It is arguable that
the UK is now in its biggest mess since the last World War. The difference being
that then we were, by and large, united. This time the mess is in the disunity.
The Tories and Labour are both torn apart, with the opposition in particular
disarray and carrying the can for what was really a Tory row. People say that
they don't know who they can look in the eye in the street. Families are
divided, with the traditional alliance between teenagers and their grandparents
under special strain. And immigrants and transients feel insecurity and fear as
at no point in most of their lifetimes. 
The most striking thing to me is
the degree of disruption that has also occurred in relations between
Christians, and church leaders particularly. At a General Election, very few
ministers come out strongly and publicly in favour of one or other party. Still
less is there an attempt to theologise the vote, in the sense of bringing
arguments that claim a biblical basis for a particular choice. This time
though, between a sudden attachment to, for instance, "the biblical
concept of the nation state" and the discovery of the "vital role of
the EU in preserving freedom for gospel work in Europe", we were pushed
this way and that by strongly worded claims. It was all too easy to imply that,
ultimately, only a Leave, or only a Remain, vote would have God's approval and
blessing.
And strongly-worded we were. At a
time when we were undoubtedly being lied or spun to by politicians on every
side, Christian ministers were also going for the jugular, and the strain in
relationships was and is visible. Some have had to get out of social media.
Others have dropped or blocked brothers and sisters in Christ. To the best of
my knowledge, the only friend I have lost was a Christian woman with whom I
remonstrated for her apparent willingness to let anger turn to physical assault
on a public figure. It's been rough, hasn't it?
It is time to calm down, breathe
deeply, look at ourselves, and deal with some issues. Above all, we need to think biblically and in a way that sees the Kingdom and the power and wisdom of God
in all of this.
1) God rules over the nations. He
directs the heart of the king as a gardener directs the hose onto his prize
roses. He does that for voters too. This referendum has surprised and shocked a
lot of people - including, it would appear, some of the victors! Our sovereign
Lord wasn't surprised. If you are happy with the result, don't let your
happiness simply flow from a sense of "we did it." Give thanks
to God. And if you are unhappy, or very unhappy, let your unhappiness be
tempered by the awareness that God is sovereign over this mess too and he has
his purposes in it.
2) Christians are to submit to
the authorities. In this case, in any democratic process, that means submission
to the will of our fellow voters, unless we are being forced along a path
fundamentally inconsistent with our faith. That is surely not the case here. The issue was important, but not actually one where Christian faith itself was at stake. So, submission must now be our principle. We
argued hard beforehand precisely because we knew that every individual's mind
mattered and we wanted to win minds. I can tell you, whinging after a vote has
gone against you ain't going to win any minds. The only way to change things is
through proper democratic process - we are at liberty to work within democratic
mechanisms to effect change, but I don't see that we are at liberty to simply
refuse to submit to the decision as taken.
3) The Kingdom of God is the real
and lasting kingdom. Essential to our understanding of it is that, while
nations, alliances, empires and civilisations come and go, Jesus' kingdom will
endure and grow and dominate at last the entire created order. And the other
kingdoms HAVE TO come and go for that to be seen. Think about the rise and fall
of empires as seen in Daniel's prophecy. Think about the smoke of Babylon
rising for ever in Revelation - and the fact that the smoke of destruction is
the subject matter for a neat little worship song. Think of every knee bowing
at the name of Jesus. It of the essence of Christian faith that the
British empire (like all the others) did not last for ever!
We are citizens of another
kingdom, and the mighty hand of God lifting up and casting down countries and
politicians is to be a reason for praise, not fear. We need to take into
account the possibility that God is actually in the process of dismantling much
of what we have regarded as normal. The preservation of that
"normality" or even its transformation in a direction that we want
cannot be our highest priority.
