“And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?’ (Luke 18: 8b)

Jesus poses an interesting question here. The answer to the question is dependent on whether or not we each have faith in our hearts. So, what is your answer? I would hope the answer is ‘Yes’. However, it should be more than just a yes answer because our faith is meant to increase over time.

What is faith? Faith is a response from each one of us to God speaking in our hearts. In order to have faith we must first listen to God speak. And when he does this, we exhibit faith by responding to what he reveals to us. We believe in his word spoken to us and it is this act of believing that forms faith within us.

Faith is not just believing. It is believing in who God is, his word to us and what God tells us personally. Faith then gives us certainty as to what it is that God is looking for in our life.

Reflect upon how certain your faith is. Reflect on Jesus asking you this very question. Will he find faith in your heart? Commit yourself to all that God reveals to you every day.

Prayer: Lord, I desire to grow in faith. I desire to grow in my love and in my knowledge of you. Amen

Ever been embarrassed about what to say or write to someone bereaved? I recently read a booklet by Paul Lack, a clergyman and someone who was himself recently bereaved. He had a few pearls of wisdom which I share with you now.

While bereavement is usually associated with the recent death of some close, Lack points out though that many things bring bereavement from the loss of a pet to redundancy and surgery. However, he initially stresses that the bereaved person is the same person after death as they were before and we should remember that. He also says that it is important to say something as saying nothing, ignoring or avoiding a bereaved person is hurtful. He recommends sending a card or a letter or make the phone call and acknowledge what has happened but never say, “ I know exactly how you feel”. Listening is the key and as they talk, what may seem inconsequential to you may be hugely significant for them. Allow them to talk about the person if they so wish and always refer to them by the name they were known by.

In the days after a bereavement, home cooked meals, or practical help can be a godsend. But if you did things together with the other couple say, be mindful of that, still invite them but be conscious of the new dynamic.

And how long do we keep all this up, asks Lack. Well, the answer is always, grief is unpredictable but he does recommend asking about how people they are for at least 5 years.

In the booklet he concludes with a list of What not to say which should be written on a fridge magnet and number one on his list is ‘Do not just talk. Listen!’ which is probably the best advice of all but then he goes on to say: Do not tell people what to feel; Do not deny their feelings; Do not judge; Do not try to fix them; Do not advise; Do not make it about you; avoid platitudes and euphemisms.

Great help in dealing with bereavement.

Reference

Lack, Paul, “What to Say to the Bereaved” Grove Booklet Pastoral 176

Peace seems to be a commodity in short supply. I wish I could say that everyone wants peace but that would not appear to be the case in our world today. Our days are like those of Jeremiah, in that people cry “Peace, peace, when there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6: 14). There is war in our world, domestic violence is at an all-time high and in the wake of the Aisling Murphy case we are looking at how women can not only feel safe but be safe.

Where can we go for peace? Peace can only be found in the prince of peace, Jesus, the son of God. Our spiritual peace is peace with God as Romans 5: 1 reminds us, “Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ“.

But in a worldly sense what must we do, as another part of Romans tells us, “Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual edification” (Romans 14: 19). As simple as it may sound, doing just that is what we need to do. God says peace comes when we live in harmony with him – when we do what he tells us to do. The Bible, God’s Word, is our manual for life. If we don’t obey the principles laid out in the Bible then we will never experience peace.

Even when things don’t make sense, we must trust God’s purpose. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3: 5-6). We often feel that lots of things in life are beyond our control and rather than get in a panic, God urges us to just trust him.

But he also calls on us to pray to help bring about peace. Our prayers precede the peace for the apostle Paul tells us in Philippians, “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4: 6-7). If we are not praying, we are likely to be worrying. And worry gets us nowhere.

So, in our world today we need to pray for peace because it is the only ‘weapon’ we all have.

In the groundbreaking film “An Inconvenient Truth” Al Gore posed the question, “What are you are going to say to your children if they ask you in 50 years from now, ‘Did you know about this and what did you do about it?’” Indeed, as I ponder the reality that the number of birds, animals and insects that were around when I was a child have all had their populations devastated at the expense of an ever growing human population, I admit that I am guilty. I didn’t know in the beginning but in the last thirty years the answer has to be yes, I did know.

To deny that there is an ecological disaster going on would seem to me to border on insanity as we see yet another heatwave across southern Europe causing drought which, in turn also, affects the food supply. The church has been slow when it comes to speaking up about ecology and global warming. So, we are now being forced back into the Bible in order to discover the truth that was always there and we are being challenged to admit that we have been very anthropocentric in our thinking.

