Meditations 5

Finding the Right Way

When hiking on a mountain, it is necessary to have a guide to help you find the right way. One option is to simply following the markings on trees and other objects to help you. Alternatively, a few times during English camps at the mountains in Romania, we had professional mountain guides who came with us on our hike, to help us find the way.
One time at a camp, on the hike to the top of Piatra Craiului, a difficult and challenging mountain to climb, it started to rain. The mountain guide got a bit worried and started to rush because he knew that once we got to the top of the mountain there was a shelter that we could hide in. He took us on an unmarked path to try and get to the top faster. However this back fired. It had some portions where you literally had to clamber over big rocks. As a result our group became spread out.
I was near the front with him. We reached a point where there was a sheer rock face. The girl that had gone on ahead had already started to climb it without a rope. The mountain guide got worried and took me to the side where there was a grassy slope that was easier to climb than the rock face. He started going up it with me, but was in a hurry and eventually left me behind. I remained clinging to a tuft of grass so as not to slip back down what was an extremely steep slope.
I spent ages dangling here in the fog. At one point, I tried to find my own way forwards but I ended up reaching a crest and on the other side there was just a sheer drop down! I shimmed my way back down and had to wait for those behind to reach me and help me find the right way forwards. Eventually, we made it to the top and met up with the mountain guide who had found and saved the girl who had gone on ahead. By this moment, the weather had started to improve so he then led us safely down off the mountain.
In John 9 we see a passage in the Bible which clearly speaks about how to find the right way in our lives in a spiritual sense. In verse 4, Jesus talks about how He has come into the world to do the work of him who sent me. We see here Jesus’ motivation for coming. It wasn’t for personal gain, pleasure or ambition. Rather, Jesus came to serve God and thus do good to those around Him, and than those who would believe in Him.
Often in our lives we can have different motivations. Sometimes I go to church with my head full of thoughts about who I need to see or what problems I need to resolve. We can be involved in Christian groups simply because we have social or other needs to fulfil. As human beings this is natural and normal but it is an important lesson to remember that ultimately the Christian life is about serving God and doing His will. We will never have perfect, pure motivation like Jesus, but at least our main focus should be on finding a way to get involved in God’s ministry in the world and entrust other needs and concerns to Him and His guidance.
In John 9, we see that Jesus’ work was to heal a man born blind. The man himself shows a certain trust and faith in Jesus. He is put in a slightly awkward situation as Jesus rubs mud on his eyes and then tells him to go and wash in a certain pool. This can’t have been easy for the man as he would have needed assistance to get to the pool, or at best have had to feel his way along slowly. Nevertheless, even if it was difficult and maybe he felt a bit foolish feeling his way about with mud on his eyes, he obeys and the result is that he is healed from his problem.
In order to experience God’s presence and guidance in our lives it is necessary to listen to and obey him. If on the mountain, we had ignored the guide’s advice and instruction we would have got lost and potentially not have made it off the mountain safely. Indeed, the girl who went off ahead and did her own thing, ended up stuck on a sheer rock face, in need of the mountain guide to lower her down a rope to help her climb up to safety.
After being healed, the man returns and is met with different reactions. Instead of rejoicing, his neighbours have mixed opinions about what has happened. They had lived a lifetime with him alongside knowing him as the bind beggar. So, when they see him healed, they raise the question in verse 8, ‘Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?’ Some people accept that it is and say so in verse 9. However, others are sceptical. Instead of believing that something miraculous has happened, they look for a different explanation. Their suggestion is that he just looks like the blind beggar. The man himself insists that this is no case of mistaken identity, or the appearance of a doppelganger or long lost twin but that he is indeed the man who formerly sat and begged. 
It is hard for them to deny his claims as he is standing healed in front of them. They enquire as to the details of how this has happened and then take him to the Pharisees so that they can investigate further. Interestingly, in spite of the evidence (the man standing before them, his testimony and that of some of his neighbours) the Pharisees don’t believe (v. 18). They are only convinced when they call for his parents who confirm that he was born blind but can now see.
Even when they can no longer deny that a miracle has taken place, they still don’t want to accept Jesus, who is said to have performed said miracle. They attempt to get the man to denounce Jesus as a sinner because He has done a miracle on a Sabbath. The man refuses and as a consequence they throw him out of their Jewish community.
Sadly, some people don’t want to believe in things, not because they don’t have any evidence, but rather because it is not convenient for them. They have ulterior reasons for not wanting to accept that something is true. The Pharisees didn’t want to believe in Jesus, not because they didn’t see any miraculous signs or hear wonderful teaching, but He just didn’t fit into their religious system and He was also drawing people to Himself, thus eating into their own power and influence.
Another classic example is the theory of evolution. Many people want to believe in it, not because it is proven fact, but because it is a way of explaining why we are here without the need for invoking the idea of a creator God. Admittedly there is some evidence for aspects of evolution, but it is still only a theory, and although some people go to great lengths to show otherwise, it doesn’t explain everything. What actually is life? What existed before the Big Bang? Why does morality exist? Where are all the transition species? (If life evolved by different species developing into other species where are all the cat-dogs etc. or at least their fossil remains?) If all we are is chemicals, what is love? Alternatively, if we are just highly developed animals, why don’t we behave that way? (cue the jokes about the fact that some people do!)
These are just a selection of the questions that even the greatest evolutionary biologist would have to admit need some explaining. A possible and obvious solution to this dilemma is that science explains how things work and Christianity offers an explanation of why they work. Again, many people don’t want to accept this because it doesn’t make sense or that they have watertight arguments against it, but simply they don’t like the fact that it suggests the idea of a creator God.
Another point here is that people often accuse Christianity of being ‘pie in the sky when you die.’ We see though in John 9 that people weren’t being asked to believe in something fanciful without any evidence. On the contrary, they had the convincing evidence before them of a healed man, and the testimonies of his neighbours, friends and he himself. Christianity isn’t just a convenient way to avoid analysing reality but it can actually be thoroughly researched and verified.
An example are the accounts of the resurrection. The names of specific females who saw where Jesus’ body was laid are included for example Mark 15:47. This is so that the first readers of the text could have gone and interviewed these people to see if it was true.
Finally then, we see the change in the man’s thinking as he goes through all these things. Initially, when people ask him what has happened, he refers to Jesus as a man (v 11). When interviewed by the Pharisees he now says that Jesus is a prophet (v 17). By the end of the chapter, when he actually sees Jesus for the first time, he calls him Lord and worships him. We can infer that the man has not only received his physical sight, but now he is also able to see spiritually and realise who Jesus really is. In contrast, the Pharisees, who claim to be able to see the right way, are so caught up in their own way of thinking that they are unable to see who Jesus really is. Thus, the blind man becomes the person who sees clearly and the Pharisees become those who don’t see reality.
In verse 5 Jesus claims to be the light of the world. It is only those who see and recognise Him who actually understand reality and find the right way in their lives!

