because there is a lot of hard work involved! As chosen people much is expected of us. We may even be required to lay down our lives in this sort of service. Martyrs are not confined to the past. As I write this there are Christians serving in some very dangerous places where their lives are on the line.

One organisation that works all over the world helping to bring people all that they need is Mission Aviation Fellowship. I am proud to be their area representative for North Wales. We have over 180 light aircraft active throughout the world. Every three minutes an MAF aircraft takes of or lands somewhere in the world. There are many support staff behind our pilots. Whole families find themselves living in unusual circumstances as this incredible airline ferries doctors, nurses, water engineers, farming advisers, pastors and evangelists to the "coal face".

Over the past five years we have lost three pilots in Papua New Guinea as the work has been pushed forward in the name of Jesus.

So it still remains true that sometimes lives are laid down in the service of God. This work continues day by day and we never say "no, we cannot go". We use the term "Flying for Life" as our strap line. It really does describe the work we do. Many, many people receive vital medical intervention that enhances their life. In one case a large group who wanted desperately to get treatment for eye cataracts faced two days of travel behind two tractors over dreadful terrain to go 40 miles to the place where operations were taking place. One man seeing his nurse, after the operation to restore his sight, expressed a desire to marry her! Such is the effect of modern medical care out in the field.

You can see from this that many Christians see themselves as vital parts of a great mission commissioned by God. They are people who have c been chosen, chosen to be friends of Jesus. They do what he would be doing if he were involved in his ministry in this age. They have answered his call and are proud to be numbered among his friends. In our own individual ways we have to emulate this mission activity by responding to the call of Jesus.

How special is it to be a friend of Jesus? Extra special!!!

"I am the true vine"

2009-05-08T16:04:00.006+01:00

I love talking about vines because they produce wine! As a wine lover I know how much tender care is lavished on grape vines to achieve a good product. Vines are grown commercially on a grand scale all over the world. No longer are the best wines to be found only in France for growers in many other countries have learned how to grow grapes to make wine. In the UK we are fortunate in having access to just about every type of wine available. Our climate is a difficult one in which one can grow vines capable of producing a good wine.

However, this is not to say that there are no decent wines made from UK grapes. I know of two vineyards I have visited in the UK where you can find good wine. One is by the River Dart and the other is here in Anglesey 15 minutes from where I live. From each of these establishments I have purchased good wine, worthy of mention. In each case the owners have lavished great attention on their vines in order to achieve excellence.

I was talking yesterday to the owner of our local vineyard and I asked him about his vines and how far back they were pruned. The answer was that they were pruned back to the third bud. Jesus spoke about this when he referred to pruning in order to encourage new growth. Each year this process has to be completed correctly to ensure that the new growth is strong and plentiful. The wine being nurtured starts its life in the vine itself. We are called on to graft ourselves onto Jesus, the "true vine". Just like every garden in this world it is a matter of constantly working to see that the best standards are maintained.

This year I have found that extra bit of effort and stuck to the job of weeding my gardens, front and rear. Only today have I completed that task but it is important that I keep on top of the garden or it will defeat me eventually. Along with this I have built extra staging for my greenhouse to maximise the number of plants grown. I hope that eventually I will see the glory of all those plants coming to flower in the garden. The whole process has been undertaken with the harvest in mind. What a kick I get out of seeing tiny sprouts emerging in the seed trays. This reminds me that it is like working in God's vineyard. here too is joy and happiness to see the results of attentive work among the plants.

To see a seed coming through as a plant is to be reminded of the Resurrection of Jesus. It is all about "new life." The seed appears to be something dry and without life but, given the correct treatment by the gardener, it responds by coming to life as a lovely plant. Some of the seeds I have planted are microscopic and yet they bring forth such abundant flowers as they reach their zenith.

The work we do in the vineyard is crucial to the success of God's work in today's world. In a sense there are two separate ways of thinking about what we do. Firstly, we are called to graft ourselves on to Jesus, the true vine. This is absolutely essential. It is in this passage that Jesus refers to us as his friends. No longer are we the slaves of God as were the Old Testament prophets and leaders. Now we have become elevated to the status of being friends of Jesus. The late Professor William Barclay, in his Daily Study Bible, speaks about the Roman emperors who also had people referred to as friends. They even had access to Caesar's bedroom at the beginning of a day. They were closer to Caesar than any of his generals and other politicians. In like manner we are closer to Jesus than anyone else. we are so close we are grafted on to him.

There is also the reference to our work in the vineyard. It is vital that we carefully examine the nature and purpose of that work. By doing so we shall discover the way forward is all about TLC - Tender Loving Care. Thus we are not only friends of Jesus but friends of each other. We become trustworthy comrades in arms as we work together to get the message of Jesus across to the world in which we live and work. Loving one another is an important part of going forward in the name of Jesus. we are vital to the cause and we need to see that Jesus has no hands but ours and no feet but ours. Trusting in him and his judgement, we shall achieve great things. This will not be for us but for God, our creator and friend.

It's great to be a Christian because we are involved with the greatest figure in all history. We really are members of the A team! But what we now need most is courage. It is courage that will lead to our picking up our tools to work for Jesus. We need to make that start and make progress as we meet people from all manner of places in our daily life. It's hard work but it's rewarding work to be God's gardener!

"I am the Good Shepherd"

2009-05-01T08:54:00.008+01:00

Today's lectionary readings draw together two of the most famous images in the Bible. From the Old Testament there is the 23rd Psalm which speaks in pastoral imagery of God leading the traveller through the countryside and even through the "valley of the shadow of death". The Gospel reading is from John's gospel and is the passage where Jesus speaks of himself as the "Good Shepherd". This is one of the "I am" statements by Jesus, all of which are found in John's gospel. Linking the two passages we can see how God is the good shepherd of the Psalm and Jesus assumes the role in John's gospel.

It is, perhaps, difficult in an industrial age to really find oneself in these stories. They speak clearly of the pastoral scene. Yet we would do well to try to see these two similar images in the sort of life we lead today. It is quite easy for me, living in a rural area where the agricultural scene is of mainly sheep farming. But, having lived in the vast conurbation of Greater Manchester, I can see the value of taking time to quietly assess life through the pastoral scene. It is precisely because we are trapped in today's increasingly stressful living that we need, perhaps at the end of a day, to take stock of our life and consider the role of the shepherd.

At the end of his working day, the shepherd of biblical days would lie down across the entrance to the sheepfold. In this way he would be protecting the sheep in the fold by ensuring that any dangerous animal would have to deal with him before attacking the sheep. As he lay there he would stare up at the night sky and see thousands of tiny sources of light across the heavens. He must have wondered what they really were as well as considering their beauty. Lying there he would go back over his day and see a job well done and be content.

But if the shepherd were simply a hired man with no affiliation to this particular flock it would be a different matter. The sheep did not matter as much to him because they belonged to another. There is a difference in commitment expressed in the words of Jesus. He was drawing a comparison between the leaders of Judaism and the Son of God. Jesus was the one who was totally committed to his followers, committed to the point of giving up his life for them. This is a man we can trust.

If you were to compare trustworthy people the one who is prepared to die for you has to be at the very top of the list. No one can be more trustworthy and no one can be more worthy of praise. As Christians we need to see ourselves as in partnership with the Good Shepherd. In his company we can really go places and achieve amazing goals for his sake. Using the imagery of the shepherd working in the pastoral scene, we need also to see that in today's frenetic life we should stop trying to do everything ourselves. Once we do this we come to a place where God can enter and support what we do. Take a step back and allow God to play a part in your life. You will get few prizes for burning yourself out and failing to help others.

Some years ago a former Archbishop of Canterbury was on a visit to the United States. In a press conference a reporter asked him, "Say, your Grace, are you packing them in back there in England?" "One at a time, my man, one at a time" was the Archbishop's reply. We really do need to find time in our busy lives to just pause and let the fresh air in. It is just like opening a window in a stuffy room, and it makes a big difference.

You never see a shepherd dashing to lead his sheep to pasture. I have seen shepherds in Greece where they tend their flocks in the biblical manner. Steadily they stride out to the pastures and the sheep, trustingly, follow them. The next thing one sees is a shepherd leaning on his staff and quietly watching his sheep. Should they wander towards danger a shrill whistle accompanies an accurately thrown stone to get them to move out of the danger zone. From this you can see how David, when a shepherd, was deadly accurate with the sling that killed Goliath. It is commonly thought that his sling was only to fight off dangerous killers but he would also know how to direct the sheep away from danger.

To be a leader using the pastoral image of a shepherd is to be a person of great inspiration. Jesus was nothing if he did not inspire others. It was his mission and he pulled it off. It also teaches us that when we see our heart's desire within our Christian mission it will not be achieved instantly. The mission is a slow deliberate affair. We shall reach those who need Jesus slowly and steadily. That calm approach is, in itself, amazingly inspirational.

Resurrection Witnesses

2009-04-26T10:04:00.007+01:00

Resurrection is a difficult concept for some people to accept. The events are too ridiculous to believe outright and, perhaps for some, mythological and hard to believe. This is quite understandable because some people simply cannot believe in what would be described as a miracle. For them there always has to be an explanation and if one cannot be found then belief is impossible. But for some people it is the Resurrection that makes all the difference and draws them to Jesus. It is his rising from death that seals their belief in him. It is this that starts a life-long commitment to service in his name.
Last week I found that a member of the congregation where I was preaching simply could not accept the idea of Jesus being "the walking dead". I can sympathise with this because I know that it is a "worked out" view on the part of the person to whom I spoke. I know that he has a great faith that he found by sharing regular worship in a loving fellowship. The manner in which he accepts Jesus as Lord is not for me or you to criticise.
Many of us have found a number of obstacles along the path to faith. During my teens and twenties I was challenged by people who declared some of the gospel stories simply untrue and unlikely. This gave me much discomfort because I could see their point. It challenged me for many years. Then I heard a minister speak on the subject "Doubts and Certainties". As I listened he admitted he had strong doubts about the credibility of a number of the Bible stories. Suddenly my discomfort disappeared. Here was someone else who was a Christian and harboured very similar doubts to mine.
But these doubts are dealt with by a Christian through the vehicle of faith. In the Book of Hebrews, Chapter 11 we hear "Faith gives substance to our hopes and convinces us of realities we do not see." Put it this way: If we had no doubts we should need no faith. You see, faith is what makes all the difference. It is the difference between a religious life led by way of adopting and following custom and one where a spiritual dimension is the driving force. All of us can see the part played by the spiritual dimension, even those considered to be heretics because they put forward theories which discount resurrection and miracles. This spiritual approach is common to all Christians.
So how can we all be described as "Resurrection Witnesses"? Through the aforementioned spiritual dimension we are bound together as Christians. We may not share that vision of a resurrected Jesus walking through closed doors, revealing himself in broken bread, challenging Thomas to touch the marks of crucifixion. But we share the common knowledge of the power of Jesus still at work in the world through us. This is expressed in the Holy Trinity - God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In short we have the certainty, through faith, that He is alive and in us and working through us. We may not be able to explain it but it is still real to us.

Doubting Thomas

2009-04-18T18:48:00.008+01:00

Today is known as Low Sunday in the Christian calendar. In one sense it could be that after the high of Easter Day it is appropriate that the following Sunday should be Low Sunday. I have heard it suggested that it is so named because preachers cannot match the Resurrection celebration message of Easter Day. Personally I see it as a second Resurrection Day. It is simply impossible to include every story related to the resurrection in a single day's service.

According to the many stories contained in the Gospels it is an incredibly busy day. The women discover the empty tomb and Mary speaks to Jesus in the garden. The disciples hear from the women that Jesus has risen. Jesus visits the disciples and Thomas is missing. Travellers towards Emmaus meet Jesus "twice" and realise who has broken bread with them. That is a great deal to take place in one day and it is breath-taking in pace.

Above all, it is a day of amazing spiritual experiences that changed the world. Looking first at the scene in the garden we have the spiritual experience of Mary who simply recognises Jesus by the way he says her name. The women excitedly go to the disciples with astounding news - "We have seen the Lord!" Like Thomas on the later occasion, they are sceptical and need to go and see for themselves. The empty tomb convinces them and they find themselves on a higher level in spiritual terms. Then Jesus meets the disciples, walking in through a bolted door. What a moment this was for these men. Thomas comes later and hears the news. He is sceptical and wants physical evidence on a one to one basis before he will believe. The moment comes and he is lifted to a height he never imagined he could attain. So too, only when their invited guest breaks bread do the travellers realise who has been talking to them as they walked along the road.

In each case where Jesus appears his is not, at first, recognised. I think the reason for this is that no one thought he could possibly rise from death and so they were blinded to the reality at first. But when the realisation strikes them they have the most wonderful spiritual experience. For Mary it was the sound of that voice that awakened her heart and mind. The voice she knew so well spoke to her and suddenly she knew that her beloved Jesus was back and back for good! The disciples experienced it twice. They were convinced by the empty tomb and then they saw Jesus for themselves. Life would never be the same and it fired them with a passion to go out and tell the world. Thomas was given the evidence he desired and that too sent him forward on a mission to tell everyone. On the way to Emmaus the travellers did not see Jesus in terms of recognition. But immediately he broke the bread they were on fire with a passionate zeal and in no time were on their way to spread the news.

Others must have been soon told this unbelievable news and shot off in their turn to tell out what they had heard. the Resurrection was the biggest item of "breaking news" imaginable. It was from this time that the authorities realised what an enemy Jesus had become to them. Their position was now in jeopardy as the news went round like wild fire. We know from the Acts of the Apostles that they were given a hard time as news came back to them of the exploits of the now fearless apostles.

The fact is that from that time there have been millions who have heard the news and reacted by following Jesus. In his day, John Wesley spoke of having his heart "strangely warmed". This is the sort of feeling we get when we suddenly accept the resurrection as a fact. I remember going to a Billy Graham Crusade at Maine Road Stadium, Manchester in 1960. That night Billy Graham was not present because he was ill. His brother in law, Leighton Ford, preached in his place. Up to that point I had accepted Jesus, but only then did my spiritual experience come!

This is something many Christians have been able to say over the centuries. They have searched and eventually found the truth but there comes that moment when the import of the news hits them. It is not only the moment of truth but the motivation for the future. I think it is also important to hang on to that motivating moment because it is all too easily to lose one's impetus when troubles strike. No matter what happens we can still look back to that remembered moment and say, but that is what tells me that Jesus is alive and is with me always. It is as if we were on the Emmaus road and said like those travelling friends, "Were not our hearts on fire as he talked with us on the road and explained the scriptures to us?"

Yes, we go back to the points when our hearts were on fire and affirm ourselves again in the faith. To do this is to be certain of moving forward in the name of Jesus who showed us the true nature of God whom we worship and adore.

Christ is risen!

2009-04-11T18:48:00.013+01:00

Each year we go through Lent, remembering the path Jesus took that ended in Crucifixion. Traditionally we share thoughts about scripture in what we call "Lenten Studies". It is a time when we can share some of our close held beliefs with others of different branches of the Christian church. Towards the end of Lent we have Palm Sunday when the mood lightens to welcome Jesus on his way to Jerusalem.

In the Greek Orthodox Church they have two points in Lent where celebration is the tradition. Palm Sunday is one but at the very beginning of Lent they have a national holiday called Clean Monday. On this day they go outside to enjoy the fresh air and many fly kites. Others simply organise trips to lakes, mountains, seaside etc. This is in accordance with Jesus' words telling people not to go about sombrely with long faces to show they are fasting. Instead they are to carry on as normal because God, the one who needs to see the fasting, knows what they are doing.

But today we have the wonderful climax of Easter Day. This is the day when we have the greatest cause for celebration - the Resurrection of Jesus! We share the joy of the disciples when they heard the news and ran to the tomb for evidence. They had been feeling down and out as far as any mission was concerned. Everything had come to an end and they felt defeated with their Lord dead in a tomb. They fully expected to be next on the arrest list of the authorities as one by one they were declared followers of this cause.

Then they heard the most unbelievable news and it caused them to race to the tomb where Jesus' body had been laid. Before them was an astounding sight. The huge circular stone sealing the doorway to the tomb was on one side! Could the news be true? Was it possible that Jesus had the power to rise from the dead? Well, it could be because only a short time ago they had been there when Lazarus came back from the dead. But this was not Lazarus! This was the man who had called them from their daily work to follow him and help with the mission. This was the man they had seen cure the sick and the lame. So it might be true. They looked inside the cave tomb and saw - NOTHING! All that was there was the winding sheet, neatly folded away. WOW!

So where was the Saviour? They reassembled in the place they had left to go to the tomb and waited. Jesus just walked in even though the door was barred. He breathed on them and they knew he was alive. This was a unique experience. No one else had and would never witness what they saw before them. Here was evidence of resurrection. Here was the power of God mightily displayed.

Later that day some other supporters of Jesus were walking home towards Emmaus, talking about the events in Jerusalem. Like many other people who had seen Jesus at work they were disappointed at the outcome. Jesus joined them but they were so disappointed in what had happened they never looked to see this stranger who accompanied them along the road. As they walked along he explained how everything they had seen had been part of God's plan. Still they didn't recognise him. Being hospitable types they asked him in to have a meal with them and stay the night before continuing his journey the next day.

Everyone had sat down to the meal and they were looking forward to some food after this long day in Jerusalem. As guest, Jesus was invited to break bread and suddenly they recognised their guest. They were overjoyed and went wild to think they had entertained God's Son in their house. Wouldn't you? Jesus had left them but there was now so much more to excitedly talk about. After all, it wasn't everyday you shared a meal with such a person as Jesus.

Easter Day is a day when we celebrate like mad to show the world we have a Saviour who can make the difference that discouraged people need. He can pick you up and set you on a fantastic journey if you are prepared to say like Doubting Thomas, "My Lord and my God!"

Next week it will be Easter Day for our Greek Orthodox friends and as the day dawns just after midnight their priest will come to them and shout "Christos Anesti" and they will shout "Christos Anesti" back to him. The words simply say "Christ is Risen!" On their Easter Day they will be roasting the pascal lamb in pits specially dug. Fresh bread will be baking in the ovens and the atmosphere will be alive with the joy of resurrection. What a day for feasting!

Good Friday

2009-04-10T16:39:00.003+01:00

It is the tradition in the small town of Amlwch that the five denominations of the Christian church walk round the town with a cross on Good Friday each year. Today we assembled on a car park and before walking round the town in silence we were led in prayer by the Rector of Amlwch. He read a passage from the gospels and we sang together the hymn, "The Servant King". We then walked is silence along the main street and crossed the town bypass to walk up Mona Street to our second station where I, on behalf of the local Methodist church, offered prayer and read a gospel passage. My passage was about Peter's thrice denial of Jesus.

Now we crossed Mona Street with the Rector carrying the cross this time - I carried his prayer book to allow him to do this. Across the road from the local supermarket was our third station where the Roman Catholic priest, father Michael, led our prayers. On we walked once more to the snooker club outside which the former minister at Capel Mawr, Rev Will Williams, led the prayers. Our last stop was just across outside the scout headquarters where our little service was led by someone from the Pentecostal church in Amlwch.

Our little pilgrimage was over so we went inside for a welcome pannad and hot cross buns. (Pannad is the Welsh equivalent of "a cuppa".) It had been an experience again. I found , as in the previous year, that walking in silence we were able to reflect on what Jesus did for us 2,000 years ago. Our Lord was delivered into the hands of his enemies without resistance. He said very little to claim who he was. The Sanhedrin condemned him using false testimony by paid "witnesses". He was whipped and robbed of his only possession - a robe. Then after being made to carry his own cross his hands were fixed to the cross by nails and he was crucified between two criminals.

At 3 o'clock this afternoon I was walking to my greenhouse and paused to think of Jesus dying at that same hour upon the cross. He must have been in terrible pain. Despite his agony he told his great friend, John, to take in Mary, his mother. He told her she was now to consider John her son. What a man, to think of his mother's future as he slowly died on a cross! Not only that, but he did it for me that I might discover the way through to God.

Thoughts on Mothering Sunday

2009-03-22T13:17:00.003Z

Today in church the Worship Group was in charge of the service. We decided to share with our friends our thoughts about the importance of the family. Three bible passages were highlighted: Moses in the bull rushes, Jesus aged 12 talking to the temple elders whilst his parents searched for him and Jesus on the cross giving his friend John to his mother, Mary.

The first reading was performed as a mime and showed Moses' mother ensuring her child would survive the mass slaughter by hiding him in a sealed basket in the rushes on the river side. She ensured that she would be the one to guide his very early years in the Hebrew tradition. her preference would normally be to keep him close to her and bring him up within the family. But the king of Egypt, fearful that the Israelites might one day outnumber the Egyptians, gave orders to destroy the infants. This woman was determined to save her baby and came up with a "cunning plan". In the event she was able to do what a mother does for her child until the time when he could be fully introduced into the royal household.

At the age of 12 Jesus was found to be missing on the long trek home from Jerusalem. Joseph and Mary were at their wits end. They thought he must have been with another branch of their family. Finding this was not the case they retraced their steps back as far as the Temple in Jerusalem. There he was, large as life, chatting seriously to the elders of the Temple. Chided by his parents for lingering and they not knowing where he was his reply was, "Where else would I be?" The fear of the missing child was replaced by the knowledge that even as early as this he was preparing for his future in God's mission.

The final scene was that of Jesus suffering on the cross. Despite the pain and the agony, he was concerned for his mother and gave her into the keeping of his beloved disciple. Note that his mother, his aunt, Mary the wife of Clopas and John were standing at the foot of the cross. It was a dangerous place to be for it suggested to the authorities that they were the supporters of this man condemned as a common criminal. They were taking a risk. I feel sure Mary was there to tell her son he would not die alone and that her love was with him to the very end. She too was supported by family and close friends.

Despite the agony he suffered he cared for his mother. He cares for us in just the same way. In giving John to Mary and Mary to John he was establishing a new family of which we are part. His mother would keep this in her heart the rest of her life. He was her first born and very precious. There she stood, pouring out her her mother-love as his life was slowly taken away. What greater love could she show at this time?

We, today, are the current members of his family. We are commended to show each other love to support and uphold us as we travel through life. We, not any single building, are the church of Jesus Christ on earth. Ours is a great family and one which is closely knit. Our care for one another is what supports and motivates us as we seek to share Jesus with the world around us. In that great family Jesus stands, not only as our Lord, but as our elder brother. His leadership role as elder brother takes through the divide between heaven and earth to the throne of God himself. dwelling in this family, what have we to fear?

Babylon

2009-02-28T17:40:00.003Z

A few days ago we travelled to London to visit the exhibition, Babylon, at the British Museum. It is many years since I last visited the British Museum and I looked forward to seeing what they had gathered to make up the exhibition.

