At Christmas I received amongst other things a jigsaw puzzle from my sister. Whilst doing it there were times I was convinced that at least one piece missing. Life can be like that as well. We think that we have been dealt a short hand. It is very easy to imagine injustices, especially if we listen to other peoples’ gossip. When such ultimately groundless suspicions involve other people it is easy to see through them. But when it is ourselves then it is a different matter. Another thing that happens when doing jigsaws is convincing yourself that a piece must go somewhere it does not fit and then repeatedly trying it at the same place time after time. Sometimes we convince ourselves that we belong in role or another even though we know we do not really fit in that role. There are even times when you begin wonder if one or more pieces belong to another puzzle. There are times when people doubt that they are in the right place whether, in the church or the secular workplace. Though if a piece was from another puzzle it is usually pretty obvious as it would probably be made from a different types of cardboard, etc. Likewise, if we are in the wrong place it is usually pretty obvious. When the puzzle is completed then all these doubts are forgotten. Paul uses the analogy of parts of the body on more than one occasion. Though having a travelling companion in Luke the physician might have had something to do with it. When a jigsaw puzzle is completed then you see the whole picture. God has the whole picture of our lives and/or the Church but we rarely do. The problem with life is that we do not have the complete picture. At times we may feel we are working without any picture. We may find a few pieces that go together but are not sure as to where they fit in with the rest of the puzzle. It is easy to concentrate on only a small part of it at a time and try and make sense of what we can. Going back to Paul’s analogy of the body we might be confused as to which part of the body we actually are and we are trying to fit ourselves into the wrong part. God wants the parts of His Church to fit together. The problem through history is that man’s idea of what the Church should look like has had little resemblance to God’s idea revealed in Scripture. We then wonder why the pieces do not seem to be fitting together correctly. It is not helped by the fact that of those churches referred to in the New Testament most were far from perfect themselves in some aspect or other. What in effect we should be aspiring to is the best practice among them and not necessarily any one church.
David Rose, 2016.
This cartoon appeared in The Herald [formerly Glasgow Herald] of 14th December 2015 and gives a modern take on the Bible story. Much debate has taken place over the centuries as to who the Magi, or wise men, actually were. Whether they were pagan priests, magicians, or astrologers on the one hand or Jewish exiles left over from the Babylonian captivity. In favour of the pagan view is the fact that they were unaware of the prophecy of Micah which stated that the birthplace of the Messiah was to be Bethlehem. On the other hand many of the prophecies about the coming Messiah had been given to Jewish exiles like Daniel and Ezekiel. In particular the prophecy of Daniel chapter 9 of the seventy weeks or sevens. This prophecy correctly predicted the date of the triumphal entry into Jerusalem of Jesus according to Sir Robert Anderson in his book “The Coming Prince,” the suggestion is that there were a group of exiles who had also worked this out and then calculated that any Messiah would have to have been born some 33 1/2 years before. The logic behind this being that a Jewish rabbi could only begin his ministry at 30 and therefore expect the Messiah to be born at least before that. The account of the Magi appears in Matthew’s Gospel at the beginning of chapter 2 and I wondered was there a significance in this. I vaguely remembered that Matthew had ministered as an apostle in the areas where magi might have come from. However, when I checked up it appeared most likely that Matthew died in Egypt and that any references to him being were probably a reference to Matthias (Judas’ replacement in Acts 1) being confused with Matthew. (Isn’t it irritating when facts get in the way of a good theory.) A question arises if you believe the Jewish origin of the Magi as to why if they believed in the seventy sevens then why is there no biblical reference to them returning (or their successors) and witnessing the triumphal entry. Though this time if they would no doubt be more discreet. Coincidentally Acts chapter 2 lists as first amongst the foreign witnesses to Pentecost, as being “Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia” the very areas were most scholars expect the Magi to have come from. Presumably they were listed in that order to reflect the numbers from those countries who became Christians. Parthia was not part of the Roman Empire, and the fact that the Magi had an audience the Herod suggests that they may have had the official blessing from a head of state. A letter of introduction from the King of Parthia would certainly have caused Herod to be disturbed along with the rest of Jerusalem. How did Matthew know that they had been advised to change their route home. It might have been a logical deduction, of course, they could have had their vision while still in Bethlehem and told Mary and Joseph, but then there would have warned them to leave as well instead of them having a vision for themselves. So there must be the intriguing possibility that there was contact between the Magi, or their successors, and the early church. Though it would have been unwise for the individuals who came at Jesus’ birth to ever return to Jerusalem itself it would be quite easy for others to visit the Holy Land, ostensibly as individuals.
cairngormmusings 
Unstoppable?
In the past week the news programmes and channels have concentrated on the event in Paris and their developments. Other stories have come and gone without much attention. One such was the death of Jonah Lomu at the age of only 40 as a result of kidney problems. When he appeared at the 1995 Rugby World Cup as a member of the New Zealand rugby team he filled his opponents with dread whenever he got the ball and was able to run at pace. He seemed unstoppable, often brushing aside would be tacklers as if they were not there. Up to this point Rugby Union had been an officially amateur sport but during this World Cup changes were made to allow the emergence of the modern professional game. So when 6 foot 5 inch Jonah Lomu walked on the pitch he was much taller than the average player of his day and their fitness levels were much lower in those days. In one of the pool stages of the tournament they played Scotland and as a Scotland supporter I began to dread every time Jonah got the ball. He seemed to score every time he got the ball. Scotland were not playing badly but they were made to look poor. At one stage the shortest player on the pitch, Brian Redpath, the Scotland scrum-half found himself in the way of one of Jonah’s runs. He bravely tackled him straight and surprisingly Jonah crumpled to the ground. But Brian was knocked out in the process, though he recovered. To his opponents he inspired as much terror as any ISIS gunman, yet now he is gone. Not that Jonah was a violent man and am I not inferring that. Though otherwise unconnected the New Zealand team play in all black the same colour as the Islamic State flag. There is a verse in Psalm 37 “I have seen a wicked and ruthless man flourishing like a green tree in its native soil, but he soon passed away and was no more; though I looked for him he could not be found.” It may be that Jonah’s passing is a sign that which was once unstoppable will be no more. In the last couple of years ISIS has prospered like a green tree, at least until Russian forces have assisted the Syrians directly. They are well-financed and armed but the very fact that their forces are spread over such a large area there must be places where they are weak. Let us pray that the weaknesses of ISIS be exposed and exploited, that their revenue streams be cut and that their consciences may no longer suppressed by their ideology. It may be that the attacks in Paris were a diversion from losses incurred by recent air attacks. Things are not always as they seem.
David Rose, 2015.