Imprints of Light

imprintsoflight.wordpress.com

2010-12-15T14:12:00.000Z

Not one to take rash decisions, I've been humming and hawing about this one for a year or more; I've finally decided to move the blog from Blogger to Wordpress. Not that I don't like blogger, it's just that Wordpress seems a lot more flexible and I'd like to give it a go. Still early days yet and it will take some time to get the layout right, but I'm happy about it so far. So "Imprints of Light" will from now on be found at:

http://imprintsoflight.wordpress.com/

Thank you for all your encouragement and support - I would have given blogging up a long time ago without it.

Daniel.

Photographic notepad

2010-12-14T09:44:00.001Z

I heard of someone who was forever complaining that they had their best ideas in the middle of the night, but of course the ideas themselves were long forgotten by the morning.

Someone else suggested to them that they leave a pen and paper beside the bed to write down these great ideas so they could be read In the morning. This was duly done but the problem was that, what was in the middle of the night thought to be an earth-shattering brainwave turned out, in the cold light of day, to just be a load of gibberish scrawled across the page!

I can't tell you the number if times I have come across what I thought would make a good photograph, (with the light just right), only for the moment to be gone by the time I have got the camera to hand and ready to take the picture. Sometimes you come across a moment and it is a very fleeting moment, the light will not wait for you, you have to be quick. That is perhaps one of the reasons why mobile phones have become so popular now for taking pictures; we nearly always have them on us and in no time at all they can take a picture of whatever it is that has caught our eye.

Of course, so often the image is then very disappointing when we look at it on our computer screen later on, but just occasionally it comes out ok. Mobile phone cameras have come on a long way (though i.m.h.o. not yet as good as a dedicated compact camera, the image sensor is just too small). They are like photographic note pads, great for ideas and sketches and there have been many times when I have been glad of one...

By the way this blog post was written on and all the photos taken using my mobile phone - hence the strange formatting :-)

Epitaph

2010-12-13T10:40:00.002Z

I am not one for habitually stalking around graveyards, but like many people I am sometimes fascinated by what is written on headstones; it is the deceased's final message to the world, there for generations to see after their passing. What does that message say about the individual, what was their parting shot?

The first picture is of one of the most famous graves in Ireland, that of W.B. Yeats, in the churchyard at Drumcliffe in Co. Sligo. The lines come from the sixth stanza of Yeats' poem "Under Ben Bulben" (named after the mountain that you would see in the distance were in not for the Sligo weather). It reads:

Under bare Ben Bulben's head

In Drumcliff churchyard Yeats is laid.

An ancestor was rector there

Long years ago, a church stands near,

By the road an ancient cross.

No marble, no conventional phrase;

On limestone quarried near the spot

By his command these words are cut:

Cast a cold eye

On life, on death.

Horseman, pass by!

Coming to the end of his life, Yeats wants there to be no fuss about his death, he wants to be remembered only for his legacy of writings and does not want to get in the way of those poets and artists who would come after him. Ironically, his grave has become a famous tourist attraction!

The second picture is a headstone of a much less well-known man than W.B. Yeats. It belongs to John Basil Clarkson. Basil used to run summer camps for children, firstly in North Wales and then latterly in Co. Sligo. My wife had the pleasure of getting to know Basil and his wife Nora at these summer camps when she was a teenager. I came to the camps myself to help out years later (and unfortunately after both Basil and Nora had died.) No one knows how many men and women today are living their lives for Christ as a result of attending these summer camps in their school years, it must be hundreds, if not thousands. I cannot think of a more fitting epitaph for Basil than:

"... He who winneth souls is wise."

and the busy world is hushed

2010-12-08T11:48:00.000Z

The past week or so has been unusual; many meetings, visits and school days have been cancelled and we have had the sort of weather that "only happens once in a generation" (except of course we had it last year as well.)

Personally there has been an up-side to being confined to home - more family time, time for catching up on reading etc. But there is more, a deeper sense of peace, perhaps because of being forced to slow down a little and to reflect upon the things that matter and the things that are important in life and in work.

(Photography Bit). Of course I have enjoyed taking a few photographs too :-) Snow photography is pretty tricky because of all the light reflecting back; my little compact camera has a 'snow' scene setting, which is cheating a bit but really all it does (I think) is overexpose things by about a stop. The above picture was taken from our garden using good old Tri-x film, with a Nikon F100 and 50mm lens. Developed in Rodinal means that the grain is very grainy but I like the effect here.

The scene above was as I was standing there in the stillness of the early morning light, very peaceful and tranquil. As I look at it now (and as I think about the memorial service I am doing this afternoon) I am reminded of one of the prayers from the funeral service (by John Henry Newman):

O Lord,
support us all the day long
until the shades lengthen, and the evening comes,
and the busy world is hushed,
the fever of life is over,
and our work is done.
Then, Lord, in your mercy grant us safe lodging,
a holy rest, and peace at the last;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

JtheB and the road to the Lord

2010-12-05T07:27:00.000Z

Thank you so much to the person (who wishes to remain anonymous) who posted me a Facebook message answering my call for help. The message picked me up and got me writing again - thank you!

Today's Sermon (Text: Matthew 3:1-12) Advent 2, Year A

In his poem “St. John the Baptist's Day”, John Keble writes:

Where is the lore the Baptist taught,
The soul unswerving and the fearless tongue?
The much-enduring wisdom, sought
By lonely prayer the haunted rocks among?
Who counts it gain
His light should wane,
So the whole world to Jesus throng?(1)

The Lord Jesus said of John:
Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist... (Matthew 11:11a)

John the Baptist was an amazing character. He lived in the desert wilderness, and Matthew tells us that he had raggedy old clothes made from camel’s hair, held up by an old leather belt. For his food / Bush Tucker Trial, he had a strict diet of locusts and wild honey. The honey sounds nice, but I’m not so sure about the locusts! He doesn’t really sound like the type of character one would normally listen to, does he? But what an awesome character John was, so holy and so humble, never seeking any credit for himself and always directing attention away from himself and onto Christ.

When I was at theological college, a Rector who I did a parish placement with discussed John the Baptist with me as I was preparing to write a sermon for that Sunday. He told me about a sermon he did on John the Baptist when he was a Curate at a well-to-do parish in Dublin. Unbeknown to the very proper elderly ladies sitting a couple of pews back from the front, a friend of his had been hiding behind the Communion Table from before the start of the service. This friend was dressed as near as possible to what John the Baptist would have looked like; he was all messy and dressed in old rags, looking like he had wandered in from the nearest desert. Right in the middle of the sermon at the pre-selected point of time, he jumped out and shouted at the top of his voice “Repent, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near”. I'm told that the old ladies had such a shock that the preacher feared for their health. It took much apologising from both rector and curate to smooth things over afterwards!

You'll be pleased to know that there are no hidden John the Baptists here this morning, behind the Communion Table or anywhere else!

Matthew tells us that John the Baptist came preaching in the desert. Here was a man who had given his life to God, and now God had a very important job for him to do. Firstly, he had to awaken the people to see their need to be converted and secondly he was going to introduce them to the Messiah, who would make it possible for the people to be converted.

If any of you have ever been to see a famous band or act such as U2, Lady Gaga or the Munster Ramblers :-/ perform, they will usually have what is known as a “support band”. This is a kind of “warm-up” act, to get everyone in the mood for the main performance. Usually however, people tend to ignore the support band and not bother coming out of the bar until the main performance starts. John is a bit like the warm-up act, though his job is infinitely more important. Perhaps a better example is whenever a head of state, such as a King or Queen does something important, they may be announced with a fanfare of trumpets, the red carpet will be rolled out, and people will have spent time beforehand making sure that everything is ready for the important person to arrive. This is exactly what John the Baptist is doing for the immanent arrival of the Lord Jesus and the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. John is blowing Jesus’ trumpet and he’s laying out the red carpet to prepare the way for the coming Messiah.

So John went into the countryside all around the River Jordan and he preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The word Repent in Greek is μετάνοία (metanoia), It means 'to change one's mind for the better, knowing that you have offended someone (in this case God) and to look with abhorrence on your past sins' (Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon). Of course, repentance then is not just once off, it must be the way of life for the Christian. Every day in prayer and through reading God's word we allow Him to work in us to align us to His will, to His plan and purpose for our lives and to repent of our old way of living.

Baptism was nothing new. The Jewish people had for a long time performed a ceremonial washing of Gentiles who had converted to Judaism. The idea being that Gentiles were unclean and they needed to be washed before they could become one of God’s people. But here John is having the cheek to tell the Jewish people themselves that they needed to be washed, they too were unclean! But he’s saying to them, “Yes, you are unclean, but you can be forgiven, your sins can be washed away.” His audience would have been well aware of some wonderful verses in the Hebrew Scriptures that tell us about God’s forgiveness, for example:

As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:12)

You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.
(Micah 7:19)

A family member told me about a dream they had once, where they were looking out to sea. The tide was out and in the mud there was lots of junk, you know the sort of thing, old shopping trolleys, washing machines and so on. The person understood these to represent all the junk in their life, in other words, all the sin. But then the tide turned, the sea came in and completely covered over all the junk. This represented what God does with our sins when we say “sorry” to Him. Even more than that, because in the dream the junk was still there under the surface – but God does much more than that, He removes our sin completely.

In other words, when God forgives, He sends our sins away to a place from which they can never be brought back. When we forgive someone, we might occasionally remind them of the bad thing that they did to us, thereby showing that we haven’t totally forgiven them at all. But God doesn’t do that. He doesn’t remind us of our sins, He completely wipes them out, so that they are no more, literally, as far as the east is from the west, or as if they had been cast into the depths of the sea.

Quoting from Isaiah, John says that there will be:

A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make his paths straight …’ The voice in the desert is of course John himself, but what does he mean when he says about making straight paths for the Lord? Perhaps that his audience should provide the Lord with ready access to their hearts and lives. May we let God’s access to us not be a windy narrow West Cork Boreen full of pot holes, but a highway where we openly welcome Him into our hearts and lives.

Later on, the Lord Jesus was to declare that John was in fact the most important of all the prophets. But even he is only a forerunner, he is only the one to announce the arrival of the coming King, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Lamb of God and Saviour of the world.

John welcomed the King himself, and many people who heard John’s message also welcomed Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. Let’s ask ourselves, how straight the paths are between us and God; are there obstacles in the way? Let’s be encouraged by John’s message. Let us allow ourselves to be converted, to repent, to walk in the direction of God’s will for our lives. If we’ve done this already, let’s keep going, and let us allow God by His grace to remove every obstacle in our lives that prevents us from having an increasingly full relationship with Him. Let us pray:

Lord God, you know our lives so completely, you know my life. You know the obstacles, all the pit falls, all that hinders my relationship with you. Lord there are things I try to hide, things that I am ashamed of, things I avoid; words I should say and words I shouldn't, things I should do and things I shouldn't … I give this all to you now and I say 'sorry' with all my heart. Help me Lord, help me every day to follow you, every day and every moment of my life now and into eternity. For the glory of Your Name. Amen.

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(1) http://yimcatholic.blogspot.com/2010/06/poem-on-st-john-baptists-day.html

Sparing a thought for Farmers

2010-12-02T09:42:00.000Z

Many of the Parishioners here are Farmers or in some way connected to Agriculture. Having spoken with a couple of dairy farmers in the last few days I am getting a greater understanding of how tough this cold, icy weather can be. Their work takes much longer in these freezing conditions, as they do everything to stop the water pipes from freezing, keeping the yard from getting too slippery and trying to prevent the cows skating around! Then there's loads of other stuff which to a layman like myself I wouldn't get or understand, but nevertheless farmers have both my sympathy and my prayers at this time.

Yesterday I was driving (very slowly) through Kilmalooda on my way to a visit. I had set out too early and had some time to spare so I took a few pictures. Firstly the one at the top of the cows, (which got me thinking again about the farmers), then one of the church (or rather 21 pictures merged together to form a giant picture on the computer),

then one of the icy road

and finally one of the old raiding Castle in the valley. For all its harshness, the snow and ice is at the same time, quite beautiful...

In the days of Noah.

2010-11-28T06:34:00.000Z

Today's Sermon. Text Matthew 24:36-44

Even just a short time ago hardly anyone would have predicted the enormity of what is now happening to our country. The thought that we would be plunged into a recession so low and debt levels so high that we will never be able to afford even the interest on the loans let alone the loans themselves would have been laughed off. In the midst of the ‘Celtic Tiger’, whilst the Property Bubble was still expanding, no one predicted how great the fall that we are now experiencing would be. Anytime an economist came on the radio and said that the whole thing was unsustainable, they were laughed at and not taken seriously. The mentality of so many was ‘eat drink and be merry’; with no thought to the consequences of endless spending and borrowing of money that was not ours. It turns out that predicting the future is a hard thing to do.

When I was a boy, I was fortunate enough to go with my parents on a holiday to Italy. My favourite part was when we visited the ancient city of Pompeii. This city in Roman times was full of life and home to 18,000 people. They were just living their lives when, out of the blue, there was an enormous volcanic eruption which rained down hot ash on the city. Many managed to escape, but 2000 people didn’t, they were buried alive. Today you can walk through the city streets and see ancient shop signs, houses, and theatres and it’s not hard to imagine that the people there had no idea when they woke up that morning on August 24th AD 79 that it would be their last day on earth.

The second coming seems all a bit like something from a Hollywood movie, something fantastic and theatrical. I think it's one of those times when the Bible uses metaphorical (or picture) language to convey to us what it will be like.

The most important thing about chapter 24 in Mathew's Gospel is to remember that it is primarily about the end of the world’s history. History is in a real sense “His Story”. The Kingdom of God came with Jesus’ Incarnation; when He lived among us. The Lord’s disciples, both then and now are citizens of two countries; we belong to this age and in the age to come. As Micheal Green puts it “”We are not what we were, but equally, we are not yet what we shall be”(1). History is steadily moving to the day when God’s Kingdom will be “Consummated”, that is achieved and fully realised. Jesus’ return will settle forever the destiny of all people. There will be no sitting on the fence, either we are with Him or we are against Him (cf. Matthew 12:30)

Our reading begins with the Lord saying:

‘But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father...’ (36)

Only the Father knows when the end will come, not even the Lord Jesus in His human nature knew, nor should we give any heed to anyone who claims they know when it will be either! There have over the centuries been many people who have tried to predict when the second coming would be. One of the most famous was a chap called John Napier, a sixteenth-century mathematician. He applied logarithms and all sorts of clever formulae he had invented and applied it to the book of Revelation (the last book of the New Testament). He then calculated that Jesus would return sometime between 1688 and 1700. His book sold like hot cakes and went into twenty-three editions - until 1701, when sales unaccountably plummeted!(2)

To help His disciples understand what His second coming would be like, the Lord Jesus then says:

For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. (37-39).

The people In Noah's day would have had a hard time believing the warnings that a great cataclysmic flood was going to sweep them away, even though Noah was building a great big Ark (as a more than subtle hint)! If they really suspected that the end was coming they would have asked Noah if they could get on board. The people in Noah’s day were just getting on with their lives, just like we do today, they were eating and drinking and marrying right up until the end. The warnings are there for us too, though we have something much greater than an Ark to find safety in, we have the Lord Jesus Christ; He is our Ark, it is through believing and trusting in Him as our Lord and Saviour that we find eternal safety and salvation.

We do not know when the end will come but the door of the Ark is still open and there is still time to get on board, why wait, we do not know how long we have, it may be tomorrow for all we know?

The Lord Jesus explains things further when He says:

Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. (40-42)

It is clear that once the final day arrives, all opportunity for repentance will be gone, the door is shut. These are very sobering verses which act as a clear warning to us. If we are not on board the Ark of Christ we shall be left behind, lost forever, there will be no second chance.
Jesus is pleading with us - ‘get on board, take my hand, quickly, now before it is too late.’

He continues:

But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour. (43-44)

Anyone that has had their house broken into will be able to relate to this. It happened to Sonja and I once, in our previous Rectory. We came back one evening to see a couple of windows broken open and saw that they had tried to break into the very strong filing cabinet in the study, making quite a mess of it in the process. Of course, if we had known what time the burglar was coming we would have been ready, we would have had all the lights on in the house and let it be obvious that we were there, so the burglar would not have bothered trying to break in. The Lord Jesus urges us to live lives of constant readiness for His return, to live in joyful hope and expectation that He is coming at an unexpected hour.

Probably most of you have heard of or read some of John Grisham’s novels, such as The Firm, Pelican Brief, and The Client. Despite his fame and wealth, Grisham makes a concerted effort to focus on things that have lasting meaning, including his faith in God. Grisham remembers, as a young law student, the remarkable advice of a friend:
“One of my best friends in college died when he was 25, just a few years after we graduated from Mississippi State University. I was in law school, and he called me one day and wanted to get together. So we had lunch, and he told me he had cancer. I couldn't believe it.
"What do you do when you realize you are about to die?" I asked.
"It's real simple," he said. "You get things right with God, and you spend as much time with those you love as you can. Then you settle up with everybody else."
Finally he said, "You know, really, you ought to live every day like you have only a few more days to live."
Grisham concludes: ‘I haven't forgotten those words’”.
Will Norton, Jr., in Christianity Today.Christian Reader, Vol. 32, no. 6.(3)

Let us make the very best use of the time we have left, because no matter who we are the time is short and will go very quickly. Let us make sure that we know Christ as our Lord and Saviour and let us make sure that we are living lives of readiness and expectancy: What would we like Jesus to find us doing when He returns? Then let us be doing that thing. Amen.