Image by Myriam Zilles from Pixabay

Meditations 4

Seeing the Light

When I helped at summer camps in Romania, a popular camp activity (for some!) was always the mountain hike. Usually, it lasted all day and sometimes there was a brave group who went for a particularly long, almost death defying version of the hike. On a few occasions, I boldly, or maybe you could say foolishly, joined the long hike group. Participating in this group, I can recall some dicey moments.
One time, we had spent a long, hard day clambering to the top of ‘Piatra Craiului.’ Eventually, we had begun our descent, but on the way down, we had stopped on numerous occasions to take photos. Romanians like their photos taken! It’s hard to imagine what it was like in days gone by, when people didn’t have access to digital technology. Presumably, Romanians walked around with their pockets full of camera film, just in case the photographic urge came on! Or, maybe, in those days they were just more discerning with their picture taking. In any case, time was going by due to people indulging their pictorial urges.
After a while, it started to dawn on us that it was getting dark and we had the tricky task of negotiating a forest in order to get down off the mountain. The forest wasn’t hard to get through during the day because the trees had markings on them that showed you the way. Night time was a different kettle of fish though as the tree markings were no longer easily visible. Those of us who had twigged (!) this problem began motivating the others in the group to get a move on, and we started working our way through the forest. Some rushed on ahead, showing great dexterity as they wove their way through the trees.
Gradually, the whole group made progress, but towards the end we were all hurtling our way along to try to make sure we made it out of the trees before it was completely dark and so impossible to see. That would have been a difficult and potentially dangerous situation because once it was dark, and the signs on the trees were no longer visible, it would have been easy to get lost in the forest and aside from the unpleasantness of spending a cold night lost on a mountainside, there were also other pitfalls such as bears and other wildlife to contend with.
Fortunately, although the light was dwindling, we had realised the danger and so rushed to make it out of the forest while there was still some daylight, something that we managed with the Lord’s help!   
In John 9, we read a passage which is also about light and the importance of being able to see. The chapter begins with a question. Jesus and His disciples see a man born blind. In ancient Jewish thought (and as is still the case among many people day) was the idea that suffering is a punishment for the bad things we do. Thus, they see a man born blind and so it raises a dilemma. If suffering is the punishment for the bad things we do, what is the situation for people who are born with suffering? Surely, this can’t be the punishment for the bad things they have done, as they were born with the suffering before they had the chance to live and do bad things!
A possible solution to this problem is that the suffering was a result of the bad things that his parents had done, and so the disciples raise the question, ‘Who sinned? This man or his parents?’
Jesus however dispels the idea that suffering is a direct punishment for sin. He says that neither the man or his parents sinned to cause this suffering. This suffering had a different origin. It had been given to the man so that God’s work could be shown in his life. This might seem like an odd concept, God intentionally inflicting suffering on someone so that He can then work in and through the person’s life, but actually, if we think about it, this idea pervades the whole Bible.
Noah had the experience of having to build the ark and go through the flood. Abraham and Sarah remained childless until a very old age. Joseph was sold by his brothers into slavery and spent time unjustly in prison. The Israelites spent many years suffering as slaves in Egypt. Job lost everything he had. These are just a few examples that come to mind and the list could easily go on. If we started to think about church history the list would grow even more.
Indeed, this incident is just one step along the way in Jesus’ own struggle with the Pharisees, who eventually contrive to kill Him. Jesus makes a subtle reference to this in verse 4, mentioning that night is coming.
So, when suffering comes into our lives, we needn’t ask questions like, ‘Why me?’ or ‘What have I done wrong?’ but rather we can try to seek what God’s purpose in the suffering is and, even if it’s hard to see at the time, we can trust that His purpose is ultimately good. As Psalm 119:67 says, ‘Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word.’ Our sufferings often help us focus on what’s important in life and, as a result, find the right way in life.
A lady in Romania once remarked that in the hospital in Romania everybody prays. Of course, they should have all been praying anyway, as God tells us to pray to Him, but it often takes the suffering of being in hospital to help us find the time and desire to pray in our otherwise busy lives.
John Newton is an example that comes to mind of someone who went astray. In his youth, he had been forced to become a sailor. He rose to a good position and eventually was a captain on slave trader ships. Initially, he didn’t think about God, but one time, due to the danger of the ship he was on potentially sinking in a storm, he started to read the Bible. However, he continued in his work as a slave trader for many years and it was only when he got sick and could no longer go sailing that he truly converted to Christianity, gave up his slave trading ways and became a church minster with a successful ministry, which included writing ‘Amazing Grace’, a hymn which is still sung today, 200 and something years later. 
The supreme example of suffering bringing about good is Jesus’ death on the cross. When He died there, it at first seemed like the powers of darkness had won, but actually, this was just the serpent striking His heal and three days later He rose to life, crushing the serpent’s head. While He was on the cross some sneered about Him not being able to come down off the cross (Mark 15:31,32) but actually He voluntarily stayed on the cross because it was always the plan for Him to die there as His death was necessary to take the punishment of God for sin. He then rose to life, showing that if we accept His death in our place, we can also have the hope of raising to a new life with Him.
This gives us hope that no matter what we go through in this life, a new, better life awaits those who trust in Jesus. Thus, He is the light of the world, as He says in John 9:5, who shows those who trust in Him the right way through the dark forest of this life.