4) The biggest issue facing all
of us as individuals, and the root cause of the spiritual bankruptcy in our
society is our citizenship, or lack of it, in that kingdom and our relationship
with its King. In the light of that overriding issue, I have been alarmed by
the level of passion applied by Christians in arguments re Brexit. The question
certainly has arisen - are we as fervent in persuading when it comes to the
good news of Jesus? It has staggered me that gospel ministers of maturity and
repute have weighed in so heavily on social media when talking to complete
strangers of whose spiritual standing they know nothing. One suspects they may not be used to talking to people who actually think differently from
them. I felt I had to write to one prominent conservative evangelical leader
who had been arguing in a thread on my Facebook, just to give him a heads up
regarding some of the people he was talking to. I received no reply and I saw
no change of tone in the argument, still less any use of the moment to
communicate anything related to the kingdom of Christ.
When people bump into strangers
on the Internet, they often get into heated arguments. We all know what social
media can do to usually mild-mannered people. But a Christian must not hide in
the anonymity of the internet. We are going to give account for every idle
word. And there is no such thing as a "random stranger", for
Providence is behind every conversation. There is no one who we will never
meet again, for one day we will all give account at the judgement seat of
Christ. All will meet there. Every internet conversation forms part of our
story and of the story of those we "meet" in this life. How will
we give account for our passionate persuasion re Brexit and our indifference to
people’s ignorance of God, his commands, his judgment and his grace?
5) The referendum has both
revealed the frustration, disenfranchisement and anger that already affected a
vast number of people in our country, and has increased the division, turmoil
and uncertainty that our society faces. We are in an appalling mess.
At the political level that tells
us that we had better be listening, talking and engaging in real conversations
with struggling people who feel that an elitist system has let them down. There
has never been a better time to get involved, but it had better be with a genuine,
honest open-handedness and readiness to help people. They will know if it
isn't.
And at a spiritual level, we are
seeing a meltdown of the things that people have relied on. There is a great
shaking happening - within our nation, and between nations. Things are very disorientating.
Where can people turn for any higher certainties and values than the dross of
false promises and dashed hopes that have come from politicians? At such a
time, the church needs to be united, loving, understanding and clear in its proclamation
of grace.
I am accustomed to the fact that
some liberals have drifted from the urgency and overriding priority of the
eternal, eschatological gospel; I am really disconcerted when conservative
evangelicals let a political agenda usurp the place of the gospel in their conversations.
For my part, I apologise for any
and every interaction where I have failed in balance, kindness or understanding
over the last fraught weeks. I want to appeal to you, especially to gospel
preachers, to make a conscious effort to examine yourself, put right any
relationships that words and attitudes have strained, and do all that is within
you to preserve and demonstrate the unity we have in the Spirit. This is for
our good as individuals, for the good of the church, and for the good of a
hurting, lost, blind and fragmented world.
I am strangely excited about the
present situation. Not because I have come round to thinking Brexit was a good
idea politically, but because I can recognise that in uncomfortable times, God
is at work. I think that a much more radical breakdown is entirely possible,
with potential for terror and violence on an unprecedented scale. I can also
see Islam going through death throes, with a new openness to the grace of Jesus
Christ already being seen amongst many who have fled from (let's face it)
persecution by other Muslims. No wonder they are open!
But I can also see new waves of
hate, and more readiness to show it. If British streets run red with Muslim
blood, will you and your church be ready to stand between the immigrants and
the mob? Will hospitality and love to strangers be the hallmarks of your
religion?
If the post-modern tide reaches
its peak and the church really is persecuted, will you stand firm? Or if an
anti-post-modern, anti-political-correctness backlash should take hold, will
you be ready to stand equally against that tide and with the
newly-oppressed?
We don't know which of those
futures it will be. But we do know who holds the future, and we know that he
has work for us to do still. Let us plead with him for his Spirit to be poured
out again, for his church to stand firm again, for holiness and love to mark us
out, and for an as yet unimagined harvest to be brought in. The hope for Europe
isn't the EU, or Brexit, Dexit, Frexit or any other Exit. It is God, in Christ,
reconciling people to himself by the Spirit's power.