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(1) Matthew for Today, Michael Green, Hodder & Stoughton, 1999, p.229
(2) From Scripture Union Bible Notes “Closer to God”, No.12, 2001.
(3) http://preachingtoday.com/search/?type=scripture&query=Matthew%2024:36-44&start=21

Harbouring?

2010-11-18T11:26:00.003Z

This was Courtmacsherry harbour last week as we waited for "The Storm". It's strange how the word "harbouring" seems (to me at least) to have negative connotations. We hear about someone "harbouring criminals" or someone "harbouring" bad thoughts or bitterness / resentment in their hearts, which is of course something that we need to be aware of.

But I like to think of what God Harbours us from, though even as I write that many many objections pop up in my mind! It is a deep and holy privilege of my work to listen to and to pray with people who have experienced every high and every low that life has to offer. Yes I can think of many times when a sick person has recovered, when a potential tragedy has been averted or the joy of when a person accepts Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. But I can also bring to mind many times when a sick person has not recovered, when a tragedy has happened and of trying to minister to people who have no cause for any kind of hope or joy in their lives.

Bishop Paul Colton struck a chord with many people last week with a 'tweet'. Trying to come to terms with the sudden tragic death of a young man on a hockey pitch he wrote the next morning:

Yesterday was a day when my and others' prayers were not answered. It's hard to pray again today. Club is heartbroken. Andrew Chambers, RIP

Sometimes it seems that God does not shelter us, we are left to face the full blast of the storm, apparently on our own. We cry out to him for help but our prayers are swallowed by a great void of nothingness. I am reminded what what C.S. Lewis wrote after the death of his wife in his book "A grief observed" On trying to pray he experienced:

"... A door slammed in your face, and a sound of bolting and double bolting on the inside. After that, silence”

As I struggled to come to terms this week with Andy Chambers' death, as my prayers joined those of hundreds, (if not thousands) of others in praying for his family and friends, and for Bishop Paul as he ministered in that situation, a strange sentence kept repeating itself over and over in my mind. The words were strange, but I immediately knew what they were and Who it was that spoke them:

‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’

Link

They are the words of Jesus on the cross "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" If we ever feel forsaken by God, if our despair is too great, our pain too intense or our anger too hot, then these words of Christ become our words. In this life we can only ever have a partial answer, but if Christ himself knew what it was like then it perhaps is against the hard, rough and blood-stained foot of the cross that we find the beginnings of a response...

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Photo notes: This picture is actually sixteen separate pictures 'stitched' together as a panorama - it takes a bit of practise to get it right! Here's how to do it with a digital SLR: First of all set the lens to 50mm equivalent (to minimise distortion), then take a meter reading from the brightest part of the scene. Then put the camera in manual mode and set it to whatever the meter reading was (eg. f10, 1/250 sec) then disable the auto ISO (I used ISO 200) and manually set the white balance (I used 'cloudy' for the above), finally make sure to turn autofocus off and depending on the scene set it for just short of infinity. Then start at one end and work your way across taking pictures. Make sure that you have plenty of overlap with each picture as this helps the computer to create the image afterwards. (You can do this using JPEG's, but I use RAW files, again to give the computer more to work with). If you have photoshop you are laughing, I have an old version of photoshop elements which does the job almost as well, though there are many other programmes both free and expensive that will do the job for you. If you want to know more, just ask and I will be happy to help.

Dulce et Decorum Est? (The old Lie)

2010-11-11T12:55:00.001Z

The poem of this name was one we had to learn in school. The horrors of the first world war put to rest any ridiculous romantic notion of it being "Sweet and right to die for one's country." (Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori.)

We will remember them...

Dulce et Decorum Est

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep.  Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod.  All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.

Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!---An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime . . .
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.

In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,---
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.

Wilfred Owen.

(See link for more on this poem).

Horses for Courses (or why I am an Anglican)

2010-11-09T11:40:00.001Z

(West Cork Horses waiting for that strange guy with a camera to fall off the fence,

and no I am not sitting on any metaphorical fences, see below).

By the time I was in my early twenties I had been thoroughly put off the Anglican Church for life, or so I thought. I had attended a Church of England boarding school where we were required to attend chapel every day, seven days a week. Listening to the chaplain preach, carefully explaining why the miracles in the Bible never actually happened and then singing the Te Deum (tedium) was like some kind of Chinese water torture. I finally gave up on the Church of England when on my first Sunday at University I went to the local Cathedral, to be greeted by no one, sat in a space where no one came within a hundred feet of me and then no one said good bye as I was leaving at the end of a very dry and boring service.

I started going to the Baptist Church when I was home. They were brilliant, friendly (but not invasively so), and I learnt so much from the great sermons and the example of the way those in the youth group lived. At University (after my brief flirtation with the Cathedral) I followed the crowd and went to the Elim Pentecostal church. They too were great people, great sermons, great ministry to the students (especially the free lunches - of course there is no such thing as a free lunch, the catch was that these people really cared about you). I probably learnt more about God, His love for me as a sinner and about personal holiness from these two churches than from anywhere else since. This was the place where I met my future wife; we journeyed though these churches together and it was a wonderful time.

Skip forward a few years and we find ourselves living in Ireland. Yes, there was an Elim and other churches in the nearby town, but we felt drawn to the local Church of Ireland. A good sized congregation was eight people; it was difficult to see any hope for the future. In my massive ignorance and shameful naivety I doubted how God could use a place like this. We helped with the Sunday School, more children then showed up and we began to realise that this place mattered to God (I am ashamed to think that I ever doubted otherwise). I can’t remember if it was a dream or a very clear picture in my imagination but I saw clearly that this church was like a table where there was very little food on the table and the people were very grateful for whatever there was. Other churches had more food than they could eat and their tables were overflowing. There was no doubt where we were needed most. It was not long after this that the sense of call (to ordination) came, starting as a small voice and growing gradually to the point that it was impossible to ignore or put off any longer.

I get frustrated today by anyone who thinks their church is better than someone else’s. We could take all day and hundreds of pages outlining the faults of the Anglican Church (in fact this is what many people seem to spend their whole time doing), but it is my home, it is the part of the church to which I feel called to help out in some small way.

I’ve been skirting around the edge of what I want to say because I am trying to put it as delicately and sensitively and lovingly as I can. Please my brothers and sisters in other church denominations don’t think that your denomination has got it right and the part of the church to which I belong has got it wrong. Please don’t feel sorry for me or patronise me; yes we pray using a book, yes our new hymns are not very new or trendy, yes our clergy wear seventeenth century fancy dress, yes we struggle with a historical / modern / relevant dialectic and I could keep going, but my point is this: We are part of the Body of Christ. Together.

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

(1 Corinthians 12:12).

When I was thinking about all this a phrase which I haven’t heard for a long time popped into my head, “Horses for Courses”. I couldn’t have told you what it actually meant, so I looked it up: It means that some horses are more suited to some race courses than others, so some people take to some things better than others. God has made us all uniquely individual. Some people I believe are naturally predisposed to worship God in different ways (see Gary Thomas’ book “Sacred Pathways”, Zondervan, 2000, for more on this). Now if someone finds their home in one church denomination, how strange it is that they should look negatively on others who attend churches of other denominations. Some like to worship in silence, some like to look at icons to help them pray, some like organ music, others like drums and guitars, some like incense, some like video screens, some like medieval hymns some like songs that are in tune with contemporary music trends. All these things are good if they draw a person closer to God. All these things are bad if they become an end in themselves.

Horses for Courses and lets leave it there.

Towards the Sun - a lesson from nature.

2010-11-04T11:38:00.000Z

Sunflowers are amazing; we all love the large yellow flowerheads and the fact that they can grow so tall with little or no help from the gardener. The most wonderful thing about them is their ability to track the Sun. At night, the flowers move either not at all or randomly about, but with sunrise they immediately (in plant terms) turn to face the east and then follow the Sun throughout the day until it finally sets in the west. They call this Heliotropism (thanks to Wikipedia for that one) and this reminds me of a great truth...

The Lord Jesus said:

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

(John 8:12)

Like the Sunflower, we were made to follow the light. The Sunflower follows the Sun, we follow The Son, the Light of the World.

And another verse, this time from Ephesians 5:8

"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light."

--------------------------------------

Photo notes: I'm fairly sure that I couldn't have taken this picture with my digital camera (a Nikon D70s); the sun would have been overexposed to the point that the whole right hand side of the picture would have been white, with no clear definition in it at all. I could have then exposed for the sun, but that would have meant that the left hand side of the picture would have been very dull. If I had a graduated neutral density filter I could have used it but I don't have one :-( However, a great advantage of slide film is increased dynamic range (you can get more detail in the highlights and in the shadows than you can with all but the most expensive digital cameras). Of course you get great colour and a three dimensional look too, and you also get the joy of not knowing what your pictures will look like until that little box arrives in the post and you hold up those small plastic slides to the light...

Gougane Barra

2010-11-02T10:08:00.000Z

During last months clergy conference we had a couple of hours of free time, so I made my way to Gougane Barra. St. Fin Barre built a monastery here in the sixth century and it's not hard to see why; it is a beautiful and peaceful place...

But there is something about this place that goes beyond its beauty. Perhaps it's because of the centuries of prayer and Christian witness, perhaps it's the example of St. Fin Barre himself or maybe it is because this place predates our man-made church denominations. In the sixth century there were no Protestant or Roman Catholic churches in Ireland, that all came later (and all the pain / mess that came with it which continues to this day). Last night at the Institution service for the new Rector in Bandon, Rev. Denis MacCarthy, there was a particular prayer before the Holy Communion that struck a chord with me:

As the grain once scattered in the fields

and the grapes once dispersed on the hillside

are now reunited on this table in bread and wine,

so, Lord, may your whole Church soon be gathered together

from the corners of the earth into your kingdom. Amen.

All pictures taken using Nikon F100, Nikkor 18-35mm lens and Fujichrome Sensia 100 Slide Film (which has now sadly been discontinued).

Into another's shoes

2010-10-18T10:37:00.002+01:00

It was Atticus in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird who said:

"... you never really understand a man unless you step inside his shoes and walk around in them."

Last week at the Cork, Cloyne & Ross Clergy Conference I learnt a lot. The speaker was Nick Baines, Bishop of Croydon and he spoke to us on "Old message, new media: communicating the Gospel in the digital age". Key points included understanding what it was like for the person who has no experience of church or theological language coming into a church service and how alien an experience it can be for them. How do we present and share the gospel with a 16 year old and / or someone from a completely different background or cultural environment than our own? What language do we use, does it make sense?

Another point Bishop Nick made was the importance of engaging with people through blogging, Twitter, Facebook etc. It was like the penny finally dropped for me; yes I have been blogging for a while but now I see a greater purpose in it. Likewise I have been on Facebook and Twitter for some time, but have never really got going with either. Now even in the past few days I have found myself joining in a debate with some Atheists on Facebook - what an opportunity this is, to share the gospel with people who are never going to go anywhere near a church! Compared to many I do not get huge numbers of visitors to my blog, but the numbers reading my sermons on line would fill all the church pews several times over - this is exciting stuff but it will only work if I am able to communicate in a way that those who I am trying to engage with understand what I am trying to say. That of course is a huge challenge...

The AIB in Schull

2010-10-11T13:42:00.000+01:00

On a visit to Cape Clear Island a couple of years ago a particular field on a steep slope behind the Youth Hostel was pointed out to me. It was nothing special to look at (rougly near where the top photo was taken from). I was told that this was the site of the former Church of Ireland church, which had been dismantled in the 1930's - and that the stone was taken and used to build the AIB bank in Schull.

There was a time, I am sure, when it was beyond the comprehension of the people involved that the church building would ever be dismantled and yet that time came. It was no longer financially viable to keep the church open, numbers had fallen and the stones (which had come from Cornwall) had to be dismantled.

There was a time too when the AIB (along with the other banks) seemed totally secure. Banks (like churches) were built with stone to convey solidity, security and permanency. Yet it seems that were it not for our children (and goodness knows how many further generations down the line that will be paying to keep the banks open for business) then they also would be going the way that the Church on Cape Clear did all those years ago...

Remembering to say 'thank you'.

2010-10-10T07:24:00.001+01:00

I have not had much time for blogging recently. I have put together several 'posts' in my head but have not got around to creating them yet. In the meantime here's today's sermon (the usual caveats of poor grammar and bad syntax apply!) Oh, and if I can think of a suitable photo I'll put it up later...

Text: Luke 17:11-19

Mother Theresa told this story to a gathering in 1994: ‘One evening we went out, and we picked up four people from the street. And one of them was in a most terrible condition. I told the sisters, "You take care of the other three; I will take care of the one who looks worst."

So I did for her all that my love could do. I put her in bed, and there was such a beautiful smile on her face. She took hold of my hand as she said two words only: "Thank you." Then she died. I could not help but examine my conscience before her. And I asked: What would I say if I were in her place? And my answer was very simple. I would have tried to draw a little attention to myself. I would have said, "I am hungry, I am dying, I am in pain," or something. But she gave me much more; she gave me her grateful love. And she died with a smile on her face. Gratitude brings a smile and becomes a gift.’[1]

Gratitude brings a smile and becomes a gift. How good are we at saying ‘thank you’? Sometimes we forget ourselves, we are like the child with a present that tears off the wrapping paper and runs off with the new toy and forgets to say ‘thank you’ to the person who has just given them the gift! Think of the times you have opened a door for someone and they have just breezed on through as if you were their slave and not said a word of thanks! Do we remember to say ‘thank you’ to those who love us and care about us for all that they do, whether it be cooking us meals, washing our clothes or going out to work so that there is money to put food on the table?

In our reading from Luke’s gospel, we see that the Lord Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem. He is journeying towards that city where He will be crucified and where He will rise again. He is on his way to die for my sins and yours. As He does so he comes into a village where there is a colony of ten men who have Leprosy. Leprosy in those days was the number-one dreaded disease. Today we fear Cancer and we fear Heart Disease, in those days they dreaded Leprosy, a disease that was (and is) caused by a bacteria. Pale patches on the skin were usually the first sign of the disease then other complications occurred as the disease progressed. Numbness and lack of feeling in the limbs often led to festering wounds on the hands and feet, and then to the characteristic deformities of the face and limbs. This led to stigma towards those affected and their families, causing them to be shunned and excluded from everyday life.[2]

So these ten men that the Lord comes across are living in isolation, away from their wives and children, away from their community. They must be very lonely; it would be an awful existence. They call out to Jesus:

‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’ (v13)

Jesus’ reply doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to us at first, so lets have a look at it. He says:

‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ (v14)

Back then, the way that it worked was that if a persons leprosy went into remission, if they were healed then they would have to go back to the priest before they could be declared clean and fit to live in their community once more. So the Lord is not beating about the bush here. He does not deliver a sermon, pass round the collection plate and then pray for their healing. He simply tells them to go to the priest. All ten men knew what Jesus was saying and so they did as He told them. Not one of them said, “Yeah right, I don’t believe you.” All ten had faith in Jesus, because it was not until they responded in faith that they were healed. Luke puts it like this:

And as they went, they were made clean. (v15)

Now, like the child who in their excitement forgets to say ‘thank you’ for the birthday present, the men run off. They have been imprisoned with this disease for so long, they can’t wait to get home, to see their wives and children. They never thought they would see their homes again and yet here they are, healed and made whole. Wouldn’t that be the most wonderful thing? Would you not just run and shout and jump for joy?

But only one man remembers to thank the Lord Jesus. He falls at Jesus’ feet and thanks Him. This man is grateful. Then Luke drops the bombshell - this man was a Samaritan! The Jewish people and the Samaritans hated each other. From a Jewish perspective the Samaritans were unclean, although originally Jews, their ancestors had intermarried with Gentiles, they had their own temple and style of worship and they were outcasts. This man was not a member of the Select Vestry, he was not even a member of the General Vestry, his name was not even on the Parish list! He was an outsider. But Jesus came to save any who would come to him, Jew, Samaritan, Gentile, any who would respond to Him in repentance and faith. It should have been the insiders who said thank you to Jesus, but they ran off, they took Jesus for granted and off they went.

¹⁷Then Jesus asked, ‘Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? ¹⁸Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’¹⁹Then he said to him, ‘Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.’

Why do we do it? Why do we take God for granted? If we are honest, we find a pattern as we examine our lives and our relationship with God. We see that there are times when we are thankful, when we do pray and when we do worship with fervent hearts. We have no problem showing our gratitude. But there will be other times, perhaps the majority of the time when we do not. We just cruise though life, hardly praying, hardly worshipping, hardly showing any gratitude at all. Then Bang! Something goes wrong, we get bad news from the doctor or from our employer or from a relative or friend and we are back on our knees praying with all our heart once again. A few days, weeks, months later, the problem has passed, the prayers have been answered and what do we do, we slowly fade in our daily devotion to God, slowly, but surely His Lordship of our life slips and downwards we go until something else happens. How do we solve this? One word: Discipline. We make sure that we have a regular time and a regular place of prayer and Bible study, preferably in the same place, so that that chair or that room or that part of the garden becomes our sacred space. We do this even and especially when we don’t feel like it. Don’t just pray when you want to, pray when you don’t want to. Don’t just say ‘thank you’ to Jesus when it is easy, say ‘thank you’ to Jesus when it is not easy.