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

Meditation

Taking on Challenging Circumstances

Sometimes in life we are confronted with challenging circumstances.
One time in Romania I was at a Bible class. The teacher was American and the person translating approached me during the break to inform me that he needed to go somewhere and asked me, being an English speaker, if I would translate after the break. I was reluctant, not having experience and also even in English I didn’t know well all the names of the different Kings and other characters that were being mentioned as we were going through one of the books of Kings in the Old Testament. However, I didn’t really have an alternative solution to suggest. The break finished and we all gathered for the next lesson. The translator began, but after a few minutes his telephone rang. He glanced at it, then got his things together, motioned to me to come forward and then left. Talk about being thrown in the deep end. I had no choice to go forward and begin my career as a translator!
Life often puts us in difficult situations. Difficulties are of course relevant and maybe my predicament above was small fry compared to what some face. Financial hardships, sickness, violence, injustice and much more attack people everyday. One of the great things about the Bible is that it is a very realistic book and presents openly all the difficulties and struggles that different people went through. One person who most certainly was confronted with a challenging situation was Joshua.
We first read about him in the book of Numbers. We find out here that he is very faithful to God, for example in chapter 14 he together with Caleb tries to plead with the people when they want to rebel against God and go back to Egypt instead of entering the promised land. The fact that Joshua was one of the spies who went to check out the land of Canaan also testifies to the fact that he was one of the leaders of Israel. There are also passages where we see that Joshua was the assistant of Moses and chosen to succeed him (Numbers 27:18-21).
By the time we get to Joshua 1, we see that Moses is already gone and now Joshua has to fully take on his mantle. This is in and of itself a tough task. There were well over a million people to lead, enough to keep anyone busy. More than this though, Joshua is told here to lead these people into the promised land of Canaan, which would have been fine, except for the fact that there were some very well developed and aggressive peoples already living there, who weren’t just going to happily lie down and let the Israelites come and take over.
This is why we read a number of words of encouragement in this chapter. Joshua could well have been feeling daunted by what lay before him and so God offers some words of solace. Verses 6, 7 and 9 repeat the idea of being strong and courageous. This is however not just a sort of chin up, everything will be alright encouragement like what we often offer to people today, when we don’t really know what to say. Here we see that there is some real meat to these words.
In verse 5, God says that he will be with Joshua. This is a great promise because it was God’s presence that helped Moses through his tasks and so now Joshua is encouraged that God will be there to help him too. The presence of God is an important theme running throughout the Bible. Adam and Eve lost their place with God in the garden of Eden. Cain then loses God’s presence in Genesis 4:14 as a result of murdering Abel. As the story unfolds we see though God restoring his presence among people, first of all establishing the tent of meeting and then the temple. In the New Testament he dwells among people in the form of Jesus and finally the Holy Spirit is given so that He now actually dwells within the believer. In any case, it is a great and vital thing to have God’s presence with you.
Joshua is also given an instruction as to how to be successful in his task. We see this in Joshua 1:7 and 8. He is told to obey carefully everything written in the law of Moses and in order to help him do that, it is important for him to meditate on it day and night. In other words, the secret of success is to keep as close as possible to God’s word and to obey it.
Joshua shows his willingness to obey God straight away. He doesn’t hesitate or remonstrate with God, but rather he sends out the officers of the people to tell them to get ready for going into the promised land. They obey on the condition in verse 17 that the Lord will be with Joshua as He was with Moses, and they even threaten with death any who don’t obey Joshua’s word. Thus, we see that Joshua’s initial acceptance of God’s word to him as had a positive result.
I heard an interesting example of a student group in Serbia. They decided that they wanted to organise a mission week. In Serbia it is very popular for people to go to Cafes and spend their time there. So, the group had the idea of hiring out a cafe for their evangelistical meetings. There was a problem though to find a suitable one. Serbian culture is generally closed to evangelical Christians and over four years they tried 10 different cafes, but each time there were problems. Often they were rejected, but also staff were unfriendly, some were too small or otherwise unsuitable.
One day the group leader was walking past a cafe on the site of the university. He decided to try it. He explained to the manager that they were a Christian group and wanted to organise evangelical meetings. To his surprise, the manager agreed without problem. So surprised was he that he reiterated the situation to make sure the manager had understood. Not only did they want to talk about Jesus, but they also didn’t have much money to pay for the meetings. The manager still agreed!
For this group, it was a challenging task to organise these missions. It took four years and a number of difficult situations, but eventually God led them to an excellent venue, right on campus, and even opened up the way to using it, in spite of potential problems.
Ultimately then, God can and does work for good even in the challenges we and others around us face!

