Casino banking has paid a terrible wage, and many who kept large amounts of their money in Cypriot banks, for a rainy day, have discovered they are paying the price of help from outside.
On a different subject, Professor Sir John Beddington, the government's chief scientific adviser, warns that we will all pay for the consequences of the high level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, because no one is prepared to take the action required to lead to a rescue. The political and economic price of doing something about climate change is seen to be too high. So we will all suffer together the extreme weather conditions - floods, droughts and famines - that are increasingly present in our world.
As Christian people, we know that any rescue is a costly business.
In the Old Testament, Noah and his family were only rescued because they spent a lot of time building a big boat.
St. Paul tells us of the cost of our rescue by Jesus. We are completely unable to do anything to contribute to our own rescue - apart from trusting Jesus.
' We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood.' (Romans 3.22-25)
In this Holy Week, it will serve us well if we take time to rreflect on this costly rescue. We will recall that we do not belong to ourselves, so our lives are set on a different direction and focus.
Best wishes,
Richard
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