Pastor Rinkhart[3] was a Minister of a church in Prussia from 1619 to 1649, during the Thirty Years War[4]. From the year the war began until the year the war ended, he was the minister in the same walled city. Many refugees from the war flocked into his city to find safety inside as the battles raged around them. His town was overrun with poverty, the plague, and all the perils of war. It was awful. It was hell on earth. By the end of the thirty years war he was the only minister left in town alive; all the other clergy had died, so he alone was to bury the plagued villages and refugees from war. Somewhere in the middle of all of that suffering, he wrote a hymn, “Now, thank we all our God; with hearts and hands and voices; who wondrous things hath done; in whom this world rejoices. Who from our mother’s arms, has blessed us on our way, with countless gifts of love and still is ours today.” Incredible, isn’t it amazing that he was able to be so thankful in the midst of such suffering because he kept his eyes on the Lord Jesus. It is a great miracle when the human heart is healed of ingratitude, when we can be filled with daily thanksgiving .....to God and others..... for God’s countless gifts of love.

Let us pray:

Lord Jesus, I lay myself at your feet and with all my heart I thank you for all that you have done in my life. I thank you for forgiving me; I thank you for saving me, for loving me and for washing me clean. Help me Lord to follow you, teach me to be your disciple and to show you how very thankful I am by living my life, all of my life everyday … for You. Amen.

Hymn 361: “Now Thank We All Our God”

[1] http://preachingtoday.com/illustrations/1998/july/4146.html

[2] http://www.ilep.org.uk/facts-about-leprosy/

[3] http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_c_where_are_the_other_nine.htm

[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty_Years'_War

Encouragement for the journey

2010-10-03T07:26:00.000+01:00

(Photo from the Sheep's Head walk for Christian Aid last month)

A couple of people actually read last weeks effort, so for anyone that may be interested, here is this mornings sermon.

Text: 2 Timothy 1:1-14

Have you ever watched or taken part in a long distance endurance test, you know something like a sponsored walk from Malin Head to Mizen Head, a cross-channel swim, the Cork, Dublin or London Marathon, or crossing the Himalayas on a pogo stick!? One of the things that they all have in common (apart from making the participants very tired) is that they all have support teams. There will be a crew of people backing up the walkers, providing food, drink and perhaps shelter. There may also be a crowd along the way, clapping and cheering as the participants pass by, giving encouragement “well done”, “keep going”, “Only 4000 Kilometres to go” and so on.

The Christian life is in many ways a bit like a long endurance race. We will sometimes find the going tough, we may even want to give up, drop out completely or hail a taxi to take us to the finish line! One of the things that makes it easier is when we encourage one another. I just love it when I hear that happening, when you take the time and the effort to look after your fellow travellers and ask how they are doing and help them in different ways, encourage them to persevere and pray for them. This is one of the reasons why the Tuesday morning and Thursday evening groups work so well for those that take part; they are places of encouragement. People always come away encouraged and built up in their faith.

As we look at the reading today from 2 Timothy, we see that Timothy, a young church leader has a very tough job to do. Without support, it would be fair to say that Timothy would not have lasted the distance, yet the letters he receives from the Apostle Paul (who is in prison in Rome), spur him on and, with the help of the Holy Spirit, he is given the power and energy and strength to persevere.

Right in the first verse, Paul puts the Gospel in a nutshell; it is “the promise of life”. Outside of what Jesus did for us upon the cross there is no promise of life. Without Christ we are completely lost and without any hope, yet the gift of God is forgiveness and eternal life.

Then in verse 3, Paul writes:

I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day.

Wow, Imagine that, having the Apostle Paul pray for you, wouldn’t that be great! Perhaps we underestimate the importance of praying for each other. I cannot tell you how grateful I am for your prayers for my family and for me “Please Lord help Daniel with his work, help him to get round all the visits he needs to do, get to all the meetings he needs to be at and let his sermon not be so long this week Amen!” Let us always pray for each other, for our family members, friends and even people whom we don’t know. I’m sure that in heaven we will be stunned at the effect our prayers had in the purposes of God’s Kingdom, how God used our weakness to perform mighty acts of greatness. Never underestimate the power of prayer.

Timothy came from a godly home. Paul writes that

I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you. (v 5)

The love of Jesus was there in Timothy’s younger days. He saw how important this faith was to his grandmother and mother. Timothy grew up in the Lord. How important it is for us to make sure that our children ‘grow up in the Lord’, that we show them a godly example of how to live and that we teach them to pray and teach them to read the Bible and show them how to be godly, to be loving to others, to be forgiving and gentle, yet strong in faith and courage. I know how difficult this is and we can only begin to do it with God’s help, but I am convinced that all the effort that we put into trying to bring up our children to know and love the Lord Jesus will not be in vain. Our children may not turn out the way we want them to, but if they can just acknowledge God in their life then ultimately that is all that matters.

As the weather begins to turn cold once more some of you may have already lit your first fire for several months. Some people just seem to have a gift when it comes to lighting a fire. Many times I have a fire all set, I have a good amount of dry kindling and newspaper and it is all looking good. I light the match and it all starts off well, the fire roars into life then in no time at all the flame dies down and there is just a bit of smoke hanging on and it is all looking rather pathetic. Then Sonja comes in, gives me a look of pity, and in less than a minute I have to stand back because the heat of the fire is so great!

The Apostle Paul likens Timothy’s spiritual gift to a fire. He says:

I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; ⁷for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline. (6b, 7)

We don’t know especially what Timothy’s gift is, but the same truth applies to us also. What gifts do you have? What has God made you good at? Gifts tend to fade in strength when they are not used or encouraged, so whatever gift you have make sure you use it and when you do, give all the credit and glory to God, because a gift is just that, a gift. There are lots of people at the moment helping to make the Alpha course we are doing go so well, including those with the gift of hospitality. They are using that gift so well that the Grace Centre feels such a welcoming and homely place (not to mention the fact that I have probably put on half a stone since the course has started)!

It seems that Timothy was (understandably) a bit overawed by the responsibilities entrusted to him. Ephesus was a city where few people had any sympathy for Christ; there was much persecution and opposition to the Christians there. Paul reminds Timothy to rekindle, to get the fire going again, to be strong in the Lord, not to rely on his own strength and power, but Gods strength and power. The word ‘cowardice’ in the Greek means someone who flees from the battle, who will not stand up to the fight. How often has this been true of us, that we have not spoken up when we should have done? How often have we neglected to tell someone of God’s love and forgiveness, how often have we fled from the battle? I can think of many times when I should have spoken up on something but didn’t, so I am encouraged by this verse and I hope you are too; God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.

We know that in our own strength we are simply not able, we do not have the ability to use our God-given gifts, we are naturally cowards who run away from the battle, we are lacking in love and we have the self-discipline of a sloth! Verse 8 though gives us the answer:

‘…relying on the power of God’

That’s it, that’s the secret. Relying on the power of God. Have you ever run out of petrol and had to push your car? It’s not easy is it? It is possible (especially with a bit of help) to move the car, but it will move very slowly and only for a short distance. When we do not rely on the power of God it is like we are running on empty! We need His power and we get this power when we surrender to Him, when we hand over control of our lives to Him. Let us pray:

Here I am Lord, I give you everything, my whole life and all that I am. All my plans, wishes and desires I give to you. Leave no stone unturned. Lord, please heal me of my selfishness and forgive me for the countless times I have sinned. Cleanse me through the power of the cross, wash me from the inside out. Lord I am yours, use me for the glory of your name and by your grace to make a real difference in this world for you. Fill me with your Spirit that I may not be afraid to speak about you and to help people in your name, to live out the gospel everyday in all that I say and all that I do and I ask this in the name of your Son, my Saviour Jesus Christ, Amen.

Rain

2010-10-01T11:03:00.000+01:00

He draws up the water vapour

and then distills it into rain.

The rain pours down from the clouds,

and everyone benefits.

(Job 36:27-28)

Photo taken on the Cork Kerry border on the N71 between Kenmare and Glengarriff.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

2010-09-26T08:54:00.000+01:00

Encouraged by a recent post from "Rev Garibaldi McFlurry", I'd thought I'd post a sermon, as I haven't done so in quite a while. There's good reason for this (frankly it's just too embarrassing - I know that I'm not a great writer, my grasp of English grammar must make people who can actually write wince with pain, and also the written sermon differs quite a lot from the one that I actually end up speaking in church.) But anyway here's the one I will be delivering later this morning (God help the congregation!).

Text: Luke 16:19-31 "The Rich man and Lazarus"

Hell is quite unfashionable these days. There was a time of course when preachers, usually with wild hair and staring eyes, would thump on pulpits and declare damnation with vivid descriptions of fire and torture and eternal hopelessness. Of course that would be sooo politically incorrect today, we talk a lot about heaven and salvation but very little about final rejection by God and the eternal punishment that results. Many Christians today just choose to ignore the subject or believe that a good and loving God would never allow such a place to exist. Others think that surely hell must just be for a time; it surely can’t be for eternity can it?

The Lord Jesus actually had quite a lot to say on the subject of hell, and one of the better-known passages includes our reading for this morning from Luke’s gospel. He starts off by saying:

‘There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.

There is of course nothing wrong with being rich, Abraham and Jospeh of Arimathea were rich; it is what one does with ones wealth that matters. The rich man in this parable liked dressing up; purple cloth in those days was usually reserved for royalty because it was so expensive, the purple dye was extracted from shellfish and was a very expensive process. This was the kind of man who might be described as “filthy rich” (Hendriksen New Testament Commentary, Luke, Banner of Truth 1997, p.782), a strutting peacock. He wanted everyone to know that he was rich. He was in love … with himself!

Jesus continues:

²⁰And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, ²¹who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores.

Here is the test for the rich man, to see if there is any kind of compassion in him or is he TOTALLY selfish! A poor man, called Lazarus lies at the gate to the rich mans mansion. The name ‘Lazarus’ means, “God has helped”, but not only was he a beggar, totally unable to provide for himself, he was covered in sores also. The poor man would have been happy even to receive the scraps, the leftovers from the rich mans table, but the rich man did not help him in any way, he continued living only for himself. Lazarus’ condition was so bad that even dogs used to come and lick his wounds.

We then learn that:

²²The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried.

The beggar’s misery had ended at last, we don’t even get any details of his burial, it probably was very short and sad. Yet what happened to his soul was far more important, he was carried by Angels, God’s own messengers to be with Abraham. The rich man however had a burial, it was probably a big funeral with lots of important guests and a lavish ceremony. His tomb was probably in an important and prominent place. What happened to his soul though was far more important, we are not told what happened to him, no angels are mentioned, but his final destination we are told is:

²³In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. ²⁴He called out, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.”

“Hades” is the Greek work for the place of the dead. Here it clearly is hell, the place of torment and flame. However, the descriptions that we are given are not meant to be taken literally, but that does not take away from the fact that certain definite truths about the life hereafter are conveyed to us; those who have died are not asleep but awake and of those who have died, some are saved and some are lost. Another more disturbing truth conveyed is that the destination of the dead is final, there is no second chance, no crossing over from hell to heaven or vice versa.

We are not given much detail, other that the rich man is in torment, he cries out in agony in the flames. But how can hell be a place fire and a place of darkness? Clearly these are indicative of the terrors of hell and perhaps the truth is beyond the ability of our language to tell.

The rich man calls out to Abraham for help, but Abraham reminds him that he received the good things in his life on earth, the implication being that he is receiving his punishment now because all he could think of in his life was himself and he did not care at all for his fellow man or for God. And then what makes help further impossible is the great chasm between the place where Abraham and Lazarus are and where the rich man is, there is simply no way to get across.

In desperation then the rich man pleads for his five brothers, that someone would go and warn them so that they would not end up in hell also. At last the rich man is thinking of someone other than himself (though it is too little, too late).

Abraham replies:

“They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.”

To which the rich man responds:

“No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.”³¹He said to him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.” ’

And of course someone did rise from the dead, the Lord Jesus, and many refused and to this day continue to refuse his offer of salvation, which He won on the cross, to all who would come to him in repentance and faith.

A few weeks ago this kept me awake most of the night. I was basically trying to have an argument with God. I could not get my head around the idea that hell is for eternity. I reasoned that no matter how bad a person is in this life, no matter what crimes they commit, they of course deserve a punishment for those sins. I could understand better if that punishment was in proportion to the crime, so a person could be in hell for the duration of their punishment, whether that was a year, a hundred years or a million years. And it is very tempting to believe in such a thing, that is one of the reasons people believe in purgatory or annihilation- it is much easier to believe in these things than hell for eternity, a never ending permanent jail sentence. After many hours of wrestling with this I fell into a short and uneasy sleep. It was still troubling me the next day and for several days afterwards. I read a lot of chapters of theology books on the subject and of course read a lot of Bible passages too. I came to the following conclusion: That the Bible is correct, that God is love, yes, but He is also a God of truth and justice. I don’t like the idea of hell, who would?! But just because I don’t like it, I don’t have the option to stop believing in it. Somebody who is walking towards the edge of a cliff might choose to believe that there is no fall ahead of them, but that does not stop the fall from happening when they take the step over the edge! We can choose not to believe in hell or pretend that it doesn’t exist, or object to it on philosophical grounds, but what help will that be? Surely the best thing we can do is try to warn people – yes they will probably think we are mad, but what a small price to pay that is if it makes a difference. How much do we pray for those we know (and even those we don’t) who do not know the reality of Christ in their lives? How often have we begged and pleaded with God with tears in our eyes for those whom we love who we so desperately want to be saved?

A mother once came to me and asked me to pray for her sons. There were tears in her eyes as she spoke of them and the kind of lives they were living. As she spoke I remembered the story of St. Augustine, one of the greatest Christians in history. Augustine was a fairly wild and ungodly youth. His Mother, Monica despaired, she went and pleaded with the local priest to try and get him to talk some sense into her son. He said to her, “… it cannot be that the son of these tears should perish.” For Monica it was the encouragement that she needed and she didn’t give up praying for her son. in later years she often recalled with him how she had taken these words as if they had sounded from heaven.

Let’s pray … Amen.

Home

2010-09-24T12:53:00.001+01:00

Anonymous

The snail he lives in his hard round house,

In the orchard, under the tree:

Says he, "I have but a single room;

But it's large enough for me."

Faded Glory

2010-09-13T13:36:00.002+01:00

I suppose we don't need any reminder that Summer has now reluctantly begun to make way for Autumn. All around, the leaves are beginning to change colour, many flowers parade their final encore and the sounds are those of finality (for this year at least); the swan song is in the air.

I came across this butterfly whilst recovering a rugby ball from a flower bed. Like the autumn leaves, its wings are fading; once glorious colours are now only shades of brown. Yet it is still beautiful.

Having helped with a couple of funerals recently, the words of the old funeral service (which is seldom used now) came to mind:

Man that is born of woman hath but a short time to live ... He cometh up, and is cut down, like a flower; he fleeth as it were a shadow, and never continueth in one stay.

A little bleak perhaps, but a stark reminder of not only the fragility of life but its transience also. Not only we but all of Creation are in an inevitable Autumn, waiting patiently for that eternal Spring to come...

Raging Waters

2010-09-07T09:05:00.000+01:00

The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we're going to drown!"

He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm.

(Luke 8:24)

Dear Lord Jesus, for all those who are facing storms and trials and great difficulties, we pray for your calm and peace to come into their hearts and lives. For all who need stillness, for those who need to see the way ahead, speak your words of truth and light.

Help us to let you be in charge of our lives, let you be the Captain who steers, the Navigator who directs and the Saviour who heals and forgives....

Rescue

2010-09-02T10:38:00.002+01:00

There we were in Jacob's of Baltimore sitting having a coffee and ice cream when we heard the sound of a helicopter. We looked out the window and it was the big Rescue 'copter from Shannon. There was a bit of a commotion outside so we decided to investigate. Here's the news story (source):

Baltimore RNLI Lifeboat crews went to the assistance of a yacht which reported a man overboard 1 mile to the east of Baltimore Beacon. Baltimore all weather lifeboat Hilda Jarrett under the command of coxswain Kieran Cotter and Baltimore inshore lifeboat Bessie, helmed by John Kearney were alerted at 15:21 this afternoon (28 August 2010).

A 32 ft yacht sailing out of Schull Harbour with four adults and one child on board suffered an unexpected gybe when sailing downwind. A crewmember was struck by the boom and knocked overboard in a semi-conscious condition. Fortunately he was wearing a lifejacket. The crew of the yacht were unable to recover the casualty who was plucked from the water by a motor boat in the vicinity.

Two Baltimore lifeboat crewmembers boarded the rescuing vessel to offer medical assistance as the boat returned to Baltimore Harbour. Meanwhile Coastguard Helicopter 115 from Shannon, had arrived on scene and due to the condition of the causalty, winched him on board for rapid transfer to Cork University Hospital. Baltimore Lifeboat coxswain Kieran Cotter commented afterwards ' the mans life had been saved by the wearing of a lifejacket'.