I was fascinated to see, albeit behind glass, some cuneiform etched small cylinders. It was even more fascinating to read that they were used as what are today called time capsules and were buried in the foundations of important buildings. I knew there was at least one of these items there but had not reached the point where I knew they were items containing information for the benefit of future generations who might be digging in that place.

Nebuchadnezzar was the king who ensured Babylon was a great city. He set to and built the most magnificent buildings imaginable. He was justifiably proud of the great city. When buildings were under construction the builders added many bricks on which was inscribed the king's name. Such a brick was displayed in the exhibition. Not only was the king's name there but also some ancient graffiti which was the name in Aramaic of the workman, Zabina.

Nebuchadnezzar's son, Belshazzar, eventually succeeded his father and ruled the city and the lands surrounding it. According to the Bible, he held a great feast when suddenly he saw a frightening vision of a ghostly hand writing on the wall. Daniel had interpreted a dream for his father, so the king sent for him to interpret this ghostly writing. Essentially it said "You have been weighed in the balance and found wanting". Close to the picture of Belshazzar's feast one could see a representation of the ghostly hand writing the message above our heads.

Later, Daniel was brought to Belshazzar because he did not worship his king in line with the law of the Medes and Persians. The punishment was to be thrown into a den of lions. Daniel was thrown to the lions and the king set his seal on the closure stone. He was greatly disturbed that night and returned to the pit. He called out to Daniel who was unharmed. Daniel was released. I saw a picture at the museum which I have reproduced at the head of this blog. It was a massive picture and depicted Daniel in the pit with seven lions before him. His hands were bound but, as well as depicting seven hungry lions, the artist shows a back view of a very calm Daniel, obviously unafraid of these dangerous beasts.

From the gardens of Babylon there was a small clay tablet with cuneiform writing listing all the plants grown there. Other clay tablets provided calculations for designing and buildings a building. There was evidence that the Babylonians worked in numbers based on 60. Whatever counting system we may use the world has in common the basis of 60 for units of time. They too used hours as units of time but an hour changed in length as it followed the changing seasons. This meant that a winter hour was much shorter that a summer hour.

I found it fascinating to see the many artifacts recovered from this great and ancient city referred to in the Bible. So much of the Old Testament is about people whose existence has yet to be proved through the work of archaeologists. Yet here was proof positive of the existence of Babylon. This was the city that God is said to have defeated by confusing their communications and giving the difference of language. This was the city whose ziggurat was the fabled Tower of Babel. It was all laid out for the visitor to see. What a privilege!

The Signposting Light

2008-12-12T14:36:00.004Z

This Sunday's lectionary reading in the Gospels is part of John's prologue. This part of John's Gospel gives us a brief resume of the content to follow. It is also some of the reading from John that is read out in "Nine Lessons and Carols".

If John was a light in any sense of the word it was as a brightly lit sign that pointed towards Jesus. God's work of redemption that began some 2,000 years ago really began with the appearance of John in the wilderness, calling on people to repent of their sins. John's entire function can be seen as a prologue to the three year ministry of Jesus. The Jewish leaders from Jerusalem came to ask John who he thought he was. Are you the Messiah? No! Are you Elijah? No! Are you the Prophet? No!

John had gone into the wilderness to perform a work of preparation. He was a key figure in God's intervention, though. It was John who had to begin showing the people the error of their ways. His answer to the Jewish leaders was, "I am a voice crying in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way for the Lord.'" The work had to start somewhere, and it started with John baptising in the Jordan. John spoke about his baptism with water but told his challengers that he was just the herald for one who would baptise in the Holy Spirit.

So, at this stage we can see a physical baptism in the hands of John. But, as a light, he is now pointing to a baptism at a higher level - in other words he refers to the brighter light of Jesus, the Son of God. John was motivated to baptise in the River Jordan having remonstrated with people at the way they lived their lives. This was the limit of his work. Though he could see the remedy through listening to Jesus his own work was short lived. His function was short indeed. Sadly, he lost his life through his work in the wilderness. Nevertheless, he was a vital function in the process of salvation.

In many ways we can see how the role of John suggests the role we Christians must play. We can be described as a light but can never be "The Light" which is the heavenly function of Jesus. We, as John was, are vital in the salvation process but can only be, at best, a light pointing to "the light". But at least it tells us what our function is and where we stand in the whole process. To be "a" light to a dark world is a test we are more than capable of being but it is the greater task of being "the" light that is born by Jesus. Being signposts to Jesus is a great responsibility but it an achievable task and function for us.

It has been said that we need to be Jesus to the people. But John, in his time, denied being the Messiah or any suggested prophet. In fact, I believe it is true to say that our light lens reflects the light from Jesus himself. At many funeral services I have comforted mourners and told them that God will not leave them alone in their grief and that he will come to them. Now it is vital that they know how God will come. So I have continued by saying that when he comes it will be through other people who bring them comfort. This is one way in which we are called to act as reflections of the light of Jesus.

Many centuries ago, a philosopher by the name of Seneca declared that what we needed was a hand let down to lift them up. Here, he was describing the human condition. It is the hand of Jesus that lifts us up out of the old life and into the new. We have to point people to the light where there is also that hand let down to lift up the pilgrim.

Recently I spoke to a friend of mine who was really down in the dumps. He was concerned about his marriage. He felt utterly at a loss to explain why, having always tried to do the right thing, he was now suffering and concerned that what he had built up would collapse around him. After an hour's conversation with me he felt less alone and his voice, on the phone, was noticeably stronger. A later email confirmed that our talk had helped him greatly and he could see the way forward more clearly. Here is an instance of how we can make a difference by reflecting the light of Jesus.

The fact is that God calls us to be many different things and it is through this that we are to witness to the light. We are called to have confidence in what we were created to be and do. It is in this way that we shine and illuminate the path to God.

A tear ago John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, cut up his dog collar on TV, declaring he will not wear a dog collar again until the tyrant of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe has been overthrown. Here was a light shining on the path of faith to Jesus. In a group of Christians earlier this year a Roman Catholiv priest asked, "When Robert Mugabe dies, who will conduct afuneral service for him?" The tyrant is a Christian and a Roman Catholic but has not lived the life signposted by other believers and scorns the efforts of any church to make a difference in Zimbabwe.

I know a man who was a missionary in the days of UDI in what was once called Rhodesia. At that time he was criticised for going to visit Mugabe in jail and listening to his great plans for the country. Even though this man did as Jesus challenged him to do by visiting this man in prison the ultimate end has become a farce in which Mugabe, man of the moment when Zimbabwe was born, presides over a country that he has raped and raped again with impunity.

Here is just one of the countless injustices of today's world, challenging us to stand up, be counted, and point the way forward to Jesus, Saviour of the world.

I now return to my favourite theme. Sitting beside the lake with fish cooking on a beach barbecue, Jesus challenged Peter, "Simon Peter, do you love me?" "Yes, Lord, you know I love you!" was the answer. Jesus simply said, "Then feed my sheep." It is by feeding those sheep that we shine the light that points to Jesus. It is a simple request and yet a great challenge to us. "Feed my sheep."

We need to look for inovative ways in which to connect to people of the 21st century. They have reached the point where they see the church generally as irrelevent. Yet the common cry they make is "What we need is a hand let down to lift us up!" They cry out for help. So what should we do?

Practical Christianity

2008-11-17T13:17:00.008Z

Sunday 23rd November 2008 is the final Sunday in the Lectionary and the final Bible passage is about the parable of "the Sheep and the Goats". In 1991 we celebrated our Silver Wedding anniversary with a holiday on a Greek island we had always wanted to visit. We spent two weeks in Crete at the north western end of the island near the former capital, Xania. This, we found, was a very different Greek island from those we had visited before. For one thing it was so big it seemed like an independent state!

We decided to hire a car for three days and on the first day we drove into the mountains. The upward journey was fascinating as we turned tight bends and looked down on villages so far below us. One of the features of this journey was the occasional plateau we encountered as we drove slowly to the heights. It was on the final plateau that I suddenly saw, for the first time, a shepherd leading his sheep in the biblical style. Not only that but there were two separate groups of animals. There was a flock of sheep mixed in with a herd of goats. My immediate thought was "Matthew Chapter 25!" Now I appreciated that there were times when sheep were separated from goats because here was proof that they lived together.

Later during our holiday we were returning to our apartment when I noticed that a friend of George (owner of our apartments) and he were deep in conversation whilst his friend kept watch over a flock of sheep. They talked on an occasionally the shepherd whistled at his sheep to keep them from wandering into the stream that flowed close by. If they still got too close for safety he would accurately hurl a stone in their direction. The reaction was that the sheep moved away from danger. Now I had witnessed sufficient to understand the life of the biblical shepherd who tended his sheep without the aid of a trained dog.

Whenever I read the lectionary passage I think of the day when I saw for myself the life of the shepherd described in the Gospel. I think too of another passage, this time from John's Gospel, Chapter 21. It is the story of Jesus showing the unsuccessful fishermen where the fish they seek are to be found and then offering them a meal of fish cooked on the beach. Sitting there by the fire, he asks Peter three times, "Do you love me?" The answer is "Yes" three times. The response from Jesus is this, "Feed my sheep."

It is this concluding response from Jesus that links back to the passage in Matthew's Gospel. It underscores the Christian's duty which is to act and not just think. If all we do is talk and think but never actually go out and do something for others we are ineffective. Jesus did not die on the Cross so that we could feel good about ourselves and simply watch others in need without action to help them. Look at it this way - Jesus accepted death on the Cross as an action to save us. It is obvious that this activity is a challenge to us to go and do something ourselves. We are his hands and his feet and without us his salvation task is all the harder. I decided at an early point during my preaching years that Christianity is a practical, way of life.

The futility of the non active Christian is pointed out very graphically in the film, "Life of Brian" when Brian is nailed to the Cross and help comes in the form of a suicide squad. The local activists who saw potential in Brian did nothing but hold committee meetings. I hope that we are not like them and "all talk." We are challenged to take physical steps in order to spread the good news of Jesus Christ. This should be seen as going out into the world and not placing welcome signs on our church buildings. We have not been called to be theatre managers, getting backsides on seats, but as helping hands in a world of hardship and fear for most of its population.

In my formative years I remember a culture of listing the things that a Christian did not do. He/she did not drink, swear, smoke, go to the cinema on a Sunday, buy sweets on a Sunday etc, etc, etc. I heard very little that concerned what a Christian actually did. I think he/she simply went to church on Sundays and read the Bible during the week!

Not long ago I heard an excellent sermon illustration that highlights on of today's Christian attitudes. A Welshman found himself marooned on a desert island with years passing with no ship in sight that he might contact. Finding himself alone on the island he made good use of the local resources and constructed a very comfortable house to live in as well as other useful buildings. One day a ship hove into sight and he waved for help. He was spotted and taken off immediately. The ship's captain congratulated him on the way he had provided for himself so ably. "That's very handsome building at the west end of the beach. What is it?" "That," the man replied, "is the chapel that I go to." "And what is the building at the east end of the beach?" asked the captain. "That is the chapel that I don't go to." replied the man.

Perhaps we feel we have to ensure that there are things we do not do and places we do not frequent if we are to be called Christians. Yet, the clear call of Jesus is to serve him by serving his people.

Speaking personally, I do not wish to stand at the end of my earthly life and discover I have not fed the hungry, not brought drink to the thirsty, not taken in the stranger, not clothed the naked, not visited the sick or the prisoner. For me that would be an indictment I could not bear. Yet, on many an occasion I have felt like a bystander instead of an involved Christian.

At this time last year the members of my local Methodist Circuit Meeting heard of the plight of a Welsh sheep farmer who was staring bankruptcy in the face. He had never fully recovered from the effects of the major outbreak of foot and mouth disease some years ago. In June of 2007 he had been present when his father had a heart attack and died. Although he tried to help him his father died. Very soon afterwards came a minor outbreak of foot and mouth in southern England which caused a halt to the movement of all livestock. He was just about to export his lambs to the continent. What a blow it was! His creditors were demanding payment of the bills that had mounted up and he had no means of payment.

Rescue came when the Agricultural Chaplain suggested he organised a direct selling campaign. Arrangements were made to advertise lamb among churches and WIs at a low price. The orders came in thick and fast. Lambs were slaughtered and butchered at the abattoir and then brought back to the farm for packing. Then the cars began arriving to transport the meat back to the churches and WIs. Eventually all the available lamb was sold and the bills were covered. A follow up plan to sell pork through the same outlets was not needed and he was home and dry.

I personally made three journeys to the farm to collect lamb for which I had got orders. Above is the beautiful mountainous countryside where those lambs grazed. Finding Welsh addresses in the dark is quite difficult, I can assure you. But the task was finished and for the first time in my life I felt I had done something really worthwhile. It was a task that linked directly to Matthew Chapter 25.

An ineffectual church is something we can do without. We have to be there in the middle of life as Jesus was. Remember this poem:

"Some want to live with in the sound of church or chapel bell.

I want to run a rescue shop, within a yard of hell."

Reading Matthew's gospel we can see how we are called to practical service. Our lives will be seen in terms of how much practicality there is and not the quantity of profound thought. We have to avoid the endless committee meetings and simply get on with an urgent task. This the message we have to preach next Sunday.

Miracle or not?

2008-10-29T16:06:00.006Z

Growing up as a child and teenager in a church environment created certain pictures in my mind. In those days I would never question what appeared to be miracles recorded in the Bible. I had done no study of the subject and therefore took the whole idea at face value.

Later on in life I was challenged to take another look at all this and see what I thought then. I met a man who was very keen to describe Jesus as a political figure and this threw me in my thinking. But eventually I began examining the miracle stories and started to wonder if they were true. I came across a story about a group of soldiers who were in the Sinai Camel Corps and had halted at a dry wadi. At the foot of a rock face they could see water trickling out of the limestone rock. They were slowly trying to expose the foot of the rock face to see if more water could be persuaded to come out. The sergeant became exasperated at the slow pace of their activities and grabbed a spade from one man, exclaiming, "Here, give it to me!" He started to swing the spade in huge powerful strokes to get down into the rough sand. One swing was off target and he hit the rock with some force. The outer crust of hard rock broke away, exposing the softer stone beneath and out from an aperture gushed a great fountain of water.

Moses found water in this way on at least two occasions. No doubt he had discovered the technique whilst exiled among the Midianites. So we appear to have discovered a local feature that, to anyone who had not been in this place previously, would have appeared miraculous. So now we have the problem of how to view the so-called miracle of Exodus Chapter 17. It seems that we will understand the story better by treating it, not as a miracle, but an episode of wonder expressed by people who had not seen this happen before.

Earlier in Exodus we have the story of the burning bush. An American expert in botany has two possible suggestions as to how this miracle might have been seen as such. Firstly, there is a variety of Fraxinella, the Dietamnus Albus L which is a plant of strong growth about three feet high. It is covered with tiny oil glands and the oil is so volatile that it is forever escaping and if approached with a naked light burst sudenly into flames. Secondly, and more likely as a suspect, is the plant, Loranthus Accaciae. There are crimson blossoms of mistletoe twigs that grow on prickly acacia bushes throughout the Holy Land and Sinai. In full bloom the bush becomes a mass of flaming colour and appears to be on fire. Whilst this does not explode the idea of the burning bush as a miracle it goes some way to explain how the original story might have come about.

Of course there is the old chestnut about the flood story in which Noah, his family, and two of every animal species survived a flood that covered the entire world. It might be disappointing to learn that the story of Noah's Ark is older and borrowed from an earlier civilisation. Back in the middle of the 19th century archaeologists discovered clay tablets which formed a huge library at Nineveh. Among these were twelve tablets that referred to a story known today as the Epic of Gilgamesh. The tablets were, as I have said, clay, and were inscribed with what were originally thought to be patterns. But later these were found to be specimens of writing that preceded the hieroglyphics of Ancient Egypt. This became known as cuneiform writing (wedge shaped). The language was Akkadian and it told a tale that was truly amazing. The eleventh tablet told how Prince Utnapishtim was instructed by his gods "O man of Shuruppak, son of Ubar-Tutu, tear down thy house, build a ship: abandon wealth, seek after life; scorn possessions, save thy life. Bring up the seed of all kinds of living things into the ship: the ship which thou shalt build. Let its dimensions be well measured."

Later in the story we hear, "All that I had I loaded, of the seed of all living things. I brought into the ship my whole family and kinsfolk. The cattle of the field, the beasts of the field, all craftsmen - I made them go up into it. I went into the ship and closed my door. As soon as a gleam of dawn shone in the sky, came a black cloud from the foundation of heaven. Inside it Adad thundered. Adad's rage reached to the heavens: turning all light to darkness."

Later the tale continued: "Six days and nights raged the wind, the flood, the cyclone devastated the land. When the seventh day came, the cyclone, the flood, the battle was over, which had battled like an army. the sea became calm, the cyclone died away, the flood ceased. All mankind had turned to clay. The ground was flat like a roof. I opened the window and the light fell upon my face. The ship lay on Mount Nisir.

It is difficult to imagine such a storm that can range so far, or is it? The great Tsunami in south east Asia tells us that nature can be amazingly destructive. But what matters in this context is that the story of Noah's Ark is borrowed from the Epic of Gilgamesh and is therefore not an original story. It is true to say that many population groups have their own flood stories that speak of ancient inundations. There could be many interpretations but we can assume that we ought to accept the story of Noah's Ark as a tale with a moral. It tells us that ultimately God saves his people and we have learned this all through the stories of the Bible.

The most important thing to remember is that, even though we might find some stories unbelievable - and they probably are - nevertheless we should try to work out not what happened in that day but what is the message that the story carries?

My favourite Old Testament story is the Book of Job. Consider firstly how it begins. Chapter 1, verse 6 goes like this "the day came when the members of the court of heaven took their places in the presence of the Lord, and the Adversary, Satan, was there among them." So the story is written as if by an eye witness of a heavenly board meeting. The tale proceeds with a discussion about Job, God's favourite. The meeting ends with Satan being given power to do what he will, provided he touches not a hair of Job's head. How can anyone accept this as a true happening? Yet many do.

We continue with Job's so-called comforters insisting time and again that he must have done wrong to become as afflicted as he was. Eventually we reach Chapter 38 and an epic poem begins. As literature, it stands head and shoulders above a great deal of the books of the Bible. Listen how this section begins:

"Then the Lord answered Job out of the tempest:

Who is this who darkens counsel with words devoid of knowledge? Brace yourself and stand up like a man; I shall put questions to you, and you must answer." What follows is pure and beautiful literature, and I love it greatly. This amazing piece of literature is so lengthy that no one could do it justice if a mere part of it were read in a church service.

I could continue with many instances that show us not to take what is written literally but to see the truth in it. This is what the Bible is to us today. It speaks the truth - God's truth. But do not take it as a record of history or actual occurrences in every case. read and interpret it in terms of faith in God who can be relied upon to bring you through.

Walk on Water

2008-08-03T20:06:00.002+01:00

This title is also a song I have heard sung by the late Eva Cassidy. In this case I am looking at the lectionary passage from Matthew for next week when I preach back at my old church. Shaw United Reformed Church saw my longest period at a single church so far. I left in September 2004 so it is almost four years since I was there. The passage from Matthew's gospel is about Jesus walking on water in stormy conditions. Peter asked if he could walk on the water and Jesus said, "Come to me." All was well as Peter looked at Jesus. It was when he looked down at the waves that he got cold feet and began to sink below the waves.

This is a problem we all have as we try to get through life. When we look at Jesus all things are possible but when we look elsewhere we start to lose our nerve and harbour doubts about what we are doing. So, we find it difficult to be Christians and work for God. But that is nothing new. Christians have all found it difficult to work for God. It is the nature of the work we choose that there are difficulties. One reason is that we are dealing with people and that is what makes the job harder than we think. Take any cross section of people, be they churchgoers or not and you will find them difficult to deal with.

Many, many ministers have become disheartened at the poor response they have had from people who profess themselves Christians. I know one who sometimes walked home from Church Meetings in his Congregational Church crying. How was he to get them to do the Christian thing? It is soul destroying to be a minister because they experience people's fickleness on a large scale.

Going back to the gospel reading we see that Peter gets the colly wobbles when he looks down as the waves bounce up his legs and body. Yet we get the classic scene of Jesus reaching down to Peter to save him from drowning. Always it seems that we do not get the message from Jesus and we start to get nervous. Whenever I visit a swimming pool I swim on my back because I am fearful of swallowing too much water otherwise. If you swim on your back your mouth is further away from the water level and so you are safer that way.

If I go snorkeling when on holiday in Greece I am happy because I have mastered the art of breathing through the mouth only. Anyone trying to breathe through the nose will experience problems because the air tube is feeding air to the mouth only. Some years ago I had a problem because I had tried to dive and hold my breath, trying to grab a sea urchin shell on the sea bed. The problem arose because I did not have fins on my feet and I could not kick downwards to reach the sea bed. Luckily a friend saw me in difficulties and helped me out. It was a frightening moment.

Christians often experience difficulties when they serve God because of the problematic nature of such service. The job is often much harder than we anticipate. Last year I decided to try to help save a Welsh farmer from bankruptcy. Along with a number of people I transported butchered lamb direct to the customer to get him out of financial difficulties. It became hard work as I tried to find all the Welsh addresses in the dark. Not always does your SatNav come up trumps. It was extremely difficult to do the job and I began to see what a postman's job must be like.

On one particular night I had to find addresses in Bethesda, Llanfairfechan, Y Felinheli, Brynciencyn, Llandonna, Benllech and Amlwch. Welsh addresses provide their own difficulties, I can tell you! In the end I won through because God was with me but it was not an easy task. By no means. Looking back I would not have changed position with anyone because I believed in what I was doing. But when you get addresses in a mixture of English and Welsh it is very hard.

I found it a very useful exercise in employing faith. There was no guarantee of success but if I failed then it would affect the farmer I was helping. Knowing who i was working for was very helpful. I knew the mission would not fail because it was classically God's work I was doing. Not all of us can be that sure about the tasks we do. It is not always easy to identify it as God's work so we get problems with it.

The message of Peter, walking on the water and then looking down, is one to really hold on to. If we take our eye off the final destination then we can easily get thrown off course. This is because we see all too clearly the difficulties ahead. Yet when we set out in faith it works. This is what a working Christian discovers about the nature of the job. You must never take your eye of the ball because that is the time when you will slip back into the water.

Sowing seeds in faith

2008-07-20T21:22:00.003+01:00

Today we had an experimental service using different techniques for worship. We chose modern songs from the book, Songs of Fellowship; a sketch was acted out to show how we sow seeds without knowing precisely what will happen; true stories were told to show that Christians do their work and then hope the seeds which they have sown will bear fruit.