The Genesis creation story states that creation is good, or at least it was at the time! The command to ‘fill the earth and have dominion over it’ (Gen.1: 28) is qualified by the image of humans as ‘stewards and caretakers’ of the earth (Gen.2: 15). There is no permission or justification given in the Bible to ravage the earth. It all looks rather glorious in this godly paradise but something goes wrong. It is ruptured by the arrival of sin. At its heart, ‘sin’ is a breakdown of relationship and means being in a state of separation. A state of separation between humanity and God; between human and human, and human and the earth.

However, our story doesn’t end there because of the restorative work of Jesus on the cross. Now not wishing to lay out the gospel message again, the question we should ask in the light of the Gospel, is, ‘if Christians believe that God’s action is one of creation, restoration, healing and reconciliation, then why have we ignored the implications of this in the way we live our lives?’

True, there are many positive benefits that Christianity has brought including opposition to slavery, human rights, health care, education and alleviation of poverty in many areas of the world. On the other hand, our wealth has also become a powerful lure on our loyalty and we have found ways to justify it with religious language. We have undergone a gradual social conformity from the radical lifestyle of Jesus and drifted away from the holistic communal ethic present in the early church.

Now there are those who take the view that the path we are on as a world will enhance the speedy return of Jesus but that neglects true stewardship. And fortunately, there is an increasingly loud voice which takes a different approach. This is one that reminds Christians to their calling to have a high quality relationship with the earth and with all other living creatures because it is central to our faith because we are part of that created order and God acts sacrificially to redeem it.

As we have become lured into conforming with the values of the world we have found theological justification to support our consumer lifestyles. However, the scientific reality of global climate change forces to face the reality that creation lies at the heart of Christian faith.

We must, therefore, lead by example, and reform our lifestyles and personal consumption habits and try to walk the way of Jesus based on a reconnection to that which really gives life.

Even those things that we thought would never be able to change. Mt. Everest is growing at the rate of five centimetres a year so it is already 2.5 metres taller than when I was a child and learned that fact from my wonderful “Boy’s Handbook” (I wish I still had that great book). But on the other hand, we know all about erosion, particularly of our coast.

God’s love is more stable and lasting even than the mountains and the coastal cliffs. It will remain forever, never to be eroded away. When God commits himself to us, that commitment will never be broken.

The love of God is revealed to the world in Jesus Christ. In the New Testament we read how great that love is. In 1 Corinthian’s 13 we read that “do not have love, we gain nothing. Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.”

In the letter to the Romans: “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8: 38-39). What marvellous news! It is something upon which to base our lives. We can live with confidence each day, knowing that God’s love remains with us forever.

Compassion is severely lacking in the world. Indeed, we even talk about compassion fatigue like it is a disease. It seems our ability to show compassion has been waning over the years. Yet, why is compassion so important to humanity? Without it, we would descend into a state of war. The 17^th century English philosopher and atheist Thomas Hobbes said, “Life is nasty, brutish, and short.” And that “the natural condition of man is a condition of war.” On the other hand the Dalai Lama stated: “Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.”

Compassion requires that we are first able to put ourselves in another person’s shoes, and this become aware of how their situation feels and secondly that now aware of that suffering we must respond appropriately. In some small way, we must help the person alleviate their suffering or at least not make it any worse.

Compassion means to have genuine concern for all of humanity, not just your own tribe. Compassion also means to practise random acts of kindness and expect nothing in return. Compassion means to believe in the dignity, respect, equality, justice of everyone whatever their race religion or political persuasion.

Jesus was the greatest person of compassion. A quick read of the gospels show a man who sought to relieve suffering when relief was sort, a father fearing for his daughter, a Canaanite woman seeking relief for her child and a beggar by the pool. As our calling as Christians is to be more and more like Jesus each and every day, let us not lose sight of our calling to compassion so we may be more like Jesus, loving therefore both God and neighbour.

A Door Opening – Sligo and the Legacies of Partition (Edited by Susan McKay & Keith Hopper)

This is a book that originates in a gathering of things that relate to the title gathered as part of a heritage event in Sligo Library. It is fusion of many different things ranging from abridged interviews with the likes of Fergal Keane, to extracts from novels, a libretto and a film script. There is poetry and critical essays but everyone will find something in this collection that touches them. For me, the thing that will stick in my memory are those stories of violence, murder and collusion that blight Irish history. It is those things that humans seem to do to each other that to me are incomprehensible and yet happened for what now seems relatively trivial. However, the state of the world today would indicate that things are just the same and that as humans we have advanced in many ways but clearly in some areas we have made no progress. A good book to dip in and out of.

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