This brought out the latent photojournalist in me:

"What you lookin' at?!"

Audience

Getting Ready

Got 'im

RNLI man - job well done.

Well done to the rescue services. I hope and pray that the rescued man is now OK.

All pictures taken with Nikon F100 film camera and a 50mm lens, using Ilford FP4 plus Black and White film.

Coffee

2010-09-01T07:26:00.000+01:00

Good Morning. Coffee? Fair Trade is good.

Joy

2010-08-30T10:27:00.000+01:00

The Saturday before last we had a great day at the wedding of two friends. It was a day full of happiness, even more than that, a day of deep Joy.

There is something very special about witnessing the marriage of two people who openly acknowledge their belief and trust in God. Yes they love each other more than they at one time would have thought it possible to love another person and yet - their love for God is even greater. God is love, He is the source of that powerful emotion and attribute, and no one has greater love than He for us.

A marriage then may be a reflection of this Divine love, a glimpse behind the curtain of eternity.

"No eye has seen,

no ear has heard,

no mind has conceived

what God has prepared for those who love him"

(1 Corinthians 2:9)

All that the husband and wife see in each other that is beautiful and precious and lovely are marks of the Creator's hand. These qualities enable a couple over time draw closer to each other in love and, if they have their eyes open, closer to God also...

The Blacksmith

2010-08-25T20:25:00.000+01:00

Not since I had seen a horse being fitted with new 'shoes' as a boy had I seen a Blacksmith at work. The opportunity came unexpectedly upon a family outing to the Traditional Farm at Muckross House. Watching this man it was easy to see that he had great skill as he hammered away at a rod of hot iron, making a pair of tongs designed to lead a bull with (the pincers of the tongs are inserted into the bulls nose - the joys of being a farmer!)

It was a challenge to photograph. I had Ilford Delta 100 loaded into the Nikon F100. Fortunately I had a 'fast' 50mm f1.8, but it was still very dark. I decided to spot meter off the red-hot section of the tongs, which gave me a shutter speed of about 1 1/2 seconds at f1.8. Of course this meant that the picture would never be sharp so I hoped instead to catch some of the movement of the Blacksmiths arm as he brought down the hammer and some of the sparks that flew off the metal. It didn't turn out quite as I had hoped but not as bad as I had feared either - so we'll call it a draw!

"My lovely horse..."

2010-08-18T08:54:00.000+01:00

We came across these friendly fella's on a walk near Courtmacsherry. On looking at the picture now I can't help but laugh as I remember the Father Ted episode "A song for Europe", with the "My Lovely Horse" music video. They don't make 'em like that any more. Ha Ha LOL !

My lovely horse, running through the fields.
Where are you going with your fetlocks blowing in the wind?
I want to shower you with sugar lumps and ride you over fences.
Polish your hooves every single day, and bring you to the horse dentist....

Templebryan Stone Circle

2010-08-16T14:36:00.000+01:00

Who knows what went on here? Was it for worship of the Sun or Moon, sacrifices or perhaps some kind of observatory? This is no Stonehenge but impressive enough in its own way. I first came across this stone circle earlier in the Summer when I was driving through Shannonvale. I noticed the stones poking above the hedgerow and decided to stop and have a look. A few days ago I passed again. With the Sun high and bright in the sky, the light was not the best for a photograph (too much shadow and contrast), but then maybe the Sun is what these stones were put here for in the first place.

Since I wrote the above paragraph, I managed to find a link to this place. The small stone you can just about see in the centre is made of quartz and is called the "Sun Stone". In Irish this is "Cloich Griene" which became the "Clon" in Clonakilty (the second part of the name has something to do with woodland so the name Clonakilty means "stone in the trees" or something. Note - If you know any Irish please feel free to correct! I see from the link above that there is a nearby early Christian site with an Ogham stone. I look forward to going to have a look at this sometime - the transformation of these ancient people from worshipping the Sun to worshipping the Son is something I'd love to know more about...

I got to drive a classic car...

2010-08-13T13:23:00.000+01:00

... Well sort of. There was nobody around to hear my pretend engine noises and tyre squeals as I took the Ford Model T for a spin. I pass this fantastic sculpture several times a week; often there are tourists sitting in and on it having their pictures taken and so I thought that I would stop (when things were quiet) and have a go...

This wonderful piece of work was the Millennium project of Ballinascarthy Community Council. The plaque reads:

"You can have it any colour as long as its black"

These were the immortal words uttered by one of the greatest minds of the 20th Century, HENRY FORD.

Henry's family were residents in this very village prior to having emmigrated to the United States. The Ford legacy can still be seen around us today having never hesitated since revolutionising the motor industry in 1908 through the development of the worlds first mass produced automobile - The "Model T". This car became a car for the people and by 1927 over 15 million had been built. Truly this car and its inventor were catalysts of the modern motor industry and by the time of his death in 1947 Henry had

"Put the World on Wheels"

So if you are ever heading into West Cork along the N71, don't forget to stop in Ballinascarthy and take the Model T for a test drive :~)

Common Darter

2010-08-10T08:52:00.000+01:00

Dragonflies are wonderful insects to watch and for me at least very difficult to photograph. I don't have a macro (close up) lens so it means I have to get as close as I can. Unfortunately my attempts to get a picture of this fella (a Common Darter), were a bit like the fisherman and 'the one that got away'. From a distance I managed to get the picture above (which I have magnified to make it look bigger but at the expense of detail) and then I carefully edged forward until I got really close. It would have been a good picture. I pressed the shutter release only for the memory card in the camera to stop working! As I looked at the error message in the viewfinder blinking 'CHR' the Dragonfly saw his chance of escape and darted off. Humph.

Psalm 121

2010-08-09T13:05:00.000+01:00

I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?

My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;

indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;

the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;

the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

(All photos taken on our recent holiday - all in the Great Langdale Valley, Cumbria, except for the Great Grey Owl, taken at Rays Farm in Shropshire).

Big Mamma!

2010-08-08T20:54:00.001+01:00

A recent trip to Kennedy's farm in Co. Kerry proved to be a wonderful day out, (once we had come to terms with the entrance fee).

The pigs were amongst my favourite animals there; there were half a dozen or more piglets running around and then there was the mother pig, who was rather grumpy - I can understand why they are called Sows! Though grumpy, she mattered an awful lot to the little piglet shown in the picture above, he followed her around, when she lay down, so did he, when she got up to rummage for more food, he did the same. Sometimes though he got too close and was then chased to the other side of the sty. Perhaps not the most doting mother, but to this piglet she was his world.

Of course this got me thinking about motherhood. Not that as a man, a son and a father myself I would have the slightest clue, but not having a clue about something has never stopped me writing about it before! I look at our own children and see, that for them, mummy is their world. Whenever they need something, whether it be food, drink, a plaster or comforting, daddy will do, but really mummy is the number one choice. Why? Because she is mummy and because she has all the God-given qualities necessary for this important role. There is a very special bond between mother and child that, even as the years go by and mothers become grandmothers never goes away. I still have a close bond with my mother, even though we do not get to see each other (other than on Skype) very often. There is something very special (and of God) in all of this, a bond that transcends time and distance.

I can't help but think of Mary's relationship with the Lord Jesus, but I simply am not able to fathom how despairingly, darkly, impossibly difficult it must have been for her to see her son being crucified. I think of Jesus' words to her, recorded in John 19:

When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

In a significant sense, Mary was no longer Jesus' mother, but in a way beyond our understanding they would be together in eternity (along with all believers). In the meantime, Jesus gave her another son, the apostle John, in order that they might look after each other. How amazing it is that the Lord was able to think of his mother in this way even whilst he was suffering the way he was. She must have been quite a mother and he quite a son.

Rock and Water

2010-08-04T10:58:00.001+01:00

I've been reading "Creative Nature & Outdoor Photography" by Brenda Tharp, which I can highly recommend. One of the challenges she lays down at the start of the book is to ask yourself what you are trying to say when taking a photograph. Does the picture have meaning? What emotions does it evoke in the viewer? What do they take away with them from the picture? And so on. For someone like me who tends to snap away without giving the pictures much thought until afterwards, this has been an exciting challenge, but one that I find difficult to achieve. I see something that I like and I take a picture of it, but it is good to think about what I am trying to say even if it is mostly (for me at least) a subliminal process.

Ok, lets try it out on this picture. It's a stream in the Great Langdale Valley (in Cumbria), taken a couple of weeks ago. Now if I'm honest, when I look, I just see water rushing though rock (I used a slow shutter speed of 1/6 sec to emphasise the movement of the water). To go beyond that description takes a little more effort on my part; I see hard solid granite, that is permanent, changing little over thousands of years. I remember it being warm from the sun and like heavy-duty sandpaper to the touch. That rock isn't going anywhere. In contrast the water is anything but solid, anything but permanent, it is very cold, having come from further up the mountain. It is constantly changing, in a hurry and always different in shape and depth and speed.

The rock and the water could hardly be more different. As I force myself to think further, I think of a similarlity between God and people. God is the rock, permanent, eternal, solid, strong, unchanging. We on the other hand are fluid and fragile, passing through time in the blinking of an eye. The rock guides the flow of the water, (hmm maybe that is like God and us). One way the water differes from us and God though is that it (albeit very gradually) shapes and smoothes the rock. We cannot change God in any way, but then we don't need to, it is rather us who need His help to change... OK, that'll do for now :-)

Holy Days

2010-07-30T13:54:00.000+01:00

We're back from our holidays. They were very special days, a time set apart, time together as a family. Very precious.

I took this picture whilst we were waiting for the ferry at Holyhead - at 5.15 am!

Light in the Darkness

2010-07-02T09:59:00.001+01:00

This photo was taken a few nights ago from the road approaching Galley Head Lighthouse. With camera on tripod I kept the shutter open for twenty seconds. In that time the light came around about four times and the movement of the sea has been completely smoothed out so that it looks opaque and misty.

I have always appreciated the metaphor of the lighthouse, there's so much there - the light shining in the darkness, the surety and firmness of the rock in the midst of the unpredictable chaos of the sea, the warning for ships out at sea and the light to guide boats safely into the harbour. Which leads us onto many thoughts; Christ as our rock and the light of the world, the Bible as a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119), the light shining in the darkness as Christ coming into the world (John 1) and so on.

With the Lighthouse long since automated, it is now possible to book accommodation here in the former Lightkeeper's residence, a very nice place to stay I think...

Golden Hour

2010-06-30T09:27:00.001+01:00

Towards Castlefreke and Long Strand

There's a time in the evening when the sun is thinking about setting but seems reluctant to do so. Low in the sky the light is soft and filtered, imparting a certain 'glow' to everything.

As I stood in that field of Barley, I felt like I was in the midst of a great painting, a work of genius, by the great Artist. It was a moment of beauty; I could hear the sea rush against the shore to my left and I could smell the earthy ground, still wet from the recent rainfall. A breeze was gently blowing across the fields so that the Barley seemed - almost - to mimic the movement of the nearby waves. There was a mist beginning to rise in the distant hollows and I knew that the special light was about to leave, so I reluctantly did the same.

Barley Cove

2010-06-25T19:54:00.000+01:00

A little while ago now, for a belated family celebration we took a trip an hour-and-a-bit West from here to Barley Cove for the night. It is a beautiful place. We got a great deal on a family room overlooking the beach, which was only a couple of minutes walk away. If the sun is shining it is hard to beat Ireland (that's a very big 'IF' though)!

I limited myself to just two rolls of film and a 50mm lens, so no sweeping landscapes, just little details here and there...

Poisonous Beauty

2010-06-21T13:54:00.000+01:00

Woody Nightshade Solanum dulcamara

My better half saw this plant growing in a couple of different places in the garden. We thought that it might be Deadly Nightshade, and a quick search on Google showed us this plant exactly, referred to in a number of different articles as Deadly Nightshade. So that is what I thought I was dealing with. I put on a thick pair of gloves and dug it out, put it in black bag and into the bin. Foolishly I had some skin showing on my arms and just touching the plant brought my skin out in an itchy rash. I mentioned all this to a couple of wise farmers on Sunday morning and they looked at me a bit quizzically. So I went to the bookshelf afterwards and found "The Oxford Book of Wild Flowers". It turns out that this plant is in fact "Woody Nightshade"; it is poisonous (though not as poisonous as the "Deadly" version) and is a particular danger for children, pets and farm animals who might like to eat the egg-shaped berries. I'm fascinated at how such a pretty flower can be poisonous, though that poison (from the berries) has been used for centuries to treat various skin ailments (didn't do my skin much good) and even (in a dilution) to treat Rheumatism!

Foxglove Digitalis purpurea

In another part of the garden there is a much better known plant, the Foxglove. I have always loved the flowers, I remember watching with delight as a child as bees scampered into the bell-shaped purple domes to emerge only to disappear once more (it didn't take much to keep me amused)! Also known as "Dead Man's Bells" (because this is a poisonous plant too), the leaves produce a drug used to treat heart conditions.

I am ever amazed at the sheer variety and staggering depth of complexity found in Creation. Similar to my reaction to the wonderful Gannets and Razorbills (see below), understanding more of nature brings me closer to the One who spoke all this into being ex nihilo (out of nothing):

¹¹ Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. ¹² The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

(Genesis 1)

Great Saltee

2010-06-18T11:30:00.000+01:00

Gannet (in front) & Razorbill (behind)

Have you ever experienced something in Creation that took your breath away? It hasn't happened to me too often; I remember a volcanic pool in Yugoslavia (I think) that was two hundred metres deep and you could see the bottom so clearly through the depths of crystal-clear water. Another time I remember snorkelling and chancing across a magnificent Octopus that kept changing colour. I had the privilege once of seeing Mount Kenya emerge from the clouds, impossibly large on the horizon... (I realise that I am now sounding like Basil Fawlty giving his "herds of Wildebeest" speech!)

Gannets' Rock

These small band of memories was joined by another on Tuesday as I was invited to join a couple of photographers as they headed out to the Saltee Islands off Kilmore Quay, Co. Wexford. It was a beautiful day and I was simply awestruck at it all, from the boat trip to the sheer number of birds and the beauty of the Island. It was stunning. At one point, as I rounded a corner of rock and saw ahead of me thousands of Gannets nesting and swooping and squawking I just wanted to fall on my knees and worship - not what I was looking at, but the One who created such incredible beauty.

Gannet Chick

Admittedly the little chap above wouldn't win any beauty contests but it was just incredible to be able to get so close, a real privilege. I felt like a special guest, invited to a place where yes I was an intruder but momentarily at least a cautiously welcomed one.

Great Saltee Island

One of the photographers I was with told me how, when he had brought his daughter to the Island on a previous visit, she had remarked that "it felt like heaven".

I got a little bit of that feeling too; I only know as much as what heaven will be like as the Bible tells us, but something tells me that there was at least a trace of that eternal magic ingredient here...

Clonakilty Agricultural Show

2010-06-16T12:12:00.001+01:00

We had a great family outing to the Clonakilty Agricultural Show last Sunday afternoon. I'm told that we had exceptional weather (it nearly always rains and this year we only had a light shower). It was all very impressive, yes the displays were great and the exhibitions and the stalls and stands were really very good, but what impressed me most was the community spirit and just the sheer togetherness of everyone.

People of varying backgrounds and interests were there together and all really enjoying themselves, the winners were congratulated the losers commiserated and it just all 'worked'.

This might all sound strange to those who are familiar with this (and other) shows, let me explain: I grew up in a community which had strong links to the land and I remember shows in my childhood years that were just like the one here in Clonakilty (my Step Father used to almost single-handedly organise them). But there was not the same community spirit, people wanted the show but only if they didn't have to do much to help etc etc., you know the story and that's why that particular show stopped many years ago. I hope and pray that doesn't happen here and I honestly don't think it will, the community spirit is too strong. Anyway I just suppose that I came across something very precious last Sunday and when I come across something that is precious I naturally want to protect it. But I know that there is nothing to fear here...

;~)

Time and West Cork Time

2010-06-11T10:52:00.000+01:00

One of the advantages of rural life in Ireland (as I suspect is true of non-city life almost anywhere) is the way time is treated. Country time is not the hard slave master that city time can be; everyone in a hurry to be somewhere to do something to meet someone etc. In West Cork, time is not a precise phenomenon, it is merely an advisory instrument that may or may not be relevant for the conduct of any given day or occasion. Things will happen when they will, people will arrive when they mean to and not a moment sooner or later.

What got me thinking about time? Well if you're still reading then you must be vaguely interested so I'll tell you - The Innishannon Steam Rally.

This grand occasion happens over the June Bank Holiday weekend every year. It's a great family day out, but what really caught my interest was (wait for it) ... the "Slow Tractor Race". It's complicated, but basically the winner is the person to drive their tractor the slowest without stopping, so the person who comes last is the winner. Ingenious!

Can you imagine such a thing happening in New York, Tokyo or London, where millions of people race around as if their lives depended upon it all day every day? After witnessing this race - there were two heats and a final and it took a long time (but nobody was in a hurry), I know where the better quality of life can be found...

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.