One story was about a period when a man, destined to enter the Methodist ministry, led a Sunday night Youth Club where he and his colleague tried to show the youngsters what Christianity was about. Years later the two men met up and one asked the other what had become of the Sunday night youth club. It turned out that the youngsters had grown up and become members of that church - they had become Christians following the sowing of seeds by these two committed Christians.

The second story was told by me. It was about a youngster in the 1950s who attended church and Sunday School at the Congregational Church, Manchester Road, Nelson, Lancs. He had been egged on to attend by his school pal who told him they had a great time teasing the teachers in the Sunday School. As a seven year old he tormented the leader of the Junior Department. On one occasion he and his friend encouraged two stray dogs to follow them to Sunday School. The dogs followed them in and the net result was a mop and bucket effort to clean up the deposits left by the dogs. Later this boy was in the Senior Department and misbehaved just as he had done in the Juniors. The patient Sunday School teacher commented, "That boy in the corner will know one day the importance of what Jesus did." he was so right - I did!

As Christians we tend to have a hard time in trying to spread the gospel of Jesus. Today we are very much in the minority, and yet we still need to sow the seeds we have been given. We still need to assure people that under God all will be well. Some years ago I preached on the message of the Book of Revelation. I talked about the coded language which the people to whom the message was sent would understand. I talked in terms of eventually God winning through despite much evidence to suggest it was a lost cause. A well known and respected Minister in the United Reformed Church was in the congregation and I wondered what he might say to me at the end of the service. He thanked me for the sermon, saying that he was a member of an anti nuclear warfare group and he found the message that God would eventually win encouraging.

It reminded me that people need encouraging as Christians. Even they find it hard to have faith that what they are doing will make a difference. Just because there appears to be strong evidence that the world is taking no notice is no excuse to waver in the promotion of the gospel of Jesus Christ. God, after all, is at the helm and we can trust him to steer the vessel through the most turbulent waters. Throughout the world we can find ample evidence to support the assertion that God is in charge and will ultimately win the battle. There is story after story about how God is making a difference to people's lives all over the world.

As a younger person I often wondered how long the USSR would hold sway in eastern Europe. Today we see a complete new Europe and no more Berlin Wall. I wondered how long it would take to knock down the barriers of racial tension in the USA. Thanks to the work of Martin Luther King and others it is now history and a new order prevails. Apartheid was our enemy when I was a trade union activist 25 years ago. With the actions of many supporters the ANC won through, Nelson Mandela was released from prison and is now a 90 years old ex President of South Africa and we are all enjoying some fantastic fruit and wine from that wonderful land!

MAF, the airline of the oppressed and unloved in the developing countries was kicked out of countries by unfriendly governments. They wondered how the faith would hold without their work continuing. Yet, years later, they returned when a new government arose and found there were more Christians than when they left the old country. It reminds us that, despite all the discouraging evidence around us, "God is working his purpose out, as year succeeds to year." Never slip into the Slough of Despond. There is no need to doubt the faith you have. With God in control, even with few workers, all will be well.

Women in the Priesthood

2008-07-08T21:18:00.002+01:00

My church experience goes back to 1951 when I began attending the Congregational Church, Manchester Road, Nelson. Many years before that the Congregational Church ordained it first women ministers. Since 1972 this church became known as the United Reformed Church when it united with the former Presbyterian Church of England. Other denominations have joined since that time. By the time 1972 was approaching I was appointed delegate by my then church in East Anglia to the Annual Assembly where the possibility of union was discussed. In the debates there were clergy and laity alike speaking against the proposed union because in their view it was "not scriptural". On the other side of the debate a massive majority in favour of union was audibly making its presence felt. Not only were there hundreds of people in favour and ready to vote accordingly but you could hear the sound of stamping feet of the younger ones who were growing very impatient with all the arguments against. Those trying to stop the union looked like King Canute trying to stop the tide coming in.

I cannot speak about the debate on ordination of women but I have no doubt that those not in favour tried to stop natural progress by so speaking. I would not mind betting that those against were quoting scripture in Paul's letters outlining the role of women in church (to stay silent etc) and referring to Jesus calling twelve men as disciples. But this has nothing to do with the matter. In every facet of the role of priest, regardless of hierarchy, I can see nothing which could not be done well by women as well as men. I also think it perfectly ridiculous that the Church of England should even have to vote on matters such as special provision for priests who prefer not to serve under women bishops. One thing that has certainly changed for the better is that it is no longer a man's world. To state that a woman is not a proper person to officiate as a bishop is to show great disrespect for women.

Those in the Church of England who state that women should not be part of the episcopacy because Jesus called men only for his ministry might like to ask what Jesus thinks of a diocese that raises a seven figure sum of money simply to place a tower on its cathedral. The Nazarene, I am certain, would be scathing about such a disgraceful waste of money just as he was when he cleansed the temple in Jerusalem. It seems to me that our poor unfortunate Church of England has more than its fair share of self interest in both its priests and laity. I am pleased that they have taken the risk of losing over 1,000 priests in voting the way they have done. If the numbers game is the measure of a church then we are doomed already. We in the church have lost thousands and thousands of members since I joined but the result is a remnant that is faithful to Jesus. We are now down to the faithful core and the few are those who will keep the church of Jesus Christ afloat in this nation until it's next revival.

These days I have found that my beloved URC is not the only friendly denomination. I have been warmly received by a wonderful local Methodist church and we are getting along fine and finding practical ways to serve God and humanity. The Methodist Church too has a tradition of women priests and many of these perform senior tasks well when called, as they often are. If I am any judge there are more women than men coming forward to train for the ministry. That is only good news as far as I am concerned. Women are a vital part of society and are as effective in what they do as any male counterpart.

After accepting women priests in 1994 it is ludicrous to deny them as bishops in 2008. A bishop is a senior priest with wider responsibilities. If a woman can be a good priest she can be a good bishop too. The church today can do without all the people who bang on about what happened in Palestine over 2,000 years ago. We are following an example, not a set of rules. In his day, Jesus told the people that the law they were so keen on following was bogging them down and that there was a job to be done which was based on love for humanity and service to God. Just read the Parable of the Good Samaritan. It's all in there!

The Problem of Prayer

2008-04-13T17:34:00.005+01:00

Since I acknowledged allegiance to Jesus Christ I have struggled with the subject of prayer. If we are honest, all of us have the same problem that keeps returning to the forefront of our thinking. Is prayer something that works? Is prayer heard? Is prayer answered? For what should we pray? Do we submit a wishlist? Would things be the same if we did not pray? Do we hear any anwers?

All these questions are relevant and should be examined by an honest Christian. In the context of worship we hear some beautiful prayers offered to God. As a preacher I have been fortunate in sourcing some excellent prayers which I have usd in worship. As a worshipper I have sometimes experienced some pretty aweful prayers. In meetings I have experienced even worse prayers. I think that, just as I have to put a lot of thought into writing and preaching a sermon, so we should put a lot into preparing prayer. In our personal prayers the emphasis is less on the beautiful words and more on what we bring to God.

Over the years I have visited a lot of churches and shared prayer in many meetings. My worst experiences include those prayers which seem to be going for the world record for the number of times the word "just" is included. For my money those praying should take their time and find other words to use. I think we need to remember that a prayer is offered to God and that second rate prayer construction is unacceptable. In saying this I am mindful of the education and experience of the people who offer prayer.

A story is told of a competition in reciting the 23rd Psalm. One competitor was an accomplished actor and the other an old farmer. The actor pulled off an amazing performance whilst the farmer struggled through in his own fashion. At the end the adjudicator gave the prize to the farmer. When asked why he said, "Well, the actor knew the Psalm but the farmer knew the shepherd." I have known some quite unusual styles of prayer and sometimes the more unusual turn out to be the more inspiring.

Recently I have made some changes to my style of prayer in public worship and in small groups. Since moving to the island of Anglesey in North Wales and changing my church membership from United Reformed Church to Methodist I have been asked to lead prayer on a rota at our Friday prayer Fellowship at Amlwch Methodist Church. This has caused me to search around for many more prayers to use and has caused me to think deeply about how prayer is offered and what form it ought to take. Basically, providing we remember the setting which is a group of people kneeling or sitting before God, we shall usually get it right.

On the subject of prayer and is it answered I have had more difficulties. I have been with others in a meditative group and have experienced no answer from the God I worship. But sometimes the answer becomes apparent in an unexpected way. Sometimes the answer takes a long time before I hear it. Sometimes my doubts are answered a lot later than the moment when they are expressed.

In discussion on the power of prayer I have been able to speak of answers that have eventually come through. However, my worst doubt has been when very important prayer has been offered and no answer has come. I cite the case when I prayed back in 1991 that the Gulf War would not happen and that an alternative would sort out the problem. There was a deafening silence and war broke out! This worsened my doubts concerning prayer and its effectiveness. Since that time I have struggled and thought my prayer was just ignored and perhaps not even heard.

The other night I was watching a second showing of "An Evening with Michael Ball" which was one of the BBC proms of 2007. Michael Ball spoke about the advent of new musicals like Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar and called to mind a song he sang called Gethsemane. It was based upon the words of Jesus as he waited in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane for his enemies to arrive and arrest him. In the original story Jesus prayed, "Father, if it be your will, take this cup from me." I deliberately cut short his words at this point. There was Jesus in his loneliest hour at his lowest ebb. As a man he was very much afraid of what was to happen to him. He knew broadly what to expect and the thought of being flogged and then nailed to a cross to die in the heat of the sun frightened him. At this moment he asked if it would be possible for him to avoid this way. I am certain he hoped for an answer that would give him hope. I am also certain he heard his own deafening silence.

For me, realising that Jesus too asked for another route out,heard no response and was taken away to be put through the ordeal, tells me that we will experience silence, even though we ask for something important or vital. I realise that God has very many different ways of answering prayer. I realise that sometimes we have to face up to what is coming, even though it involves violence and death for some people. The actual answer to the prayer is something we knew all along, that we shall have to go through the ordeal and God will be with us all the way. We may have to experience some kind of hell but God will be with us and this makes it worth while.

The purpose of coded language in the Book of Revaltion is to give hope and vindication to people who are suffering. They are assured that despite the worst that might happen they have God with them every step of the way. Not only that, but at the end of these days there is that beautiful celestial place described by John the Divine. So what we should pray is that God will stop the war or, failing this, be with us in the dark days ahead. And this is something of which I am convinced. So when you can't quite work out if prayer is answered sometimes the answer is that the silence means "no comment".

Basically, we come back to the same difficulty which is that we, as human beings, cannot find the answer anywhere. Historically, in this scenario, we have tended to blame God. There is no doubt about it - we do not always have the answer. This is when we have to trust through faith. It also tells us that life is difficult whether you are a Christian or not.

The Way Forward

2008-04-11T15:40:00.003+01:00

Many people think of life as a journey. Christians constitute a major group of like thinkers. We see a journey before us because we are actually following Jesus. To follow someone is to be going on a journey where we accept their lead.

Our life's experience is of many different kinds of journey. Many people now own a motor car and therefore make many journeys, short and long. Today I have made two long journeys. I drove from Anglesey to Manchester and then returned by the same route. Along the way I encountered sunshine, light rain, and heavy rain. You could call this a mixed bag of weather.

When we plan a journey we always check the weather forecast to see what we are likely to encounter as we travel. We ought also to check our car to be sure there is enough petrol in the tank, sufficient oil in the engine and water in the windscreen wiper reservoir. Each of these checks is a safety measure. Even so, on our journey we might encounter something for which we cannot plan. This being so let's hope it is good news and not bad. But you never can tell. A few years ago I decided to take my wife to see the changing leaves of autumn in the Lake District. I had driven only a few miles when the unexpected occurred. I was driving in the outside lane when a car appeared travelling at a right angle across the motorway! In that split second I knew I should hit the car at speed. Luckily I had just come through road works and so was travelling slower that normal. Mt car hit the other one at 50mph and was an obvious write off. We were lucky as our only injuries were from the seat belts. However, it was several weeks before the pain subsided. Setting off that morning we could not know what would happen but we set off optimistically.

Other journeys we might make are those when we fly to other countries in todays sophisticated aircraft. I was reminded of this today as I drove past Manchester Airport and I saw a Boeing 747 taking off. A great deal of checking and planning is done before any aircraft is boarded by its passengers. Once airborne we shall probably soon become bored as the land or sea below us seems to be just drifting by. Nothing suggests we are cruising at over 500mph. Even so there are occasional unexpected happenings that take place. One year, homeward bound from Corfu, we were due to land at Rimini in Italy to refuel. The aircraft descended and then began to climb again. The pilot told us that because an Italian Air Force jet was blocking the runway we were diverting to Venice for the fuel.

Looking at the photo at the top I am reminded that many journeys are undertaken by sea. The lighthouse shown is Point Lynas in Anglesey, North Wales. It guards the passage into Liverpool Bay and the port of Liverpool itself. From day to day I see quite a number of ships passing on their voyage to and from Liverpool. Because of the special care needed a number of ships anchor off Anglesey to wait for a pilot to see them into the Port of Liverpool. Not far from the point seen here there is a memorial to the passengers and crew of a ship called the Royal Charter which ended its days on the rocks after returning ome from the Australian Gold Rush.

So we can see that journeys can be problematical and often dangerous if things get out of control. Elijah, the great prophet knew the problems of life's journey. He put as many miles as he could between himself and Queen Jezebel because he knew she was after having him murdered. At the end of this journey of fear Elijah was sitting in a cave and heard a voice calling, "Elijah, what are you doing here?" It was then that he realised he was on the wrong journey. He had taken his own route instead of seeking to know where God wanted him to go. As Christians we are called to follow wherever Jesus leads. Before we do so we say, like Thomas said to Jesus, "How can we know where you are going?" His reply to Thomas remains to this very day. Jesus said, "Iam the way, the truth and the life!" Here Jesus links his first keyword with his third - the way and the life are the same thing.

In Pilgrim's progressEvangelist asks Christian, "Why standest thou still?" Christian answers, "Because I know not whither to go. The story then enfolds that keeps on pointing Christian in the right direction. Early on in his journey he looks back, having gone through the Valley of the Shadow of Death and sees the dangers that were to the right and the left as he travelled. Like evey journey there are dangers along the way and Pilgrim's Progress points this out very clearly.

Although our journey can be very difficult indeed once we reach the end we declare it has been worth it. David Jenkins, formerly Bishop of Durham, was known for his verbosity. He never used two words if a few dozen would suffice. He was challenged to reduce a lecture to just a few words. He rose to the challenge and came up with these words: "God is, He is as he is in Jesus, so there is hope." Later he made it even simpler and said, "God is, He is for us, so it's worth it." Now that is the discovery everyone makes at journey's end, it is worth it.

Whilst in Manchester today I conducted a funeral service and chose to read the famous passage from the Book of Revelation which describes the celestial city. Having read that vision I can only emphasise that the journey of life eventually becomes worth it for the Christian. At journey's end we see Gad face to face and his light illuminates our continuing life in his presence. Everything exists in that place for our eternal happiness. Yes, it is worth it!

The Resurrection of Lazarus

2008-03-10T17:05:00.002Z

Whilst visiting the parish churches of Anglesey where I live I came across this headstone. Most stones are lettered in Welsh in the Anglesey churchyards but this one was different. On reading the details I found that the wife of the man buried here was also placed in his grave when she died. Her name was Ourania, which was unusual. But the clue regarding her birthplace and name was to be found at the bottom right of the headstone. It said in Latin script: "Kalinikta, oniraglika." I immediately realised that the woman must have been Greek because the word, "Kalinikta" is Greek for "Goodnight". I looked up the second word and, as I suspected, it said in English, "Sweet dreams".

This week the Lectionary gospel reading was the story of the raising of Lazarus. It is a tale which speaks volumes about Jesus and his relationship with Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha. They were very close friends. Perhaps the inscription, "Goodnight, sweet dreams" could have represented the way the two women felt at the loss of their brother. We can only guess at their feelings as they grieved over Lazarus.

The gospel tale begins with news coming to Jesus about Lazarus' illness. But Jesus remained where he was after hearing the news. When he did go to Bethany to see the family Lazarus had been in the tomb four days. Upon meeting the two sisters Jesus was very emotional. Their grief seemed to affect him badly. This is how it is among friends at the time of the death of a loved one. Earlier in the gospel passage Jesus said, "Lazarus is dead. I am glad not to have been there; it will be for your good and for the good of your faith. But let us go to him. Quite clearly, Jesus had to go to Bethany because his friends there had need of his presence with them. Martha met him on the way and made her declaration of belief in Jesus as Messiah. On meeting him she said, "Even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will grant you." There is no suggestion of precisely what she meant but she certainly placed her faith in whatever Jesus would do.

Martha then went to Mary and quietly told her that Jesus was here. Immediately Mary got up to meet Jesus. As she spoke to him her tears of grief came out - "If you had only been here, my brother would not have died." She had believed Jesus capable of curing the illness that had overtaken Lazarus. Next Jesus went with them to the tomb entrance and orders the closure stone to be rolled away. After a prayer, Jesus called out to Lazarus, "Lazarus come forth." he came out of the tomb and was helped in removing the grave clothes he wore. Many Jews present saw and belived in Jesus, the Messiah. The rest went back to Jerusalem to report to the Pharisees.

This passage is very important in that it tells us two great things. Firstly, we see the followers of Jesus being prepared for his own resurrection after his death at Calvery. Secondly, it is a reassurance that even when we think we are down and out God can come to us and raise us back to service. In other words, there is nothing we can count impossible for God. There is no such thing as an insurmountable obstacle as we follow Jesus in today's world. We need to know this because we sometimes reach a point from which we think there is no continuing. In his letter to the church in Rome, Paul declares that "there is nothing in all creation that can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." This the lesson of the raising of Lazarus. At no point can we ever say there is no way we can continue. "Nil desperandum" is a Latin expression we hear used in difficult circumstances. "Do not despair" is the message we learn in Bethany. The same message is given at the end of the Book of Revelation. The celestial city remains and the river of life flows down its centre. Even though we suffer terribly at the hands of others we are assured that God has claimed us for his own and will not let go of us when we place our hands in his.

Back in the days of black and white television we used to see the Burns and Allen Show. George Burns and Gracie Allen were the presenters. The late Gracie Allen once said, "Never put a period (full stop) where God places a comma." This is the message in John's Gospel for us today. It is not for us to decide when the job stops - that is God's function. Even in the impossible situation of the death of Lazarus, God wins the day. It is so and will always be so. This is the basis for our faith, that, together with God, we shall win! In the days of the struggles in the Southern States of America the black people kept on singing, "We shall over come some day!" We can count on it through faith in God.

Jesus and Water

2008-02-19T15:01:00.002Z

The image here is the sea at Moelfre on 18th December 2008 which just happened to be my birthday. The sea surrounds my island of Anglesey. It means we can always find a sheltered beach because on the opposite side of the island the wind blows the opposite way - i.e. off the land or the sea. The wind coupled with the sea becomes a powerful force for the ships that pass Anglesey on their way into and out of Liverpool. Many of them shelter close in as they wait for the pilot to arrive and guide them into the port.

On Sunday the churches will be following the Revised Common Lectionary and so their Gospel reading will be the story in John's Gospel of Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well. As in many hot countries, the people depended heavily on water which was a scarce commodity. There were wells all over the land and people came to them for the water they and their families needed for drinking, washing and self purification. The one in question was known as Jacob's Well.

The story began with Jesus asking the woman for a drink. Her reaction to this request was to be "gobsmacked". At this point Jesus had crossed a number of barriers, taking her by surprise. The Jews considered the Samaritans unclean so would never share drinking vessels with them. Jesus was a rabbi and so he broke the rule forbidding rabbis to speak to women in public. He was also speaking to an obvious outcast as she had come to the well at midday which ws the practice. The first action was a request for water requiring Jesus to break an accepted taboo. Looking at the full story from start to finish and knowing what we know about the customs of the time, we can see that Jesus was deliberately going for confrontation at the very start.

There was no beating about the bush as he deliberately asked for a drink of water. The conversation led to Jesus offering the woman "living water" that would never be absent in a follower of his. It would well up in the heart and sustain the disciple at any time of stress. It would be the means of getting through in life. Eventually the conversation had the woman asking Jesus if he were the Messiah and then rushing off to spread the good news she had just heard. This is supposed to be what happens today when a listener hears the "living water" being offered by Jesus.

As I have said, water was a precious thing in those days and at that time. All through the Bible we come across stories that involve water. The very start of the Old Testament speaks of the Spirit of God hovering above the water. In the story of the Exodus, Moses is instructed to strike a particular rock with his staff and it gushed water. This was no miracle, though, because that sort of rock can still be found in that part of the world. It was a natural occurrence. The psalmist in the 23rd Psalm spoke of being led by still water. This is said because a sheep (and the psalmist was a shepherd) drink only from still water. They would not like to drink from a waterfall or other rushing torrent. Jesus went to the River Jordan to be baptised by John. In the book of Reveleation, the final story is a description of the celestial Jerusalem with the River of Life flowing throiugh its centre.

So we can see how many instances of water can crop up in the Christian way of life. We may choose to be baptised by way of going under the water and rising to a fresh start. Even when infants are baptised they recieve a symbolic contact with water. Any human being knows that he or she can continue without food much longer than without water. Water is the vital element we all need. Our bodies consist mainly of water. My island of Anglesey is steeped in history and is therefore home to a good many holy wells that began as sacred to the Celts and became holy under Christianity. Many of these wells are famous and visited by many people. Back in the 80s I visited a well known place known as Madron Well in Cornwall. It was a known place but when I arrived I found it overgrown and not an encouraging place to visit. In prehistoric times the people would throw brand new implements such as axes into waterways, lakes and ponds to placate the gods who ensured plenty of water was available to them.

Today, Christians know that source of life to be God. His water is the best and it is this we seek out in our lifelong pilgrimage. When Jesus spoke of water he used it as an alternative for the Spirit of God. Water and spirit were really one thing in the thinking of Jesus. On one occasion he visited the Pool of Siloam to cure a man there who tried to get into the water on the occasion that an angel disturbed the water. Had he made it he considered it certain he would have a cure for his lifelong infirmity. This was the importance of that water to the people who stayed close by it, waiting for the angel that was said to disturb the water and thereby provide a cure for their illness or infirmity.

Speaking for myself, I love to get into the sea when its temperature allows. Many of us love to go swimming as a means of exercise. It is an Olympic sport. To the creatures who live in it water is their means of survival. Any fish landed by an angler will not survive in air. A neighbour of mine used to be a trawler skipper, going out into a hostile sea searching for fish to put on our tables. This is another importance in that water supports some of the food we eat. As I write this blog I see via another website that the ship, Riverdance, still lies on the sands off Blackpool. It was driven there by a freak wave of water as it sailed across the Irish Sea with its cargo of trailers. If you are old enough to remember the BBC series, "Who Pays the Ferryman" you will remember the reference to Greek mythology and the payment needed for Charon, the ugly ferryman who took the dead across the River Styx. here is another reference to water as an important element of life and death.

