Reader Writes - January 2020
As this goes to press we are waking up to a new political landscape after an election that is setting our course for a generation; many jubilant and others deeply worried. Someone must have said, long ago and often, in democracy you get what you deserve; that leaves us all with something to think on, but for now, urgently, we must move forward and work together to make our democratic institutions function as honestly and effectively as possible. After some hard days leafleting in the Radnor constituency I was struck by the anger I encountered; this must now stop for all of us.
Where can we find some bearings? Jesus was famously apolitical under a cruel and avaricious Roman occupation; render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s etc. But he was fiercely consistent in his condemnation of injustice, hypocrisy and cruelty, especially among the Jewish leaders. There is plenty of room in our own lives to “do justice, love mercy and walk humbly before our God”. With such a commanding majority the Government has full opportunity both to “do justice” and to “walk humbly”; both may yet heal and bring us together. For our part, let’s keep challenging the changing norms of a “post-truth” society. And why do we acquiesce under a billionaire conservative press? Even the BBC was caught editing out derisive laughter after a Johnson soundbite.
Much bigger questions sit on these flimsy and some would say decaying foundations of civil society. Neo-liberal capitalism is wrecking us, but we have resoundingly rejected the radical alternative of greater state intervention. Instead we are heading for hard-core more of the same, a so-called Singapore in the North Sea. If we apply Christian ethics to our economic model, we face some shocking truths. Our generation has debauched itself (sorry for intemperate language) on a billion years’ worth of accumulated fossil fuel reserves, and even stolen the carbon budget of future generations. Just this week I’ve enjoyed pictures of emperor penguins on Antarctic sea ice and surfers off a sandy beach. There are children born today who may live to see such things disappear for ever beneath the towering storm of climate breakdown.
What should the Church do, and what should any of us do to make our community work for everyone? Just loving your neighbour and “doing justice” gives all of us a manifesto for the urgent work of coping with a changing world. Lord, bless and fire up our MPs, especially those who face the frustration of the opposition benches. Lord, give our new cabinet humility and wisdom in governing for all. Lord, protect our democratic institutions, especially the independence of the judiciary and the Supreme Court. Lord bless and guide our church leaders; we are a missionary church, but also a “militant” church there to call out injustice.
A recent clear and succinct Thought for the Day called us to think less about who we are (let alone what we have) and to ask to whom we belong. That is the start and the foundation of everything. As believers we are a people of hope. In the midwinter gloom there is no better metaphor for hope than the secretive dunnock singing his rapturous song of the coming light from the depths of a rain swept hedge. He needn’t know to whom he belongs though he sings as though he does.
Robert MacCurrach