Cooperation

This is all that is required to find success.  We all need to work together to maintain the greater good.  Once we have found our very best, we can join in with others through cooperation, bringing the very best results.  Looking at the workings of group success, it is through the organization of putting people in the best conditions to shine and achieve their finest hours.  It was illustrated by the words of Winston Churchill, "Never was so much owed by so many to so few."  He was paying tribute to the fighter pilots of the Royal Air Force, who, against incredible odds, cleared the skies of German planes and prevented the invasion of the British Isles.  These young men went up time and time again.  They came from many different sources, but worked together in cooperation to win the day,

 The recent pandemic is another example of cooperation.  The National Health Service worked long hours and made many sacrifices so that Covid-19 could be controlled.  The nation was made safe by the cooperation of many people and services.  The British people survived Lock down and only essential services were allowed out of their homes to keep the vital services going.  There was a spirit of cooperation, where everybody lent a hand so that those who were unable to go out received their vital supplies and the old and infirm managed to get by due to the cooperation of neighbors and friends.  We all needed a helping hand.  Everybody did their share.

 It is not only when the chips are down that cooperation is needed.  Recently the Americans landed on the planet Mars with remarkable results.  Through cooperation their team managed to send a spaceship to another planet and carry out functions that would have seemed impossible before the vehicle landed.  They manufactured Oxygen and flew a helicopter making the conquest of space seem possible and a reality.  Many skills are needed to make a successful attempt become a success, but all the skills in the world would fail without the cooperation of each and every one in those teams.  We need to turn our cooperation into peaceful explorations of global problems.  If we all pulled together, we could make this world a safer and better place.

 Global warming is happening at a mighty pace, due to the actions of people taking greed for themselves and not caring about the future of this planet.  We all need to cooperate together to find ways of controlling the destruction of our assets.  The forests are being cut down.  The temperature is rising, the ice is melting.  The sea level is starting to flood the lower levels of land on which people have lived for thousands of years.  The flora and fauna are disappearing, crops are being lost.  The Coronavirus showed us how easy it is to turn this world into chaos.  Still millions of people are dying from its ravages as it has spread through all countries and can only be stopped by vaccinations from the wealthy nations to be given to the poorer ones.  This can only occur through global cooperation.

 Friday, 30^th April 2021

Colonisation

 Man is forever filled with greed.  He always wants more than he has.  He is never satisfied with what God had provided for him and his needs.  It could be called ambition but to have more just for the sake of having it is not sufficient reason for wanting it.  Throughout the course of time men have cast their greedy eyes on what their neighbor has.  The tenth Commandment clearly says, “You shall not covet your neighbors house . . . your neighbors wife . . . nor anything that is your neighbors” (Exodus 20:17).  Yet from the earliest days the greedy eyes of man have ever looked out beyond this and has sort to colonize his neighbor’s country and the wealth that it would bring.

 This has been the history over the many centuries and men have been at war killing and stealing the possessions of their neighbors.  The plunder taken from the losing side included not only the physical wealth of gold and silver, but anything precious such as silks or timber.  Not content with taking these precious things, the able-bodied men and women were taken into slavery.  Mighty empires were created and covered vast areas of the known world.  Egypt and Rome spread their laws and religions over the land and converted the people by whatever means.  Nothing lasts forever but the mighty held sway for thousands of years until circumstances changed and they in their turn were conquered.

 The British Empire was conceived by the Victorians, as the British Navy ruled the waves and allowed global travel to take place and huge areas of land were opened up as explorers took charge of countries in the name of Queen Victoria, who was happy to be also hailed as an Empress and worshiped in distant lands, such as India and Australia.  Where the conquers went they were soon followed by the missionaries, who taught the Gospel and built their churches, so that the new region was born in the name of the conquers.  During the Second World War troops were sent to fight with the British Army against the evils of the Nazis, who practiced canonization in Europe and joined together with Italy and Japan.

 Genocide was practiced against the Jews and their wealth was stolen.  They were put in camps and used as forced labor until they were too old or too weak to work and then they were gassed in huge numbers.  There are many other examples of Genocide in the modern world, most famously in Rwanda where in the 1990s a civil war led to mass murders of the local people. Mankind does not take much notice of the Commandments but kills and steals for what he wants.  Colonization is now happening in space, where there is rivalry for domination between the Americans, the Chinese and the Russians.  Mars has been targeted and already exploration has taken place.  May God’s peace be established in space or none of us will be safe in this world or beyond it.