Back in the Bible times the disciples were afraid when a great wind was blowing as they sailed on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus was called in to deal with the situation and c almed the storm. This was amazing, that he could command wind and water to save his friends from danger. But this is what Jesus is to us. He is the saviour who is concerned about any danger we might face in life. It is he who will bring us through it all to journey's end. On him we can rely without any worries at all. If he is with us we shall not drown in the dangerous waters of life. It just needs us to see this clearly and then we shall be able to move forward in confidence.

Water stands for refreshment. One Easter Day I was in a Roman Catholic congregation as my son ws confirmed. The priest, Father Mark, suddenly realised a ritual for the day which he had forgotten to perform. This was to walk in the congregation sprinkling the people with holy water. As I felt the water I realised how refreshing it felt. It reminded me of the message of Easter Day with its thoughts of rebirth through resurrection. That rebirth was a refeshing experience and I felt glad to be there.

All this concerns the many attributes of water in the Christian religion. We are reminded of the part water plays in our lives. It flows along and we go with it. Our voyage heads ultimately for that celestial city with its river of life flowing own its centre. This is where we are all heading when we follow Jesus.

MAF - Flying for Life

2008-01-28T19:44:00.000Z

Since coming to live in Anglesey I have been a volunteer Area Representative for Mission Aviation Fellowship, a Christian charity that flies light aircraft in developing countries to help people in inaccessible locations. Once I saw the work done by MAF I was more than keen to take up this work. It is an amazing organisation, bringing the love of God to people in far flung places.

It all began following the Second World War when two ex RAF officers realised how some aircraft were more than ideal for delivering aid in places it would take days, if not weeks, to get to by road. In countries affected by monsoon weather the roads are unusable for months at a time. Even the tried and tested four wheel drives cannot get through during and after such heavy rainfall. So what happens if you are unlucky enough to be cut off by flooded roads when you are taken ill?

Stuart King and Jack Hemmings flew the first flights to see if the idea would work in the field. They chose an aircraft designed for short take off and landing and flew it around the African nations. There already were a number of airstrips they could use to test the system.

After a number of months they were in the air, returning to base, and crossing a mountain range. As they flew between some very high mountains they could see one in front which rose 1,000 feet above their flight level. So full power was applied and they began to rise at 300 feet per minute. Then Stuart noticed the rate of climb indicator was showing zero - they were in level flight with a huge mountain still to fly over! Looking again, after they had changed course, he saw the rate of climb had gone negative. They were on full power but were descending at 300 feet per minute. As they changed course a second time they removed the top of a banana tree, losing the tip of the wing in the process. A few seconds later they struck the mountainside and the plane broke up into many pieces. They got out to avoid any fire that might follow but no fire broke out.

Eventually the flights to test the idea were completed and the first mission support work started in Sudan. The first aircraft were De Havilland Dragon Rapides, very lovely aeroplanes of that time. Inside the equipment for flying and navigation did not resemble the sophisticated technical wizardry of today. The radio equipment used Morse code with no possibility of speaking openly to base. But soon the aeroplane proved an invaluable contribution to the humanitarian work in developing countries. Other countries all over the globe began to see the familiar aircraft flying out to help people who lived in far off and inaccessible places.

Today the work of MAF is that of a multimillion pound organisation, yet remains almost a secret as far as most people are concerned. The fleet now numbers over 180 aircraft and MAF can now say that every three minutes one of its planes is landing or taking off. Among its services are a number of regular flights provided for community use, whilst most are about transporting aid to people who live off the beaten track.

MAF flies a number of medical safaris each year. A typical one might be the recent Christian Blind Mission that flew eye specialists to an area of Sudan which had received very little aid over the years. The local roads were a real problem and some people could not make it to the temporary eye hospital set up near the airstrip. But one group decided to make it despite the roads, travelling 40 miles in 2 days on two trailers drawn by tractors.

By the end of the few days in this location 247 eye operations had been completed - 222 were on cataracts. 600 pairs of spectacles had been distributed. Dr Sture Nyholm remarked that one old man, having had his bandages removed, spotted Dr Nyholm's wife, Eunice and immediately wanted to marry her!

One MAF supporter sent me a cutting from the Llandudno Weekly News of 17 May 2007. It was an article about a retired Anglican priest, Rev Peter Marshall who lives in North Wales. Peter had been attending a meeting of the Sudan Churches Association in London when he learnt that a young clergyman he had just met had had a phone call to say his 14 months old son had fallen into the cooking pot and burnt his arm and neck. The local hospital had nothing with which to treat the boy and he was suffering.

Peter contacted MAF who arranged to collect the young boy and fly him to a Ugandan hospital 500 miles away. This was the nearest hospital with ability to deal with burns. The good news is that the boy survived and did not even need any skin grafts. A church and a college in North Wales raised the funds to cover MAF's flight costs. A year later Peter was in the area where the young boy lived and asked if he could go there to see him. The United Nations people advised against it because the Lord's Resistance Army were known to be active only twelve miles away. He spoke to MAF who said they would take him there and give him 20 minutes on the ground before flying out again. He was thrilled to meet the youngster who was now fit and well.

Last week I went to Beechwood Court near Conwy to give an MAF presentation to the local churches. Within minutes of arriving I was approached by a tall man who said, "We haven't met, but we have spoken on the telephone. I'm Peter Marshall." What a surprise and a pleasure it was to finally meet this man who had organised the saving of an African life from North Wales!

During my presentation he told a story about a flight he was booked on with MAF. On each occasion every passenger is weighed to ensure the aircraft is not overloaded for its flight. On this occasion the weight of the passengers plus that of radio equipment to set up a Christian Broadcasting Service was too great. MAF decided to offset this by taking only half the fuel they needed for the flight and arranged a refuelling stop half way along the flight.

Wherever people are in need they are there for them. The work is often dangerous and pilots have been lost as they have flown to meet the many challenges that this sort of work throws at them. 2-3 years ago two MAF pilots were killed in an air accident in Papua New Guinea. Not much more than a year later another another pilot serving in that area was also killed. I recently read a book entitled "Many Adventures Followed" written by a former pilot who not only flew many years in PNG but twice fought off cancer during that period. It is amazing how rapidly weather can change and catch out any pilot flying in that area. He talked about flying around whilst looking for a gap in the clouds to make progress. To fly into cloud could prove fatal so the pilots need to find a gap in the clouds to get home.

But MAF does not just use pilots. The teams include administrative staff, accountants, engineers, computer specialists etc etc. All are dedicated to serving God and his people wherever they are sent. The flights go out to remote places and often the pilot has to return with sick patients on board who need to be in hospital. One doctor recounts that she held regular surgeries in one remote place at a time when the only way to get there was by taking three and a half days by dugout canoe up river. Today MAF flies her there in just 4 hours! In Tanzania there are two villages on each side of a high mountain. To walk from one to the other takes 4 hours but an MAF plane gets you there in 6 minutes.

MAF has been "Flying for Life" for almost 60 years and is still pulling in more and more money to provide even more help for forgotten people. The whole thing is built on three Ps: People, Prayer and Pounds. People are asked to pray for the work and the funds roll in! Now that is amazing and a testament to the power of prayer.

Wise Men Seek Jesus (They still do)

2008-01-06T23:12:00.000Z

Today is Epiphany Sunday and I led morning worship at Llanfairfechan Methodist Church not far from Bangor. It was a lovely morning as I too made a special journey to take the gospel to this tiny church in our circuit. The sun kept popping out and the sheep gave extra texture to the fields as they grazed there. The Menai Strait looked peaceful enough as I crossed along the Britannia Bridge to the mainland. But I was not following a star, just driving to a preaching appointment.

Two thousand years ago, so the scriptures tell us, there were clever astrologers looking at the night sky. They were obviously skilled in their art and, having seen a new star rise in the heavens, they followed it towards Palestine. Their knowledge led them to declare that this was a sign that a new king had been born. Legend has it that there were three of them but of this we cannot be certain. The story tells us they brought three gifts - gold, frankincense and myrr. If they were to find this new king they needed the correct gifts. Imagine their surprise to find that they were offering extremely expensive gifts to a child born in a stable.

Each year at this season we think of the Magi and their unusual gifts for Jesus. We tend to think along traditional lines about the entire story, just as we do concerning Christmas. Perhaps, therefore, we do not think about the strange gifts that were brought to Jesus. There is a great tendency to accept all that is written in the Gospels about the birth of Jesus without question. It is many years ago that I first began to harbour doubts as to the authenticity of the narrative we find in the Bible.

Of course, in the case of Epiphany, my doubts were all surrounding the ability of the astrologers to gauge the direction of the new star. How could they be sure, once they arrived that it was standing precisely above the place where the infant Jesus lay? Much fable surrounds the birth of Jesus. The stories are beautiful but not the sort of account one can rely on as absolute truth. But there is something rather appealing about this story of the Magi bringing these particular gifts.

Have you ever wondered what to buy someone for their birthday or for Christmas. We have all known this dilemma and had to deal with it appropriately. We try to think of something we can afford that the special person would value and treasure. Sometimes, we try to come up with a practical gift, such as a power tool. At other times our recipient appreciates different things and so we buy them books or CDs etc. Others are known to prefer clothing or jewellery and that decides what they receive. In other words, we try to buy the most appropriate gift we can think of. Yet, for the Magi, it had to be expensive gifts, way beyond the pocket of Mary and Joseph.

This strangeness of gifts is something we might just take a look at and see if we can make any sense of it all. The Magi were very unusual people so unusual gifts perhaps matched them as givers.

Arthur Eperon, the travel writer, was driving in Corfu with his wife one Easter when he was stopped by a huge traffic cop. He wondered what regulation he had broken as the policeman approached him. But the policeman simply handed him a hard boiled egg painted red. It is a traditional Greek gift at Easter. One year, my wife and I were on holiday in Corfu and we visited a new taverna that had not existed the previous time we had visited the island. We recognised the owner, Spiro, as having been a waiter in another taverna last time we were there. We asked if this was right and he confirmed that he had previously worked in his sister's taverna.

After the conversation he walked off and returned with a gift - a bottle of beer for me and a glass of kumquat liqueur for my wife. I had no problem downing the beer on that hot day but Pauline could not drink the liqueur. She simply did not like the taste. So I had the task of swallowing the liquid quickly whilst Spiro was not looking. We could not leave the drink untouched. But things got worse! The next day we stopped by for a snack and the waiter came over with beer and kumquat liqueur, saying, "This is from the boss." I had to go through the same procedure on Spiro's blind side as he waited on his customers.

So we can see that we ought not to think how odd the gifts of the Magi were, but accept them as traditional giving. It can be like that with hospitality. Many years ago, as a new local government officer, I took part in the annual compilation of the local Electoral Register. This was during the early years of immigration from Asia and my home town of Nelson was receiving many new Pakistani families. I called at one house to complete the form and was asked in by the Asian occupier. He showed me into his sitting room and asked me to take a seat. There was no vacant seat for a second until his son jumped up and politely asked me to sit down. I was offered a cup of tea or fruit juice but declined them. I left that house thinking what a wonderful welcome I had received from total strangers.

Whilst on holiday in Crete, we were talking to a couple who lived quite close to us back in England. We were sitting in a taverna by a lake and talking about what we had observed during our time there. The couple told us they had taken a wrong turn to get down to the sea somewhere nearby, only to discover they had stopped the car on a private access. The family there welcomed them into their home and took them onto the balcony with its lovely sea view. There were insufficient chairs so they woke a sleeping elderly relative to get them off the mattress so their guests could be seated.

I heard a story recently about a couple whose motorbike broke down in Crete. Whilst the local mechanic fixed the machine they were afforded hospitality in the local mayor's house. They were give food and the husband received a plate of boiled snails which he had a problem with and his wife had to try and eat an egg wrapped in pastry and covered in a sweet mint paste. They could not refuse these gifts of food and had to get them down quickly!

But the real point to all this is that, although there may be a strangeness about the type of gift, the giver is someone who gives what is considered the thing to give. So, although it might be thought as over the top. to bring such gifts to Jesus it was done in the very best way out of love and respect for a fellow human being. Only the best is appropriate for Jesus. This is something we remember all our lives as we live out the disciple's life and try to make a difference.

Working for God's people in North Wales

2007-12-09T15:11:00.000Z

As you know, I have become involved in a project to help a Welsh hill farmer save his business and his family from financial doom. Our local Methodist churches have rallied round to buy the equivalent of 55 whole lambs which, under the government scheme would have been slaughtered and incinerated at a silly hand out price not worth rerpeating. Last Wednesday, along with a friend I travelled to the farm up in the hills to collect the first order. We had to wait until the farmer returned home with more bags for packing the order. My friend played with the young son who was not well and off school whilst I helped get ready the last of the joints etc for packing.

Then the farmer arrived back with a new supply of bags. At this point we were tucking into wonderful bacon butties! He and his wife packed the remaining joints and we loaded the vehicle. Then, over an hour late in our schedule, we slowly negotiated the narrow country lanes as we returned to Anglesey. The first load was left at our sister church and then we drove a further half hour back to our home church to unload the rest. A number of batches had then to be delivered to certain house. By the time I finished for the day I found myself eating a Chinese takeaway meal at about 10.30pm

As I had a further need for 6 lambs I agreed to be the courier for other orders on Friday. Loaded up with 22 lambs, I set off for my first drop in Bethesda. This proved hard to find even with Sat/Nav but eventually I found the customer. My next port of call was a house above Llanfairfechan which I found eventually. It is not easy to navigate in the dark. Next I got a phone call from my wife asking if I would make it to a Bangor address for 5.45pm. This could not be done so I then drove across to Y Felinheli, south of Bangor where I dropped five and a half lambs. The house was a terraced property in a narrow cul de sac. So I had to reverse very slowly to regain the road.

That was the end of the mainland deliveries and off I went to Brinsiencyn where the old Mermaid Inn sits on the shore of the Menain Strait. After relieving myself of a further load of lamb I set the Sat/Nav to take me across the island to Llandonna. I knew the people at this drop so I called them up and they guided me to their house. After the offer of a coffee which I declined, I set off for Benllech where my customer took 3 lambs. Then I drove over to Amlwch to drop off my last load for the night. At about 9.30pm I was back home unloading a whole lamb for personal use.

Next morning I drove over to Cemaes Bay to deliver half a lamb. I came home, had some breakfast with my wife and set off to drop the remaining lamb in Bangor. It had been stored overnight in the boot of my wife's car which was as good as refrigeration that night. The previous night I realised that someone had made a mistake with my order and I was short by half a lamb. Luckily this customer was not too bothered and will be getting a half lamb later next week.

Next week I shall take my wife out for a drive in the country and stop off at the farm to get this small order. It has been very hard work but I have thoroughly enjoyed it because I was physically helping someone in need. God calls us to undertake many different rolls in life, but this one was a bit different. Before hand I was looking forward to it and now I can say I enjoyed it tremendously!

The Magi come to Jesus

2007-12-03T16:08:00.000Z

It is well that during Advent we think deeply about the "coming" of Jesus. When Jesus was born the Magi had already set off from their homeland to locate a new king and worship him. They were astrologers and lived in an age when all people believed in astrology. It was believed the future could be foretold from the stars. Who these men really were we do not know. We do not know, for sure, how many of them travelled on that journey that ended in Bethlehem. Search your Bible and you will find no reference to three kings, only three gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Knowing that the stars appear to move in the sky we can see how, when they were in certain alignments, men noticed particular happenings took place. So an impressive bank of knowledge built up so that when the stars appeared to realign in the night sky the happenings that had occurred on the previous identical alignment would be predicted to happen again.

Many ideas have been advanced as to which star was the bright star that announced the birth of Jesus. Nothing has come up so far to satisfy the scientists so the name of the star remains unknown. But these wise men had been doing their astrological plots and decided which direction they should take to find this new king. It seems strange, when you think about it, that they should set out from the Far East looking for a king.

Yet it is true to say that in that part of the world there was a strange feeling of expectation, a waiting for the coming of a king. Even the Roman historians were aware of this. Suetonius wrote, "There had spread all over the Orient and old and established belief, that it was fated at that time for men coming from Judea to rule the world." Tacitus had it that "the Jews had the belief that about that time one from their country should become governor if the habitable earth."

We cannot attest to the truth of the story of the wise men but it is entirely possible that it happened as the story in the new Testament says. It was a time when men were waiting for a saviour. The desire for God was in the hearts of humankind. The people of the day discovered they could build the golden age without God. So Jesus came to a waiting world. We often bang on about him lying in a lowly stable and forget that the inn landlord actually provided Mary with the best possible place to have her child. It was a warm place that afforded privacy for a young woman experiencing her first labour. It was the right place for the Son of God to be born.

The kings came to worship and honour the new king and quietly slipped back home via a new route. The new parents were told to take Jesus out of the country because Herod's men were on the warpath, killing all infants they found to make sure Herod faced no threat.

As for the new king, it would be another 30 years before he set out to win hearts for God. Events had occurred which would see the world changed forever.

HIV/AIDS

2007-11-29T15:19:00.000Z

HIV/AIDS is one of the greatest problems being faced in this century. When it was apparent that it could reach epidemic proportions in the UK we had a massive TV programme to educate the population. At this time it was thought of as a disease created by promiscuous homosexuals through their activities. We even had a Chief Constable publicising his personal attitude towards sufferers. He knew very little about how the virus could be caught and jumped on the bandwagon of those who believed it was a curse for bad behaviour by homosexuals. He very soon showed himself to be a religious bigot and lost much credibility as a result.

A great champion of those unlucky enough to be sufferers was the late Princess Diana. She showed the bigots that no one could catch the virus by simple human contact. She was seen on TV shaking hands with AIDS sufferers. One day, I had to go out to the home of a man with AIDS to assess his eligibility for Disabled Rate Relief. He told me a great deal about what it was like to live with the time bomb. He made me a drink of tea and I accepted it. I was not really keen to have a drink but I was keen to let him know I had no hang ups about his illness.

It is great, of course, to see how much progress has been made in finding drugs to fight the illness. Much work is needed before we can make it history but I salute the progress made to date.

Today I attended a meeting in which we welcomed a speaker from Kyrgyzstan, a small country of 5 million people where there are very significant efforts being supported by Christian Aid to educate people on the subject. There the problem seems to have begun with cheap drugs becoming available to many young people and through sharing needles they have fallen ill with the virus. In a Muslim country it is all too easy to keep quiet about the disease because of the stigma of this type of illness.

As World AIDS day (1st December) approaches let us remember those who have suffered and died from this dreadful virus. Let us also support all efforts to educate people - in particular, young people - about its dangers. The old attitudes that treated sufferers as social pariahs are largely finished, but where they exist let us stamp them out through better education. Let us pray for all who work with sufferers and make their lives fuller. Let us pray too that science will discover a total cure and people no longer die from this awful disease.

What is God like?

2007-11-28T22:36:00.000Z

Perhaps I should begin by dealing with what God is not like. When I was a child the minister of my church told us that God was not an old man with a beard and he was not like a policeman, ready to pounce when we did wrong.

Although the Old Testament abounds with God declaring what punishments he will bring down on people I do not believe he is a vengeful God either. I was introduced at an early age to the expression "God fearing" and I can say that I do not fear God. One day when Sunday School was ended I went into a sweets shop in Manchester Road, Nelson, Lancashire and bought some sweets. As I emerged from the shop an old lady told me that God would not love me if I bought sweets on a Sunday. Well, in today's Sunday shopping culture, very many people would find that God did not love them.

I grew up during an age in which we were often told that a Christian did not do this and that. It was always about what a Christian did NOT do. Nothing was said about what a Christian SHOULD do. I remember, at that time, thinking that I never heard a list that told me what a Christian should do.

Now that I have closed the book on the past when we thought of God in a very different way, let me deal with the positive news. God is a father to us. If you wish to find evidence to show what God is like then you need only read the stories of Jesus. I say this because there is real evidence of what God is like when you listen to Jesus. In Matthew's gospel, Chapter 7 we hear Jesus saying "Would any of you offer his son a stone when he asks for bread, or a snake when he asks for fish? If you, bad as you are, know how to give good things to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him!" So here we have a picture of God as our heavenly Father. If he is a fatherly figure then we know how to speak to him. If there is something we need we would go to our father first to ask him for advice on how to get it. Our father would then give us the benefit of his knowledge and advice.

So this suggests he is a loving God because he has our best interests at heart. To be loved like that is often something not seen today in public. Yet, within our families, we have the model for how God loves us. The story of the Prodigal Son tells us this in detail. Jesus told many parables to explain what God is like. Read them and you will get a clearer picture of what God is like.

A story is told of a clergyman who had recently lost his wife. He had decided to take passage to America to start a new life there with his young daughter. Whilst sailing on the great liner he had been asked by the captain to preach at the Sunday service on board. In so doing he had chosen to preach on the love of God. After the service he was leaning on the ship's rail and looking out across the vast ocean with his daughter at his side. She turned to him and asked, "Daddy, does God love us as much as we loved mummy?" He spoke quietly to the little girl, "Look out over that ocean. Think how deep the water is. Look up at the sky. God's love is wider than the sea and deeper than the sea. It is also higher than all that sky." The girl thought for a few seconds and then suddenly exclaimed, "How wonderful! We are right in the middle of it!"

We live our lives in the middle of chaos - in a world where humankind is anything but kind. Stories abound of earthquakes, erupting volcanoes, giant mudslides, massive tidal waves and so on. Yet, we human beings are equipped by God to deal with disasters and catastrophies on a grand scale. I remember hearing the news, three weeks after we were married, that a whole mountainside had moved and swallowed a school in the Welsh village of Aberfan. Many children and their teacher died. Almost an entire generation was eliminated that morning. Yet stories were told of men working tirelessly, day after day, to see if any children might be found alive. The local minister could not go to the temporary mortuary to identify his daughter because he had no one to take care of his other child. Someone volunteered to baby sit for him so that he could carry out that sad task. The volunteer was her Majesty the Queen who was visiting Aberfan that day. Others had equally dreadful tasks to perform and God gave them the strength to do it.

When we have to do things that we have dreaded for many years we are given strength by a loving, caring God. This does not mean it becomes easy. It means we get the super human strength that such an event calls for. If you wish to see the goodness of God just look at what people have found themselves capable of doing as they respond to humanitarian disasters. All of us can find the strength to carry on in difficult times by calling on God for his help.

If you want to know what God is like take a good look at those who are doing his work!

Practical Christianity in 2007

2007-11-21T22:50:00.000Z

It is not often that we get an opportunity to help another who is suffering. It is even less likely that we shall be able to help such a person when he is a stranger whom we have never met. Yet the fact is that a large group of Christians has found a way to help a struggling hill farmer avoid bankruptcy.