Image by Elias Sch. from Pixabay

Meditations

Cain and Abel

One time I was at a camp in Romania by the mountains. We were staying at a holiday cabin in a tiny village. To get to where some of the people were staying, it was necessary to take a short walk. While walking one morning, I noticed that to my left in the field there was a pig lying with its feet in the air. Alongside were some people, one of whom had what looked like a blow torch in hand. A little later someone brought some pig’s skin over for us to try. I managed to convince an American lady to try it by saying that it was Romanian style pancake (which I guess that it sort of was!).
I guess this is as close as I have ever been to seeing an animal sacrificed. If however I had lived in ancient times, I suppose animal sacrifices would have been a much more common occurrence. The Bible talks a lot about this. Interesting, even the first two people born, Cain and Abel, seem to have had a concept of bringing sacrifices to God.
Cain was a farmer and brought some of the things he had grown. Abel on the other hand was a shepherd and brought some of his flock. In Genesis 4:3-5 we are told about this. Here we see that there was a significant difference between the offerings that Cain and Abel brought to God.
Abel brought ‘fat portions’ from ‘firstborn’ animals. This suggests that he brought the best he had. In terms of Cain’s offering, it just says that he brought ‘some of the fruits of the soil.’ We then see that the Lord was pleased with Abel’s offering, but not Cain’s. From this, we can deduce that Cain just offered what he didn’t need, maybe some left over produce or somethings that were deformed or going bad. In any case, he seems to have brought the sacrifice just for the sake of it, whereas Abel appears to have made a true sacrifice from the heart.
By its very nature, the concept of sacrifice means giving up something, however there is obviously a temptation as humans to sacrifice that which we don’t really need. Later on in the Bible, in Leviticus 22, there is passage which talks about unacceptable sacrifices. Here, it is made clear that God’s people aren’t allowed to bring any old sacrifice to God. The sacrifice was meant to be a male animal without defect, not just a way of getting rid of a sick, unwanted animal.
This concept is illustrated in 2 Samuel 24. Here David has sinned because he decided to take a census of the fighting men in Israel. He insists on this in spite of Joab’s protest. So, the census is carried out, but then David realises that he has sinned. Presumably, the sin was that by counting the fighting men, David was putting his trust in them, instead of God. The consequence of all this is that a plague comes on Israel. The prophet Gad then comes to David and tells him to go and make an altar to the Lord to resolve the problem.
David goes where he is told and wants to buy the piece of land so that he can make the sacrifices required. The owner of the threshing floor, Araunah, however offers to give it for free to David. As a result in 2 Samuel 24:24 David makes a very telling statement. ‘I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.’ Again, we see the concept of true sacrifices being those that cost the offerer something.
I heard an illustration once about a rich man who put a large amount of money in a church collection. A deacon of the church offered it back to him, thinking that it was too much and maybe a mistake. The rich man said though that he was very wealthy and that actually for him it wasn’t such a lot of money. When the deacon told the church’s pastor though, the pastor told him to give the money back because at their church they only wanted sacrifices that cost.
In conclusion, Jesus says something similar to this at the beginning of Luke 21. Here we see him commend the widow, who although she only puts a small amount in the temple collection, relatively speaking she had put in a lot compared to the rich people who, although they probably gave expensive gifts, were actually only giving a small percentage of what they had. The widow gave everything and so that shows that she was truly trusting in God and giving out of love. 
Cain is very angry about the fact that his sacrifice is not accepted. God gives him the opportunity to repent of this anger and do what is right. However, his response is to kill his brother and then to try and cover it up. Interestingly, the first human born, murders the second human born, and we see the words of God in Genesis chapter 2, that death would enter the world if humans ate of the fruit of the tee of knowledge of good and evil,  begin to come true. So, we see that something that in Genesis 3 seemed small and insignificant, such as eating fruit, has led to very serious consequences.
A story is told of a man who while on holiday in South Africa decided to ignore the warning that there were sharks in the water and go for a swim anyway. As a result one of the sharks bit him and he lost a leg and could have died. Likewise, the Bible very clearly warns against sin, however often we choose to ignore those warnings, thinking that there’s no harm in a little thing like going swimming, however we are risking getting bitten.
Genesis 4 gives a sign of hope though. At the end of the chapter we see that Eve gives birth to another son, Seth. He takes Abel’s place. This idea of substitution is also an important one throughout the Bible.
As mentioned, before the sacrifices that people were supposed to bring to God, are instructed in Leviticus to be male and without defect. This is because in the New Testament, Jesus, a man without sin came into the world. He came to sacrifice His life in our place. So, just as in one sense Abel’s death gave rise to Seth’s life, Jesus’ death gives us the chance of a new life.
So, what should our response to be to this offer? Some people still have the concept that we need to bring sacrifices to God today. There are probably still cultures out there where animal sacrifices are given. In the modern western world though, this type of sacrifice has been long forgotten. People still try though to bring other types of sacrifice, whether it be time, energy, money or other resources. However, Hebrews 7:27 very clearly states that Jesus sacrificed himself once and for all. His sacrifice was the supreme sacrifice which resolved the problem of sin and so we don’t need to add to this sacrifice other sacrifices.
The Bible does nevertheless talk about offering to God a sacrifice of thanks (Psalm 50:14) and offering our bodies as a living sacrifice to God (Romans 12:1). In other words, if we have received the benefit of Jesus’ sacrifice into our lives, that is the new life that He offers, we should then live for Him out of gratitude for what He has done for us.
For a number of years, I have travelled regularly to Alunis, a small village twenty or so kilometres from where I live in Moldova. There was a period when we got up early on a Saturday morning to go and run a children’s club. This wasn’t always easy, partly because of the children’s misbehave, but also because of the conditions there. In winter, it was often warmer outside than inside the church, for example. Sometimes I thought to myself that it would be easier to not go there. And it would have been. However, God calls us sometimes to do things that are not easy or comfortable for us. This then is our sacrifice of thanks to Him.