 Thursday, 29^th April 2021

Entrust

Before you entrust a mission to another you need to have complete confidence that they will be able to carry it out.  Jesus entrusted his disciples to carry on his mission, even though he knew that it would put them in danger.  They were equipped with the Holy Ghost that took away the negativity and filled them with the positive energies of achievement.  It was their job now to travel the roads of the Roman Empire, even though all Roman soldiers were looking to kill them.  Famously as Peter fled from Rome, he met the risen Christ and asked him where he was going.  Jesus replied, “To Rome to be crucified again.”  This gave Peter the courage to return to Rome, where he was martyred.

 The disciples went throughout the lands spreading the Good News about the risen Jesus.  They converted many families, who knew the dangers and keep it secret in their homes.  They even had a secret sign of the shape of a fish, so that they could confirm amongst themselves who was a member of their beliefs and who was not.  It was a very dangerous time, as the Romans continued to find anyone who was acquainted with the Christ, who had been hailed as King of the Jews and was therefore seen in Rome as setting himself up against Caesar. Every loyal supporter of Jesus needed to be entrusted as a bone fide member of the faith.

 God asks us to be entrusted to be and to do what He asks of us.  We all come down to this earth plane to carry out our destiny, which was agreed to before we were born here.  Our memory was erased, so we could honestly carry it out and, in His name, we stand proud to be called as His instrument to be used as He sees fit.  In those earlier days many were put to death for daring to stand against Rome.  The Caesar was all powerful and recognized no other gods than those who were officially deemed to be acceptable to the dynasties of the Roman Empire.  In time there were conversions.  Christianity became an accepted religion, which was accepted in the ranks of the Empire.

 The many servants to the one God was even believed by the wife of Caesar.  He eventually used it as a political tool to unite the factions within the Roman Empire.  He famously won a battle that he credited his victory to the Christian God.  In time he brought all Christian Bishops together at Nicaea to agree the Christian theology, which had varied as each community had its own version of events.  They argued and agreed, so that the final version of all was entrusted to a body of people in Rome, who became known as the Roman Catholic Church and presumed to have all the answers to dictate as the true faith without any opposition.  Any who opposed it were deemed heretics.  They and their beliefs were disposed of in the most brutal way and this Church has remained after a very mixed and bloody history.

 Wednesday, 28^th April 2021

 

Airing

 To give something an airing is to expose it to the fresh air and then let all the bits of negativity be blown away.  This may be the washing of the clothes or the house rugs during spring cleaning.  A warm and slightly windy day is chosen.  The windows are opened.  Fresh air replaces the dusty stale air of the winter months.  Everything is cleaned and open to inspection.  The old is replaced by a new and fresh outlook.  The home is cleansed.  The freshness and surety of life is felt.  There will be new items brought into the home.  A physical cleansing has taken place.  All is readjusted.  There is a new joy that runs through the home, which every visitor will feel.  The old dusty corners are no more.  Everything takes on a new value and is positive and joyful.

 After the crucifixion everything was depressing and dreary.  The disciples had lost their leader and they dare not hope for miracles, as they struggled with what they felt was the reality of life and death.  Surely Jesus had failed.  His ministry was no more.  They were leaderless and didn’t know how to react to it.  They all cowered together and discussed what they should do.  They were afraid for their own lives.  Then suddenly Mary Magdalene burst into the room.  She told them she had seen Jesus.  They didn’t believe her.  He had been crucified and that was common knowledge.  These were the demented ravings of Jesus’s woman.  She was never liked as she took all the love from them.  She was only a woman!  They were the important ones as they were after all men.

 As Mary explained what she had seen, there began to be a glimmer of light and eventually Peter and John put away their fears and ran to the place where they knew Jesus’s body had been placed.  They were amazed to find that the huge stone sealing the entrance had been rolled away.  They were puzzled but yet they felt some understanding of Jesus’s words that he would be raised up in three days and so it now appeared to be.  When they returned with the confirmation of Mary’s words, she urged them to go out into the streets and proclaim the truth to the people.  At first, they felt stupid, because they were only simple souls and not used to hearing their own voices telling the story of Jesus.