A fellow preacher in my area advised people attending some local churches that he knew of a man who was really suffering. The man was a hill farmer who had recently lost his father and was suffering the effects of government restrictions following outbreaks of foot and mouth and blue tongue over 200 miles from his farm. For some time now farmers have struggled financially following the outbreak, nationally, of foot and mouth disease. The many restrictions that have been in place have steadily reduced their income. On top of this they have been seen as indirect sufferers of the diseases which have arisen and so not qualified for financial help.

Today, to be a small farmer is not recommended as a career. It is a line of work that has been hit hard in recent years. Yet, in this case, a scheme whereby the farmer can receive direct help from individuals has been devised. In my church letters were sent out to the people who worship there, telling them of the particular hardship case and offering whole and half lambs at good prices.

The result has been surprising as in 3 days I have received orders for over 16 lambs in whole or half form. They will be butchered into large or small joints and supplied from the farm on an agreed date. A number of people are now reducing the stock in their freezers in readiness for the delivery of their order. My problem now is whether I have access to a sufficiently large vehicle to transport the meat from this isolated farm!

It is a problem I can deal with because God is leading us to help someone who is suffering. It is a privilege to be able to save a man from bankruptcy by motivating other Christians in my area. It is certainly a unique venture and one I shall remember for a long time. Praise God that he encourages and motivates people in this way. Never forget in this era of exodus from the churches - GOD IS STILL SPEAKING!!!!!!!

Why do we Worship God?

2007-11-19T22:34:00.000Z

Back in the Old Testament times people sang the praises of God to say thank you for all that God had done for them. Not all that long after the Children of Israel had crossed the Red Sea with the Egyptian Army drowning as they tried to bring them back to Pharaoh, the Israelites began to complain bitterly. Once they had broken free of slavery and started to follow wherever God led they began to get very comfortable. So, when things didn't go right, they started to whinge and moan about it all. You see, when people receive gifts they start to expect more and more. When I worked in a small company who, with help from European funding, used to provide free business advice and assistance, the boss talked about them adopting a dependence on grants. He called it the grant mentality. He was right about this. There were many small companies who began to expect more and more free help because of our intervention.

This was how the Israelites were. So when things went wrong they decided God was useless and asked for an idol to worship. Just because Moses seemed to be away too long they began to think God was not the one to thank for all their good fortune. By now they had decided they needed a local god or idol to whom they could pray. Moses came back from his time up the mountain with God to find them worshipping a Golden Calf. He was so enraged that he smashed the two tablets of stone on which were engraved the Ten Commandments.

So from this point he had to remind them how good to them God had been. If you read the Old Testament Book of Deuteronomy you find it is a long sermon by Moses, telling the people to remember the goodness of God in rescuing them from Egypt. It goes on a long time, telling them how much they ought to worship God for his kindness to them.

Later in the Old Testament we find the Book of Psalms which is really a collection of beautiful hymns sung to praise God for his protection and love. This is another type of worship. Later on the prophets exhorted the people to turn from their idolatrous ways to worship the one and only Yahweh (their word for God). The prophets warned them of dire consequences if they did not heed this warning. The people had to worship God, not only in the synagogue, but throughout their lives. Living out their lives according to God's law would be seen, the prophets told the people, as worship and thanks for all God had done for them.

In those days they believed that if a man was rich then God had blessed him and it meant he was a good religious person. So when Job was seen to have wall to wall wealth in terms of family and flocks he was considered to be a leading worshipper of God. So he was tested by the removal of all his riches to the point where people couldn't stand being near him so badly did he smell.

Even in New Testament days the people believed that a rich man was the best man. The disciples were "gobsmacked" when Jesus required the rich young man to give away all his wealth in order to have eternal life. Even they had to learn this lesson. They understood that God was great and good but thought he showed his love by giving people great wealth.

Going back to the point where Mary was told that she was to become the mother of the saviour of the world we hear her song of worship to God for his goodness to her. That song is referred to as the Magnificat. It praises God for being so good to young Mary, and it contains a warning of the new rules which would apply once he arrived in the guise of Jesus, Son of God.

The song starts by saying: "My soul tells out the greatness of the Lord....." Later we read this: "he has routed the proud and all their schemes.....he has brought down monarchs from their thrones.....he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty." From now on the rules will change. No longer will the wealthy be the best but the poor man who begs at the side of the road. No longer will kings be the best but their subjects will reign in their place.

This amazing message was enhanced by all that Jesus did and said as he went about Palestine with his disciples teaching the people. Now the news was that the poor counted equal to the rich. It said that you were in no better position as a rich man than the beggar on the road. It said that God loved all people equally. Now, here were grounds for worshipping God. Even if you were struck down in abject poverty you stood equal with everyone else. God loved you just because you were there! This was news indeed. It was also grounds for constant worship of God to give thanks for all one had.

That position has continued to this day. Oddly enough, there are still occasional people who think that successful business people have been favoured by God. But they are simply wrong. All of us count equally in God's sight. He is proud of us because he has made us. Recognising that everything we have we owe to God, we need to worship him to give thanks. He is our father and like all fathers he is proud of his children and gives us much in order that we might prosper. It can be best described as being Christmas every day! That is why we worship God.

Have we forgotten about God?

2007-10-28T09:03:00.000Z

In the Old Testament in the book of the prophet, Amos, you will read in chapter 6 about Amos criticising the wealthy people who live an indulgent life. He tells them that they just go from party to party, thinking only of themselves and forgetting the poor. Now, under their traditions they had a responsibility for taking care of the poor. But they were so busy enjoying themselves they forgot their duty. Not only this, but Amos even suggests that this life has caused them to forget God who brought their ancestors safely out of Egypt and on to the Promised Land.

The sort of life they are leading blocks out everything except themselves. They drank from bowls instead of goblets, so keen were they to feel the intoxication from alcohol. They lounged around on reclining furniture. They soaked themselves in the finest oils which were supposed to be commodities offered to God as being "the best". Amos could see very clearly that these people had forgotten the poor within their society. Indeed he could see that their life style had probably helped to worsen the plight of the poor. But, to Amos, the unforgivable sin was that all this had led them to forget God, what he had done for them, and their responsibility to worship him as their deliverer.

Is there a danger that in leading life in the 20th century we too have forgotten God? Has God become an irrelevance in our thinking and in our life in general? I know that it is all too easy to forget matters which are important in the busyness of today's life. Many years ago my wife went home after she had done the shopping only to find she had forgotten to bring home our baby son in his pram. My memory is so bad that I can forget the most important things if they are not written in my PC diary, and even then I have to remember to check the diary!

To highlight our forgetfulness of God let me put a case to you. You have won the Euro Lottery and the prize is many millions of pounds. Now you have to think about what use you will put the money to. Is your first thought to buy an expensive car to show off to the world? Do you decide to buy houses in Florida, France, Spain, Italy etc? They would be useful when you took those interminable holidays all over the world! Maybe you would allocate a million pounds to your favourite charity and do some good somewhere in the world. As for the rest, how would you use it once the excitement of riches had levelled off? I suggest that many people would radically change their life style and begin to live an inward-looking existence. If you are a Christian, is there just a chance that you would gradually cease attending church in this new life?

In this age of consumerism there has been a forgetfulness as people have targetted the various luxury commodities on which to spend their now-significant incomes. A few years ago I was with a few people and involved in a conversation about how their money was spent. One young woman was quite open about how she saw an importance in buying her children the latest and greatest in clothes and amusements. She was honest about buying the very latest replica football strips for her boys so that they became leaders among their peer group.

The introduction, following the 2nd World War, of the welfare state has made a huge difference to life. The development of new technology has also contributed in a massive way. Ownership of a PC might be important as a way to play the modern computer games. My reason for buying a computer was to be able to write and store my sermons on it. The secondary reason was that I needed to become computer literate in order to get employment when I found myself jobless. Now I find that a PC connected to the Internet can be the means of telling the world the wonderful story of God's Son, Jesus who is the means of salvation for all.

So it depends on what use these modern inventions are given as to how they affecy our lives and our thinking. I am, of course, not suggesting we should take the fun out of life. Fun is as important to our religious life as well as it is to everything else we do. Happiness is an important slice of life and should not be downgraded by the pious and over-serious among us. This fun element can be a means of remembering God as we live out life. God is a loving father and, as such, wants us to have fun as members of His family.

Quite apart from the serious and important duty we must exercise in the name of Jesus, I am absolutely convinced that it ought be fun. Surely, our message of salvation and grace makes us smile! So what prevents a Christian from experiencing fun as he/she promotes the Gospel of Jesus? In this way there should be no problem of that forgetfulness that Amos went on about to the rich people of his time.

The Holy Trinity

2007-06-03T09:13:00.000+01:00

It is interesting to think about the three facets of God that we call the Holy Trinity. It is not a concept referred to in the Bible, but something which has grown later. That it is an important concept is clear when you think of the many churches who take their name from it. But how does it work in practice and what holds it together?

The first mention of God and the spirit is right at the beginning of the Bible when Genesis speaks about the spirit of God hovering above the dark waters. So we learn from this that God and his spirit did not appear at a later stage in events. They were always there. Many people mistakenly believe that the Holy Spirit came about on the day of Pentecost. In fact we can say here that this appears to have been its greatest intervention.

I do not believe the Genesis story as fact. The best version I can think of is the "Big Bang" with the Universe exploding into existence. But I do believe that God is our creator. This means that I only differ with others as far as method is concerned. Let's be honest, who could possibly have been there to witness the creation of matter from nothing? But that God always existed I can truly believe. He is a great mystery and no matter how much time we devote to thinking about him we shall never get near to him.

In the Old Testament he is described as leading part of humankind through the likes of Abraham, Moses and Joshua. Later he speaks to the people through his hard working and frustrated prophets. Through all this he acts as supreme leader, encourager, lover and friend. As time passes God becomes more remote. To Moses he was a force who lived in the mountain, a vision to the people of cloud by day and fire by night. But later there appeared to be less involvement and a remoteness which was interpreted by the prophets who were called to be his mouthpiece. But the one enduring aspect of God was that, despite the waywardness of his people, he never gave up on them and always offered a new start.

At certain points we area aware of his spirit. When Samuel anoints Saul as king the holy spirit then goes into the king. Its sets him apart but is not a guarantee of infallibility as the stories tell. There are references to ecstatic utterance (reflected at Pentecost) which also suggest activity of the spirit. But the main theme is one of God speaking through prophets who warn of the obvious consequences if the people do not follow God's instructions.

But then we come to a more direct intervention by God. He enters the world as Jesus the Son. He comes as a frail new born child brought up by Mary and Joseph until he is old enough to make his own decisions and start his ministry. Jesus shows us how to live. He shows us that we have got it all wrong and that riches are not a sign of God's benevolence. We are shown that the poor have the riches and that God blesses them in particular. We have got the rules the wrong way round and have to be shown the true values of God.

Remember how God has had infinite patience all through the Old Testament era. Jesus now shows us that we have to have that quality in our attitude to our fellow humans. The position of Jesus as Son of God shows us that God is our father and looks upon us just as we who are parents look on our children. Jesus uses this imagery to show us what our relationship with God ought to be. His miracles all show the activity of a strong love at work. His preaching spells out where we have got it wrong and shows us what we need to do about it. The authorities of his day clearly see the threat he poses and his days are numbered as they plot to remove him.

Then, supremely on the Cross we see the lengths which the love of God will take to save us. There we see the human side of Jesus die. His job is done and we await the next intervention. The closest friends experience the resurrection for they are the ones who will physically take the work forward. Now happy men and women they begin the work. But Jesus made a promise that they would have a comforter who would be with them as they did their work. That comforter would be a guide in all their deliberations.

When that comforter arrived it was very dramatic. There was a rushing wind, tongues of fire, people speaking in languages they had never learned. Three thousand people, that day, came forward to join the early church. The missionary work was set on fire! They were enabled to take the good news forward and would soon find a man who would be their emissary to the world beyond Judaism, Paul of Tarsus.

And so the Good News was preached far and wide. It was a dangerous mission but it started and continued into the years to come. It now encircles the globe. Christianity is everywhere. In places it is very active and in other places it seems to be doing very little. At the head of all the work is God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, a trinity bound together in love.

Why do I say this? I have, over the last few years, been privileged to visit grieving families prior to a funeral. Sitting there with close families, talking about their loved one, has been an absolute privilege. Most of my families came from East Manchester, an impoverished area of the city. Most of them were not churchgoers. They had long ago lost the habit of worshipping God. But they had one thing in common. This was the very obvious love for one another. On the day of a funeral I would see young men, who preferred to look and dress hard in their daily lives, carrying a coffin with tears running freely down their cheeks. Here was an expression of love for the father, the mother, the grandfather or grandmother whose body they were carrying into the chapel. This was love in reality. Take all the layers of supposed hardness and aggression away and there was an inner centre full of human love.

Here is my reason for saying that the three separate parts of the Holy Trinity are fused together in love. I strongly believe that we can trust the words of Jesus who said "Which one of you who are fathers would give your son a stone when he asked for bread, or a snake when he asked for a fish?" This is how Jesus taught us to think of God as Father. Jesus clearly was the Son of God. The proof is in what he did in the three years of his ministry. His promise came true when the Day of Pentecost brought the wind and fire of the Holy Spirit. The whole thing is bound up with the love of God. And we carry on in this atmosphere of heavenly love as we take the gospel to the world. We are fortunate indeed.

A Death Observed

2007-05-15T07:43:00.000+01:00

As you know, on 13th April my mother-in-law experienced a cerebral event from which she was not expected to recover. She died 13 days later on 26th April just before 8.00pm. Because the end was coming, my wife and I were driving down to Devon, not knowing if she would die before we arrived at the hospital. As we approached Newton Abbot a phone call told us to go directly to Torbay Hospital. We arrived in time to be with her when she died.

I have led over 80 funeral services over the last six years but have never observed a death. On this occasion I felt I was privileged to be with my mother-in-law because of her special relationship with me. You see, I have always known her. When I was a baby she wheeled me out in my pram. From early childhood she had been my mother's best friend. As I grew up I called her Auntie Winnie. Our families used to visit each other and take tea together.

When she died it was as if I was observing the death of a great friend on my mother's behalf. Winifred was the sort of woman many aspire to be but never make it. Born the second daughter of two cotton weavers in Lancashire, she had a great sense of style. What one wore and how one behaved in public were incredibly important to her. Of her own generation within the family she was the last to die. My father-in-law died ten years earlier since when she really took on the role of matriarch within the family.

From that time onward she decided to travel. The holidays she always fancied taking were taken. The first, a visit to Majorca, was not a success. But each one afterwards certainly was. She visited Prague and enjoyed its beauty; she drank coffee in St Mark's Square, Venice; she visited battlefields in Italy where her late husband had fought; she visited Switzerland, Austria and Germany. Each time she came home she rang my wife and out spilled all the stories of her little adventures. As well as travelling she bought many clothes so that she was ready to go anywhere at any time.

Whenever she stepped outside the house she was dressed smartly and her make up was perfect. We used to say that if she went to the door to pay the milkman she would check her make up! Whenever she went out with us she paid for any meals and made sure that the food was of the desired quality. One her later holidays was with Pauline and I in Britanny in 2005. She loved the countryside, the people and the food. The favourite place to eat was the Auberge Du Pont near our gite. It was a seafood restaurant with great style. She fitted in perfectly.

Having arrived in time for her death I was slightly apprehensive. What we witnessed as we went into her room was not very pleasant. Her breathing was accompanied by a very loud sound which the doctor was able to subdue with a drug. We sat round her bed and watched and listened. Having had a massive stroke, she was not conscious and her eyes were half closed. We were quietly stalking with my sister-in-law by her bed when her breathing simply ceased. Her head slowly turned and she was looking directly at me with eyes wide open. Although she had died I was certain that there remained a light in her eyes. I smiled at her and said, "Just slip away, Win." After a couple of involuntary throat sounds there was nothing more.

I knew then that I was the last person she saw and felt privileged to be with her. Although I had hoped I would not be there at the end I was pleased that we had made it in time and she had not died alone but with her closest family present. What a woman and what a life!

That woman lying there had been everything to us. She had been the head of our family and despite all the usual difficulties she had never lost her poise. She had truly always been there for us, helping us whenever needed. Her love had always been available just for her family and she had always brought us through. On the card with her flowers Pauline wrote, "Bye Mum. Thanks for all your love." That love was always there - just for us.

All this reminds me how Jesus gives us his love. Time after time I have told grieving families that if you want to see Jesus at work in your life he comes to you in the guise of a friend who touches you on the arm and says, "I am thinking of you." Jesus is all round us in life and we do not have to reach far to feel his hand grasping ours. When times are difficult he will send someone to us who will cheer us greatly and get us through. In my life he gave me Auntie Winnie and many more people besides. The most precious gift is my wife. She is my best friend and has helped me through many a difficult time.

My belief is that we are placed in this world, equipped as it is with people and resources which can get us through life. The fact that there are inexplicable natural disasters which claim many lives is just one mystery for us to cope with. Much of life is purely random. We simply have to deal with whatever comes our way. Facing it all is made possible when you have a close relationship with Jesus. He does not take the pain away but gives you the strength to cope with it all. Sometimes we only just make it, but we know the friendship of the greatest friend. With Jesus the only extra thing we receive is his love and support. Our task remains just as hard as it would be if we were not Christians. Jesus declared, "My yoke is easy." He looked at the cattle yokes he had made as a carpenter and used these to explain how he would help us. From this we can be sure that the load will still be heavy but there is a means of bearing it in his love.

For many their greatest burden is bearing the death of someone. My answer for them is that they may confidently seek out Jesus and find a way of carrying very heavy loads. The late great Pat Seed, who raised much money and worked selflessly in the cause of cancer support, once repeated something a nun had told her - "God never gives you a cross too heavy to carry." I find this to be true and I believe it to have been a privilege to see my lovely friend and mother-in-law slip away at the end of her loving life.

This has been a very personal account and I hope that you can find something helpful within it.

"The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away"

2007-04-21T23:30:00.000+01:00

For more years than I care to remember I have heard certain of my Christian friends quote the Book of Job, saying, "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away." In most cases it has been said following a death, particularly a tragic one. There can be no doubt that to be a Christian on occasions is very hard in that extremely difficult burdens must be born. Quite often we accept what has happened by comparing the suffering of Jesus on the cross. I am certain that he did suffer greatly and was an innocent man being executed unjustly. All Christians must feel very guilty at the thought of Jesus being put to death for the sins of the world. In fact, the doctrine of atonement is a bitter pill to swallow for most people.

There are those who declare that each world natural disaster is simply the "will of God." Confronted by an argumentative agnostic on such an occasion they shrug off the whole matter as being "God's unfathomable will." I wonder what their attitude would be if they were to be personally involved in such a matter. It is all too easy to write off a huge natural disaster like the Asian Tsunami as the "will of God" when you are not personally affected. As news of that great catastrophe hit our television screens the sheer numbers beggared belief. We were all stunned at the scale of this disaster. I know that a number of preachers were wondering how to address it in their next Sunday service. They wondered how they could ever preach on the love of God again. You see, they were thinking of the quote from Job Chapter 1, "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away." They were uncomfortable at the thought of having to stand before a congregation and exhort them to accept it all by quoting Job.

But, there is good news. The caption at the top of this blog is not what was written in the Book of Job. In the Authorised Version (or King James Version) we read, "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away." The Book of Job is about a heavenly court in which God is proudly looking at the good deeds and pious worship of Job. Satan is a member of that court and says that Job might well be a pious and faithful servant with all that God has given him in terms of vast wealth. He challenges God to strip him of all this and then to see how Job reacts. Here I need to quote the whole text to impart real understanding:

"Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, and said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."

The whole story is now completely different, and much easier to understand. I find the Book of Job a wonderful piece of literature which, in complex twists and turns, attempts to explain the matter of suffering. There is chapter after chapter of dialogue between Job and his so called comforters. Finally, following an understandably bitter outburst by Job at his situation, comes the voice of God. If you have never read Job, please read Chapter 38 onwards first. The poetry and description is out of this world.

I now turn to the Christians who misquote Job and urge others to simply accept on the occasion of a premature or tragic death that it is all the "will of God." To speak to a sufferer in this way is very cruel and wrong. An old trade union colleague of mine lost his daughter to cancer at the age of 15 years. Was this a case of God giving and then taking away? Never in this world! It is totally outside the nature of God as taught by Jesus. Turn to Matthew's Gospel where Jesus, in his Sermon on the Mount says to the crowd about the nature and personality of God, "Ask, and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, those who seek find, and to those who knock, the door will be opened. Would any of you offer his son a stone when he asks for bread, or a snake when he asks for fish? If you, bad as you are, know how to give good things to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him!"

It is here that we receive the Good News. We learn that God is a loving father who can be understood in human terms. Any father knows the great thrill of giving something good to his son or daughter. This is just how God is to be understood. God is a God of love. Time after time I have told mourners at a funeral service that God will not leave then to grieve alone. Through someone else he will come to them and give comfort that will be recognised for what it is. Because he loves us he does not leave us alone to suffer. To do that would be the action of a cruel father and God is a loving father who gives us what we need.

Right now, my family and I are struggling to come to terms with the impending death of my mother in law. She is 86 years old and has lived life to the full. She has been generous and loving to us all. Just over a week ago she went into hospital for a small operation on her wrist to realign a broken bone. The day after the operation she suffered a massive stroke and cannot communicate with anyone. There is no response when the doctors and nurses treat her. It is now only a matter of time before she finally leaves us. We are gutted. But, instead of saying we have been cheated by God, we believe it is more a matter of looking back upon the life of a loving mother and grandmother and being thankful. When God gave her to us he was being gracious indeed and we are grateful for the gift.

Put in context, she came into this world with no possessions and will certainly leave it without any. But the love we have known from her is boundless. "Blessed be the name of the Lord."

The Crucifixion

2007-04-06T10:41:00.000+01:00

Today we remember the ultimate sacrifice. It is Jesus on the Cross. He did not have to be there but he willingly allowed his own slow execution for the salvation of humankind. Isaac Watts wrote In his hymn "Love so amazing, so divine" and this is the absolute truth about it. As the rest of the world carries on enjoyiing Easter as a holiday, we in the church feel sadness and sorrow at what happened 2,000 years ago.

We cannot imagine a love so great as to provide the required sacrifice on our behalf. I suppose that if we had to be crucified then that sacrifice would not have been sufficient. It had to be God himself on the Cross to measure up to the level of sacrifice required. In other words, as Jesus realised in the Garden of Gethsemane, there was no other way. He had to give himself up to the chief priests and suffer death on a cross.

No matter who you are or where you stand as far as Christiianity is concerned, what was done on the Cross was done for you. You cannot escape this fact. Follow the ways of the world if you must but you cannot escape the fact that Jesus died for you.