cain and Abel

Reminiscences18

True Church

Ben was awoken from this vivid recollection by Ovidiu’s voice.

'Are you ok?'

The sickness and faintness had passed and so Ben was able to give an affirmative response.

 'I’m fine.'

Ovidiu helped him to his feet. Ben dusted himself off as if it had been nothing and set his face to move onwards, spurred on by the memory of this strange forgiveness that he wanted to get to the bottom of.

They wound their way through a series of back streets until a definitive right turn into a little road, a bit further up which they arrived at the church building. Once again it wasn’t quite what Ben had been expecting. The church was wedged in between other buildings. There was a gate, not much of a courtyard in contrast to the spacious area before the Orthodox church and then steps, somewhat steeper than those of the Orthodox church, which led up to the church’s entrance. Ben readily ascended them, this time without the reluctant uncertainty that he had felt at the other Church. This time he sensed that he was in the right place.

Ovidiu was obviously on home ground and quickly darted in through the door, then sharp right and into the church sanctuary, but taking after this another left turn up a few steps to a raised seating platform at the back of the church. Ben hadn’t seen anything like this before and thought that maybe it was so that the church leaders could see better who was sleeping or otherwise not paying attention at the back of the church. In any case, it didn’t deter Ovidiu and he quickly found what was presumably his usual seat. Ben sat down next to him.

The church was large. Ben pondered how many people would fit in. It was hard to tell. He was tempted to do a quick estimate, but his attention was quickly drawn by something unexpected. Either his Romanian had fast improved or a miracle had taken place, but Ben realised that the person speaking from the front was intelligible. Ben did a double-take and then it occurred to him why. The man was American!

'And so today I want to speak to you about the Prodigal son,' said the preacher in a noticeable southern American drawl.

'Și azi vreau să vă vorbesc despre fiul risipitor,' came the translation.

Could it be a double piece of divine providence? Ben had not only entered the church at the precise moment when the sermon was starting, but it was also a sermon being delivered in a language he could understand. Maybe Ovidiu knew about this and had planned it all along or, perhaps, it was just the way it was meant to be.  

The American preacher skilfully and beautifully told the story of the Prodigal son, a boy who left home with his share of his Father’s wealth and squandered it in wild living. Once the money had run out, he lost his friends and ended up taking care of some pigs. As so many do, when he got into trouble and suffering he then started to think about the deeper things of life. He realised that it was much better back at his Father’s home. Even if he had behaved in such a bad way, he decided to return, expecting that he might just be allowed back, but not as a son anymore, instead as a hired worker. Maybe that way he could repay some of what he had wasted.