(2 Peter 3:8)

Letting Go ... letting God

2010-06-04T10:34:00.001+01:00

Church of the Ascension, Timoleague

Have you ever been at your wits end? Have you ever been in a situation that was completely desperate and you simply could not see any way out? I suspect most of us have felt a bit like that at one time or another. Maybe it was a health problem, or something to do with finances or to do with a relationship or some kind of depression. We are at a total loss and so we do not know what to do. And so what is often our very last resort? That’s right, we call out to God to help us. And what are our prayers like in these moments; are they gentle platitudes? No they are from the very depths of our being, from (as the saying goes) ‘the bottom of our hearts’. And so with our fists clenched and our stomach in knots and our teeth grinding we cry out to God… And do you know what? In these moments prayer seems to have a potency and a power way and above the norm, it is like when we are on our knees in our own personal Garden of Gethsemene that the heavens are torn open and we have direct access to the Throne of Grace. We have at last made room for God and He is there before the first word has even been uttered from our trembling lips.

Early-purple Orchid

2010-05-31T11:19:00.002+01:00

It's amazing what you can find when you're not looking for anything! My better half came across this tiny little flower whilst she was cutting the grass (the blades of grass around the flower give a sense of the small scale). We think that it is the beginnings of an Early-purple Orchid, but are not entirely sure, maybe some of you green-fingered readers will be able to help us out here? I know some people like to treat their lawns with all sorts of chemicals so that they can enjoy a velvety grass-only lawn with not a weed or any moss in sight - I'll gladly put up with a few dandelions here and there if it means we can get to see such lovely flowers as this:

Lord, just as a flower can radiate its precious beauty

and cast its fragrance everywhere.

So I ask you to cast the sweet fragrance of your presence over me.

Surround me with your love.

Fill me with your healing balm.

Enfold me with your peace.

Comfort me with your presence.

May your fragrance linger in the stillness of my soul.

May your healing love renew my very being.

(From Fr. James McSweeny: A Year in Reflection)

Courtmacsherry

2010-05-28T07:23:00.001+01:00

Courtmacsherry comes alive during the summer months. It really is a beautiful place and a perfect spot for holidaymakers (if only the sunshine could be guaranteed!)

Whilst I was there yesterday it was pretty quiet, but there is anticipation in the air. The Church of Ireland community are beginning to get the wonderful little church building ready for the summer season and those involved in the tourism industry are hoping and praying that this year will be a good one.

Quite correctly, the people of Courtmacsherry are very proud of their Lifeboat. The Lifeboat Station has been there since 1825 and many lives have been saved over the years between then and now.

Of course there is a clear parallel between the work of the Lifeboat Station and the work of the Church. Both are in the business of saving souls; the Lifeboat crew save people from drowning, Jesus saves us from ourselves and sets us on the rock of salvation...

From Psalm 40:

I waited patiently for the LORD;

he turned to me and heard my cry.

He lifted me out of the slimy pit,

out of the mud and mire;

he set my feet on a rock

and gave me a firm place to stand.

He put a new song in my mouth,

a hymn of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear

and put their trust in the LORD.

I won?

2010-05-27T18:14:00.001+01:00

It all happened a couple of weeks ago. Every year the General Synod of the Church of Ireland awards prizes for web sites, magazines etc. This year my blog won a prize. I have to say that when I look at my colleagues' blogs (links to the right) they really are very good. They write very interesting and thought provoking posts which are often supplemented by excellent media including video and photographs. It must be hard to make a judgement between them all. As there have been different winners each year (as long as I've been blogging anyway) I think they must be sharing the prizes around a bit, which is nice - because, honestly, they all deserve to win.

My prize arrived in the post this morning - a £40 Eason's voucher, which is wonderful, though I hope they accept sterling vouchers in Cork otherwise it will be a very long drive to spend it!

Thank you everyone for all your support and encouragement. I would have given up a long time ago without it :-)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Neighbours

2010-05-25T10:13:00.000+01:00

Nikon D70s, 1/320sec, f4.8, ISO 200, 180mm

For a couple of weeks towards the end of last month we enjoyed the company of some new neighbours. It was lovely to see them running and playing in the large green field behind our house. Often when my wife opened the back door to hang up some washing or do a bit of gardening they would come trotting down to the fence to say hello. They were quite happy to pose for a photo too!

Then, just as suddenly as they arrived, they were gone. The field is now empty again, save for a large white horse that keeps to the distant end. Whether the calves have gone to another field or to market I don't know, but we miss them :-(

In my Father's house...

2010-05-21T08:23:00.000+01:00

Olympus OM-1, G.Zuiko 35mm f2.8, Yellow Filter, Ilford FP4 plus, ISO 125

...there are many mansions.

These words of Jesus (from John 14) have ever since they were first spoken, been a source of tremendous hope and encouragement to Christians down through the centuries. No matter what this world and what this life throws at us we know that Jesus has prepared a home in heaven for all those who would seek to follow Him in this life.

I continue to be amazed by this. I know that I am not good enough to be called one of Jesus’ friends and I could write an endless list of reasons why I shouldn’t go to heaven. I have every sympathy with the Apostle Paul when he said:

For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. (Romans 7:15)

Time and time again we become aware of the battle between what we know is the right thing to do and what we naturally want to do, the battle between “the flesh” and “the spirit”, often portrayed in cartoons as the devil on one shoulder and the angel on the other, each trying to win the mind of the person trapped in the middle!

If the Apostle Paul struggled with this then we are in good company. He goes on to say:

Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! (v24, 25a)

Yes we inhabit “bodies of death” but thank God that we are rescued from them by what Jesus did for us on the cross.

The picture above brought all this to mind. I have passed by many times on my way between Ballinascarthy and Pedlar’s cross. It is a sad sight. Recently I had a bit of time to spare before a home visit so I decided to drop in. There was no one at home although it had been used fairly recently by a chain-smoking tabloid-reading occupant. I could have gone upstairs but I didn’t want to, I felt like I was trespassing. I couldn’t help but feel sad for the person who had lived here last, who had poured so much of their life into this place, in keeping it clean, in decorating, in tending the garden. I thought of the long gone days when the steam train would have been visible on the old railway behind the house; the white puffs of steam and jolly passengers making their way to or from West Cork. I could almost hear the echoes of voices, calling from the kitchen that dinner was ready or the sound of laughter as children played in the garden (if they ever did I don’t know). The tall trees stand like silent spectators all around. If they could, I wonder what story they would tell?

Everything that we take for granted every day is just so temporary, so transient that we would do well and wisely not to cling on to it too tightly. Thank God that our home prepared by Jesus in the next life is a home that is permanent and where ‘moth and rust’ do not destroy and where thieves do not ‘break in and steal’ (Matt.6:19). We do not deserve this home but we have a God who specialises in Grace – undeserved favour.

Follow me!

2010-05-19T10:44:00.001+01:00

Olympus OM-1, G.Zuiko 35mm f2.8, Ilford FP4 plus, (developed in Ilfosol 3, 6 mins @ 24^o)

We had great fun watching this mother duck and her ducklings (all twelve of them) make their way from a stream then across a road and finally into the lake at Fota recently. At the first attempt the mother just hopped out and charged off and then realised that there were no little ones following her. They were left stranded because the bank was too high for them to jump up. So the mother duck had to go back and lead them to a place further down stream where they could climb / hop out. Then they made their procession towards the lake as you see in the picture. I wonder how many of these twelve cute fluffy ducklings will survive to adulthood - I expect they make a fine lunch for several different predators?

Following is not always easy but we have the perfect Leader who looks after us in ways beyond our understanding and will ultimately lead us to our final destination. Of course we can choose to go off on our own way but that is a path where we lead ourselves to certain death. Thankfully Jesus comes looking for us and longs to bring us back into the fold (getting into a knot of mixed metaphors here)! But He will never force us against our will, we have to be willing to follow Him knowing that it really is the only sensible option, but more than that, it is the way to the fullness of life and love and joy and peace and forgiveness...

The Moon & Venus

2010-05-17T12:15:00.000+01:00

Nikon D70s, f4.2, 1/5 sec, ISO 200, 85mm

When I consider your heavens,

the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars,

which you have set in place,

what is man that you are mindful of him,

the son of man that you care for him?

(Psalm 8:3-4)

This was the view from the Rectory garden just after ten o'clock last night. Too large to be a star, my best guess is that it's Venus (see here).

Photo notes (If you're interested in the technical aspect of the picture): I set my camera on a tripod, placed on firm ground and put a timer delay so that there would be no vibration for the long exposure necessary. To my surprise I noticed however that even though there was no wind and I didn't touch the camera during the exposure the picture is still slightly blurred. The only conclusion I can come to is that the slap of the viewfinder mirror caused it. Unfortunately my camera does not have mirror lock-up, which would have prevented this. Next time however I will take a much longer exposure and hold the lens cap over the lens for the first second so that the initial vibration is not recorded on the final picture.

Mange Tout

2010-05-13T10:56:00.002+01:00

Olympus OM-1, G.Zuiko 35mm (with yellow filter), Ilford FP4 plus, (pushed to ISO 400 in Ilfosol 3)

My better half has created the wonderful beginnings of a vegetable plot in a small area of the garden by the back door. There are potatoes, cabbages, raspberries, strawberries, lettuces, radishes, a few other things that I'm not sure of and one of our favourites, Mange Tout. (Since the above photo was taken they have grown quite a bit and are now supported by a clever arrangement of canes and string.)

When I was at school there was a strange sort of limbo time after all our A-level exams and before the end of term. The boarding school was in the middle of nowhere in the Suffolk countryside and there was not a whole lot to do. Someone had the bright idea that we could go and earn some money on a local farm, so off we went cycling five miles or so to a farm that needed people to pick the crop of Mange Tout. It was back-breaking work, it was baking hot but all quite good fun. I'll never forget the first day, we were surrounded by all sorts of interesting people from many different places who had very little English but could pick Mange Tout so fast their hands were just a blur. I was quite proud of my several basketfuls and was convinced that my hard labour would earn me a small fortune. As the day was coming to an end we were paid - I got seven pounds! On the cycle back to school we stopped off at a pub, bought a meal and a drink and had about twenty pence left over. But what happy times they were.

Potential

2010-05-12T13:03:00.000+01:00

Nikon F100, Nikkor 28-105 D, Fuji Reala 100

Potential: Existing in possibility, capable of development into actuality...

Carmarthenshire

2010-05-10T07:58:00.000+01:00

The Beach at Amroth

Olympus OM-1, G. Zuiko 35mm, Ilford FP4 plus (pushed to ISO 400)

Aberaeron

Olympus OM-1, G. Zuiko 35mm, Ilford FP4 plus (pushed to ISO 400)

It's probably the Welsh blood in my veins but there is just something about the Carmarthenshire coast. It's not especially spectacular when compared to say the West Coasts of Ireland or Scotland but it has its very own beauty. The beach rambler would never tire of the sheer variety of coastline, vast sandy beaches, small rocky coves, cliffs and dunes, the abundant wildlife (and even the good ol' tacky amusement arcade here and there). Many childhood memories are brought to mind in these places - lemonade in glass bottles, sandwiches with more sand in them than ham or cheese, Granddad with a knotted handkerchief on his head, huddled in a bus shelter in the rain whilst eating salty chips, my grandparents Morris Minor. Ah yes what a wonderful place and what special memories.

Now as we occasionally get to travel across we witness a new generation of grandchildren accumulating wonderful memories, as plentiful as the shells gathered into their seaside buckets. The world might be a slightly different place - lemonade is now called different things and comes in a plastic bottle, chips no longer come packaged in yesterdays newspaper and many other changes which on their own are tiny but when put together represent a subtly different world. The new generation of Grandparents though are just the same, just as loving and doting and instrumental in passing on to their grandchildren that love and kindness which will still be there when their turn comes, as it surely will, when they will watch their own grandchildren run about in frenzied joy in a world that is the same but different.

Garden Colour Part Two

2010-05-06T07:38:00.001+01:00

See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these.

(Matthew 6:28b, 29)

Well Spring has sprung a bit more since last time. If ever you are thinking about a film for showing off colour (whether it be in your garden, landscapes or even for portraits) may I humbly recommend Fuji's Reala 100. Seeing as only strange people like me use film these days I got twenty rolls of this film off eBay for £20! All these pictures were taken with a Nikon F100 and 28-105 AF-D lens.

Rathbarry Church

2010-05-05T10:02:00.001+01:00

Nikon D70s, 1/160 sec, f6.3, ISO 200, 105mm equivalent (click to enlarge)

This is the now long-abandoned remains of Rathbarry Church, on the Castlefreke estate, near Rosscarbery. It was quite a gloomy day so I greatly appreciated the fact that the clouds parted just enough to allow the sun to light up the ruins for the photo. This light only lasted a few seconds and then was gone again. It seemed to us that access to the church was no longer available, but I was reliably informed the other day that as the church yard is still open for burials, the track leading to it is a public right of way. The local land owner has made a convincing attempt to make it look as though you would be taking a very grave (excuse the pun) risk in setting foot on the road, but maybe next time we are taking a walk on the nearby beach at Long Strand we'll take a better look.

Seeing closed and derelict church buildings dotted around the countryside (of which there are many) could cause one to be a little downcast at the current state of the Church today. "Numbers are not what they were you know". A Rector taking a service at which there are six people present (including the Rector) is encouraged by the words "In my day there were at least oooh ten thousand people in these pews at 5.30 am on a Sunday morning" and clergy are blessed by tales of how "in the good ol' days" they had great fun breaking the ice in the font in order to baptise the queues waiting outside. Make no mistake, these are challenging times.

I've always had a great respect for the charity Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors with no boundaries, frontiers or borders) and I just love the name and what it means and what it implies. Of course, the same idea is true of the Church also. We are (or at least we should be) a church without boundaries, frontiers or borders. Yes we meet together in buildings that are beautiful, historic (and cold and costly) but we are not limited by them. Even if we had no buildings we would still exist (though the buildings committee might have to find something else to do). A "church without walls" is not a new concept, but it ever remains an attractive one...

Leaving a mark

2010-04-25T06:36:00.000+01:00

Olympus OM-1, G.Zuiko 35mm, Ilford HP5 plus @ 400 ISO

Two small boys and a muddy flower bed = hand prints on the side of the house!

We all leave a mark of some kind. Perhaps in the context of history, the mark that we leave is about as permanent as these muddy hand prints, soon washed away and forgotten about. Perhaps our names will be looked up and placed in a family tree by our distant descendants. In the corridors of eternity our presence must be no more than a transitory echo, the whole sum of our existence and efforts no more permanent than the blinking of an eye.

And yet

We do matter and we do have a permanent and real and significant place not only here and now, but always. These are some words of Jesus (speaking about His followers) from this mornings Gospel:

I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.

(John 10:28)

Death is more of a beginning than it is an ending and as our Psalm reminds us this morning (Psalm 23), He is there with us not only in life, but in death too:

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

(Psalm 23:4)

It was THIS big!

2010-04-22T14:18:00.000+01:00

Olympus OM-1, G.Zuiko 50mm, Ilford HP5 plus, 400 ISO

Of course I have no idea what the conversation was between this faraway couple, but it may have been something along the lines of the above title post. In the picture they are dwarfed by the expanse of sky above them, the vastness of the sea on one side and the dark rocks on the other. Without getting too existential about it all, it makes me think of the smallness of us people. We have all been given a humble reminder these past few days by a certain volcano with an unpronouceable name of just how powerless and small we all are in the grand scheme of things. But then I listen to our two-year-old singing "My God is so Big, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing that he cannot do!" Yes we may be small, but we do matter to Someone, very much indeed...

Peter and Jesus

2010-04-18T07:04:00.003+01:00

Photo notes: This is a picture from about three years ago. Much as I would like to have a picture of the shores of the Sea of Galilee, this is the next best thing, the north shore of Great Island! The funny cartoonish effect (especially noticeable in the clouds and the trees) is HDR, the effect you get from combing three different exposures of the same scene into one. This was achieved using a trial version of Photomatix.

Today's Sermon: John 21:1-19

Have you ever let Jesus down? If you have you will know how crushing the disappointment can be. But Jesus is not like anyone else - He doesn’t go off in a huff, He wants us back and living with Him and for Him once again.

You may remember from last week that the Lord Jesus had appeared to the disciples previously, when they were all huddled together in a locked room. You may remember ‘doubting Thomas’ seeing the risen Lord for himself, seeing the scars in Jesus’ hands left by the nails and the scar in his side left by the spear and how he exclaimed “My Lord and my God”. Well if last week it was about Thomas’ encounter with Jesus then this week it is about Peter’s encounter.

Peter had a very heavy heart. He had denied his Lord and master three times. He felt very bad about it, he was crushingly disappointed with himself. Seeing Jesus again in that locked room brought him joy but it also brought him pain. Just when his Friend needed him most, he three times denied to complete strangers that He even knew Jesus.

Peter is hanging out with Thomas, Nathanael, the brothers James and John and two other disciples. Peter wants to go fishing. Perhaps returning to what he did before he met Jesus will help him in some way. His friends say that they will go with him so, as the day is coming to a close they set out in a boat onto the sea of Galilee.