Hosanna!

2007-03-30T09:23:00.000+01:00

There was a crowd standing lining the road that led through the village. It was coming up to Passover and these crowds always assembled to watch the processions of pilgrims going up to the Temple in Jerusalem as their religion demanded. It was always interesting to see who was in the travelling host - was there anyone you knew? Were there any folks from other countries making this so important journey? There were old and young alike on this journey which their religion demanded at this time of year. The population of the City of Jerusalem would be three times its usual size and the bed an breakfast industry would be running at full speed to deal with such numbers.

All the noise and the chatter of so many voices in many different languages made it an important sight as they all passed through the village. But there was a difference this year. In a separate part of the procession there were people running into the road and throwing palm branches in front of a small group of thirteen men and a donkey. Riding on the donkey was a man in his thirties. It seemed that he was the cause of the special interest, the one before whom the palm branches were spread in the roadway. He seemed lost in thought, almost unaware of the special treatment he was getting. People were shouting "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!"

It appeared that the young man was the prophet they had heard about during the past three years. He was the one who thousands went to hear. He had cured the sick, made the blind see again, even, so it was rumoured, raised the dead! So this was the great man! Well, strangely enough, despite the adulation he did not seem great at all. Considering all that he was supposed to have done, it was all something of an anticlimax! How disappointing!

But the odd thing was that there was something prophetic about the way he was riding to Jerusalem. The scriptures talked about kings riding in procession to claim some city or other. It was said that if a king was riding in war he would be mounted on a huge warhorse and that if he came in peace he roe a donkey. Well, it looked as if this young fellow was coming in peace if he was a king. How could he be a king, though? He only had twelve men with him. Wouldn't a king come with a massive following, clearing the way for him to go forward? Didn't a King have special retainers, hundreds of wives and so on? No, this was no king. But the clamour from those who threw down the palm branches and coats and so on was surprising.

Well, even if he was some sort of king, he wasn't going to change the world, judging by the way he rode on lost in thought. No, he would soon be forgotten as history was written. "What did you say? He used to be a carpenter? Well, no carpenter has ever become a king as far as I know! No, if you're looking for a king, you are in the wrong place. I( mean, all these stories about curing the sick, the blind, the lame, they aren't the sort of thing kings do, are they? No, you must have got it wrong. But, my, aren't the folks making a fuss of him?"

"I think I might just go up to Jerusalem and see what happens when gets there. It might be interesting. I've nothing much else to do at the moment."

The Temptations of Jesus

2007-02-19T17:04:00.000Z

At the beginning of Chapter 4 of Luke's gospel we read the story of the three temptations that Jesus faced in the desert. All this took place after Jesus was baptised by John in the River Jordan. It was all part of the scene setting necessary before Jesus began his ministry which was to change the world. First we saw the baptism at which Jesus is affirmed by God as his son. Now we come to a scene in which Jesus starves himself for a period as part of a reflective period as he plans his work. Having no food inside him, Jesus really feels the temptation to take a shortcut to demonstrating his power and his authority in a mighty way.

First, he is tempted to turn into bread the small round stones he sees lying in the wilderness. The devil speaks to him and suggest that because Jesus is the Son of God it would be easy to end his fast in this way. But, instead, Jesus, taking the image of small loaves of bread which the stones there resemble, is reminded that man is not meant to live on bread alone.

Now, in his mind, he imagines himself being taken to a mountain top where he can see many countries stretching away into the distance. The devil now makes him an offer. "All this dominion I will give you, and the glory that goes with it; for it has been given into my hands and I can give it to anyone I choose. All you have to do is recognise me as you master." Despite the great offer, Jesus, nevertheless, speaks up for himself, saying, "You shall do homage to the Lord your God and to him alone." This is unequivocal. God is one and he alone may be worshipped. There are no compromises, no deals, no fixes that can be made by any other power. God is one and he alone is the one Jesus is to serve and call others to serve.

Suddenly, Jesus is lifted to the top of the Temple pinnacle and set there. He looks down the height of the Temple wall and into the Kidren valley below. If he wished, he could leap down as a death defying jump and the angels would catch him as he fell. Now that would be an act the crowds would never forget. That would certainly establish his credentials. But once more comes that knowledge from the heart of Jesus: "You are not to put the Lord God to the test."

By rejecting these three temptations Jesus is establishing a ministry founded on vital principles. He has come as the Suffering Servant who will be rejected by the priests and eventually the people who are to follow him. He has come to show that the long and patient way of love will be the means of offering salvation to the people. No flashy ways that are short-lived in the mind will work at all. No short cuts may be taken. He has to take the long route whereby people discover abiding love through the grace of God. A quick fix has no place in his mission for God.

Another Lectionary reading for this week is Deuteronomy 26: 1-11 where Moses tells the people that when they enter the Promised Land they must do an act of remembrance before God. They are to recite some sentences which God lays down for them. Before they can take up a permanent place they need to remember how they were led out of Egypt, eventually to this land flowing with milk and honey. This is how they will give thanks for the land they have just entered.

It is important that they always remember who it is that has brought them to this place. they need acts of remembrance to ensure they give God the credit and therefore the worship for what he has done for them. The new life they will know in the new land has to be one which is God centered and God led. Can you see the approach resembling that which Jesus opted for at the time of his Temptations?

These two Bible readings show us how our lives are to be God centered in faith and hope in the footsteps of Jesus who showed "The way". In an age of quick fixes and instant entertainment we have a hard job to see the way forward. But, in fact, it has never changed. Our path is the long and winding path spread out before us by God. With faith in him, through Jesus, we will make it to journey's end and win the glittering prizes God has for us. It is not an easy path but it a certain and reliable way to which we are called to travel.

The Sermon on the Plain

2007-02-08T11:54:00.000Z

How many people know that there was another sermon preached by Jesus on a level plain and that he also preached a set of Beatitudes? Until today I did not know this. I have been preaching for almost 46 years and this bit of scripture missed me. In Luke's gospel , chapter 6 we read similar words to those we expect to find in the Sermon on the mount. Here too, Jesus speaks about reversed values. He says the rich are to be pitied but the poor will be blessed, the well fed will go hungry whilst the hungry ones will be fed, those who now laugh will mourn and weep and those who weep will laugh.

When you look at the coming of Jesus you read in the Magnificat how the commonly held values will be reversed. Jesus preaches on the mountain and confirms that these values will be reversed. The rich man comes to Jesus and learns that he must sell everything before he can follow Jesus and inherit eternal life. Even the disciples are surprised at all this because they held to the convention that a rich man is rich as a blessing from God. Look back in the Old Testament and you see how Job is a man considered to be a model of faithfulness because of the numbers of camels, sheep etc he possesses. The whole story of Job is to test him to see how his faith stands up to the removal of everything he owns and the infliction of a skin disease and halitosis.

Jesus must have shocked his listeners when he told them they had to rid themselves of riches which got in the way of spiritual progress. The crowds came to hear him because he had become famous throughout the land. But what they heard on this occasion must have left them scratching their heads. He shook them to their toes with his words. In other words, if his listeners had any preconceived ideas about how good they were, they soon learned that what they thought of themselves was based on the wrong priorities.

These words have just as powerful a meaning today as they did then. We live in an acquisitive society, a consumer society which rates itself on possessions. The message of Jesus is that all this accumulation of wealth and possessions ultimately has no value at all. Now that makes it a difficult message to preach and certainly one which does not attract many listeners. We now, once more pose the question, "How shall we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land?"

God calls us to follow Jesus but he does not make the task easy. It is rather like the people who heard "I have nothing to offer you except blood, sweat and tears." It was a harsh statement but it spelled out the way forward. It is often the case that we are exhorted to take the hardest way as being the best option when we would prefer to take the short cut or the smoother route. When a pilot is faced with a difficult storm ahead he has to decide how to deal with it. He can fly right through it or he can choose to fly round or over it. The choices are those which involve more flying time and fuel expenditure but he faces up to the fact that he will arrive safely at his destination this way. In the same way we are exhorted by Jesus to face up to harder and longer ways to get to a destination.

The beatitude asks us a straight question. Will you take the way of the world or will you trust God's way? To take God's way is our challenge. But it carries no promise of easy times or direct paths. There may come times when you think you cannot possibly be going in the right direction. The Israelites wandered round the Sinai Desert for years until they reached the promised land. But they learned to trust God and he delivered them in the end.

In life there are many pitfalls and many diversions and we have to learn to navigate around them. Some years ago we were travelling from France through Belgium and Holland into Germany. Ii was following the map carefully and suddenly found a sign before me that Ii did not understand. "What does that say?" i said to mu wife. She had been reading the "book" before we set off and was able to says, "It says Diversion." We took the diversion direction and all was well. In fact this was the most difficult journey we have ever made because it was at night and there was no one about to ask our way. A journey that should have taken about 3 hours took over 5 hours because I had great difficulty following the road atlas. We were in and out of Germany like a fiddler's elbow until we took the certain way which involved following 3 sides of a square!

The way forward is quite simple. It is the way God leads us. It is we who make it difficult by questioning better judgement all the way. We keep on learning that the only way is to trust God.

All welcome

2007-02-01T14:55:00.000Z

Since leaving the Rochdale/Oldham area in 2004 I have continued to put together the weekly notices for my former church at Shaw, Oldham. Instead of reading out the notices in each service, the congregation are given an A4 sheet headed, "Weekly News". In it are the various notices regarding what is happening in the church. Each week I am emailed with the changes for the week. Some of the events taking place are for anyone at all to attend and not restricted to any sort of membership. So a typical notice might read: Games Evening, date, time, all welcome.

Now this is where Christians have a problem. They put up notices saying that all are welcome but this is often not the case. In their church they would not like to see unmarried couples, single parents, homosexuals and lesbians, the mentally ill, the mentally handicapped, some of the disabled, wife beaters, smelly & dirty people, criminals etc. In fact, it depends on who you are and what you do as to whether you are accepted in a particular church. It is because of this that people, looking for a new church to worship in, try a few before settling on a final choice. Believe it or not, some churches are not very comfortable places to be or Christian in their ways! I have to say it though, they do not really mean to be exclusive but it eventually works out that way.

Two thousand years ago, Jesus was born. As a grown man, he came to be recognised as God Incarnate. In this role he came to say something that needed saying because people had got it all wrong. He entered a society in which many were marginalised because of infirmity, sins, religious beliefs etc. The Pharisees were astounded to see him taking tea with tax collectors, refusing to condemn adulterers and so on. They missed the message that told them all were welcome. Their petty rules and regulations got in the way. This still happens today.

Yet the truth is that all are welcome as far as Jesus is concerned. So now we see that the problem with welcoming every sort of person into our churches is that Jesus welcomes them but his representatives don't! If Jesus is to be about his work of salvation he needs human beings to share it with him. This is going to be difficult in churches that do not welcome certain individuals to their fellowship. In the USA there is the problem in the Anglican community that one of their bishops is gay. At home, the Church of England had to tell a Bishop-elect that he had better stand down because he was not welcome by many who professed Christianity and were members of the same church. But part of the ministry of Jesus is to stand by the marginalised, so where do you think Jesus stands on this issue?

It is blindingly apparent that Jesus stands with all who are marginalised and all who are in any sort of need. This is the picture we see as we read the gospels which are but snapshots of Jesus. Yet some do not grasp the message. On the matter of homosexualiity it was my trade union that pointed out to me the error of my ways. At one point I was actually lobbying for a member being prevented from election as Branch Secretary because of his declared sexuality. It was only three years later that I found myself in the position of Branch Secretary and my strongest supporter was the man I had tried to block previously. In fact, I learned more about defending the rights of my members from him than any other member.

I remember on the occasion of my first visit to the annual conference of the union that the issue of homosexuality was being discussed. A young man came to the microphone and told us: "I am now going to make you feel uncomfortable for ten minutes. I have to say that you make me feel uncomfortable all the time." I never forgot those wards. I also realised that there were many homosexuals who had not declared themselves and so I must have been dealing with a number without knowing. I thought about the members I had represented and wondered which ones were gay. It showed me that there was no distinction to be made. Jesus shows us this too.

Through the ministry of Jesus, God shows us the endless possibilities there are for justice and peace. Not only did Jesus live with the outcasts of society but he also died between two of them. On the cross we took our Lord's life and we do it over and over today by our attitudes to those we think beyond the pale. May God forgive us for we know not what we do!

Which will be first?

2007-01-03T14:34:00.000Z

Today I watched a short video about the projected demise of the Asian corner shop. Back in 1995 I retired early from Local Government to start a business of my own. I had always wanted to be my own boss and I thought that if I could find the right corner shop I could make a go of it. But what I discovered was that, although I expected passing trade, I would experience a different version. There was plenty of passing trade. Everyone was off in their cars to the big supermarket to shop for what they needed. I thought they would at least pop in for small forgotten items, but I was wrong.

The world today is conditioned to one stop shopping and the corner shop is doomed. Even the Asians who have turned the corner shop into an artform can see the end of their life style. For a few years I did become my own boss and discovered how many of the Asian shops were on borrowed time. I was a business advisor to small businesses and I talked to many Asian shop owners and they all told the same story. Their children have no aspirations to take over the business and no one else will buy it.

So, the only question to be answered is how long will the Asian corner shop last? Following its demise, will we see countless closed down shops which make a place look totally depressed? In city and large town suburbs it is the lights of the local shops that brighten up the scene. I try to imagine what will be there when the shops have closed. I am sure that it will be a place that oozes depression.

But what of the Church today? Is it going the same way? Is it likely to survive in any form? The way I see it is this. There are many beautiful village churches dating back to medieval times. Their architecture is beautiful and they tell us of early building methods. Inside they are ancient and often have family vaults for the lords of the manor. They are surrounded with graves which tell the local history. But do they attract the size of congregation they always used to have? No. As a church in the sense that Jesus considered appropriate and Paul inaugurated as he took the gospel to the gentile world, our village parish church is an irrelevance.

Turn to the churches of the reformed tradition: Methodist, Baptist and United Reformed Churches. These are sometimes to be found in villages too. They usually still outnumber the Anglican churches in each village in Wales. Then we look at the towns and the cities and we see the same on a larger scale. We see many church buildings now in use as something else. They can be used as houses, flats, warehouse, factories etc. But this depresses me to see the church buildings outlive their usefulness and pass into the hands of others.

It is said that the demise of the churches in the UK is worse in Wales than anywhere. I imagine this is because of the great Welsh Revival of 1904. A very evangelical and fundamentalist message spread like wildfire in the early days of the 20th century. Small churches were going up at a rapid pace in those days. Then the revival ran out of steam, numbers levelled off and then began to fall. Today, in many places, you can see very small congregations attending "chapel" as the Welsh call it. Some are in small numbers for an additional reason to the national trend - they worship exclusively in Welsh.

So it is that we see very many churches still in use when they are not really viable as communities of working Christians. Very small groups have to shoulder an amazingly heavy burden in property maintenance alone. They remember fondly the days when you had to get there early to avoid having to stand. But in those days the reason why people were there in large numbers was that it was the perceived way of life. Today there are many many more attractions that fall into what we call the way of life.

I ask, therefore, which will be last to go -our churches or our Asian corner shops? Both are doomed and both have become an irrelevance.

The various denominations today have very much fewer church attenders, very much fewer ministers and worship leaders, but relatively high numbers of buildings which take an enormous amount of cash to maintain. Let's face it, they are often not really well maintained properly because of the costs involved. So, despite the beauty of some of the buildings, they are a drain on finance. The obvious answer is to get rid of them and regroup, but their members will not let go!

Yet it has always been true that, ever since people were allowed to go to church voluntarily and given the freedom to think for themselves in the matter of religion, church attendance figures did not matter. In medieval times it was the law that forced people to attend church regularly. They were also told what they must believe and if they had other ideas they suffered penalties for heresy. In those times it was essential to build enough churches to hold the worshippers. Today we have to try to attract worshippers. In fact, the problem of how to do this is the biggest problem the church has.

For myself I believe we have to look at what the role of the church is in its locality. There must be countless people who need help of one sort or another. It is only when you go into the local community that you realise the role of the church. You will never discover that role inside the church building at worship time. A couple of years ago I was asked to see a family who had lost the father, a relatively young man in his forties. In a short while I was to conduct his funeral service at the local crematorium. When I sat and talked with the widow and her daughter I found that they had relied totally on the father for decisions and advice. That evening I ended up giving debt counselling and motor insurance advice! A few weeks later I was at the crematorium again for the funeral of a woman who turned out to be in the same extended family. A young woman tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Remember me?"

I was surprised to see her there and she told me the deceased was mother in law to her brother. Then I realise why I thought I recognised the young man in the front pew. "How are you doing?" I asked, "Fine," she said, "I sorted out the motor insurance and mum made temporary arrangements for paying the rent. I also got my job back!" It was excellent news to hear. It thrilled me to have her seek me out after the service to tell me she had acted on my advice and it had worked!

Since I have been taking funeral services I have taken seventy five out of eighty two where I did not know the family beforehand. Of these I have visited most of them to learn about the deceased so that I can speak about them at the funeral service. Those visits have been a dimension of which I had previously had no knowledge. Each one was a privilege as I sat with a grieving family to speak about their loved ones. There have been premature deaths, a cot death, a still birth, and many more different cirtcumstances to take account of. All this has helped me learn a great deal about families who normally never step into a church. I have seen great love and dignity expressed on those occasions. I thank God for this experience which has added to my faith in humanity.

This is where the church works best - in the community. We have to get out there in different ways to make contact with people who, though have no knowledge of it, need us and our message. If we do not we shall in the race with the corner shops to oblivion. We might even win!

Jesus comes to John in the desert

2007-01-01T17:58:00.000Z

Do you remember the late President Ronald Reagan saying "You aint seen nothin yet?" Well this was what John the Baptist was banging on like when Jesus went to him for baptism. John was speaking to his listeners and saying "You brood of vipers!" Well, that was a good start wasn't it. We turn to the Bible, expecting it to be the source of Good News. If we accidentally opened it at Luke 3 we would get a shock. You see, John is really the last of the Prophets from the old school, or should I say the Old Testament. He is going at it, hammer and tongs, telling them to repent because the Messiah is on his way and expected very soon. I wonder if he said, "Wait till my cousin gets here!"

At the end of his ranting and raving the verse in Luke's gospel says, "So, with many other exhortations he proclaimed the good news to the people." Good news? Sounds more like bad news to me! I don't suppose those people present would actually be expecting anything different from John. As far as they were concerned he was preaching in just the way they expected. But, the point is, the way he was ranting makes the message a threat about things to come. Yes, there was a new era about to break upon them but it would not be like it had been previously where the people would suffer God's judgment. The thing is, John did not know this. I imagine he had committed himself to this life of preaching in the desert without thinking much about what style he should adopt. He simply copied what had gone on before.

After he had baptised Jesus, he found himself in prison because he had been criticising Herod too much. In his prison cell, he was obviously regularly updated on what Jesus was doing. Because he sent a message to Jesus, saying, "are you the one we should expect or is there another guy coming along who we should follow?" This new way that Jesus had was puzzling John, as well as many others who had a vested interest in keeping things the way they were.

Put yourself in John's shoes (but jump out before you get carted off for execution) and think about what he had been created to do as the herald for the ministry of Jesus. He knows he is special and that he has been singled out to do this job. But no one has told him how to do it. So he gives out the bottom line, threatening the people if they do not heed what he says. He tells them that there is somone coming who will really sort things out, and then when Jesus arrives he begins consorting with the ones who are beyond the pale. This makes no sense to John at all.

What Jesus offers to the people, then and now, is God's grace. His grace is his love but to receive it we don't have to do anything. It is freely given. That's why the hymn writer started with the words, "Amazing grace." It is truly amazing that God should show his love to absolutely everyone despite the various lives they have led. Jesus really shook the Pharisees when he went have tea with people who collected taxes and robbed their fellow Jews. They were nothing short of gobsmacked!

The beauty of this is that we are entitled to God's love just because we are here! "You aint seen nothin yet!" shouts John. Then along comes Jesus and starts telling the people about a loving God who loves them unconditionally. I mean - it sounds crazy, doesn't it? Yet this is exactly what Jesus did. There was no flash about him. He had already sorted that out before his ministry began. His temptation in the desert was threefold: 1. Jump off the temple and land unharmed on the ground. That will impress the people and get them to take notice of you. 2. Be a magician and use your power to turn stones into bread rolls. 3. Make a pact with the Devil so you have his backing too and you then cannot fail.

All this was thrown out because it was not the way God did things and was not the style he was to use in preaching God's love to the population. There would be no tricks of any sort. There was one way only. That decided, he began to teach in a way that the poor people knew he was for them. The rich folks thought they had it made. You see, people in that day thought that, if they were rich and had umpteen servants and hundreds of sheep, cows, camels etc., then they were favoured by God. Jesus spelled it out - this was not true. Because the poor and the sick needed most help he went to them and gave them hope by talking about the grace of God.

Strangely enough, it was this new style of approach that made thousands follow him when he was preaching and healing. There was a lot to learn about God from this man, Jesus, so they set off each day to see and hear more for themselves.

This went on for three years before his enemies managed to grab him in the Garden of Gethsemane. In that short time he said and did enough for the world to be saved. It was quite some time later that the good news was taken out of Palestine to be shared with the world. But it happened, and successfully.

Take out of your mind all the thoughts you have about judgment. God's love is free to all - even those guys you don't like!

The photo at the top of this blog is of a statue on a high pedestal at the top of Monte Torro in Menorca. It shows Jesus with outstreched arms. It is carved like this to tell people all over that Jesus welcomes them and they qualify for his love just because they exist! Remember that old song, "He's got the whole world in his hands!"

Greetings

2006-12-25T13:26:00.000Z

Happy Christmas to you all, wherever you are!

May the peace of God surround you at this special time.

Why Christmas?

2006-12-24T18:07:00.000Z

There was once a man who didn't believe in God, and he didn't hesitate to let others know how he felt about religion and religious holidays, like Christmas. His wife, however, did believe, and she raised their children to also have faith in God and Jesus, despite his disparaging comments. One snowy Christmas Eve, his wife was taking their children to a Christmas Eve service in the farm community where they lived. She asked him to come, but he refused. "That story is nonsense!" he said. "Why would God lower himself to come to Earth as a man? That's ridiculous!" So she and the children left, and he stayed home.

A while later, the winds grew stronger and the snow turned into a blizzard. As the man looked out of the window, all he saw was a blinding snowstorm. He sat down to relax before the fire for the evening. Then he heard a loud thump. Something had hit the window. Then another thump. He looked out but couldn't see more than a few feet. When the snow let up a little, he ventured outside to see what could have been beating on his window. In the field near his house he saw a flock of wild geese. Apparently they had been flying south for the winter when they got caught in the snowstorm and couldn't go on.