However, to his surprise, as he is approaching his home village, his father sees him from a distance and runs to him, embracing him and fully accepting him back as a son. He offers gifts and even throws a party that the whole village can come to!

In the same way, explained the preacher, we too have all separated from God to live our lives as we please, but with his wealth. However, if we realise our mistake, come to our senses and get up and return to Him, he will receive us back and make us a child of His, and all this is a free gift. We don’t have to do anything to earn it or repay our sins.

Towards the end of the sermon, as captivating as it was, Ben’s mind began to wonder. He pictured the last moment when he had seen Alexandra. It was at their graduation ceremony. She had gotten a first-class degree and was off to Cambridge to become a researcher. Ben hadn’t quite hit those heights. He had got an upper second, also respectable, but he felt like he could have done better, if it wasn’t for all the turbulent thoughts that had been going through his mind. He’d started to wonder what the point of everything was. Even if he got a good degree and then a good job and then a family and so on, it was still going to end one day, and then what? And what did any of these things mean, as pleasant and nice as they were, if ultimately one day he would be gone and forgotten. Indeed, when he was gone where would he be? He couldn’t contemplate not existing anymore.

Such weighty thoughts, had greatly distracted him from his studies. He’d read some books and watched some films, but hadn’t yet found any answers. One day, just before the graduation ceremony, it had occurred to him that maybe he should just ask Alexandra. She seemed to have it all worked out and whatever she had he wanted. Graduation after all might be the last time he saw her and so he didn’t want to miss this last chance.

The moment came then. Both with degree certificates in hand and wearing flowing black gowns and funny square topped hats, he approached her to say goodbye.

‘Alexandra, I just wanted to congratulate you on your first and wish you all the best at Cambridge.’

‘Thanks. You too for whatever you now do.’

‘Thanks. There was one thing I wanted to ask.’

‘Yes, what?’

Ben poised himself, not quite sure how to say it, in spite of a number of rehearsals.

‘I’ve noticed there is something different about you and I would like to know what?’

She looked kind of embarrassed and reluctant to speak. After a few moments though, she gathered herself. ‘When I was little, I met Jesus at my church in Romania. He gave me life and now I live for Him!’ was her bold affirmation.

Ben was taken a back. Jesus had died more than 2000 years ago, so what was He doing walking around Romania and visiting churches there?

Ben would have liked to have asked more questions to examine Alexandra’s statement, but he was denied the chance. She seemed a little hesitant to speak anyway, but, some older people who were presumably her parents, called her over to have some photos taken. She said bye and wished Ben all the best and she was gone.

Ben considered trying to follow up later, but decided that he’d heard what he needed. He was left with lingering thoughts in his mind about Romania. Little did he know that he would also meet Jesus there one day.

Image by WikimediaImages from Pixabay

Reminiscences 17

The Power of Forgiveness

As they left the church building, Ben noticed that at the top of the stairs that lead out from the church, a book table had been set up. Glancing as he passed, Ben observed all sorts of titles on offer, each of which with sombre, but decorative patterns on the front cover and different black and white photos, many of which seemed to be depicting ‘Sfântul Nectarie’ or other such holy people. There were also books with various different drawings, depicting saints or holy scenes.

Everything was in Romanian, but Ben nevertheless felt drawn to have a punt and after a brief perusal he picked up a book entitled, 'Faptele Duhovnicesc ale Sfântului Nectarie' with a nice black and white picture, which presumably represented the man who was now just a fingernail! The book had a label with 5 RON written on it stuck to the front cover, so Ben happily obliged, handing the money over to the lady selling the books, just as Ovidiu approached, agitated and urging Ben to get a move on. Kind of ironic felt Ben, seeing as it was he who had initially had to wait for Ovidiu and that it had been Ovidiu’s idea to make this diversion into the world of saints. Anyway, Ben shrugged off this slight injustice, accepting that he himself also wasn’t perfect, and he was any way in a vulnerable situation, dependant on Ovidiu’s guidance to get him to the right church.

They left the church courtyard at a brisk pace, weaving their way through the crowd that was slowly building up to see what must have been one of the most famous fingernails around. They headed onward up the street. Ben was struggling to keep up with Ovidiu and as they went he started to not feel very well. At first, an uncomfortable pain rose in his stomach. He fought to suppress it, but it was difficult. He managed to keep going a number of steps but then combined with these pains, his head started to hurt. This was capped by his vision beginning to go blurry. He started to lose sight of everything around him and so needed to break his fast-paced walk. He attempted to stumble on a few paces, but the sense of nausea became overwhelming, combined with a partial loss of consciousness, meaning that he had no choice but to come to an abrupt halt and fall to his knees.