It is a fruitless night, they catch nothing. The fish are having none of it! Early in the morning, as the darkness is lifting a little and the sun is thinking about poking its head over the horizon, Peter and the others see a man standing on the shore. There is not enough light yet to see who it might be. The man calls out to them saying

“Children, you have no fish, have you?”

They still don’t recognise the man or His voice.

“No”, they answer.

The man says:

“Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some”

Maybe at this point they are getting an inkling as to who this man might be. A few years before something similar happened when Peter received his call from Jesus. On that day he put his net into the water and was overwhelmed by the number of fish, but even more overwhelmed by this carpenter from Nazareth, to whom he had said “Go away from me Lord for I am a sinful man” (Luke 5:8). But Jesus replied to him on that day “Don’t be afraid, from now on you will catch people” (Luke 5:10). That day, Peter had left his boat and hits nets and everything to follow Jesus.

Now here we were again. Déjà vu. They put the net over the right side of the boat just as the man said and what do you know, yes, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish!

John looked at Peter and said “It is the Lord!” Peter doesn’t hesitate, he loves Jesus, He loves Jesus with all his heart, he is so sorry for ever letting Him down, he so wants to see Him again, to talk to Him so that Jesus knows he is sorry. Peter quickly puts on his clothes and jumps into the water. Peter swims the hundred yards or so to the shore with the others coming behind him in the boat. By the time the others arrive towing the bulging net of fish behind them, Peter is ashore with Jesus and a fire has been lit. Jesus already has some fish cooking and some bread and He calls out to them to bring some of the fish that they have just caught. Peter jumps aboard and helps pull the overflowing net ashore. John tells us that there were 153 large fish and is surprised that the net is not even torn. Jesus calls them to come and have breakfast. They all know that it is the Lord but they are afraid to ask. Having breakfast on the beach with someone who has risen from the dead is not an everyday experience.

Once they finish breakfast Jesus speaks to Peter and says:

“Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” Peter has desperately wanted this moment, this chance to try and restore his relationship with Jesus, but he is understandably also a little afraid. He replies

“Yes Lord; you know that I love you.”

Now the word ‘love’ in the Greek has subtle differences. The word Jesus uses for love is agape which means a complete love that is even prepared to sacrifice oneself on behalf of the person you love, (for example Jesus’ love for us by sacrificing himself on a cross, or a parents love for their child). Jesus asks Peter do you love me sacrificially, are you prepared to give up everything even your life to follow me?

Peter replies “Yes Lord you know that I love you”. Peter knows that he has made great claims before about following Jesus. He had said to Him "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you." (Mark 14:31). Now he says it from the heart and as best as he can “Yes Lord you know that I love you”. But Peter does not say that he loves Jesus with agape sacrificial love, the word that he uses is phileo. This is still love, but it is more an affectionate brotherly love.

Jesus says to Peter, “Feed my lambs”. Peter is to look after Jesus’ followers and to take care of them when He has gone. Then Jesus says to Peter more directly;

“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

Again Jesus uses the word agape for love. Does Peter love Jesus fully and sacrificially. Perhaps he does but he is not yet ready to openly admit it, perhaps for fear of letting Jesus down again. He replies:

“Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.”

Again Peter uses the affectionate Phileo word for love. Again Jesus says to him “Tend my sheep”.

Three times Peter denied Jesus, now to help restore their relationship Jesus asks Peter for the third time:

“Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Jesus no longer uses the agape word for love, He uses Phileo. In effect He is saying: “Peter, Peter are you even my friend?” Perhaps Peter is not quite ready to trust himself again after letting his Master and friend down so heavily before. Peter is hurt and upset and perhaps doesn’t yet understand why Jesus is talking to him like this. Peter can still only reply using the Phileo, brotherly love word as he replies for the third time saying:

“Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”

What a change has taken place in Peter. This was a man who was full of life and energy and ultra-enthusiastic. The sort of person who charged into everything, often without thinking first. There was no keener follower of Jesus and yet when it came to the crunch, when he was asked publicly whether or not he was a follower of Jesus he had sworn that he was not (Matt. 26:72). Peter was completely devastated by his behaviour. He had wept bitterly (Matt. 26:75) it was perhaps the saddest moment of his life. And now here Jesus had asked him three times whether he loved Him or not, once for each of the time that he had denied Jesus. Peter is able to reply that yes he does love Jesus, but not as strongly as Jesus would like. Peter is now perhaps being over cautious.

But Jesus knows Peter’s heart. For the third time He says to him: “Feed my sheep”. Jesus knows that Peter does love Him, He knows that Peter will be a key leader in the Church. He knows that Peter and the others will be given all the courage and strength that they need when the Spirit would come in power upon them on the day of Pentecost.

Jesus knows the future. He knows that Peter will love Him so much that, in the end he would give his life willingly and unquestioningly for Jesus. (Legend tells us that Peter was crucified upside-down because he refused to killed in the same way that his master had. Even at Peter’s death he was thinking about his Master’s glory.)

And what about us? Perhaps we can think of a time or times that we have let Jesus down, perhaps we have been ashamed or embarrassed to admit that we know Him as our Lord and Saviour. Perhaps we worry that people will think we are a bit odd for doing so. Yes if we deny Jesus we should be devastated for doing so - but that is not the end, like Peter, we can be restored and reconciled with Jesus, we only have to be willing to give Him our love and He will do the rest.

To Peter Jesus said “Follow me”. He says the same today to you and to me: Come, Follow me... Amen.

Something about that foot

2010-04-04T06:32:00.000+01:00

Detail from Stained Glass in the Church of the Ascension, Timoleague, Co. Cork

Nikon D70s, f4, 1/30 sec, ISO 200, 75mm equivalent

There's something about that foot. It was one of my first Sundays in Timoleague when I saw it. The image seemed to jump out at me. I even remember waking in the early hours of one morning with this image burning in my mind. It's the wound of course. It is compelling, it says so much, it is so deep so clinically cut, so painful looking. This is the bit that get's me - it is my fault. It is my fault that Christ had to be given those horrible wounds, more than that, that He willingly allowed those wounds in order to take the punishment that I deserve. Such incredible love and amazing grace, what a Sacrifice, what a Saviour.

Happy Easter.

Road behind and ahead

2010-03-30T09:10:00.002+01:00

Nikon D70s, f25, 1 sec, ISO 200, 60mm equivalent

Holy Week is perhaps the busiest of the year. There are lots of visits to be made to those in Nursing Homes and the Hospital and numerous housebound parishioners, most of which (I think) appreciate a visit in the days before Easter. It is interesting how the run-up to Easter is done slightly differently in each parish. I'm not the sort of person to say "We'll do it my way", I like to learn what has happened before and try to build on that (at least that's in theory).

I think back over the past five months since our arrival and I have learnt so much just simply by observing how things are done and have been done here. My predecessor was (and is) a very gifted person and also a very thoughtful one. He has left me really helpful notes on what was done before so now for example I can look at the Holy Week services from last year and not copy them but use them as a basis for this year also. Over time things will change as we all learn and grow together on the Journey...

For any that are interested in the photo, it was taken as I was driving (slowly and carefully) along the road past Kilmalooda church. I had previously set up the camera the way I wanted it - an exposure of one second to give the blur and sense of movement and a polarising filter to enable the longer shutter speed. Of course the result may look like a mistake but it is something akin to the image I had in my mind beforehand - like an impressionist painting.

Garden Colour

2010-03-25T14:25:00.002Z

Primula

Nikon D70s, f4.5, 1/30 sec, ISO 220, 127mm equivalent

Crocuses

Nikon D70s, f4.5, 1/60 sec, ISO 200, 127mm equivalent

Camellia

Nikon D70s, f8, 1/250 sec, ISO 200, 112mm equivalent

It's wonderful to have a stroll around the garden and see everything coming to life, especially after such a long, cold winter. There are of course the great parallels with Easter - New Life, New Beginnings etc. It is as if the whole of Creation points us towards God:

Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can't see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. (Romans 1:20 The Message)

St. Augustine said:

Ask the earth and the sea, the plains and the mountains, the sky and the clouds, the stars and the sun, the fish and animals, and all of them will say, "We are beautiful because God made us." This beauty is their testimony to God.

Church on the HIll

2010-03-24T15:58:00.000Z

Nikon F100, Nikkor 18-35 f3.5-4.5 D, Ilford FP4 Plus (ISO 125)

I thought it was about time I put up a picture of some of the church buildings in the parish. Others to follow in due course but first up is Kilgarriffe Church in Clonakilty. This photo was taken on St. Patrick's Day and I have just developed the film so it is only appearing now. The building dates from 1818 and is situated on a hill (and so is known locally as "The Church on the Hill"). What more can I say - the people who go there are far more interesting than the building itself!

Regular visitors to this blog will have noticed a slight redesign - this was forced upon me when I was trying out Google's Chrome Browser. Somehow it managed to make a few layout changes without my telling it to. I'm a bit scared of tinkering with HTML and have not managed to undo all the damage but I am pleased with the slightly new layout for the moment.

A Precious Perfume

2010-03-19T16:07:00.008Z

Note: I don't have any pictures of Spikenard, so this Lavender photo that I took at the Eden Project a few years ago (that I have Ortonized in Photoshop Elements) will have to do ;~)

Today's Sermon: John 12:1-8

What is the most precious object that you own? How special is it to you? Would you be prepared to give it away in order to say 'thank you' to Jesus? That's a tough one isn't it! Not long after we were married, my wife and I were given a car by some friends of ours - it was a fairly old car though it was in good condition. It was an amazing act of undeserved favour - our friends had very little money and they wanted to give something that not only would be of great help to us but would be a way of saying 'thank you' to God for the many ways in which he had blessed them. To this day, that couple and their children are amongst the happiest people we know. It's a principle that I see time and time again, that the happiest people are also the most generous people and of course the reverse is true also, the more we try and hold on to things for ourselves the less happy we will be.

In today's reading from John's Gospel, the Lord Jesus is welcomed as Guest of honour at the home of Lazarus, Mary and Martha. We know Mary and Martha from the time when Jesus went to their house before and Martha was rushing around preparing food and tidying whilst Mary sat at Jesus' feet and listened to what he had to say. Of course we remember too the story of Lazarus, where Jesus raised him from the dead after he had been in the tomb for four days.

So they have this special dinner for Jesus and there are a number of other guests there also. True to form, it is the busy Martha that serves them and John tells us casually that Lazarus was one of those sat around the table with Jesus. It's funny how relaxed it all is, here is a man who was dead and in his tomb and yet now he is alive again. He is not a ghost or some kind of apparition, he is able to sit down and walk around and breathe and talk and eat! Lazarus is a walking talking miracle!

Mary, Martha and Lazarus love Jesus. People express their love for Jesus in different ways. The way that Mary expresses her love is very special and beautiful. She expresses her love and gratitude to Jesus using a pound (that is nearly half a kilogram) of perfume made of pure nard. Now Nard (or Spikenard as it is sometimes called) is no ordinary perfume. It is a flowering plant of the Valerian family that grows in the Himalayas of China, India and Nepal. The plant grows to about 1 metre in height and has pink, bell-shaped flowers. It has rhizomes (underground stems), which can be crushed and distilled into an intensely aromatic amber-colored essential oil, which is very thick in consistency (from Wikipedia). So imagine in those days getting a perfume from the Himalayas overland on camel-back thorough countless mountain passes some 3,500 miles to Israel! No wonder it was a very expensive and very precious perfume.

In those days the men would have eaten separately from the women and they would have been inclined on couches around a low table. Mary is probably standing as an attendant, she comes from behind Jesus and breaking open an alabaster jar pours this very precious oil over him and especially on his feet. She then unties her hair and wipes Jesus’ feet. There is such an abundance of oil that it has to be dried up!

This is a truly wonderful act of worship. Mary doesn’t care about what the other guests might think as she pours out her heart and her soul and her most expensive possession as an act of worship. It is wonderful when we can do that too, when we can worship Jesus with every ounce of our being and not let any inhibitions get in the way.

The moment of transcendence is broken by the voice of Judas who says:

“Why was the perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” (v.5)

A legitimate question perhaps. This was after all very expensive perfume. I did a bit of maths. A Denarius was the amount a laborer was given for a days work. So the minimum wage today is €8.65 an hour so say at 37 hours a week and with six weeks unpaid holiday a year that is roughly €14,000 in today’s money. That was one very expensive jar of perfume and one very extravagant act of worship! To Judas this looks like unjustifiable extravagance. He gives the impression that he cares for the poor but John sadly tells us that he was, in fact a thief.

So Mary is now surrounded by disapproval, Mark tells us in his account that others joined in Judas’ indignance. Yet amid all those stern faces and mocking tones there is One face and One voice which approves of what Mary has done - and it is the only voice which matters, that of the Lord Himself. Jesus knows why Mary did this incredible thing, he says:

“Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” (v.8)

Mary knew what she was doing. She knew that there were many who wanted to kill Jesus, many who were jealous of Him. She knew that it was only a matter of time before He was killed by His enemies – had He not said so Himself numerous times? She had bought this jar to anoint Jesus’ body for burial. This might be her last chance to do so, her last opportunity; she might not be able to get this close to him again. Mary knows that she owes so much to Jesus; she owes him her salvation and the recovery of her brother Lazarus from the dead. Her whole life has been utterly transformed by Jesus, the pouring out of fragrant perfume was both a natural and from the heart act of devotion and worship. Having freely received, she freely gave.

Jesus makes it clear that His time is coming to an end. The poor will always be with them, He would not. Just now, at this moment, anointing Him for burial was the more important thing to do. The responsibility and privilege of caring for the poor would be for the church through the ages. Matthew and Mark in their accounts of this story add Jesus’ beautiful promise:

“I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” (Matthew 26:13)

There is an unfortunate contrast between Judas and Mary. It is natural for the reader or listener of the story to ask themselves the question as to which character most represents them. Unless we can appreciate what Christ has done for us we can have no sense of the level of debt that we owe Him. Even if we were the able to give the whole world and all its riches it would not be sufficient to pay the debt we owe. When the penny drops, when we finally realize, then we will hold back nothing from the One who gave His everything, even His life for us upon the cross.

So as we consider our possessions and the most precious things that we own, suddenly they don’t seem so valuable any more. How can we not love Jesus? How can we not feel as Mary did when we know that our sins are forgiven, when we know that we have peace with God when we know that we shall be with Him in heaven for eternity?!

Let us pray that our faith will not be like that of Judas, a mere temporary impression, like the morning cloud and early dew which lasts only for a season. Let us pray that our faith will be like that of Mary: real, true, genuine and sincere, a faith free to express itself, not caring what others will say or think, a faith that is the result of accepting God’s love, God’s grace, and a faith that is the result of a living relationship with our Lord, Saviour, Master and Friend, Jesus Christ, Amen.

--------------------------------
See also:

J.C. Ryle, “Expository Thoughts on the Gospels”, John Volume II, James Clarke & Co. 1969.
William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary, John, Banner of Truth Press, 1998

Watching and Waiting

2010-03-18T10:01:00.003Z

Nikon F100, Nikkor 28-105 f3.5-4.5 D, Ilford FP4 plus (ISO 125), (Click to enlarge)

We were putting out some old dried bread onto the bird table with the unmistakable feeling of being watched. I turned around and there they were, waiting for us to leave so that they could tuck in! Someone commenting on this picture on photo.net said it was like something out of a Hitchcock film, maybe the black and white makes it look a bit sinister but in reality it was quite funny - we weren't attacked by them or anything.

Waiting patiently for things is not a forte of mine so maybe these birds have a lesson to teach me. Also I am reminded of some lovely words from Psalm 130

I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits,
and in his word I put my hope.
I wait for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.

The return of the "Prodigal Son"

2010-03-14T07:33:00.008Z

Nikon D70s, 1/500 sec, f10, -1/3 EV ISO 200 (Bigger)

"Waiting on Shore", Rosses Point, Co. Sligo

Today's Sermon, Text Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 (Mothering Sunday)

Facebook is sometimes in the news for bad reasons but there is also plenty about it that is good too. One of the good things about it is that it brings people who had lost contact together again. Here’s an example: When Avril Grube's marriage came to an end in 1982, she decided to remain in her hometown of Poole in Dorset, while her husband returned to his native country of Hungary. The couple had one son, Gavin, of whom Avril was awarded sole custody. Avril's husband was only given visitation rights.

One day, while in town to visit his son, Avril's ex-husband asked to take Gavin to the local zoo. Avril agreed, and off the two went for a day of fun. As day turned into night, however, Avril became worried. She waited and waited for them to return, but they never did. She would soon learn that Gavin's father had taken the boy back to Hungary.

For years Avril and her sister searched for Gavin, going so far as to take up their case with former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and the authorities at the Hungarian Embassy. But their efforts were fruitless. Over time, Avril slowly lost hope of ever seeing her son again.

But 27 years later—27 years—she found him.

In March of 2009, Avril's sister typed Gavin's name into an internet search engine and found his Facebook profile. Avril and her sister immediately started sending him messages. When Gavin didn't respond—they later learned he doesn't use his account much—they started messaging his children, who also had Facebook accounts. Eventually, the two finally reconnected after so many years apart.

"She is absolutely on cloud nine," Avril's sister told a reporter for the BBC. "They have been hugging—really, really happy."