They were lost and stranded on his farm, with no food or shelter. They just flapped their wings and flew round the field in low circles, blinly, aimlessly. A couple of them had flown into his window, it seemed. The man felt sorry for the geese and wanted to help them. The barn would be a great place for them to stay, he thought. It's warm and safe; surely they could spend the night and wait out the storm. So he walked over to the barn and opened the doors wide, and watched and waited, hoping they would notice the open barn and go inside. But the geese just fl;uttered around aimlessly and didn't seem to notice the barn or realise what it could mean for them. The man tried to get their attention, but that just seemed to scare them and they moved further away.

He went into the house and came with some bread, broke it up, and made a breadcrumb trail leading to the barn. They still didn't catch on. Now he was getting frustrated. He got behind them and tried to shoo them towards the barn. Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where they would be warm and safe.

"Why don't they follow me?" he exclaimed. "Can't they see this is the only place where they can survive the storm?" He thought for a moment and realised they just would't follow a human. "If only I were a goose, then I could save them," he said out loud. Then he had an idea. He went into the barn, got one of his own geese, and carried it in his arms as he circled round the back of the flock of wild geese. He then released it. His goose flew through the flock and straight into the barn - and one by one the other geese followed it to safety.

He stood silently for a moment as the words he had spoken a few minutes earlier replayed in his mind. If only I were a goose, then I could save them!" Then he thought about what he had said to his wife earlier. "Why would God want to be like us? That's ridiculous!" Suddenly it all made sense. That is what God had done. We were like the geese - blind, lost perishing. God had his son become like us so he could show us the way and save us. That was the meaning of Christmas, he realised. As the winds and blinding snow died down, his soul became quiet and pondered this wonderful thought. Suddenly he understood what Christmas was all about, why Christ had come. Years of doubt and disbelief vanished like the passing storm. He fell to his knees in the snow, and prayed his first prayer. "Thankyou, God, for coming in human form to get me out of the storm.

The Real Story

2006-12-11T08:46:00.000Z

Christmas is, for me, a time I cannot enjoy as much as I would like. We see regular news stories about people in the secular world celebrating Christmas in a very inappropriate way. Their behaviour is antisocial for the most part. Many set out on sessions of binge drinking and finish up behaving in a fashion that is totally unacceptable. Their antics end with a number of them spending time in Accident and Emergency units being treated for drink inflicted ailments and injuries. They take up valuable police time as the streets are patrolled by large numbers opf officers. Many of them end up in police cells for fighting.

Then there are the motorists who have been out drinking and set off for home incapable of driving their cars. Some of these cause the deaths of other motorists, their own passengers, and pedestrians. This causes sorrow and heartache in families at a time when they too want to celebrate the festive season. Instead of the planned family Christmas they are bereaved at a time when all around are in festive mood.

There are no excuses whatsoever. Those who spread misery and heartache at such a time by their unacceptable behaviour deserve no consideration themselves. If they end up in jail for their actions they have only themselves to blame.

But let me now turn to the real story that Christmas is all about. It is the time when Christians celebrate the coming of Jesus, the saviour of the world. But even then I need to talk seriously about a number of aspects of the birth of Jesus. Some years ago I was preaching in a United Reformed Church during Advent. It was at a time when I had just got the real story of the birth of Jesus sorted out in my mind. What I said in my sermon alienated several of the congregation. Some of them walked out without a greeting.

Year after year we tend to accept stories of the birth which simply do not stand up to scrutiny in view of scholarship. Take the shepherds, for instance. It is highly unlikely that they would be out on the hillsides watching over their sheep on a cold winter night. They would have herded their flocks into sheepfolds where the animals would have been both safe and warm during very cold nights. If you accept this then it knocks on the head the story of the visitation of the angel and the choir of the heavenly host. Personally, I have grave doubts about such a story because it is just too sweet to be true anyway.

Now let's take a look at the story of the Magi and the start they are said to have followed. In those days there certainly were people who made a great study of the heavens. They believed that the movement of these heavenly bodies affected life and heralded great events. I can, therefore, accept the existence and perhaps the journey of the Magi. That there were three of them no one can say because the Bible story speaks of three gifts that were brought but not of three men. To actually give them names is an act within fiction. As for the star I can accept it as a happening and I can accept its movement. But do not ask me to believe that anyone could tell that it moved until it was over Bethlehem. As for the idea that it came to a stop over a specific location in the town, this is totally outside the bounds of reason. It is a beautiful story but it is not true.

Having torn these lovely stories to shreds, let me now give you what I believe to be the real story as recorded in St Luke's gospel. Although I do not go along with the tale of the annunciation word for word, there lies at its heart good news in abundance. Here I shall show what it was all about:

And Mary said:

"My soul tells out the greatness of the Lord,

my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour;

for he has looked with favour on his servant,

lowly as she is.

From this day forward

all generations will count me blessed,

for the Mighty God has done great things for me.

His name is holy,

his mercy sure from generation to generation

toward those who fear him.

He has shown the might of his arm,

he has routed the proud and all their schemes;

he has brought down monarchs from their thrones,

and raised on high the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,

and sent the rich away empty.

He has come to the help of Israel, his servant,

as he promised to our forefathers;

he has not forgotten to show mercy

to Abraham and his children's children forever."

This, my friends, is what Christmas is all about. We have great reason for celebrating the coming of the Saviour because he came to show us new and better values by which to live. The whole Magnificat spoken by Mary came true within his life span. Mary spoke fundamental truth in those few verses. All that Jesus preached and all that he did was refected in those few words. We can absolutely rely upon this.

But do not, for one moment, think that I shall not be singing Christmas carols and listening to the ancient stories this year. On Sunday I shall be there at the candlelit carol service in our historic church in Amlwch, Anglesey and singing as loud as anyone else! I am taking part in a sketch about the Three Wise Men. A few days later, Pauline and I will be going over to Bangor Cathedral on the mainland to be in the congregation when they have "Nine Lessons and Carols". I shall enjoy celebrating once more our dear saviour's birth along with many other Christians. As we read the stories we simply need to say "They may not be literally true but they speak volumes about the truth."

Celebrating Christmas

2006-12-07T18:39:00.000Z

There has been a lot of nonsense in the United Kingdom press lately about odd attitudes towards the celebration of Christmas. There have been quotes regarding the banning of office decorations at this time. There have also been people suggesting that street decorations rtelating to Christmas might be offensive to people of other religions. Much of this has come from those who are keen to promote political correctness. Over the years they have sniped at expressions such as accident black spots, gollywogs, black holes, etc. Basically, this has all been a load of rubbish.

Back in the 1980s I became very active in my trade union. It was a time when we were suddenly required to stop using the expression, "chairman", in favour of chairperson. Sexism was being outlawed. In addition we were being harangued to take a different view of homosexual men and lesbians. I accepted all of this because it was necessary to halt the traditional marginalisation of particular groups of people. In fact, I would assert that it was not Christian to continue with the old stereotyping of people. Therefore I was able to accept what was said and retrained my brain to change the words I spoke.

But now, in 2006, we are being harangued into certain things which do not stand up to the test. In the UK we are still, albeit nominally, a Christian based society. I would like to think that, for the most part, we accept many different people of varying faiths simply on the grounds of their humanity. I hope that our Christian beliefs cause us to accept as neighbours those of other faiths. But I cannot accept that Christmas festivities should change because we are now a multi-race society. If we visited a Muslim or Hindu country we would be expected to accept their ways and laws as the basis for living. In the UK our visitors and new residents need to accept the make up of our society.

When he came 2,000 years ago, Jesus gave us a new set of rules to live by. He declared the old rules outdated and established a new set of laws to live by which reflected the incarnation of God. Suddenly the people who followed him heard that a rich man was not favoured by God and that a he had problems with entering the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount which seemed to echo the Magnificat sung by his mother, Mary, before his birth. He gave us a new set of values which were to take us onwards from that point.

This new set of values has continued right up to the present time. In recent years the churches of the UK have become less and less well attended. Our society has become more interested in the new age where commodities impress us and describe our achievements. Yet we must not lose sight of the fact that our laws have all been laid down on the basis of the new laws given to us by Jesus. The majority of our population may not espouse Christianity but it is still affected by Christian influence.

Therefore I assert our society has Christian values and standards. I see no need to do a U turn and begin watering down our Christmas way of celebrating the birth of Jesus. Many people of other faiths celebrate Christmas with us, simply because that is the way things are done in the UK. This makes sense. I met a Jew one December and noticed that in his house there were Christmas cards on one wall and Hannukah cards on another. This made perfect sense. In fact, he was the first person to wish me "Happy Christmas" on Christmas Day that year!

We live in a multi-racial society and can learn a lot from each other. But this does not mean we have to abandon all Christian ethics and practices because churches are poorly attended. The fact that society has, for the most part, decided against the relevance of regular worship is no reason to turn everything on its head and treat our country as if it is a foreign state. God will eventually call his church to account and require it to start anew. The day is coming when we all begin, once more, to realise that God is still speaking and calls us to worship as before.

"He Speaks with Forked Tongue"

2006-11-26T15:45:00.000Z

When I was a young boy and used to enjoy western films I remember hearing an indian chief saying, "He speaks with forked tongue." It was a short sentence, yet telling a true and vivid story of someone. Today our minister took his scripture readings from Genesis Chapter 1, the Letter of James Chapter 3 and St Luke Chapter 8. In Genesis we read the story of God creating the world. In this story God does nothing at all. He simply speaks and the creation unfolds. In Luke's gospel we read the story of Jesus being awoken by the frightened disciples who were travelling in a boat with him across the Sea of Galilee. His response was to rebuke the wind and the storm abated. The Letter of James speaks about the ability of a bit in a horse's mouth to guide the horse wherever its rider wishes. It speaks too of a large ship which is guided by a relatively small rudder. More importantly it draws attention to the great power for good or evil of the tongue.

In the case of God and Jesus the tongue is used to speak important words which will make a huge difference. But in the case of humans the tongue can and is used to speak words which make a huige difference but in the wrong way. So, it seems that, despite our best intentions, we sometimes get into trouble through what we say. We can be scathing with our tongues and we can be gentle and assuring. We can speak words of truth or we can distort reality by lying.

I have to say that I have always tried to be truthful, even before I decided in favour of Christ. So this means that Christian allegiance is not what makes me speak the truth but a natural desire to speak it. I cannot ever say that I went through a life changing experience which caused me to begin speaking the truth instead of lies. So I do not expect the reader to believe that I suddenly began to speak the truth. It was always an important thing to me.

It is because of this that I simply cannot understand why people deliberately tell lies. My mother, seeing this in me said that if I were on trial for my life I still could not lie to save it. Yet I cannot say that I hate people who tell lies. I just do not understand them. But, to get back to the message in James' letter, it is very true that even the most beautiful and perfect ship cannot go where it pleases if it cannot trust its little rudder. You may shout into a horse's ear but it needs the metal bit to guide in the correct direction.

All this reminds us that the best and most complex plans for world peace can be made unusable by uttering the wrong word. The most trustworthy person is no longer trusted if someone tells lies about them. I remember how the late President Richard Nixon lost his position by lying. On that occasion it reduced the most exalted position in America to a heap of dung through lies being told. The damage that can be done by a false tongue is immeasurable. When a man or woman holds office at a high level we have to be able to trust them and lies will reduce them to history.

Some years ago, a British high ranking civil servant coined a new phrase. He admittd that he had been "economical with the truth." One has to ask the question, does this means he admitted lying or was he saying he held back certain facts, which is not lying? Some years ago I held the position of Branch Secretary for the union formerly known as NALGO. In that office I was required, along with other colleagues, to negotiate with our management. Throughout those four years I never once lied and, to the best of my personal knowledge, neither did my colleagues. But that is not to say I never held certain words back in order to favour the cause of my members. I decided that , if management could not see areas in which they could wipe the floor with us, I was not the one who would point it out to them. This, I believe, was honest and helped the cause which I served.

Yet, it seems that the course of history can be changed by a few lies told by an individual. Therefore, we can agree that the tongue, though very small, is a very powerful member of the human body. From this we can now see how important it is that Christians speak the truth. One person who tells a lie can do untold damage to the rest of the believers. It is vital then that we speak the truth and keep on speaking it.

Now we come to the question, "What is the truth?" The truth is that 2,000 years ago Jesus came into the world as the very incarnation of God. Next Sunday is the first day of Advent and it is during Advent that we remember and celebrate the coming of Christ. We therefore have to speak the truth that tells everyone how "Love came down at Christmas." As messengers and advocates for Jesus we have to be aware that the spotlight is on us. Anything and everything we say is noted and remarks made. It is therefore essential that we always speak the truth and never descend in to lies.

"I am the Way, the Truth and the Life" said Jesus. So if we look for the truth we need look no further than him. people who search for they dem the truth can find it in Jesus. However, at this point they begin to shift their ground and seek the truth elsewhere. They truly recognise that Jesus is the Truth but now they realise that accepting that Jesus is the Truth commits them. The fact is that truth is something people talk about but cannot always face. You see, it just so happens that the truth is not really what they are seeking because it commits them to a new way of life and that is too hard to bear.

This truth is something which puts the spotlight on them and examines all that they do and to face up to living under a spotlight is too frightening. Under this spotlight they have to be prepared to stand up to criticism and to true scrutiny. When they are looking for the truth they are admitting to looking for anything other than the truth as told by Jesus of Nazareth. What they seek is something which is warm and comfortable. The truth of Jesus is never that.

So it is hard to live the Christian life. We often try hard and still manage to get it wrong. Perhaps we often put ourselves down because we see the absoluteness of the truth under that spotlight. It reminds me of the walk towards Emmaus after the Crucifixion. These men were puzzled and disappointed at what had happened. They had thought they had found a man upon whom they could depend. They thought he was a man who would not allow the authorities to arrest and execute him. Only after taking the bread and the wine did they see the truth illuminated in the spotlight. Then they heard the words of life that would take them forward. Suddenly they saw the truth of Jesus and it made all the difference.

It had been the tongue of Jesus that had eventually brought them to the truth itself. This is a tongue which can be trusted. It is never a forked tongue. It always speaks the truth.

Sexuality and Christianity

2006-11-06T21:26:00.000Z

My friend, Arlen Crawford in America, has reported today on the case of Pastor Haggard who has asked for forgiveness from his congregation. Haggard has had to admit he is gay and has problems with his own honesty with those people he has preached to.

I think the idea of being gay and therefore being unable to become a Christian has to be dealt with. The matter of sexuality is, for me, no problem. Long ago, as a trade union activist, I learned that some people were different to me. They are attracted to members of their own sex. I am not, so this leaves me wondering how it can happen. However, I am, perfectly happy to accept them as equal in God's sight. Just as I cannot understand their feelings so they cannot understand mine. We are simply different.

My life as a Christian has taught me that God loves absolutely everybody. There are no exceptions to this. I once preached on "God loves me" and talked about who might be the lowest of the low today as the tax collectors were in Jesus' time. Alan Bennett had suggested in an Easter programme that child molesters were the lowest people today. Does God love them? Yes! No one sits outside his circle of love. Like it or not, the people you detest are loved by God. In the case of paedofiles, God does not love what they do but they are not exempt from his love. No one is exempt.

I am not saying that everyone must love the outcasts. I am simply saying that God loves them. The difficult act for the Christian is to love all these people who are so unpopular today. Yet if we cannot take that step we fail as disciples of Jesus. The problem is a very difficult one for many people but I have to say that I do not have a problem. If someone is not a threat to me or others i cannot exclude them from God's list of people to be loved.

Many years ago I read of a policeman who counselled a probationer police officer thus: Don't hate the criminal - hate the crime. This is what God calls us to do. We have to be able to handle all these matters in life on a practical basis. The trick is to hate what is done without hating the perpetrator.

The task of today's church is not easy. In the United Kingdom the numbers of church attenders are falling year after year. A few years ago I bought a book which I find most helpful. The first chapter begins like this: "How shall we sing the LORD'S song in a foreign land?" is a qquestion the Church, always finding itself in but not of the world, urgently needs to reconsider today." The book is "The Gospel According to Peanuts" and it is excellent. Mind you, it was published originally in 1965, 41 years ago. But the situation is just the same.

Instead of stating publicly what we think of gays and lesbians we should be enetering the world to tell it all about Jesus. We are not here to fill churches. The instruction we should follow as Christians is what Jesus gave to Peter. He said, "Simon Peter, do you love me?" "Yes, Lord." the rsponse was, "Then feed my sheep." We are not exhorted to get folk into church but get them to meet Jesus. Commitment to Christ is everything and the church is not seeing it like that.

There is slow evidence that the current church is starting to change from the edges inward. I cannot wait for the results because I am convinced it will not be changed from the centre. But my message today is "Smile because God loves you.!"

Halloween

2006-10-31T22:24:00.000Z

It is interesting that today we really seem to make something of All Hallow's E'en. There were times when people would stay indoors on this day to avoid accidental contact with Old Nick who was said to roam on this day. I come from a county that has a record of celebrating Halloween in a special way. Not only do I come from Lancashire but I was brought up only a few miles from the haunts of the famous Pendle Witches. Pendleside, even today, is a beautiful place with old farms set among rolling hills and lush green fields of differing shades.

Tomorrow some churches will be celebrating All Saints Day when the coin turns over and evil is in the past and good is celebrated. These days there seems to be a belief that there is no such thing as good and evil. People no longer feel threatened as they once did. It may be that this is where they have gone wrong and that they ought to reconsider where they stand. When you see a world around you in which there are people pushing drugs to weak people who have developed an addition you again see the reality of good and eveil at work in the world.

When the gangs of yesteryear in the USA could no longer profit from supplying illegal alcohol they turned to what our cousins call narcotics. They had absolutely no conscience and today we see the results of ther work. I cannot imagine what parents of young people who have become addicted to drugs go through as they see their loved ones sink into a morrass of unhappiness. I used to work with a woman whose son had sunk to this level. He had to live elsewhere because his mum could not cope with him being in the same house. One day he was offering a very small supply of drugs to another teenager when the police arrested him for supplying. Now he had to face a prison sentence for what seemed a small crime.

Thankfully neither of my children has sunk to that level. But for a parent to see his/her child sink like this must be dreadful. The police are constantly vigilant and working to eradicate drugs. They have, by now, accepted that this will never happen. So what can be done to help our young people, so many of whom are very vulnerable to those who prey on such as them? I am no expert but I know that even they can never fall so far that they can never be lifted back up through the love of God.

Back in the Gospel days we read of Jesus being criticised for sitting with sinners. He consorted with publicans, taxgatherers and prostitutes and this was reported back to the authorities in Jerusalem. Yet he was showing that even those considered down and out by society were not thought of like this by God. He had love for all men and women. This is what Jesus came to say. So today, if Jesus had come, he would have been seen talking to drug users and even drug pushers because his message was and is that no one can fall beyond the reach of the hand of God.

Jesus came and sat with many who society looked down on. He came to give the good news to the poor and the dispossessed. He was the champion of the woman of Samaria, the Roman Centurion, the tax collector, the woman caught in adultery and others. The rich and famous could speak up for themselves but some people needed a champion and this was Jesus. he is our champion today. A young Jewish girl who was hiding from the Nazis during the war was given a bible by her friendly supporters. There was nothing to do all day but to read the book she had been given. Eventually she came to see Jesus as her hero, her champion and when she came out of hiding she became a Christian.

Jesus is the champion of the lowest of the low. Mother Theresa of Calcutta saw the need among the poor and responded to it just as Jesus would have done. One day she will become a saint. Martin Luther King saw the downtrodden status of his fellow black Americans and determined to make a difference for them. He led them to a better life and lost his own in the struggle. Jesus did just this himself. He spent much of his life with thieves and rogues and then was crucified between two of them.

Here is the evidence that there is still a constant struggle between good and evil today. But if you care to look at the Book of Revelation you will see that ultimately good will triumph over evil and the rewards will be shared by all who love Jesus. Just read the description of the holy City at the end of the book and you will see a depiction of what you can expect. Don't read it literally but accept it as truth in its portrayal of the celestial city to which we all travel. There will be no sun and moon because the light of God wilshine forever. There are open gates at all times because there are no dangers to protect the inhabitants from. There will be no temple or church because we shall see God face to face and need no altar at which to kneel.

The description is of a crystal river flowing down from the throne of God through the centre of the city. On either side are described trees of life and their leaves are for the healing of the people. In such a place there can be no need to fear and no sadness of any kind.

Coming with me?

The Life of Service

2006-10-20T08:56:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I went for a hair cut and my friend, Richard, was talking about a university course he had started called "Exploring Faith". He was having a problem sorting out just what was meant by the "Biblical Canon". This is about how the two groups of books (66 in total) came to be accepted as The Old Testament and The New Testament. It is an interesting story and when you get right down into it you feel its challenge.

But our conversation moved on to other things and eventually we were talking about things we do for others. Richard annually organises a golf tournament to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support. It is always a great day, whether you play golf or not. We were looking at the reasons why he did this and whether it was wholly for the benefit of Macmillan patients. Richard wondered if he was also organising the day for his own benefit, and whether this watered down the quality of what was done for others.

I believe that very often we do things for others and get a partial thrill from doing it that boosts our egos. On Sunday I shall be leading worship at my church and preaching a sermon. Richard was asking about my motivation for this. On examination I am sure that I gave him an honest answer when I said it was to share something I had discovered with others. It also seems to happen that I get a thrill and not a little inspiration out of leading worship and sharing what I have discovered in my sermon preparation. I never know what the new discovery is going to be but it happens neverthless. But does this reduce the quality of the wish to do some good through the medium of preaching?

If you consider someone who is gifted with a wonderful singing voice like Andrea Bocelli, does he sing for the benefit of others or does he get pleasure from it too? The answer must be that he loves to sing and he gets pleasure too. There again, take the fact that I like helping other people. When I have helped another person I get a lot of personal satisfaction out of it. Does this diminish what I have done because I get a kick out of it? Take the life's work of Mother Theresa. This is always held up as an example of altruism. But did she get a kick out of what she did? The answer must be yes.

Take the question back to the work of Jesus. Do you think Jesus got a kick out of healing the sick, telling parables, preaching God's love and leading disciples. Of course he did. He talked of the joy in heaven over one penitent. Is this not God's kick out of helping people?

So we return to the question of whether we are truly altruistic in our Christian service. I leave the answer to you. But I can tell you that it all fits into a life-long belief I have had that says there is absolutely nothing wrong in enjoying being a Christian. Some preachers never include humour in their services and sermons, but I do where it is appropriate. Making people laugh or smile in church is often an excellent tool for effectively delivering the message. But it must not be for entertainment only.

