OVER & OUT

(Fearghas & Stuart are my older brothers)

Over and out

The Queensboro Bridge crossing the Hudson on the way from JFK Airport to New York is, like the Brooklyn

Fearghas, Stuart, and Neil

Bridge, to some people a skyway at a terrifying height with plunging vertiginous views of enormous buildings away down below. 

The taxi on the outside edge lumbers along interminably locked in slow traffic as this here shrunken wreck of a passenger eyeballs the abyss exposed far down there, screaming (internally) "for his mother", with glimpses of the horror, like another local crossing the size of the Erskine Bridge, glimpsed way down far below, down there where we dare not look except in desperation to see if we are over... 

I told my brother Fergie, a poet among other accomplishments, of the experience and of how for a couple of days before going back at the end of the break I was in a distracted turmoil, afraid to go home, back over That Thing! Nooooo! 

On the morning, I went into a familiar bar half-an-hour before the coach picked us up, to get myself into a right good state of artificially induced serenity with a rapid succession of drinks. But nothing would do. 

The booze wouldn't work. I was too scared. Terrified into gibberish, I stared stark-mad fixedly at the coach's carpet for safety as we headed off... and then things took an unexpected course... and the booze, too late, did its work.

In Gaelic, with a version in English.

Stiùbhart ann an Nua-Eabhrac
le Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh

Chòrd Nua-Eabhrac ris glan.
Naoidheamh làr Taigh-òsta Shelburne.
Sàr-shealladh dhen Togalach Stàit Ìmpireachd.
Ach dhùisg seo gu dona an tuaineil-àirde aige.
Bha an taigh-òsta trang, ach air a’ cheann thall fhuair e
rùm (le sealladh nas miosa) shìos air an dàrna ùrlar.
Tha duilgheadas aige fiù ’s le drochaidean àrda.
Agus thàinig iad tarsainn tè àrd dha-rìribh air an t-slighe -
Drochaid Queensboro.
“Carson a tha feagal ort ro dhrochaidean
nuair nach eil dragh ort a thaobh itealain?”, dh’fhaighnich mi.
“Och tha sgiathan orrasan”, thuirt e.
Mar a b’ fhaisg’ a thàinig crìoch a làithean-saora,
is ann a bu mhò a ghabh e sgàth. Oir b’ ann taobh thall
Drochaid Queensboro a laigh port-adhair JFK.
Thòisich e ag òl mus do dh’fhalbh e.
Ann am bàr traidiseanta faisg air an taigh-òsta.
Pinnt lagar. Is beag feum a rinn seo, gu nàdarra.
Mhìnich e a’ chùis gu nighinn a’ bhàir.
“Feumaidh mi dol tarsainn Drochaid Queensboro
air an rathad dhan phort-adhair.Tha iomagain orm.”
Lagar eile. Cha do rinn seo cobhair na bu mhò.
Glainne fìon. Glainne fìon eile.
Cha robh an stuth seo a’ dèanamh a’ ghnothaich idir.
“Carson nach do shluig thu tè mhòr no dhà
de uisge-beatha?”, dh’fhaighnich mi dheth.
“Och cha toigh leam spioradan”, fhreagair e.
Air a’ cheann thall siod e a-nis air a’ bhus
air a shlighe mhì-fhoisneach air ais dhan phort-adhair,
an drochaid chrost ud a’ sìor fhàs na b’ eagalaiche na inntinn.
Drochaid àrd Queensboro a’ sìor dhlùthachadh ris.
Siod i ag èirigh na amharc a-nis. Siod a chridhe ag èirigh na uchd.
Ach aig a’ mhòmaid mu dheireadh nach deach am bus a-steach tunail...
Sin thu fhèin Drochaid na Bànrighe!
Tuaineil-àirde gu tunail-ìsle!

