Gone with the wind

 

It was a lovely summer’s afternoon that Sunday when we sat as a family and enjoyed a sumptuous Sunday lunch. We had roast beef as well as fried chicken which had been marinated in all sorts of flavoursome spices and herbs; accompanied by an assortment of vegetables including of course the dreaded Brussels sprouts.

I have never understood why God created this particular vegetable; but create it He did. No doubts He has His reasons and one day we’ll discover how beneficial it is for us and how silly and uneducated we have been to dislike it so. However, for now at least, most people I know don’t seem to like it.

I don’t count myself amongst them, of course. I’m neutral in this respect. I would eat Brussels sprouts if offered to me but I would not go out of my way to ask for them in a gourmet restaurant.

But that Sunday, Brussels sprouts were on the menu. I believe they were mixed with walnut pieces and fried onions, if memory serves me right.

We have had Auntie Gertrude from Australia staying with us for a few days so we also invited Father Frederic to Sunday lunch. The two had never met each other so we sat them next to each other around the large dinner table.

It was a lovely meal with pleasant conversation on no particular subject and all subjects that came to mind.

After lunch, we all moved to the living room to enjoy a nice cup of coffee and continue our discussion.

Father Frederic sat on the sofa leaving a little room for someone else to sit beside him and a few minutes later, as we all made ourselves comfortable, Auntie Gertrude came in and sat beside the priest.

Sadly, and embarrassingly for her, as she lowered herself in the well upholstered settee she accidentally broke wind with a thunderous loud noise.

I should mention at this stage that Father Frederic is somewhat hard of hearing; and he therefore did not notice nor pay attention to what had just happened.

I immediately tried to cover Auntie’s embarrassment by asking him loudly some Ecumenical question that came to mind.

As I leaned towards him speaking a little louder than usual I noticed his face going a little pale as the tell-tale strong smell reached my olfactory senses.

He looked at me accusingly as Auntie got out of the room saying “By dingo cobber! I forgot the biscuits in the kitchen … they're special I brought from Adelaide ... I’ll go and get them!”

As she got out of the room, followed by the rest of the family, she added somewhat undiplomatically "they are not as bland as those English biscuits!"

I was left alone with the kind old heavenly priest and the smell from hell.

Suddenly, the Ecumenical question became totally irrelevant as my mind went blank and my hurt pride and wounded honour urged me to shout at the top of my voice “It was not me!!! It was her!!! She did it and went out leaving me sharing her stench.”

But being the stupid gentleman who I am, I said nothing. I kept quiet and protected a lady’s pride and honour by my silence.

“Would you like a biscuit?” I asked Father picking up the large serving dish which was there all the time.

“That’s a lovely piano …” replied Father Frederic getting up from his seat and moving towards the open window. “Our church organ needs mending … it doesn’t pump so much wind in the pipes as it used to.”

Somehow, the uneasy conversation which followed and the fresh air from the open window, diluted the heavy atmosphere in the room as eventually the rest of the family re-joined us accompanied by an innocent looking Auntie Gertrude.

Since that day, Father Frederic keeps his distance from me whenever we meet.

Excerpt from the book

NO WORRIES MATE

Paperback & KINDLE

HERE

Pretentious Cooking

 

It's amazing how pretentious those TV cooks or chefs can be. The other day there was one making mashed potatoes. You know the kind; boiled potatoes mashed into a smooth paste with cream or milk and various herbs or what have you. The main idea is on smoothness, and soft and velvety and melt-in-the-mouth creamy delight. But his potatoes had big lumps on the plate. So he called it crushed potatoes. Just a change of name and the lazy blighter got away with a mediocre dish anyone would have made at home.

On another program someone was talking about wine. He said you can taste the acidity of the limestone where the grapes were grown. Sorry ... no ... you are drinking vinegar and passing it off as a fine wine costing $1.99 a gallon. Stop fooling your audience and benefiting by promoting gnats' piss. 

And the pretence goes on. If your meat is overcooked and falling to pieces you call it pulled pork or pulled beef; if it is totally raw and bleeding you call it rare. There was a cook with an open packet of pasta which he served straight onto the plate and called it al dente to the delight and applause of his admiring stooges.

There's also this trend on TV of chefs preparing their meals al fresco ... or outdoors as you and I would say. They have a gas powered fire on a table on the beach, or the countryside or a farm and they prepare all kinds of delights whilst behind them an asteroid has hit the earth and they are totally unaware of the dust and debris polluting their lobster thermidor. 