Over a lifetime I have sat under a wide variety of preachers. Under some of them I have suffered and wondered why they ever took it up. Some have been simply inspirational. Most of them have just "done a good job". But in many cases the mediocre preachers have got to me and that is what counts. I remember one preacher who had a very humble and soft style to his preaching and you would not have given him top marks. But an old lady, for whom I had a great deal of respect said to him, "Mr Glenn, you irritate me." That was the best compliment he could have received from her. You see, we are there to irritate in addition to everything else. Jesus irritated the people who could not help but follow him to hear more wonderful, inspiring words. It is what he came to do.

That irritation is what starts seeds growing in the mind. It is the start of a great challenge to rethink the way you have been living. That irritation probably began as a few words from a local preacher who would get a thrill out of knowing what he/she had started in you. If that few words has begun something important it is good that the preacher (if he/she did) enjoyed leading worship that day.

I think it is a mark of the value of our words if our preaching bears fruit and we have the right to derive pleasure from this. Just on the matter of leading worship, it is a good think to enjoy doing it. If you are there to fly a kite or simply because you think it is a clever thing to do, my advice is to stop immediately and find another interest.

Finally, I can see nothing wrong is smiling to yourself when you know a sermon has gone well, or a prayer has been effectively delivered. I have no doubt that it is a sign that you are engaged in something for which you have a gift and that is important in life. It enhances life - yours and others. That is what God calls us to do. It glorifies his name, which is another of our Christian tasks.

Eternal Life

2006-08-26T19:39:00.000+01:00

Over on my blog entitled "Saronic Stories" I have spoken today about Donald & Dina Lofthouse, a couple we met on holiday in Greece. Donald had been a plumber in his earlier years and worked in areas where he had inhaled asbestos dust. I had the experience of seeing him sink to nothing because the cancer this dust had caused in him. It was not a good experience, I can tell you. Eventually I attended his funeral at Disley Parish Church and subsequent cremation at Stockport.

Dina, his Greek wife, tried to carry on without him but suffered a stroke from which she never fully recovered. Whilst she was still ill she flew back to Anghistri, the Greek island where she was born. In August 2002 she died and was buried in the cemetery at Megalohori, her home village. A month later we arrived there to find she had gone. It was very sad to visit her grave and know we would never see her again.

Yet, on the other hand, there was the knowledge of what pleasure we had known thanks to Don and Dina. They had been a devoted couple but each was a great character. It makes one wonder if we carry on in partnership in the continuation or eternal life. I have taken over 80 funeral services to date, which is fairly unusual for a lay preacher. From time to time I have felt the need to use the following reading from the Book of Revelation in the cremation service I have taken:

"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, sparkling like a crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the sity's street. On either side of the river stood a tree of life, which yields twelve crops of fruit, one for each month of the year. The leaves of the trees are for the healing of the nations. Every accursed thing shall disappear. The throne of God and the Lamb will be there, and his servants shall worship him; they shall see him face to face and bear his name on their foreheads. There shall be no more night, nor will they need the light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God wil;l give them light; and they shall reign forever."

For me this is a great comfort and I love the poetry in the writing of this tale. I like to think that Don and Dina, together, enjoy the light that shines without need of sun or moon. If they hurt there is the healing quality of each tree of life. Dina used to love visiting Marks and Spencer in Manchester and buying her clothes there. Don used to like popping to the local pub for a drink just before closing time. I like to think they find similar or equivalent things in their new life in the eternal city of God.

The city described by John the Divine is to be sought by each Christian. It is the goal in our lives. It is the greatest gift we shall ever recieve in days to come. As for us, we cannot see the celestial city but I feel sure we can rely upon its existence because of the promises of Jesus. At my father's funeral service Rev Bernard Spong read these words, "In my Father's house are many mansions if this were not so I would have told you." At the time I felt great comfort that my father was to be allocated a wonderful mansion in which to live.

It made me feel that each Christian was moving slowly towards a wonderful afterlife in which he/she could never, ever be frightened into doing anything over which there was a question mark. Later, at my mother's funeral service, Rev Clifford Holgate said, "Death is but a horizon and a horizon is simply as far as the eye can see." This was another comfort to me - that there was a life for us to inherit and it would be a happy one. It was simply out of sight. No matter what our beliefs and no matter what we have or have not done, I believe there is a continuing life awaiting us where we shall be eternally happy. Jesus gave us a promise so it will be true.

What's happening?

2006-08-01T12:47:00.000+01:00

The State of Israel happened as a consequence of the Holocaust. For years there has been a yearning on the part of Jews to return to what they considered their homeland. Some were already there whilst many had been part of the dispersal and lived in a number of different countries. Throughout history there is evidence of hatred of Jews which we call anti semitism. I honestly believe it is more accurately described as racism even though Judaism is a religion.

After the Second World, War Palestine was given as a Jewish homeland. However, there were Palestinians already living there cheek by jowl with Jews. It was inevitable that there would be a squabble over who had the right to live there. Since that time the situation has never been resolved. We have seen conflict after conflict flaring up. Sometimes the Jewish government has initiated the fighting and sometimes the Palestinians have kicked off.

In the 1970s I was on holiday in Anglesey (where coincidentally I now live) and I was in conversation with a Muslim man. I asked him where he came from and he told me he was from Lebanon. At that time Lebanon, as the man declared, was in a sorry state with much armed conflict happening within its borders. It was constantly headline news in the UK. We wondered if there would ever be a solution with a return to peace. In the UK where there was a deprived area with high crime rates we would say "It's like Beirut there." London became the centre for the trade that had once been carried on in Beirut and many Lebanese people lived in peace here.

Over the years the exiled Palestinians found a way to return to their homeland, albeit one governed by Jews. They settled in their allocated areas and tried to return to a peaceful life where their children could receive good healthcare and education. Naturally, they continued to claim that the land was their's by right as did their Jewish neighbours. Jewish settlements encroached on Palestinian land as some Jews deliberately risked a stand-off with these people they considered lowest of the low. Then some of the settlements were removed with strong opposition from these right wing Jewish settlers towards their government.

The last few years have seen a period of violence with Palestinian suicide bombers giving their lives in a cause they were proud to die for. Eventually the old enemy of Israel, Yassa Arafat, died and a new regime began. The activities may have paused occasionally but now, with Hamas in charge, there seemed little chance of an early peace deal. So the conflict continued.

Now Israel has turned on its other enemy, Hezbollah, in Lebanon, and is trying to exterminate it. Thousands of people, previously living a quiet life, are now caught up in the conflict as Israel destroys their homes by the hundred. President George W Bush, self appointed world policeman, is calling for a ceasefire when enough damage has been done. He also sends consignments of smart bombs to arm the Israeli side of the conflict whilst providing blankets as aid for the homeless.

What is happening? How can we make sense of it? In the USA there is a President, who claims to be a born again Christian, raining war via Israel on Lebanon. Jesus is the one we call the "Prince of Peace". George claims to follow Jesus, and starts his day's work with a period of prayer. But the day's work involves armed conflict. How does this stack up with Christianity?

The whole episode is a travesty of justice. It is built on a pursuit of popularity by an American President. In the same way he refuses to sign up to combatting global warming because it would involve loss of jobs in the USA. He says it is for the likes of China and India to do their bit before he will commit America to play its part. The fact is they cannot afford to do so and he can. The fact is that he must show the lead but he will not. So, the world has to continue with this threat of eventual extinction over American jobs which can be replaced in many different ways as has been the case in countries who have recognised their responsibilities.

It seems today as if the USA are saying, "Sort yourselves out but don't expect help from us in any way." They purport to be the allies of the UK but what sort of alliance are we pursuing with Blair and Bush these days. I think we are strange bedfellows indeed. Both the President and our Prime Minister claim to be Christians but I wonder how they can claim it in present circumstances.

Jesus told Peter, "Feed my sheep." Are there any shepherds out there feeding sheep? I see a world not with double standards but multi standards. I see nations incapable of setting an example to others. What's happening and where are we heading?

I am worried!

Feeding the Five Thousand

2006-07-23T20:27:00.000+01:00

Today I was preaching in my home church, Amlwch English Methodist Church. The subject was as I have captioned above. Unfortunately I preached on the Gospel for next Sunday in error, so I emailed next week's preacher to apologise.

I have long believed that the five loaves and two fishes acted as the start and that everyone else shared what they too had brought with them. Is really likely that the boy was the only one in 5,000 who had a spot of lunch with him? The people were following (almost hounding) Jesus everywhere so they would make sure they had food plans too. I think that what happened was that when the people saw Jesus blessing the loves and fishes they wanted their food blessed too and then shared it ungrudgingly as the boy had done.

This instance is one where a small start grows into something on a large scale. The boy's contribution was the acorn which became an oak tree in no time at all as people saw the possibilities. After the service today one of the congregation was telling me about a very bad snowy day in Liverpool city centre where she worked. Traffic was at almost a standstill and many people waited a very long time to catch a bus home. They waited well past the time they had expected to eat. As one person said they were hungry there was a response from others who had biscuits with them and chocolates. The whole crowd ended up swapping the food they had. Vera was reminded of the feeding of the five thousand when she experienced this.

There is a great tendency to think that because the numbers attending church in the United Kingdom have fallen so far that the church is spiralling down to a finish. I dispute this! I can see signs of renewal as some churches stop to consider what being church means. Small experiments are happening which take the church into the High Street. There is now a perception that people will not come to church so the church must go out to where they are and where they feel most comfortable. Drop in centres in redundant shops, cafes where people can meet and discuss what concerns them, mid week services being held etc.

These are small starts which could just grow into great ventures. The church today is finally beginning to see that its primary task is to attempt to introduce people to God through Jesus Christ and not to get them to come to church. Filling seats has never been our objective if we have got it right.

As the contemporary representatives of Jesus Christ we are called upon as Peter was to feed the sheep. Jesus had, as portrayed by John in his Gospel, compared himself with the shepherds of his time. He declared that he was the Good Shepherd. This Good Shepherd sat on the shore of Lake Galilee sharing a simple barbecue meal with his close friends after his resurrection. On that occasion he commissioned Peter "Feed my sheep." That has been the task of the church over the centuries and remains so. There was never any commission to maintain pretty rural churches and city cathedrals to attract visitors. Saying this, I am a keen visitor of cathedrals all over the UK. My most recent visit was to Wells Cathedral and it was a wonderful experience for me. But I only visit out of an interest in matters mediaeval including what caused the Bishops of that time to build such huge places to the glory of God.

This is purely a personal architectural interest and has nothing to do with my faith which involves introducing people to Jesus. There are many churches which are kept officially active because they are historic buildings erected for a purpose. One case that springs to mind is St Padrig's Church near Cemaes which stands on a site where a church was started in the fifth century. It is a unique church in that it has many decorative items that are part of the Islamic tradition. But then, its benefactor was a Christian who became a Muslim.

There is an incredible amount of history represented by our Mediaeval churches and cathedrals but this is quite separate from the reason for their use today. In more recent times my own church has a unique history but this is not something we consider when determining our role as Christian advocates in our locality and community.

As Area Representative for Mission Aviation Fellowship I am part of a large, worldwide organisation that plays a key role in bringing the Gospel and all kinds of relief to people living in the most inaccessible places of this world. When MAF celebrated fifty years of service at Biggin Hill airfield its chief guest was the Archbishop of Canterbury. The wife of one of the founders of MAf remarked that it was such a small activity at the beginning. The Archbishop's comment was that all God's projects start in small ways.

This church of Christianity began with one man and twelve disciples. Look how it has grown! Looking at ageing congregatiuons there are some who will say we are soon going to fall off the map. They are wrong. Using another MAF story I can demonstrate how this is wrong. When the missionaries and MAf were expelled from Chad, the Sudan and Ethiopia because their governments were afraid of their capability there was a tearful farewell to the people they had served. Some years later they were able to return and to their surprise they found more committed Christians than they had left previously. The flame, in danger of being snuffed out, had fanned into a blaze despite persecution from governments.

Just because things are based on small efforts is no reason to write them off as failures. If God's blessing is on them they will grow! We are simply the instruments or the gardeners who tend the young plants. As gardeners we know what the garden will look like if tended well. It is up to us to decide if we will take a spade and till the land.

The Holy Spirit

2006-06-07T08:39:00.000+01:00

At Whitsuntide in the North of England many churches still organise processions through their towns to celebrate Pentecost which is said to be when the Holy Spirit first affected men and women. Going back over fifty years when I first took part the numbers of churches and the numbers of participants was great. The annual procession had a route of about two and a half miles. Many people who lived along the route would bring out chairs to sit on as the procession slowly wound past.

Today, where the processions still take place there are fewer churches taking part because many have closed and their buildings have either gone or been put to a new use. The numbers attending church have also dropped off andf so today's processions, rather than promote Pentecost, show how poorlly attended and supported today's churches are.

The occasion that was the cause of the celebrations still remains an important date in the Christian Calendar. It was a time when the apostles had recovered from the death of Jesus through his resurrection and had said their farewells at his acension. Now was the time to take an important and dramatic step forward in the name of their friend. Now was the time that they had to begin their own ministry to follow that of Jesus. It was marked by a remarkable event, the coming of the Holy Spirit.

As the apostles were speaking to the people who included many from far off parts the crowd realised they were hearing the message in their own language. Additionally they saw tongues of flame resting on the apostles as a visual sign. Even today we cannot explain these truly remakable events. Yet it all marked the moment when the early church took on a very special power that has remained ever since.

Churches today look back to this time as the point when the Holy Spirit first occurred. Yet this is not the case if you are to read other earlier stories. When Jesus promised the Holy Spirit this is what he said: ""Nevertheless I assure you that it is in your interest that I am leaving you. If I do not go, the advocate will not come, whereas if I go, I will send him to you.....................when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but will speak only what he hears; and he will make known to you what is to come."

I personally believe that there was always such a thing as the Holy Spirit and that at Pentecost it came in abundance to mark the day and send the church on its way. The idea of speaking in tongues is older than Pentecost. You can find an Old Testament story of King Saul experiencing ecstatic utterance. Go back to Genesis Chapter one and read in verse 2: "the spirit of God hovered over the surface of the water."

So the Holy Spirit has always been with us. At Pentecost it manifested itself in a very dramatic fashion to convince all present that it was the new force to reckon with. Since that day the Holy Spirit has strengthened Christians worlwide and made them able to do remarkable things that would not have happened out of their own strength. From time to time people have witnessed the Holy Spirit at work and can testify to its presence and strength. The Holy Spirit is literally the power of the church. This is why some authorities hate Christianity and try to suppress or eradicate it. They know that there is something so remarkable about Christianity that makes it capable of resisting them and undermining their efforts to retain great power.

Ultimately, the church that follows the Holy Spirit is invincible. But although this is true we see so many fail in their mission. I think it is probably because they copied Peter, who, when he looked down and saw the water he was walking on suddenly lost faith and began to sink. Yet the power is here for us if we wish to win for God. The days are coming when the United Kingdom will see a new "church" that depends not upon buildings but on the Holy Spirit. Our old ways of clinging to buildings for security will be discredited as the Spirit reminds us we are here to win men and women for Christ, not spend money on already crumbling buildings.

Pentecost Thoughts

2006-06-04T21:11:00.000+01:00

At Amlwch Methodist Church today we had Rod Simpson as our preacher. Rod was talking about the need for the church and everything that was done for God to be revitalised by the Holy Spirit. The Old Testament lesson was Ezekiel 37, the vision of the Valley of Dry Bones. It struck me that everything that was said in today's service made me think of one subject - resurrection.

The vision of the dry bones suddenly coming to life had very obvious resurrection thoughts in and behind it. It was as if we were being challenged to dream that even very dry bones could still experience resurrection. Of course the story is about the rebirth of Israel. Often in the Old Testament there is this longing of the Jews to return to the way things were in their heyday. Yet I felt, as I heard the time honoured words, that this was something we keep on hearing in our present experience.

So often we hear people wishing we could go back to what they thought were days of great value. It is a very current thought among some Muslim communities. Some countries have returned to the old values as they see them and it has not worked out as expected. You cannot turn the clock back and expect people to live as if their recent experience has never happened. It is an indelible mark they continue to wear and so there is no going back to a "golden age".

The Jews dreamed of a Messiah coming to save them and return to the golden age when David was king. This could never have happened. Is it any wonder they had problems in seeing Jesus as the promised Messiah? All of us think back to good old days and dream that if they came back to us we would be in clover. Not a chance. We have to be a resurrection community which looks forward to the possibilities if we could be born again.

What new things would we do if we were given a second chance? What could we put right if given a second chance? To go back to how thing were would be to put on a straight jacket and accept old values as best. But to leap into the future with a chance to improve what we had done wrong would be truly liberating. At the end of the second World War in the United Kingdom there was a new fresh wind blowing. New values came in with the "Welfare State" and all it meant. It is history now but at the time it was a resurrection of the nation so that a new world could be ushered in. That was the right way of thinking in those days and we should look for an emulation of this renaissance today.

To open our eyes and ears to what God might be calling for today is to be attentive to our calling as a resurrected community. So many simply want to fill our church pews and seats again. But what matters is not filling churches but the salvation of humankind. We need to be attentive to the needs of those to whom we would take the gospel of Jesus. There is a need to apply our thinking to the needs of others in order to bring about a revolution in Christianity. Revolution means turning around and this means to we Christians a march forward to the position in which people find themselves. Just as John Wesley, Isaac Watts and other field preachers went out to the people we must devise missions that amount to the same approach but with the 21st century in mind.

If you wish to win over the "Man in the street" go into the street because that is where he is. He will not come to church so the church must go to him. Go into any one of our historic village churches and city cathedrals and you will see nothing but history. Take the church to the people and you will see today. Where else would you expect the sheep Jesus told us about to be? The beautiful historic buildings with architectural charm are all well and good but they are irrelevant to the call to change from fishermen to shepherds. It is the church community that God is calling to feed sheep. Their buildings are just incidental to the work itself. When this penny drops we shall see a new revolution and revival in Christianity, but not before it occurs.

Do you believe in God?

2006-05-30T23:08:00.000+01:00

Tomorrow I shall be taking my 80th funeral service at Manchester Crematorium. Most of my funerals have beeen arranged through a friend who is a funeral director in Manchester. Over the past few years that I have provided this service I have felt privileged. It has been a privilege to enter the houses of strangers and discover that though they do not attend church they have a sort of faith.

I have seen hard bitten young men crying copious tears as they carry their father's coffin into church. The largest congregations have been when the deceased has many friends through drinking regularly in local pubs. People one would normally be uncertain of give comfort to their friends in their grieving. Huge young men of 20 stones or more have cried bucketfuls of tears at some of the funerals. Most have no religion at all and feel uncomfortable when I talk about God and Jesus.

The deceased at tomorrow's funeral was described by his sister as an atheist. But the service will not change because of this. He might not have believed in God but God certainly cares for him just as he does for me. In the past some IRA members have refused to recognise the court of law that has tried them for serious crime. Often the judge's response was "but this court recognises you." Tomorrow a man will be remembered and prayed for despite the fact he did not believe in God. He was loved by God no less and no more than God cares for me. Therefore I shall pray for him at the service.

The love of God does not differentiate between believers and atheists. It sees no merit in a Christian above that of an atheist or agnostic. We are all equal in God's sight and there is nothing anyone can do to change this. This is why none of us can work our way to heaven. There is no first or second class travel between here and the celestial city. It may be that some people cannot understand how believers gain no advantage over the rest of the world. Yet this sort of thinking must be dispelled if we are to see true equality in life. We may win prizes for the work we have achieved but the love we receive is never more that that shown to anyone else.

To all those on the outside of church life I say, "God loves you as if there was only one of you to love!" You may not have found him but God knows you as well as he knows anyone. He w2aits for you to respond and "come home." Through his agents like me He speaks to you and invites you to get to know Him on a personal level. You have the choice to come forward or remain where you are. If you stay then nothing will happen but if you commit yourself a new life of great joy is about to happen.

When you have grown tired of all that is supposed to give happiness and realise that nothing endures ultimately you can still opt for God. Now, where else can you get this sort of guarantee?

Off the top of my head

2006-05-12T20:48:00.000+01:00

Two weeks ago I waited for days until a blog was posted which looked at the post resurrection experience of Jesus' disciples. You see, I was preaching the following Sunday at my home church in Amlwch, Anglesey, Wales. I wanted to keep to the lectionary for the week and so waited till my colleague posted his blog about the particular Bible passage. It was St Luke 24:36-53. I had already preached the St John version of this story and was not very optomistic about being able to preach effectively on virtuially the same subject.

However, when the blog came it was late but brilliant. I was able to use some of the material and add something of myself to it to create what I thought a reasonable sermon for church. I was very pleased with the result and on the Sunday set off down the road to lead worship. I had chosen the hymns, transmitted the hymns for the readers and printed out my talk to the children. Half way there I suddenly realised that the sermon I had spent hours to produce had not been printed. I therefore decided to preach the sermon I had in my memory to serve such purposes. It was based on the early verses of Hebrews Chapter 11: "And what is faith? Faith makes us certain of realities we do not see. All I needed was the Bible open at that passage and I could preach an emergency sermon.

During the service I listened to the readers and felt God was challenging me to preach on the original passage. When it came to the "sermon slot" I went for it. The words were quite different but I stuck to the text and the sermon wads a great success. Thanks be to God.

I spoke about a possibly very busy day for Jesus. He rose from the dead, appeared to the women in the garden, walked the few miles to Emmaus, sat down to a meal, broke bread and showed himself. Then he appeared before the ten disciples who were gathered behind locked doors. It was a punishing schedule which still required a walk out and the ascension.

But the point I wanted to make was that whether or not we think of the resurrection and ascension as separate occasions or on the same day the fact is that Jesus was bodily riased from the dead. The main thing about Easter is that it was real and factual. Jesus entered despite locked doors. He showed them the evidence of resurrection - the wounds of crucifixion. He ate soem food. He was risen in body as while as in mind and spirit. All four gospel writers attest to this.

It was to show that nothing, not even death, could stop the Good News of God's ultimate intervention in human life. There are many different points of view in Christianity but all have to accept the reality of resurrection. You can believe in Christianity in a multitude of ways but ultimately you have to accept the resurrection. It is the stunner, the news that Jesus is now with us permanently. He has come into our world now in a way that no one can dispute. He is risen.

Our Greek friends, at Easter, gather at church in readiness for Easter Day. At the stroke of midnight their priest declares before them, "Christos anesti!" "Christ is risen!" Then from a single candle all present light their own candle to take home. To each other they say, as they light cnadle after candle, "Receive the Light!" This is the light of the resurrection of Jesus. In that light all of us can see the truth of his resurrection from the dead.

Only because Jesus is risen can we face anything, even death, and be fearless as we stand with him before others. You can go on about every single point of the Christian religion and how it impacts on the individual. But the fact is: "Christ is risen!"

Thanks be to God.