John the Baptist proclaims that the critical time has come, saying ‘Repent’ (Matthew 3.2), but events can put us off course.
Context
When asked what was the greatest challenge to a politician, Harold Macmillan is said to have replied, ‘Events, my dear boy, events’.
For today’s preacher events have pushed even the election into second place, with Panorama’s new revelations about Prince Andrew’s relationship with Epstein, and the murders at Fishmongers’ Hall, London.
To make things even more difficult, there is the arrival of President Trump for the 70th anniversary of NATO. Who wants to be associated with him and his bid to raise $3 million here for his forthcoming election campaign, when we need to concentrate on our own election? No doubt, between submitting this PostScript and Sunday (Advent 2) there will be more events!
‘Firefighting’ the events which flare up makes it impossible to focus on the really important issues, such as the need to address climate change, as the Madrid conference, the 25th on the subject, is attempting to do this week.
The prophet and the psalmist point to the importance of judging righteously in confusing and difficult times (Isaiah 11.4; Psalm 72.2).
Reflection
The call to ‘Repent’ might alert us to the realisation that calls to austerity over the past decade have not served the country well. We have kicked many problems into the long grass, including health, social care, policing, prisons, education and, yes, the need to address climate change. We voted for lower taxes and can now see the harm austerity has done.
The response of austerity to the disasters of the banking collapse meant that much essential work was cut back, and many people lost their jobs. In this situation it became all too easy to seek someone to blame, and immigrants were an easy target, seized on by those who wanted to promote Brexit. As we start to appreciate how much immigration has benefitted Britain, we might usefully examine Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. He addresses the need for Jewish and Gentile Christians to live in harmony, recognising that all people are loved equally by God. He reminds the Church of the message of the Scriptures – Romans 15.9-12, quoting Exodus 34.6; Psalm 18.49; Deuteronomy 32.43; Psalm 117.1 and Isaiah 11.10.
The complete monotheism which came to fruition in the days of the prophets carried with it a message of salvation for all, not just Jews. Isaiah’s prophecies conclude with the statement that God says, ‘I am coming to gather every nation and every language…‘ (Isaiah 66.18). And if there is only one God, then God cannot go out with our armies and flatten our enemies, for they must also be the people of God, and are loved just as much as we are.
Of course, time and again the message of universal salvation was forgotten. When Jerusalem was rebuilt under Nehemiah and Ezra, even Samaritans were forced out. Fierce nationalism became the response to Greek invasion, and would, in John the Baptist’s day, be the response of Zealots to the might of Rome. The Messiah was expected by many to be the figure who would lead rebellion against Rome. Jesus, after the miracle of the loaves, ‘realized that they were about to come and take him by force and make him king’ (John 6.15). He had been completely misunderstood.
How hard it is to serve God who asks us to repent, and how much easier it is to justify ourselves and demonise those who are different. We want politicians, news channels and commentators who make us feel good about ourselves, not those who, like the Baptist, call for us to repent. But it is only if we repent that we shall hear the message of Psalm 72, or build the peace for which Isaiah longs in chapter 11.
The response to the London Bridge attack has too easily degenerated into a blame game that fails to acknowledge that those murdered were trying to build a better world. And, as the director of the Howard League for Penal Reform said, ‘Prisons in England and Wales are overcrowded and face record levels of violence and human misery’.
And might we, in the run up to an election, listen to the aged prophets, such as David Attenborough, and the young ones, such as Greta Thunberg?
Prayer
May the God of steadfastness and encouragement
grant us to live in harmony with one another,
in accordance with Christ Jesus.
Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
May the Spirit of the Lord rest on us,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Together may we, with one voice,
glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
May our delight shall be in the fear of the Lord
with righteousness judging the poor,
and deciding with equity for the meek of the earth.
Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing,
so that we may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Questions
- Do ‘events’ turn us away from the main issues at stake for our nation?
- What might we repent in all that we have done to further climate change?
- How can we show repentance in our lifestyles?
All-age activity
- By sharing information about lifestyles today and those of 50 or 60 years ago, discuss what we have we done (or not done) to make climate change more likely. What do we need to repent in our lifestyles today?
- An election focuses on what we want now. What might we want for the next generation, 30 or more years ahead? Can we set aside our immediate desires and build a better future?
Young people
What might we do in future to make the world a better place?
- Try to find out what people were doing at the conference in Fishmongers’ Hall and what they wanted to achieve.
- Find out what young people are doing in response to the Madrid conference on climate change. Is there anything which inspires you to action?
Tom Ambrose is a priest in the parish of the Ascension, Cambridge
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