If I were to go out in the garden and pick up a snail and eat it, you'd think I've gone mad. But add a bit of garlic butter to it, call it escargot, and you're suddenly a gourmet.

As for grabbing a frog and biting off its legs ... I don't suppose this is something some of you would do; is it?

As long as you use the right words like haute cuisine or nouvelle cuisine then it's OK to come on TV and offer all sorts of things for your audience to marvel at and eat. 

I'm sure you have come across other examples of pretentious language used in the food industry, (or elsewhere). Please share them with us here.

I think I'll stick to burgers and fries from my fast food outlet ... oh, with a tossed salad on the side please.

How it happened

 

Many years ago, before milkshakes and burgers were invented, a huge asteroid hit the earth and killed all the dinosaurs. Why were they all standing in the same place? I ask. Was it a convention of some sort?

Anyway, the asteroid caused total devastation. There were fires and earthquakes all over the world. All vegetation was destroyed. Even those dinosaurs which did not attend the convention died of starvation because there was no food in the world. Even in the sea. All plankton was destroyed and all fishes died too.

For ten years there was a large cloud of sulphur which covered the earth and darkened the sun. It was permanently night-time. 

Eventually, the sulphur cloud turned to dust and ashes and settled on the earth. Slowly, the sun began to shine again and slower still a few shoots of vegetation began to appear here and there. And in time small animals like ferrets and reptiles began to appear.

WAIT A MINUTE !!! The problem with TV is that you cannot stop it and ask questions.

Where were those ferrets and reptiles for all these years? In well built fall-out shelters feasting on milkshakes and burgers? And where did zebras, and dogs and cauliflowers eventually come from? Were they in bunkers too? How about humans? If all the cavemen and women perished when the asteroid hit, and all that remained was their paintings on cave walls, how did they re-emerge again?

I think those people who make TV programs should consider the questions the viewers might have in mind.

Can we possibly love like that?

 

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)

I guess the question to ask here is: Can we really love one another as Jesus has loved us? He was/is God, we are not. So how can we love like Him? As much as Him? After all, He gave His life for us. Are we prepared to do the same?

Let us consider what is love. In Greek, one of the languages the Bible was written in, there are different words for love:

Philia (φιλία):

This word translates to "friendship" or "brotherly love". It's a dispassionate, virtuous love between equals. This is where we get the word bibliophile meaning lover of books, or Anglophile, lover of the English.

 

Eros (ἔρως):

This type of love is characterized by passion, desire, and often sexual attraction. It's the kind of love that might be felt between romantic partners. That's where we get the words erotic and erotica.

 

Storge (στοργή):

This refers to the love and affection between parents and children, a natural, instinctive bond. It's often described as a feeling of tenderness and warmth. 

 

Agape (ἀγάπη):

This is the highest form of love, often seen in a religious context, especially in Christianity. It's a selfless, unconditional love, the kind that God is believed to possess for humans. 

 

This is what Jesus is talking about here. Are we prepared to love one another, to care for one another, unconditionally, no matter what, to the point of giving our everything for someone else? A stranger? An enemy even. Remember, He said love your enemies as well as your neighbour. Are we prepared to go to that length?

 

Or is it perhaps that we are incapable of such love because we are not Divine as Christ was/is Divine?  

After His Resurrection, Jesus appeared to the disciples at Lake Tiberias. As they sat on the shore eating together, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these others do?”

“Yes, Lord,” he answered, “you know that I love you.”

Jesus said to him, “Take care of my lambs.”

Three times Jesus asked if He was loved by Peter, and each time He said, “Take care of my sheep.” (John Chapter 21).

This is the kind of Agape love Jesus was speaking of. "Do you care for Me, (and my sheep/followers), so much that you'd be prepared to give up your life for Me and for them?"

Of course, Peter proved that he was prepared to go all the way to being crucified upside down for Christ.

We may not be asked to go to such extremes. But it should not stop us from trying to love one another as Jesus loved us.

Are you leaving Christianity too?

 

 

There is a trend in the world with more and more people who were at one time Christians turning their backs on their faith and walking away.

 

Are you one of them?

 

Secularism is on the rise. That much we know. But added to it, many once Christians are now also walking away. 

 

I cannot speak for where you live, but here in the UK, regular church attendance, that is once a week, all denominations combined, is about 5% of the population. You can hardly call us a Christian nation, although many would identify themselves as such when asked in the street. Often church attendance is limited to baptisms, weddings and funerals; and these are considered as social occasions and not religious in any context.