Stuart in New York
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh (11 May 2019)

He is loving New York (even more than the original).
Up there on the ninth floor of the Shelburne Hotel.
Great vista of the Empire State Building.
But it seriously triggers his vertigo.
So he gets a move down to the second floor
with a (shall we say) “less challenging” view.
His vertigo, by the way, also involves bridges.
And they had just arrived over a rather high one -
the Queensboro Bridge.
“How come you have a problem with bridges
but not with airplanes?”, I asked.
“Planes have wings”, he said.
The closer the end of his vacation draws,
the greater his anxiety grows. For JFK airport
lies on the far side of Queensboro Bridge.
He hoofs it to a saloon before departure.
A traditional bar near the hotel. A pint of lager.
The cold-hearted liquor begrudges moral support.
He confides his plight to the barmaid.
“I’ve got to cross Queensboro Bridge
for the airport and it’s giving me a problem.”
A second lager. No more convivial than the first.
A glass of wine. Another glass of wine.
This stuff just isn’t philanthropic enough.
“Why didn’t you get a good couple of
whiskies down you?”, I ventured.
“I don’t like spirits!” he replied.
And so he rides the comfortless stage out towards
his showdown with destiny at Queensboro Ridge.
Will he ever make the High Plains beyond?
Queensboro Bridge. Overarching concern
now recast as arch-foe high-nooning his head.
He does not know what fate awaits him. He only...
He clocks his nemesis. Hands on face he fears his number’s up.
Then suddenly that crazy old coot driver hollers “YEE-HAAA!”
and whips his time-travelling bus down into Tunnel Gulch...
Way to go Queensboro! From vertigo to deep below!

OFF THE MAP

Off the Map

About to wax poetic about sailing a barque down the stream of life (this of course taking place while lost in the Canadian wilderness with a lonely loon’s haunting cry off in the distance), I had the presence of mind to check my dictionary for the definition of the word ‘barque.’ Up till now I held the idea that a barque was a canoe made of tree bark, North American Indian style. True, poets sometimes use the word to refer to any boat, but alas the technical meaning is that of a type of 19^th century sailing boat. We live and learn!

When I was a young and unconverted man I attempted to hoist a sail to catch a fresh breeze in life. A change of tack seemed good! I thought that Canada couldn’t be any worse than Scotland. Having given up Loch Lomond for Lake Ontario I tried to sum up in song some of my thoughts: Destination? Destination unknown! I didn’t know where, I didn’t know where I was going. Just a lonely boy on a lonely road, with no highway code, and no map in my hand!

‘By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going’ Hebrews 11:8. There’s poetry here, even a rhyme: ‘Not knowing where he was going.’ Mind you, prior to this Abraham had been met by the Chief Poet, the Supreme Wordsmith, the Word Himself, the Davar, the Logos, for, ‘The word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward”’ Genesis 15:1.

Abraham may not have known where he was going, but the pre-incarnate Christ walked with him. David, in the Shepherd Psalm, wrote, ‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me, Your rod and Your staff comfort me’ Psalm 23:4. The Angel of the LORD walked with Israel in her wilderness wanderings. He walked in the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego. He walked with the men on the road to Emmaus. He met Saul on the road to Damascus. He met me in a basement in Winnipeg on the broad way that leads to destruction.

From before the beginning God has mapped out the journey His creation will take. We cannot escape. The word of the LORD had come to Jonah. He was to proclaim the good news to Nineveh, that God would spare them and their city if they would turn to Him in repentance. Jonah’s ‘barque’ disembarked as he attempted to sail away from his duty to God as a prophet. ‘But the LORD sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up’ Jonah 1:4. Crises grab people’s attention!

A crisis is an unplanned event. They take us off the map. Your bark canoe has been holed as you speed though the rapids toward Niagara Falls. Your paddle becomes the symbol of your weakness, an extension of your helplessness. The rising mist ahead grows more ominous as you try to peer into your fate. The roar of the hungry lion’s den grows ever louder. It wants to engulf you, to crush your bones before you reach the bottom of its den. The distant drums intensify in your breast as you look for an escape. There is nowhere to turn as you are being sucked into the great abyss. You cry for help. Nobody hears. You look to the shore. You look to the sky. You look to God and make a deal with Him – if He would only snatch you from the jaws of Leviathan.