Brian Lowery, managing editor, PreachingToday.com; source: BBC News, "'Kidnapped son' found on Facebook" (5-29-09)

The parable of the ‘Prodigal Son’, (as it is often known), is probably familiar to most of us. It is a very powerful, moving and challenging story about a Father and his two sons. This being Mothers’ Day, it is not too hard to apply the role of the Father to that of the Mother also. Most parents of grown-up children will be able to relate (at least a little) to what the Father goes through, and all of us (as God’s children) know what it is like (at least a little bit) to be like that ‘Prodigal son’. The older son is typical, taking responsibility and protocol seriously and the younger son too is typical (perhaps stereotypical) as carefree and with little or no understanding of duty or respect.

So we begin with the younger son saying to his father ‘give me my share of the estate’. He wants his inheritance NOW! He is naive and has little or no sense of worth or respect. He seems to be only thinking about himself and what he wants. Why does the Father agree to this very unusual request? Perhaps we wonder why God lets the sinner go his or her own way. Why doesn’t God stop them, we ask? Perhaps sometimes the only way we can learn is by learning the hard way.

So the property is divided between the two sons. The younger son collects together everything he has and sets off for a distant country. What does he do? We are simply told that he ‘squandered his wealth in wild living.’ In the original language it reads that he ‘scattered his resources’, it is like he literally throws his money away. Now he is penniless things get even worse. A severe famine comes over the foreign country where he is. Desperate for a job, the only thing he can find is one feeding pigs (a job that would have been very dishonouring for a Jew, for whom pigs were ‘unclean’ (see Leviticus 11:7)). So he has hit rock bottom, even the food that the pigs are getting is better than what he has. Here is the lostness of a sinner - but at least he realises it, many people today are lost and do not realise it.

At last, in the hour of his deepest need, he begins to come to his senses. Even his Fathers servants have a much better life. To be outside of God’s family is to be utterly alone. So he makes plans to return home. It was only a short time ago that he couldn’t wait to get away from home, now he can’t wait to return, no matter if he is only hired as a slave when he gets there.

He has a thin thread of hope that his Father will take him on a a slave, perhaps after a severe telling-off and punishment. Little did he know what was about to happen. He might have for a time forgotten all about his Father, but his Father never forgot about him. There may have been times in our lives when we have forgotten all about God as we have gone away from Him, but he never forgets about us.

But the son doesn’t even get near his home before something extraordinary happens. The Father couldn’t care about protocol, with unconditional loving abandonment, not caring what anyone else thinks or says he runs, yes he runs to his son. His heart is overflowing with love and compassion. He drapes his arms around his child and kisses him. The son manages to begin his long-rehearsed apology which no doubt is now from his heart but his Father doesn’t notice it - he is too overcome with joy.

You know, I have met people who think that God can’t or won’t forgive them. People often see God as stern, an old serious man with a white beard and a pointing finger. This is very different to the Father that Jesus told us about, who actively seeks out the sinner and goes looking for the lost, or as Francis Thompson describes him in his famous poem, He is “the Hound of Heaven”.

The celebration begins. The Father calls for the best robe to be brought and a ring and sandals, for the fattened calf to be killed and for a celebration to begin. O what rejoicing there is in heaven Jesus tells us over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:7). What celebration there was in heaven the day you gave your life to Christ / what celebration there will be for you the day you decide to give your life to Christ if you haven’t yet done so.

The elder son had been working in the fields. He hears all the music and dancing and wonders what is going on. A servant tells him that his younger brother has come home and they have killed the fatted calf and are celebrating.

The elder brother is enraged. He refuses to go to the party. His Father comes out and pleads with him. Here is a great irony. The son who was on the outside (the younger son, is now on the inside and the son who was on the inside (the elder son) is now on the outside! This is what Jesus means when He talks about the first being last and the last being first. Where are we on that scale - Do we resent God for forgiving those who we think we are better than? God will lavish His grace on the undeserving and that included us - none of us deserve God’s love, none of us are ‘good enough’ to ‘earn’ His forgiveness. Who are we to think like the older brother - and yet we do - and if we do we need to be careful, very careful.

The Father explains to the elder son that there is no need to be angry, everything he has belongs to him. The elder son has always had reason to celebrate because everything will one day be his. One of the things that makes this such a powerful parable is that the story is left hanging - we don’t know what the elder brothers response is. Of course the whole point is to provoke a response from us - what would we do in his place?

God’s grace is unfair and that means it is is unfair for us all. We don’t deserve God’s love, we don’t deserve His forgiveness. Yet once we experience it, who are we to question who God should forgive.

God’s open arms extend to all who will come to Him, they are open for you, for me and for anyone who will turn around from their old way of life. All of us are in this parable somewhere, are we the younger brother before he leaves home, are we the younger brother who has gone away are we the younger brother who is at last beginning to come to his senses? Are we the younger brother fearful of what the Father will say, are we afraid to go home? Are we the older brother? Do we have a superiority complex!? Do we think of ourselves better than we ought? Whoever we are and wherever we are we need to come to the Father and trust that when we do so it will have been the best and most important decision we have ever made... Amen.

Keeping a curse at bay

2010-03-10T09:55:00.007Z

Nikon F100, Nikkor 28-105 f3.5-4.5 D, Ilford HP5 plus (ISO 400), (Bigger)

There's a pub nearby with an interesting history. Noel Phair's was owned by a well-off family in the late 1800's. They brought the bailiffs in to evict a widow from one of their tenant cottages. Justifiably upset she pronounced a curse on the premises, saying a time would come when grass would be seen growing in the door. To stop the grass, the owners had a metal plate set in the threshold. As you can see from the photo the metal plate is still there. (From Damien Enright's book "Walks of Clonakilty Town & Country" ISBN 1 902631 021)

"...but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!"
James 3:8-10

What's the word?

2010-03-07T06:16:00.003Z

Taken with an iphone (enlarge)

I've been trying over the last day or so to think of the word or term in literature where the weather or environment reflects the human emotion or condition being displayed. So for example, when a person is broken hearted it is raining outside, lightning erupts when they are angry, it is sunny when they are full of joy etc.

This all came to mind as I was coming away from the meal after a funeral. We had earlier buried someone and spent the hours since trying to come to terms with the ending of a long, good and happy life and pledging our ongoing support to those left behind.

As I walked out the door the sky was clear and the sun was setting. But it was more than the sun that was setting that day. To me it was a display of something beyond words, yes a life had set but it would rise again in eternity...

The best term I can come up with thanks to a search on the internet is "Pathetic Fallacy". That does not seem to be the term that we learnt in school though - it seems too harsh to describe something that can be so powerful and beautiful and ... numinous.

Hope

2010-02-28T19:46:00.006Z

Nikon D70s, 1/250 sec, f8, ISO 200, 105mm equivalent (Bigger)

"Hope is anticipation of good not yet here, or as yet unseen."

(Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart)

Focus

2010-02-26T10:09:00.007Z

Nikon F100, Nikkor 28-105 f3.5-4.5 D, Ilford HP5 plus (ISO 400), (click to enlarge)

I came across these words by Max Lucado recently in his book "The Great House of God":

Some years ago a sociologist accompanied a group of mountain climbers on an expedition. Among other things, he noticed a distinct correlation betwen clound cover and contentment. When there was no cloud cover and the peak was in view, the climbers were energetic and cooperative. When the grey clouds eclipsed the view of the mountaintop, though, the climbers were sullen and selfish.

The same thing happens to us. As long as our eyes are on his [that is God's] majesty there is a bounce in our step. But let our eyes focus on the dirt beneath us and we will grumble about every rock and crevice we have to cross.

These very helpful words brings to mind one of great verses of encouragement, Hebrews 12:2

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Fixing (or focusing) our eyes on Jesus, that's what it's all about - if only I didn't get in the way so much...

Let me see thy footmarks, and in them plant my own.

2010-02-21T19:37:00.005Z

Nikon F100, Nikkor 28-105 D, Ilford HP5 plus (ISO 400) (click to enlarge)

The title of this post is from the first lines of the last verse of that great hymn of commitment "O Jesus I have promised." The verse goes:

Oh, let me see Thy footmarks,
And in them plant mine own;
My hope to follow duly
Is in Thy strength alone.
Oh, guide me, call me, draw me,
Uphold me to the end;
And then to rest receive me,
My Saviour and my Friend.

We sung it in church yesterday and it went very well as an accompanyment to the reading (Jesus' temptation in the wilderness from Luke 4). I love the powerful imagery of looking for the Lord's footprints and putting my own inside them. I remember as a child trying to put my feet into my father's footprints in the sand at the seashore. The strides were just too big and so each one was an enourmous leap. Eventually though as one grows up it becomes easier to follow.

Same with following Jesus I suppose, sometimes the strides needed seem impossibly large, but then with time (and of course His help) it becomes less difficult.

Around Clonakilty Bay

2010-02-20T19:35:00.005Z

We've been here nearly four months now and today was the first time we got to take a drive around Clonakilty Bay! Where has the time gone? These photos were all quick snapshots taken on a iphone - I look forward to coming back with an SLR and some film...

You can lead a horse to water...

2010-02-16T09:36:00.006Z

New Forest Resident, Lyndhurst, Hampshire, England, 1987.
Pentax P50, Kodak Gold GB 200 ASA, Vivitar 28-70mm, (Click to enlarge)

Martin Luther once proclaimed:

"We are all mere beggars telling other beggars where to find bread."

That's certainly the way I feel, like a beggar - who am I to tell people about Jesus?! Looking at the readings for Ash Wednesday (especially the one from 2 Corinthians 5), I am staggered anew at why God uses us as "ambassadors" for Christ. I think we'd probably agree that most of the time we do not represent our country very well and the mantle of a beggar seems more appropriate.

And yet, we have found the bread, and somewhere at some time someone directed us to the place where we could find it, another beggar. And so now we are beggars trying to tell and convince other beggards where they may find this Bread.

All too often though, they are not interested. You can lead a horse to water... and just pray that he or she takes a drink. (Sorry to be mixing up the bread/water metaphor, but perhaps I'm in good company ;-)

Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6:35)

Staring at the Sun

2010-02-12T11:34:00.007Z

Nikon F100, Nikkor 28-105 D, Ilford HP5 plus (ISO 400) (click to enlarge)

No I wasn't really staring at the sun, but this picture reminded me of the U2 song of that name. Apart from having the very interesting line "stuck together with God's glue", the chorus is fascinating too:

I'm not the only one starin' at the sun
afraid of what you'd find if you took a look inside
not just deaf and dumb I'm staring at the sun
not the only one who's happy to go blind.

Perhaps not one of Bono's jolliest lyrics! In an attempt to get some insight into these words I found lots of discussion on the internet, specifically here. Some think that it's a comment on society, how people are happy to be blind to the reality of the mess that this world is in, others think that it's a reference to a group of hippies who whilst stoned on LSD stared at the sun until they went blind. Another theory relates to Plato's famous cave, you know how humans are trapped in a cave staring at the light only from a fire which they think is the real light but then one of them (the philosopher) is set free, his enlightenment happens and he turns around and sees the real sun outside. Of course the light is blinding at first but then he realizes that what he is seeing is real and what he saw before were only shadows.

Perhaps even Bono doesn't fully know what he was saying. But it does lead my thoughts further ... to the gospel reading for this Sunday:

"...he climbed the mountain to pray, taking Peter, John, and James along. While he was in prayer, the appearance of his face changed and his clothes became blinding white. At once two men were there talking with him. They turned out to be Moses and Elijah—and what a glorious appearance they made!" (from Luke 9 The Message)

And a prayer:

Jesus Christ is the light of the world,
the light no darkness can overcome.
Stay with us, Lord, for it is evening,
and the day is almost over.
Let your light scatter the darkness
and illumine your people.

Amen.

Out of Season

2010-02-09T11:49:00.004Z

Olympus OM-1, G.Zuiko 50mm f1.4, Fujifilm Sensia 100

The postman delivered some slides yesterday of pictures that I took last October (I only got round to posting them a couple of weeks ago). Included were a few autumnal shots and one that mad me sad, a picture of our cat 'Sticky' (along with 'Charlie' the kitten) taken just a couple of days before he died.

Olympus OM-1, G.Zuiko 50mm f1.4, Fujifilm Sensia 100

It's funny how pictures bring back to life old memories. The moment you press the shutter release a moment in time is forever captured - for better or worse. I was speaking with someone who lost their elderly mother recently and of the emotions that looking at old pictures brought. There is something uniquely special at looking at pictures of old family members, your parents or grandparents when they were children. Moments in time captured on a thin square of film.

Olympus OM-1, G.Zuiko 50mm f1.4, Fujifilm Sensia 100

What photos that we have taken will be looked at by our decedents in a hundred years from now...?

Some thoughts on HP5 plus

2010-02-03T19:23:00.011Z

(Waffle warning: Only read if you have a nerdy interest in photography :-)

Woods near Castlefreke, Co. Cork
Olympus OM-1, G.Zuiko 50mm f1.4, Ilford HP5 plus (ISO 400) (click to enlarge)

One of the joys of using film cameras is that you get to experiment with lots of different films. I think it takes at least a few rolls of a film to get a feel for it and see what its strengths and weaknesses are. For my first foray into developing black and white film at home I bought a packet of ten x 36 exposures of Ilford's HP5 plus. Rated at ISO 400, it's quite a 'fast' film, which means that it is quite grainy and not as smooth as others. The advantage of the high ISO does enable faster shutter speeds and/or smaller apertures. This makes it great for taking pictures of fast moving children, indoor shots, or where you need maximum depth of field at hand-held shutter speeds.

Fallen Tree, Castlefreke Woods
Olympus OM-1, G.Zuiko 50mm f1.4, Ilford HP5 plus (ISO 400) (click to enlarge)

The Big But though is that it does tend to result in pictures that lack the detail of something a bit slower, such as Ilford's FP4 plus, (or of course a picture from a digital SLR).

View towards Long Strand, Co. Cork
Olympus OM-1, G.Zuiko 50mm f1.4, Ilford HP5 plus (ISO 400) (click to enlarge)

So while I have been very pleased with portrait pictures using this film, the landscapes have been lacking in detail. So although I have four rolls left (which I will use at some point), I have ordered something a bit different to experiment with. Unfortunately they were sold out of FP4 plus so I found a compromise, Delta 400. I'm sure it is not going to be perfect but it is supposed to have much finer grain than HP5 (though it will almost certainly be harder to expose and develop). We'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, I am really enjoying photography with film at the moment - I am not turning my back on digital it's just nice to have a bit more of a challenge...

Approaching Storm, Co. Cork
Olympus OM-1, G.Zuiko 50mm f1.4, Ilford HP5 plus (ISO 400) (click to enlarge)

Return to Galley Head

2010-02-01T14:45:00.004Z

Olympus OM-1, G.Zuiko 50mm f1.4, Ilford HP5 plus (ISO 400) (click to enlarge)

Ah yes, we've been here before. What a beautiful spot it is. When we first visited last April, we had no idea that we would be living nearby less than a year later. God does indeed move in mysterious ways (and even more so if the Church of Ireland has anything to do with it ; - )

I'm constantly amazed by my old Olympus OM-1. For a camera and lens that are nearly 40 years old (and still running on the original mercury battery), it remains working remarkably well. There is something very satisfying in developing the negatives too, seeing them hanging up to dry in the bathroom is much more fun than fiddling with them on the computer.

For more info. on Galley Head here is a Wikipedia article.

Waiting for Salvation

2010-01-31T06:52:00.004Z

High Cross in Castlefreke Woods, Co. Cork
Olympus OM-1, G.Zuiko 50mm f1.4, Ilford HP5 plus (ISO 400)

Sermon for Today. Luke 2:22-40.

What’s the longest you’ve ever had to wait for something? Maybe we have waited a long time in a queue to buy something we really wanted, maybe we have waited a long time to receive a letter, perhaps with good news in it. Maybe we were sick and we had to wait a long time to get better. Maybe we had to wait a long time for someone to return who had gone away. Life is full of waiting and some of us are better at it than others. In today’s reading from Luke chapter 2 we come across the joy of a man and a woman who had waited their whole lives for something and now finally in their old age it had happened.

Joseph and Mary were bringing the baby Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem. In Jewish life there were three ceremonies that occurred after a child was born. If it was a boy the first of these was circumcision, which happened on the eighth day after birth. This act symbolised the Jews’ separation from Gentiles and their unique relationship with God, it was a time of joy when friends and family members celebrated the baby’s becoming part of God’s covenant nation, (not unlike our baptism of infants in the church today). The second ceremony was the “Redemption of the firstborn”. A firstborn son was presented to God one month after birth. The ceremony included buying back or redeeming the child from God through an offering. The point of this was for the parents to acknowledge that the child belonged to God, who alone has the power to give life. The third ceremony was the "Purification of the mother". For forty days after the birth of a son and eighty days after the birth of a daughter, the mother was ceremonially unclean and could not enter the temple. At the end of this time, the parents were to bring a lamb for a burnt offering and a dove or a pigeon for a sin offering. The priest would sacrifice these animals and declare the mother to be clean. If a lamb was too expensive, the parents could bring a second dove or pigeon instead. This is what Mary and Joseph did.