 

Many are Christians just because their parents were Christians, or because they were brought up this way, or because it is a badge they wear when asked what they are. Christians in name only but not in fact. Even if they do attend church.

 

Some, especially the young, identify themselves as not believing in anything. They may call themselves atheists, agnostics, non-believers or whatever; but what is significant is that they wear their particular badge with pride. It's as if to believe in a living God is an antiquated notion that is long past its day. 

Christians are leaving the faith for many reasons. Some because they have had an argument with their priest or vicar and have left the church not to return again.

 

Others because they have suffered a tragedy, illness or death in their lives and blame it all on God for not looking after them. (If my protector does not care about me why should I care about Him?)

 

Whilst others have had a dispute with family or loved ones and do not accept their relatives' faith and have as a result distanced themselves from them.

 

And others have become too busy with the pressures of life, or by the alluring pleasures it offers, that they have just neglected their faith never to return again.

 

Whatever their reasons, many Christians are leaving the faith yet believing, in all consciousness, that they are good people really, and destined to Heaven ... eventually ... for eternity.

 

But there's more ... 

 

Aside from Christians leaving Christianity; there's another growing trend in the world of not wanting to know about God or to learn about Him and follow Him. It's as if the whole world has put their hands on their ears and are shouting " La ... La ... La ... I don't want to know!"

 

Christianity is mocked, derided and banned in many lands and new generations are encouraged to distance themselves from it. Time was when you would find a Bible in every hotel room. Now many such establishments have removed the Bibles so as not to offend their clients. Churches and preachers are teaching a new watered-down type of Christianity where anything goes as long as you are happy, comfortable and not offending anyone.

 

"Not everyone who calls me 'Lord, Lord' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only those who do what my Father in Heaven wants them to do." Matthew 7:21.

Meet my ...

 

Meet my cat Rover. He's good at gambling.

 

Meet also Fifi my little puppy. I thought it was lost.

 

 

And meet my dog Tiger praying about the cost of living and so many pets to feed.

Meet my ...

 

Meet Fleurette, my dietician. She is also an amateur wrestler in her spare time.

Meet my ...

 

Meet my friend Ivor Tatt. A brain surgeon by profession.

Meet my ...

 

Meet my wife's bridesmaids at our wedding.

Meet my ...

 

Meet my cat Rex. He makes a good living as a masseur.

The Gate

 

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures;
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul;
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me.
Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies;
Thou anointest my head with oil;
my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life;
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23. 

In the Gospel of John Chapter 10 Jesus says several times "I am the gate".

In Chapter 10 - 9 He says "I am the gate. Those who come in by me will be saved; they will come in and go out and find pasture."

This seems strange at first. We can understand when Jesus says "I am the Way" or "I am the Good Shepherd"; but gate? What does all that mean?

To understand this we need to visualise how a sheep pen at the times of Christ looked like. It was a circular or square enclosure built out of stone, wooden fencing or just hedges. And it had an opening through which sheep got in and out.

But shepherds in those days were poor people. They certainly would not have the money to build gates at the opening of the pen. They stayed "watching their flocks by night" with their sheep.

The pen looked something like the photo above.

And the shepherd would lie across the opening, sleeping with his sheep, and making sure that none would get out during the night. Also protecting them from wolves or other predators.

So, the shepherd was in fact the gate.

That's what Jesus meant when He said He is the gate.

He protects us from evil and stops us from going astray.

A Confrontation

 

After the war Britain was in a state of flux. It may have won the war with its allies, but things had changed. People were confused. Many had lost friends and relatives at the front or in the bombings of many towns and cities. Many more had been wounded, injured or disabled for life. Soldiers were returning home to find there was no jobs for them. Some had lost their homes. Others had lost their families. Marriages and relationships were under strain with many couples not having seen each other for three or more years whilst fighting abroad or lingering in prison camps. The order of things as we knew them were not the same any more and people found it difficult to adjust.

One significant change was peoples' spiritual lives. Some continued to believe in whatever deity they felt comfortable with; whilst many more seemed to rebel against a God who allowed all the evil and suffering to happen.

Father Ignatius was in London for a conference. On his way back home, whilst at the railway station, he decided to kill time by going to the corner shop for a cup of tea. His train was not due for an hour or so.

As he sat at his table reading the newspaper a man in his late thirties approached him and asked, "It's crowded here. Do you mind if I share your table?"