You awaken on the shore. Soaking. Sobbing. Shivering. Safe. You wonder if it really was Christ who saved you. So you ask Him. Your tears of self-pity turn into tears of gratitude. You begin to follow Him as did Adam, Noah, Abraham, David, Daniel and all the rest before you. Thus you have been translated out of the kingdom of darkness and now live in the Kingdom of Light, the New World, a place off the map. Your old friends think you’ve become a bit strange. They don’t understand you. Your new friends are your brothers and sisters in Christ. They understand.

A whole new vista has opened up. The old way is behind. Before you lies the Promised Land. The good things you see and experience now are tokens of the bliss to come. The offspring and the land God promised to Abraham is symbolic of Christ. In Christ, like your father Abraham, you are now ‘the heir of the world’ (Rom. 4:13). ‘The meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace’ Psalm 37:11. You are now at peace with God. He has stilled the waves and the storm. He leads your barque beside still waters. He is your shield, your exceedingly great reward by grace through faith. Yes, God is found off the map in Christ. We learn and live!

JESUS FOR THE LAYMAN: Encountering the Son of God

See Neetah Books: http://neetahbooks.com/neil-mckinlay-books/4594618678

The question: ‘Can you convince the reader Jesus is the Son of God?’ Neil Cullan McKinlay

picks up the gauntlet thrown down by a friend seeking the definitive answer to a question which has tested theologians for centuries. One man claimed to be ‘the way, the truth, and the life’. He was nailed to a cross and cried out in dying despair: ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’ Make no mistake: To understand precisely what happened here is to accept responsibility for your part in this. With this book, you will face a choice. Be careful what you wish for.

The author - The answer: Neil Cullan McKinlay, is a Scots-Canadian who lives in Australia, where he is a chaplain in the Australian Defence Force. He is the author of 28 books, produced with his trademark touch of reducing elusive complexities to accessible simplicities. His path to Christ took him from his native Scotland to the harsh winters of Manitoba where he was given a book as a gift, the Bible. It was to be the gift of life. His ministry is characterised by the shipyard wit of his Scottish inheritance, and the robust thought conferred by the Reformation. Without ostentation and with Calvinist clarity, his work persists in turning everything to the service of Christ; yet he claims no credit for it. 'Can you convince the reader Jesus is the Son of God?' he is asked. His answer is simple: ‘Let me be up front. I don’t believe that I am able to do so. Only God can do that. However, God uses means to convince people of things.’

 This book is such an instrument.

See also Amazon UK for a copy: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jesus-Layman-Encountering-Son-God/dp/1908898836/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=neil+cullan+mckinlay&qid=1558136353&s=gateway&sr=8-3

ROYALTY

Royalty

Have you ever been treated like royalty? I have! Years ago, when going through an extremely rough patch, a Christian couple invited me to spend a long weekend with them in their home in Tasmania. While there I commented that they were treating me like royalty. ‘That’s because you are!’ came the instant reply. Another Christian couple treated my wife and I to a very expensive evening meal in a fancy restaurant in a five-star hotel’s penthouse. The view of the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge at night was spectacular. And so was the service. We were treated like royalty by the couple and by all who waited on our table.

The Bible says we are to esteem others better than ourselves. It’s not just royalty that we’re to treat as royalty. It’s everyone. But do we? Do we treat those with different political views as royalty? Those of different religions, including the religions of secularism and atheism? Those who follow the opposing team at sports? You’re getting the picture. We don’t always consider others better than ourselves.

How was the King of kings treated? Did His disciples treat Him like royalty? Did they wash His feet for Him? Let Him sleep when He was tired? Cook breakfast on a beach for Him? Carry His cross for Him? Lay down their lives for Him? Jesus did all this and whole lot more for them. As their representative He kept God’s Law perfectly for them. As their substitute He paid the price of their sin for them. ‘For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord’ Romans 6:23. So, who’s treating who like royalty? His disciples or Jesus?

How do you treat the One who is worthy of being treated like royalty? Do you honour Him with your time, with your money, with your politics, with your religion, with your worldview? Does your family, does your church, and does your state honour Him? What happens when the queen visits your country? Do they put out the red carpet and give her the royal treatment? Well, what about Jesus? The Bible calls Him, ‘KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS’ Revelation 19:16b. How is He is treated by your family, by your church, and by your state? Red carpets? Is He esteemed better than others?