Rather than collapse completely on the floor, he was able to support himself by reaching out to a bench that was handily placed on the street and to which he had just about managed to make it, crouching down beside it. He spent a few moments in this awkward position, trying to steady his balance and hoping that he could hold the contents of his stomach in (he wouldn't want to waste the morning's lovely pancakes). While he did so, in his mind thoughts started to appear of abandoning this journey with Ovidiu to the church. He could see why the more traditional church that they had just visited was an attractive option for some. Its grandeur was something to behold and helped remind you of your actual place in this world. The Bible scenes and other decorations were spectacular and by being there to take them (although admittedly his attention was more drawn by the aforementioned fingernail), Ben felt like he had offered up his respect to divinity and that he was now free to go about his daily business as he pleased. There was however something missing.

Ben reflected on an experience when he was student. A couple of weeks after his footballing exploits, he had got into a conversation with Alexandra before a lecture. She told him that that evening she was going with some people to a film night and invited Ben to come along. He hesitated to accept, not just because he wasn’t really a film buff, but also he lived a long way away from the university and he was nervous about meeting new people too. The lecture wasn’t a riveting one, something about Diels Alder reactions, and so he had plenty of time to reflect on Alexandra’s invitation as the professor waxed lyrical about Alkenes and the various bonds that they could form. Ben realised that he was a bit of a loose radical and that he needed some new connections, so at the end of the lecture, he approached Alexandra and said that he would come, even though he was hesitant and that it wasn’t all together convenient.

Once the final lecture of the day was over, Ben still had a three-hour wait until the time Alexandra had said people were meeting to go to the film night. He killed some time in the library, investigating various cyclohexenes, before heading off to Burger King for some dinner. Once finished, it was just the right time to go to the meeting point for the film. He had some nervousness in his stomach, but as he had said he would go, he felt that it was too late to pull out now. He arrived a few minutes early, but soon Alexandra, followed by some others, appeared.

They set off on a trek through a number of streets before arriving at their destination, a communal student digs, where Ben learned that a few of the members of the Christian Union lived. Ben entered but was already uncomfortable. There was a large living room area where they were to watch the film. Ben plonked himself down on the sofa and a number of others gathered around. A couple of American girls were alongside him and he had a brief chat. Inside of him though, a sense of not wanting to be there grew. It was hard to explain, but he just didn’t feel comfortable and often he developed headaches from such social gatherings. He learned that Star Wars was the film to be viewed. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back and he decided that he needed to find a way to leave. A few people said that they were popping out to get some snacks. Typically student-esc of them to realise that they hadn’t bought any popcorn after everyone had already gathered for the film, but Ben saw for himself an opportunity.

He volunteered to go with them but had no intention of returning with any salty delights. Instead, once out on the street, a conversation ensued among the couple of people he was with as to where they should go to get the snacks. Ben made his excuse though that he needed to go and left abruptly, heading for the nearest underground station in order to make his escape. Those with him were slightly baffled by his decision to leave but were also too caught up in their own snack buying dilemma to say too much. Thus, Ben easily fled and headed home.

Later on, though, reflecting on this incident, he started to feel bad. Alexandra had shown kindness to him, inviting him to this event and his response was to run away without even saying goodbye. He was sure that she would be angry and wouldn’t want to speak to him again. To Ben’s utter surprise though, they saw each other the very next day as they waited for the next instalment in the saga of organic molecule formation, and not only was Alexandra friendly, enquiring about how he was, but she didn’t even mention the erratic behaviour of the previous night.

Ben was shocked. He was used to people holding grudges indefinitely whenever you make a mistake or upset them, ignoring you or having a dig at you for many years to come, whereas Alexandra seemed to have forgotten it all overnight. How could she be so forgiving and understanding?

Image by Alexas_Fotos from Pixabay

Reminiuscences 16

Orthodoxy

Ovidiu was delighted to hear that Ben wanted to come with him to church. He arranged to meet him at the Piața Unirii metrou station at the exit near to Mcdonald’s. Ben thought that this wouldn’t be too hard to find. The only thing was that Ovidiu wanted them to meet at 9.30 a.m. which meant having to rush. Having already spent one day in the city, Ben felt more confident now and thought that he could manage to handle this.

Indeed, he did, throwing on some outdoors clothes and trainers, shooting out of the block of flats (complete with the dicey lift ride down, fortunately the lift had only been stationed two floors below, so whirred up to him quickly!) and then darting between other blocks of flats and various hindrances such as fences, cars, kiosks, stray dogs and pedestrians to reach his destination of Crângași Metrou station. From here, he bought his two journey ticket and jumped on the first train to come, hoping it was the one in the right direction. It was, although as he studied the map he realised that this wasn’t hard as the route was circular so both trains went through Piața Unirii, just one got there quicker than the other. Fortunately, he had gotten on the one that arrived there sooner, or maybe it was divine intervention once again.

Whatever the forces behind his fortuitous decision, it was handy because he arrived at Piața Unirii with just 5 minutes to spare to navigate his way around and find the Mcdonald’s. He circled around the platform that he had arrived at but didn’t see any golden Ms. He saw that there was a passageway that seemed to be leading through to a different bit of the station, so he decided to give that ago. It was just as well he did because in a jiffy he was standing before an underground Mcdonald’s at 9.32 a.m., only two minutes late. No sign of Ovidiu though. He waited and then waited some more and then started to wonder if anything had happened. Ovidiu had stressed the need for him to rush and be on time, but now Ovdiu wasn’t there. What could the reason be? Ben asked himself.

