Burn's Night

After a night's rest in the home of a Minister and his family, Robert Burns left this poem.  It reflects the poet's great weakness in readily relating to fellow humans but feeling God to be some far-off distant and largely incommunicable Force. In this poem we see how much Burns loved the family, but God seems like a High Court Judge.

How happier a life he would have had if he had embraced what the Gospel offers - that the Great Power might be more our friend, closer to us, than any human family.  God is indeed the Highest of All but he is also our nearest and dearest too.

O Thou dread Pow'r, who reign'st above!
I know Thou wilt me hear;
When for this scene of peace and love,
I make this pray'r sincere.

The hoary Sire - the mortal stroke,
Long, long be pleas'd to spare;
To bless his little filial flock,
And show what good men are.

She, who her lovely Offspring eyes
With tender hopes and fears,
O bless her with a Mother's joys,
But spare a Mother's tears!

Their hope, their stay, their darling youth,
In manhood's dawning blush,
Bless him, Thou God of love and truth,
Up to a Parent's wish.

The beauteous, seraph Sister-band 
With earnest tears I pray,
Thou know'st the snares on ev'ry hand,
Guide Thou their steps alway.

When, soon or late, they reach that coast,
O'er life's rough ocean driven,
May they rejoice, no wand'rer lost,
A family in Heaven!

Considering Cards - 10.The Fake Fireside

 

Another beautiful card.  I admit that on first glance I simply thought this was quite a nostalgic scene that someone had taken in their grand living room and that had found its way onto a card.  Then I looked harder.

 

That's always a good thing to do at Christmas I think.  I realise that it seems humbuggish but perhaps looking at the true nature of things helps us appreciate the truly good things.

 

The shaft of light rising up from the Christmas tree is a bit of a giveaway.  That's not a wall of panelling but a screen as can be seen in the mirror.  Speaking of which, whoever in their house rests a mirror on a mantelpiece rather than hang it up?  Speaking of which mantelpiece - the decoration on it blocks sight of the cards!  Real homes add cards later and where they can be seen.   They're not real logs either, are they?  But saddest of all, none of the 'presents' have any names on.  They are not from anyone to anyone.

 

In the end this is a fireside that never has any people.  It is for cameras only.

 

A Christmas without people is no Christmas at all.  You cannot have an Immanuel (God with us) unless there is an 'us'.  The Saviour of the World doesn't want a fireside, he wants a family, and he came to save one for himself from the sad story of the human race.  He is a present from heaven to humanity.

 

May God draw you into his family this Christmas!

Disaster's Song

 November 22nd 1873.  A November night in the Atlantic gives us a great hymn from an awful family disaster couples with a deep faith.

 

 

All Souls

This is an interesting day to me this year, the year in which I laid my Dad's remains to rest.  Mostly but not exclusively in Catholic settings this is All Souls Day, or the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed.



There is unquestionably a fellowship between the Church on earth and the Church at rest but this has been an awkward fellowship to define.  It has alarming, spooky elements when Spiritualists or those inclined their way seek to speak with the Dead.  It is only a little better in the one way communication by which the Saints are allegedly spoken to in prayer (without any assurance that they can hear and no Bible promise that suggests they can).  In evangelicalism a peculiar two part problem arises when the Faithful Departed are dispensed with in somewhat the way of any text containing the word Thou, i.e. they are fine but they are history.  This, however is countered by a hope that in the sweet by and by we will meet on that beautiful shore and reconstitute our families.

This latter hope has always bemused me given that my Grandad was also someone else's nephew or Grandson - so how would that work?  Jesus was asked a similar question about married reunion - what happens if a wife has remarried six times?  Who's she married to up there?  Jesus answer is authoritative and exactly explains what the future state is all about - one family in God not Mr and Mrs, Father and Son.

Or to put it another way, today a son celebrates not a departed father but a departed brother in Christ; a widower not a departed wife but a departed sister in Christ. 

There are other times when old relationships, contingent to this world, may be reflected upon with tears or cheers.  But once in a while it is good to remember our soul-fellowship; to remember that relationship in baptism which binds us eternally; to remember the Lover whose love modelled the best of our earthly love without ever being matched down here; to remember that unity in Him that holds us tighter to him and to each other than any imitation found in the relationships recorded on birth, marriage and death certificates. 

This is the fellowship planned and formed and preserved by the love of Jesus.

A Son's Tribute - Introduction

It was at this time that my Dad passed into glory.

In his honour my blogs this month will be about him.  His walk with God, his service of Christ and His church and his evident fullness of the Holy Spirit qualify him for more blog pages than my life can ever deserve but for this day on which he died to this world it is enough to say that I am proud to have been his son both by blood and by his spiritual example.  The former may last me a few more years of earthly life, the latter will benefit me eternally.

I will

In the past week I have had time with families where people have just been married and where others are celebrating anniversaries and others are facing life-threatening illness together.  In tribute to them all and in gratitude for the marriage God has given me I offer J R Miller's moving description of a precious gift mistakenly maligned.

Christmas

One of our songs for Christmas Day and not a church, candle or carol in sight!

But there is a mother and a family . . .

Fathers' Day

So what? Very many voices declare that fatherhood is simply a poorer version of motherhood which is where true parenting happens. A man - maybe even two men - who behave like a mother are ‘supportive assets’ to children but so might be a single mum’s circle of friends. Parenting and supportive assets are in, fatherhood is history.

History perhaps, but also divine history. In the Bible’s world the pinnacle of relationships was that of a father with his son and it is one of the key pictures of God’s internal being.
What does fatherhood do? A father-son relationship always has a generational future and past whereas a marriage belongs only to one generation. Where there is true fatherhood and sonship these are the questions that are more often and widely asked; ‘How can I shape the future?’, ‘What can I learn from your experience?’. A world where these questions are asked less is a lesser world.

Fathering lacks the bodily intimacy that creation grants to marriage and motherhood. But fatherly love is manifested, among other ways, in a wide and wise strategic interest. At every strategic high point in Christ’s ministry a father’s voice is heard: This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased. It sounds to us like a joke but it was a profound old saying that while mother and daughter work in the kitchen, father and son look out of the window. If no relationship gazes beyond, many journeys will never begin.

Poppy Joy

Take a look at this profound blog. Poppy Joy didn't live long in this world but she's made an impact. And you can only feel humbled by the faith of her Mum and Dad.

http://poppyjoy.blogspot.com/