 Very soon, as they spoke the words, they were filled with the Holy Ghost and all fear left them.  The listeners were amazed as they spoke in tongues, so that each and every one of them could hear the words clearly in their own language.  Many souls had come to Jerusalem from their own lands to make a sacrifice in the Temple and be blessed by the priests until they could come again.  The disciples were guided to go out into the roads and highways spreading the Good News that Jesus had now risen from the dead and that he was alive.  They had seen him.  They gave the message an airing and throughout the lands of the Roman Empire.  The new was brought in and the old dusty beliefs were confronted.  Houses keep their new knowledge in their own homes as the Roman soldiers tried to root it out. The words were kept safe by passing them from one to the other.  It was not deemed safe to write anything down until the Gospels emerged several decades later.

 Tuesday, 27^th April 2021

Dishonored

To be dishonored is to have been found to have let down your fellows in your company or group of friends.  Once you have been discovered or found out you can no longer remain as a valued member of that group.  At the last supper Jesus was aware that one of his disciples had arranged to betray him to the Sanhedrin.  He revealed this to the group and told the traitor to go and fulfill his mission.  Judas Iscariot got up and left the table and went to the Temple, where he arranged to betray the Christ. 

After the supper, Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane and prayed knowing that the dreadful end was coming.  As his disciples slept, Judas drew near with his contact from the Sanhedrin and some soldiers to arrest Jesus.  Judas went to Jesus and identified his master with a kiss and called him Rabbi, meaning teacher.  The soldiers were then ordered to take the identified leader and the unprotesting Jesus was taken away to be questioned and tried.  The Sanhedrin judged him but by Roman Law had no right to execute anybody, so they took him before Pontius Pilate.

The Roman Governor of Judea found no fault with Jesus and famously washed his hands of the responsibility of the case.  His wife sent word to him that she had dreamed of this righteous man and that he should be released.  However, the Jews who had brought Jesus to trail before the Roman governor argued strongly about the dangers of allowing Jesus to live and so it was that Jesus was to be whipped and then taken to Golgotha, where he was stripped of his clothing and then was crucified. 

Meanwhile Judas Iscariot had had second thoughts and tried to return the thirty pieces of silver to the Sanhedrin, but they wouldn’t accept them back.  The coins were considered to be unclean and, although they had been paid out of Temple funds, they would have now deemed them to be unworthy to be accepted.  Remember how Jesus had thrown out the money changers from the temple as they changed unclean money into Temple coinage, so they could be accepted as offerings.  Judas Iscariot was later found to have hanged himself in remorse for what he had done.

 Monday, 26^th April 2021

Courier

 In the days before all our modern communications, if we needed to send a message we sent for a courier, whose job it was to carry the communication from the sender to the receiver.  For example, in the days of battles, one would send out a courier under a white flag to politely ask if the other side wished to concede before the battle commenced, as the sender felt that they had overwhelming odds in their favor.  Perhaps the most famous was Mountjoy, who came to Henry V from the French King asking for Henry to withdraw his weakly forces before the Battle of Agincourt.  In Shakespeare’s play he comes a second time to say that the French had surrendered. The day was won by the English.  

 We tend to forget how much we owe to modern communications and how the telephone and wireless has made it so much easier to communicate with each other and to send out words getting an almost instant reply.  In the days of Jesus, the fastest way to send out commands or messages was to employ a courier with a fast horse to deliver the sealed scroll containing the message.  Only in this way could Caesar have any say in the governing of his provinces.  He had to rely on sending men with commands and to receive news in the same way.  Loyalty of his soldiers and their commanders was imperative to the smooth running of the Roman Empire.

 After the crucifixion it took time for the news and death of Jesus to be relayed through the word of mouth of those who carried the news.  Three days later, when it was proved that the heavy stone at the entrance of his tomb had been rolled back and the posted guards were nowhere to be found, Jesus had truly risen from the dead as he had said that he would.  It was not until he showed himself to his wife Mary Magdalene and told her to go to the disciples and to tell them what she had seen that the realization stated to emerge.  The disciples didn’t believe her.  She was not liked because she was a woman and Jesus loved her more than them.  Peter and John ran to the tomb and found it empty.

 When they returned, they had to grudgingly admit that Mary was right.  They had been in hiding not knowing what to do.  She told them that they must go out into the streets and proclaim the Good News to the people They were filled with the Holy Ghost and spoke in tongues, so that all people, no matter what their nationality or upbringing, could understand every word that they said.  Jesus came to them is time and taught them how to become couriers and spread the Good News across the then known world and centers of understanding were developed and what became to be called Christianity became established in secret to avoid the Roman soldiers, who were sent to eradicate anything to do with The King of the Jews.

Sunday, 25^th April 2021