So there are Mary and Joseph, with Jesus at the Temple, for Mary’s purification, when they come across an old man called Simeon. Simeon had been waiting for many years for this day. God had made a promise to Simeon that he would not die before he had seen Christ, the Messiah, the Saviour. Simeon was now old, but he had never lost hope. He had nurtured a vision for years, perhaps wondering at times if it was just a dream or wishful thinking. Then one day, he lifts up his eyes in the Temple, he sees a young couple with a baby, and no longer doubts, but knows in his heart that what God said would happen is indeed happening.

Luke tells us that Simeon is both righteous and devout. He is a good man, he lives his life is such a way as would be a good example to all and he is totally committed to God in his heart, mind, soul and strength.

We are told that Simeon was waiting for “the consolation of Israel” (v.25), a strange phrase, what does it mean? In the Message translation, this phrase reads that Simeon was a man who “lived in the prayerful expectancy of help for Israel”. Things were really not that great for the people of Israel at this time. Thanks to the Romans, they had lost their political independence, (though King Herod was still allowed to reign over them in cruelty). Thanks to the scribes and the Pharisees, the Jewish religion had become more about outward show and religious ritual than an internal change of heart. Yet there were godly men and women like Simeon, Anna and many more who were eagerly waiting for God to come and rescue them. Simeon knew that time had come as soon as he saw Jesus.

Simeon takes the child Jesus in his arms and utters his timeless words, inspired by the Holy Spirit and known to many as the Nunc Dimittis (the first words of the Latin translation):

‘Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,
according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.’

Simeon’s heart is flooded with thanksgiving and praise. He thanks God for what this child means to him personally and for what it means for all people, both Jew and for Gentile. As far as Simeon is concerned, he is ready to die because that which he has longed for for many years has come to pass. The saviour is here and he has seen and held Salvation in his arms!

Simeon declares that Jesus is a “Light for revelation to the Gentiles”. Now to those who had no knowledge of God, who were living in darkness, the Light of Salvation has come. Jesus also brings “glory” to Israel because they above all nations were the ones chosen by God for the purpose of spreading the true religion among the nations of the world and selected to be the people among whom the Christ would be born.

What Simeon said about Jesus amazed Joseph and Mary. Of course the angel Gabriel and the Shepherds had previously said wonderful things about this child, but these earlier messages did not include anything so specific about the significance of this child for both Gentiles and Israel.

Simeon then prays a prayer of blessing over Mary and Joseph and says something to Mary that must not have been too easy for them to hear:

‘This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.’

When people encountered Jesus, there would be no sitting on the fence. He would be the great divider, as William Hendriksen puts it, “a person’s relation or attitude towards Jesus would be absolutely decisive of his eternal destiny.”(William Hendriksen, The Gospel of Luke, Banner of Truth Trust, 1978, p.170)

Where we will exist in eternity is 100% determined by our attitude towards Jesus, he is after all the way, the truth and the life, and no one can come to the Father except by Him (John 14).

I’m sure that Mary in particular would have come back to Simeon’s words many times over the course of her life. In the moment of her deepest agony, when Jesus hung on the cross these words would have provided a measure of comfort that in fact God was in control and it was indeed part of His great plan for the Salvation of all who would come to Him in repentance and faith. Of course, upon Jesus’ resurrection these words would have led to an even greater strengthening of Mary’s faith as her heart was filled with joy and worship.

Our reading concludes with a short piece about Anna, an elderly widow and prophet. She had practically lived at the temple for many years, fasting and praying night and day. Like Simeon she had waited and waited and waited for God to do something. She had not given up hope, she had prayed and fasted and then one day she saw the answer to her prayer and suddenly her heart was filled with praise. Imagine her joy as she watches the scene with Simeon holding Jesus aloft and uttering those famous words. Anna is filled with gratitude to God and she cannot help talking about it.

Simeon and Anna and many others had to wait a long time for Jesus to come. When He did come they recognised Him immediately and their lives were never the same again. The good news is that we don’t have to wait, Jesus is alive and through the presence of the Holy Spirit He is here with us now. Like Anna, like Simeon it is important that we recognise Him, that we worship Him and that we acknowledge Him as our Lord and our Saviour, our master and our God. One of the names by which Jesus is known in the Bible is Emmanuel, which means 'God with us'. We do not have a far away remote god, we have a God who is intimately present at every moment, who understands and knows us, who ‘perceives our thoughts from afar’ and who ‘knit us together in our mothers womb’ (Psalm 139).

Do you know Jesus? Is He the most important Person in your life? Do you acknowledge Him as your Lord and your Saviour? Now is not the time for waiting, now is the time for receiving Him. Amen.

Through a glass darkly...

2010-01-28T11:47:00.003Z

Nikon F100, Nikkor 18-35 D, Ilford HP5 plus (ISO 400)

I was reminded of these words (in the 'old' King James Version of the Bible) when looking at this photo I took last Saturday in MacCarthy's Bar, Glengarriff. We were waiting for our meal to arrive when I noticed the shadows of two people talking the other side of the partition. Like the children I was getting fidgety and I had a couple of pictures left on the film...

The words are of course from 1 Corinthians chapter 13, which coincidentally is the Epistle for this Sunday (Epiphany 4).

¹²For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

Generally I prefer the modern versions of the Bible, but there are times when the old text has a power and resonance that (in English at least) imho cannot be surpassed.

Messed Up

2010-01-20T10:01:00.005Z

The above picture should show some nicely developed negatives of photos taken in the recent snow, unfortunately it looks instead like pictures taken inside a cave at midnight with no flash! It only took a fraction of a second. I lost my concentration and opened up the developing tank to the light. I closed the lid again immediately but I knew it was too late. Film is very very sensitive to light and so all 36 or so exposures were lost.

I've just started reading Dallas Willard's book, "Renovation of the Heart". Some words on page 2 resonated with me:

But the situations in which we find ourselves are rarely as important as our response to them.

A ruined film is of course nothing in the context of our lives, where we will face good and bad situations, sometimes overwhelmingly so. But my response to this minor mishap gave me an insight into my own mind in dealing with an albeit insignificant mess up of my own making. My first reaction was to consider giving up and not bother with trying to develop my own films any more and of allowing myself the indulgence of a good sulk and perhaps a good moan too while I was at it.

But then I thought that well I will just learn from this mistake and there's no way I'll ruin my film in the same way again, (though probably I will find many other ways to ruin future films too).

I seem to be the sort of person who can only learn by failing first. I thank God for His overwhelming grace. Time and time again He picks me up and dusts me off and sets me on my feet again. I love Him for that...

Haiti

2010-01-14T10:25:00.005Z

As if I needed any reminder, looking at the picture of the globe in my previous post brought my mind straight back to an unfolding tragedy on the other side of the world, in Haiti. To a country that is already desperately poor and already on its knees comes a devastating earthquake.

Here in Cork, we have a very dedicated and inspirational Christian Aid worker, Andrew Coleman. Last year he spent some time in Haiti so as soon as his email arrived yesterday morning I read it through. Here is an excerpt:

You will have seen that there was a severe earthquake in Haiti last night.
At approximately 16:53 an earthquake hit Haiti. It was measured at 7.3 on the Richter scale. It struck about 15km south-west of the capital and was shortly followed by two strong aftershocks of 5.9 and 5.5. There was huge destruction of buildings and a loss of life to many people in Port au Prince the capital. At this moment Christian Aid are launching Appeal in Ireland to support the victims in Haiti. There will be a high level of structural damage, loss of life and damage to water systems, electricity supply and road access. This earthquake has struck an already vulnerable population. In the poorer areas people are very much stretched to the limit.

Christian Aid has a long presence in Haiti and at present is struggling with this destructive earthquake that has just hit the country. The Christian Aid office has been destroyed but all staff has now been recovered. We have many Haitian partner organisations operating over many years in Haiti. Partners have successfully been involved in distributions in previous emergencies...

I think that there will be a huge response to this in terms of church collections and aid from many other quarters. It is beyond heartbreaking to think of tens of thousands of people dead or missing, buried beneath the rubble.

A prayer for Haiti (From Christian Aid Website)

Loving God of creation,
at this time of devastation
we hold before you the people of Haiti.
When the damage is unimaginable,
and the suffering seems overwhelming,
remind us that every person affected
is loved, honoured and precious in your sight.
We remember all those who have been hurt;
all who have lost their homes, livelihoods and loved ones.
Work through us to bring healing
to broken and distorted lives,
peace to those who have been thrown into despair,
light to those in darkness,
and hope to those who fear.
We ask this in the name of Jesus
in whom all life and grace is found.

Developing

2010-01-14T09:05:00.009Z

Olympus OM-1, G.Zuiko 50mm f1.4, Ilford HP5 Plus ISO 400, Ilfotec DD-X: 9 minutes @ 20°C

Yesterday I finally managed to develop my first black and white film. This has been an ambition of mine ever since I was given an SLR for Christmas in 1985! It wasn't that difficult really, just a few instructions to follow, mixing the various chemicals correctly and at the right temperature and making sure that the development time was exactly 9 minutes and that was that. The one big mistake I made was in trying to dry the negatives I scratched them quite badly with what I thought was a very soft cloth. I'm looking forward to doing the next roll of film which hopefully will have some nice pictures of the recent snow on it.

The South Pole Inn

2010-01-11T15:23:00.005Z

Nikon F100, Nikkor 18-35 D, Fujifilm Superia 200

Tom Crean is known to many today becasue of the successful play "Tom Crean - Antartic Explorer" and also because of the excellent Guinness ad. of a few years ago.

Driving though Annascaul in Co. Kerry recently it was great to come across his old pub "The South Pole Inn". This is the place he bought and ran after his retirement (in 1920) from all that exploring with Scott, Shackleton and Co. It's not hard to imagine bygone cold winter evenings with the fire blazing the porter and whiskey flowing and Tom telling stories of his many adventures another world away...

Annascaul Lake

2010-01-07T12:52:00.005Z

Nikon F100, Nikkor 18-35 D, Fujifilm Superia 200

On our way to Dingle, my better half and navigator saw something interesting on the map so we decided to take a small detour and investigate. Despite driving on narrow, icy roads (with a severe drop down a cliff awaiting any slippery mistakes) it was definitely worth the diversion. The lake was flat-calm, the air still and cold and the scene very beautiful.

When we rounded the corner to see this scene in front of us it was a special moment. Being naturally a booky indoors type, I've gradually over recent years began to see the importance of appreciating God's creation in worship. Trying to find a good place to take the above photo from was done with a mixture of prayer, excitement and carefully placed footfalls. Looking at the picture now makes me excited, excited about God.

New Year's Day in "the Kingdom"

2010-01-01T17:13:00.001Z

It's -4 degrees C here in Kerry. Tqhe air is so cold, crisp and clear, it's a beautiful day to bring in the new year.

(Photos taken using an iPhone from the bridge at Blennerville.)

Ownahincha

2009-12-28T17:47:00.004Z

From a distance, it looked promising. Nestled on a rocky and weathered outcrop, buttressed against the Atlantic waves by craggy cliffs it warranted further investigation. However there was disappointment ahead. Some property 'developer' had constructed perhaps some of the most ugly and out-of-character-with-the-landscape block of flats that I had ever seen. I had to check the map to make sure we were not in Soviet era Stalingrad. I wanted to be sick.

Perhaps one of the blessings of post Celtic-Tiger Ireland is that these brown paper envelope developments will at least temporarily come to a halt.

What is it about us humans that we have to ruin God's beautiful Creation? Of course there are many examples of buildings that fit the character of the landscape in which they exist. Natural and local materials (rather than reinforced concrete) put together in a way that is sensitive to the surroundings can actually enhance a landscape. God made us to be co-creators, to make things that reflect the great skill and talent He has given to so many builders and architects. But how many of us do things for God's pleasure and glory above the desire for short-term satisfaction and profit?

Before I get too carried away I'll stop right there!

Happy New Year to everyone (hopefully more than one) reading this and may you know the fullness of God's love, life and blessing in 2010...

Christmas Sunrise

2009-12-27T06:55:00.004Z

Nikon D70s, f4.5, 1/30 sec, ISO 220, 105mm equivalent (click to enlarge)

It was icy. Very icy. So I left with plenty of time to travel from the Rectory to Kilmalooda church for the 9.00 am service on Christmas morning - in second gear. When I got there it was still fairly dark. I parked the car without managing to slide into the wall and got out (without managing to slip on a frozen puddle). It's a quiet area at any time, but there was a very special hush this Christmas morning. I appreciated the moment of stillness to gather my thoughts about the busyness of the day ahead. Then I noticed a special steak of light in the East as the sun gingerly poked its head above the horizon. The day had begun.

In the bleak midwinter

2009-12-21T21:08:00.006Z

In the bleak midwinter

Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood
Hard as iron,
Water like a stone:
Snow had fallen,
Snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter,
Long ago.

Our God,
Heaven cannot hold him,
Nor earth sustain;
Heaven and Earth
Shall flee away
When he comes to reign:
In the bleak midwinter
A stable place sufficed
The lord God almighty,
Jesus Christ.

Angels and archangels
May have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim
Thronged the air;
But his mother only
In her maiden bliss
Worshiped the beloved
With a kiss.

What can I give him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd,
I would bring a lamb;
If I were a wise man,
I would do my part;
Yet
What I can I give him,
Give my heart.

Christina Rossetti (1830-93)

Nikon F100 Reflection

2009-12-16T11:41:00.010Z

Nikon F100, Nikkor 28-105 D, Kodak Ultramax 400

One of the great things about being among the few strange people who still like to take pictures using 35mm film is that film cameras are now worth a fraction of what they once were. Ten years ago there is no way I could have afforded a Nikon F100, a camera used by many professionals as a back up to their F5's. What cost around £1200 in 1999 can now be bought in mint condition for under £200! Yes, I could buy a plastic pocket-sized digital camera for that money today - but I chose instead to buy perhaps one of the very best 35mm SLR's ever made. There's no pocket large enough for this beast! It's big, it's metal, it's heavy, it's a serious piece of kit. The autofocus and film advance are scarily quick (it focuses and meters much more quickly and accurately than my D70s) and did I say it is a lot of fun to use?

So I took it with us when we went on a family trip to Cork last weekend. For part of the day we went to Fota wildlife park, which was very quiet on such a cold and overcast day. The above picture I took while we were waiting to get the train back into the city.

Because I have only a flatbed scanner I cannot get the best quality from film negatives. A close inspection will show that the picture is quite grainy and lacking in detail. In other words the reflection is an imperfect one. This reminded me of how each of us are made in God's image and yet oh how so very imperfect we are. We've all met people who seem to radiate God's love ... I think of a Pentecostal Pastor I once knew who seemed to glow with God's love, an incredible man, I think of a Franciscan brother who came to my school and got us cynical teenagers interested in contemplative prayer and I can think of many people, often the quiet ones who inhabit pews Sunday by Sunday who in public are shy but behind closed doors are the real 'prayer warriors' of God's Kingdom.

All of us to a greater or lesser extent reflect God's glory. Every day my prayer is "More of You, less of me." Though I'd be the first to admit that God has His work cut out when it comes to me :-)

"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." (2 Cor.3:18)

Budgetary Greek Tragedy?

2009-12-10T10:48:00.006Z

Nikon D70s, f5.6, 1/125 sec, ISO 200, 105mm equivalent (click to enlarge)

This is the view taken from our back garden this morning. I was hoping for something very bleak to illustrate the Budgetary fallout, but there was more light than I was expecting...

Perhaps the government did a very good PR job preparing us beforehand but the fear that we would be in some post-Budget economic Armageddon today does not appear to be the case.

I did spectacularly badly in my economics A-level so I will not even try to pick over the bones of the budgetary casualties this morning; such as those who work in the Public Sector, the unemployed, and just about everybody wondering how they will afford Christmas. Perhaps the most bizarre thing is that in an attempt to stop people travelling up to Northern Ireland to do their shopping, the tax on alcoholic drinks has been cut! So a pint of beer will have 12c less duty on it and a bottle of wine 60c - I fear though that this will not make any difference at all. The traffic-jam between Dublin and Newry is not going away just yet.

And then even more bizarrely, I heard on the radio that because we are one of the economic 'bad boys', we are linked in with the economically renegade Greeks as far the ECB is concerned. So in some ways we are dependent upon the Greeks sorting their economy out in order to be on firmer financial footing ourselves. It's like two mountaineers roped together - if the Greeks fall, they drag us down with them. Imagine if the €400 million that the government are borrowing every week came to an end - now that really would be a Greek Tragedy.

Getting Lost

2009-12-02T14:03:00.006Z

Panasonic LX1, f4.9, 1/80 sec, ISO 80, 28mm equiv., Blue 'Duotone' effect in Photoshop Elements 6, (click to enlarge)

I'm finding my way around the parish the hard way! Occasionally I kid myself that I know which road to take to get home again after being out visiting. The result is often that I end up in the middle of nowhere (see picture). It wasn't always this way - when I was a curate in East Belfast it was possible to do nearly all my visits by parking the car at one end of the street and then working my way along from door to door. The contrast with rural ministry is considerable.

Coincidentally I was reading (in the Message Bible) about Jesus being "The Road":

I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life.

(John 14:6)

In life there are so many roads to take yet Jesus tells us there is only one Road that leads to God and eternal life and that is found in Him...