Some people have a poster hanging in their home with these or similar words, ‘Christ is the head of this house. The chosen guest at every meal. The silent listener to every conversation.’ How does the following sound to you ‘Christ is the head of this restaurant’? ‘Christ is the head of this pub’? This football team? This political party? This supermarket? This airline? This earth? This universe? You can see that the world still has a very long way to go to honour Christ the way God does. ‘In your relationships with one another, have the same mind-set as Christ Jesus: Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross. Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father.’ Philippians 2:5-11.          

POLES APART

Poles Apart

‘When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child.’ Weren’t the North and South Poles called such because each had a wooden or a metal pole sticking out of them? Men would search for these poles so that they could attach a flag to them – men such as Scott, Amundsen or the controversial Peary. And, due to a motion of the earth called ‘Chandler’s Wobble’ it was hard for them to find the exact spot! The North and South Poles are just that, poles apart, and so is my thinking as an adult to what it was as a child! ‘But when I became a man, I put away childish things’ 1 Corinthians 13:11.

The Bible teaches that God and man are poles apart. ‘“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts”’ Isaiah 55:8-9. ‘The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness’ Psalm 24:1. However, instead of subduing it to the glory of God, man has set about planting his own flag on it. Therefore, according to God’s Word, ‘All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way’ Isaiah 53:6a. To go your own way is to go the wrong way!

I once asked an elderly lady (with one foot in the grave) if she was right with God. She replied that she had been good all her life! Her way and God’s way of getting right with God are poles apart. If the elderly lady had meant that she was trying to be good as her grateful response to God for already having declared her right with Himself (on account of the righteousness of Jesus Christ), then I would have rejoiced. But the lady’s view of salvation was the wrong way round. Her way of salvation was by trying to get right with God by trying to be good. But, as Scripture says, ‘There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death’ Proverbs 14:12. Though elderly, the lady was thinking of God as a child might think of Santa Claus! There is nothing wrong with trying to be good for goodness sake, but trying to be good as a way of salvation is poles apart from what God says in His Word.

When I was a non-Christian I thought as a non-Christian, but now by grace alone I am a Christian, I think as a Christian. Non-Christian thought is poles apart from Christian thought. See an example in the following: ‘We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ’ 2 Corinthians 10:5. All sixty six books of the Bible, every jot and tittle thereof, were breathed out by God (Matt. 5:17-17; 2 Tim. 3:16). Yet some would argue against this knowledge of God! Others allege that they believe that some, but not all, of the Bible is inspired. Thus these, along with those who reject all of Scripture, are exalting themselves against the knowledge of God. Sadly, like the elderly lady I mentioned above, they follow their own way, which is not God’s way. Their thoughts and God’s thoughts are poles apart.

Our years on this earth are but few: ‘For what is your life? It is even a vapour that appears for a little time and then vanishes away’ James 4:14b. Morning mist melts as the sun rises.  ‘Our God is a consuming fire’ Hebrews 12:29, but He speaks good news to those with ears to hear: ‘The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night’ Psalm 121:5-6. As the Word of the LORD said to Abraham, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward’ Genesis 15:1. As vanishing vapour each of us needs God to cover us and to preserve us. You need to: ‘Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are those who put their trust in Him’ Psalm 2:12. As far as Heaven is from Hell, so are those who trust in the Son of God alone for salvation from those who do not. Poles apart!

The elephant in the room is death. It came in through our front door. The death angel slew Adam, mankind’s ‘firstborn’ for breaking the covenant. Head of humanity’s household, he had declared our independence from God by eating the forbidden fruit. Thus all mankind entered a state of misery and death. But God is gracious. He clothed Adam and Eve with skin before ejecting them from the garden. The same salvation was pictured when the blood of the Passover lamb was sprinkled on the doorposts and lintel. God clothes, ie, covers us with His Son. He is the Lamb that shed His own blood to sprinkle us and protect us. He rose again from the dead, bodily. God invites, nay, He commands us to trust only in Christ and His righteousness to receive His pardon and everlasting life, now and in our future resurrection.

‘This is the way, walk in it’ Isaiah 30:21. Don’t be poles apart from God!