At precisely 9.48 a.m., Ovidiu appeared. 'Hello! Good to see you. Let’s go!' were his only words, with no reference to his tardiness. It was as if he was right on time. Ben shrugged and followed as Ovidiu led the way out of the underground station via some stairs and a biggish escalator.

They then set off on a good paced walk via a busy area next to a shopping centre, which necessitated some good people dodging skills. They turned right and headed up a wide road, away from the masses and into a much more open space. Ben started to lose his breath as Ovidiu dragged him along at a high pace. Funny thought Ben, he’d rushed to be on time and now he was being rushed at someone else’s behest when if all had gone to plan, he could now be enjoying a stroll. He felt a little annoyance growing in him at this injustice, but after a brief internal struggle, he sensed something drawing him along, even if a part of him was telling him to stop.

Ovidiu led the way, oblivious to the wrestling going on behind him inside of Ben. After a brisk 10 minute walk, Ovidiu abruptly veered to the right and entered into the courtyard of an ornate looking church. It wasn’t quite what Ben had been expecting. He’d seen Ovidiu as more of an evangelical sort of guy, walking around carrying his Bible, making references to God’s will and inviting people to church. But here they were in front of an Orthodox church!

Ovidiu headed up the steps that led into the church and Ben had no choice except to follow. The courtyard of the Church was very crowded with people everywhere. Ben hadn’t thought that the Orthodox church was so well attended, although he started to speculate that something special was going on, especially as there was a long queue of people on the steps waiting to enter the church. Ovidiu, however, avoided the queue and went straight in the door. A bit cheeky it seemed to Ben, but he had no choice but to follow suit.

Ben found himself in the hallway area that lay before the actual church sanctuary.  Ovidiu had stopped by the doorway and was peering in.

'What’s going on?' asked Ben when he finally caught up with Ovidiu.

'Today, the Moaștele of Sfântul Nectarie are here and I want to see,' replied Ovidiu.

Ben was now none the wiser why there were actually there, but he was reassured that this was just a detour and not their final destination.

'What do you mean by ‘Moaștele?' Ben responded inquisitively.

Ovidiu turned to him, looking slightly bothered by the question as if everyone should know what ‘Moaștele’ are.

'These are the bits that are left of the Sfânt.'

It didn’t take Ben much to work out that Sfânt was probably Saint, but the concept of bits of him being left seemed decidedly odd.

To make things clearer Ovidiu began pointing into the church to direct Ben’s attention to what he meant. There placed somewhere in the middle of the church’s open space was a table with a white table cloth on it. Sitting atop the table was a picture frame, a very ornate looking one at that, with golden edges and fine red material backing instead of a picture. Perched within the frame was a small object. Ben had to edge into the church to be able to discern what it actually was. As he got closer, it gradually dawned on him that it was fingernail! There was a long line of people waiting to stand before this most holy of fingernails. When each person’s turn came, they edged towards it, bowing, kissing, making crosses and just generally showing signs of great respect. They then turned and left as the next person approached. This all seemed a little much to Ben for such an apparently insignificant object. After all, if anyone really wanted, he could provide a host of nail clippings free of charge!

Ben stared a while at this most odd sight. Ovidiu stood by his side, also seemingly trying to take it all in. Ben was so struck by the strangeness of what was unfolding before him that he barely noticed the extraordinary insides of the Church building. It was exquisitely decorated with beautifully coloured paintings of saints and Bible scenes and other stories all over the walls and ceiling. There were also many other splendid objects culminating in the extravagant golden wall that stood behind the altar at the front of the church. For Ben though, this was all overshadowed by the fingernail.

Eventually, he and Ovidiu tore themselves away from what was happening and started to make their way out of the church. There was one door to get into the church sanctuary and another to leave. They made their way to the exit, but as they were doing so they heard a voice.

'Nu vreți niște Aghiasma?'

They swivelled around to see a man with a well-grown beard, dressed in a long black robe, wafting a little silver bowl towards them.

'What’s that?' blurted out Ben instinctively, giving away his foreignness.

'American?' asked the man standing before them.

'No, actually not,' replied Ben antagonistically, feeling slightly annoyed at this recurring theme.

'Ok. We have holy water for sale. $20 a bottle,' said the man, whose English was pretty good. Maybe he met a lot of Americans, speculated Ben.

Ben looked at Ovidiu for suggestions of what to do. Ovidiu looked just as uncertain as Ben was.

'No, thanks. I prefer mineral water,' was Ben’s less than subtle response.

This is special water. It is blessed by Mitropolitul Bucurestului!'

Ben was wary of blessed drinks, ever since he’d seen a certain episode of ‘Only Fools and Horses.’

'Well, thanks, but even if the Pope had blessed it, I’m still not interested,' was Ben’s unwise reply.

At this, the man in black started to get agitated and began muttering something about ‘eretici’ and ‘sectanți’.

'You must come back to true church!' were his final words before turning his back and heading off to look for more receptive clients.

Image by David Mark from Pixabay