The old priest smiled and invited him to sit. Noticing that Father Ignatius was wearing his white clerical collar, the man said, "You're a priest are you?"

"Yes, I am ..." replied Father Ignatius.

"I'm surprised there's still any people like you around," said the man, "after all that's happened these last few years I can't see how you believe in a God that's let it all happen."

Father Ignatius thought it best not to respond. He just smiled feebly.

"I was a soldier you know," continued the man as Father Ignatius nodded to encourage him to go on. It was obvious that the man wanted to vent out and Father Ignatius was to be the recipient of pent up anger.

"I was a soldier," he said, "if I could tell you of the horrors I've seen. But we're not allowed to talk about it. I lost many friends; one of them died in my very arms. He was only 19. 

"How can a loving God not intervene and stop it all? There was a time I believed you know. I was brought up a Catholic, I was an Altar boy. Now I believe it was all a hoax. Either God does not exist or He does not really care."

"I can understand how you feel," Father Ignatius said gently.

"Do you? Do you really? What do you really know?" interrupted the man putting his cup down forcible that it rattled the saucer.

"I was a soldier too ... in the First War," replied Father Ignatius.

"Oh ..." said the man uncomfortably. Father Ignatius chose to continue talking in order to dilute the situation a little. "You are not alone to feel as you do towards God," he said, "several of my parishioners have told me the same as you. 

"Whether you believe in God or not is your own prerogative; a personal matter. But let us assume for a moment that He exists. Which side would you have Him on in this war?"

The man was surprised at this line of questioning and said nothing.

Father Ignatius continued, "Let us assume that in the opposing army there is a devout Christian believer. Should God protect him from our soldiers? Should He take sides on an individual basis protecting only those who believe in Him and love Him? You said you don't believe in Him, so where does that leave you? Should He abandon you in the heat of war? Or does He love all His children as His creations regardless of whether they believe in Him or not?"

The man shrugged his shoulders and said nothing.

"Does God love you?" asked Father Ignatius.

"I don't know ..." replied the man shrugging his shoulders again.

"I am certain that He does," Father Ignatius said smiling a little to ease the tension, "whether you believe in Him or not. He loves you and He understands how you feel. even though I may not, as you said. 

"God has witnessed all the hurt and suffering on all sides of this war. He did not intervene in order to protect our own freedoms to do as we want. Even to the point of not believing in Him. He hurts and He grieves at all the deaths and sufferings that this war has caused. He grieves just as you grieve. The only difference is that He grieves at how evil we have become."

There followed a short period of silence. It was only for a few seconds; but seconds can be an eternity at certain times such as this one.

The man spoke first, "I also had difficulties," he mumbled, "when I believed that is ... I had difficulties in understanding that the host we have at Communion and the wine are really the body and blood of Christ. How can that be?"

Father Ignatius replied in softer tones. "As you may know," he said, "the Catholic Church takes this teaching from the Gospel of John Chapter 6 where Jesus says several times that He is "the Bread of life" and that unless people eat His flesh or drink His blood they will not have eternal life. Look it up in the Bible.

"This is a central belief of our Catholic faith and the Church invites its followers to believe this is so. Of course, there are many, including Catholics, who believe this is all symbolism. Christ did not really mean it as such. 

"Now then ... let us assume, as I said earlier, that God exists. I believe He does. But for the sake of argument, seeing you no longer believe in Him, let us assume He exists ... is that OK?"

The man nodded.

"Let us assume God exists and you believe in Him. But you do not believe that at Communion we receive the real body and blood of Christ. You think it's all symbolism.

"Let us then assume, which I believe to be a certainty, that we will all one day meet God face to face. Who would you rather be? ... ... ... Someone who did not believe Communion is the body and blood of Christ and you find out that it is so, just as Jesus said? Or someone who believed and found out it was symbolism after all? 

"You see the subtle difference?"

The man smiled and said nothing.

"You see my friend," Father Ignatius smiled back, "I take the view that Jesus was not a liar. He said something that we do not understand, and many theologians and learned people have debated over it for years. For me, it is easier to just accept what Jesus said and believe it in good faith; even though I don't understand it. The alternative is not to believe and in so doing imply Jesus was a liar."

"Thank you, Father," said the man, calling the priest by his proper title for the first time, "you have given me a lot to think about. I wish I could talk with you for hours on end. I have to go now and catch my train."

"Go in peace, my friend," replied the kind old priest, "I shall be praying for you!"