John Barr was a good friend and I still miss him at times (he passed away in 2001). His stories were always entertaining, but it was some of his insights, the dots he connected that made sense. One such piece of wisdom was – what parents do in moderation their children will do in excess. Of course like many axioms there is not an indelible straight line – after all God called Israel ‘my son'(!!) so there is a principle here that cannot be made a law.
I think though the principle remains, and I am not thinking primarily about biological family reproduction but more on the societal level. World leaders are coming to terms with what most of them knew was already going on with the Panama papers leak. This did not just ‘happen’, but seeds were sown over decades. Indeed Panama is not the biggest ‘tax haven’ but one of Britain’s protectorates, the Virgin Islands probably takes the prize for that title. The network of tax havens – which to a significant extent includes the city of London with its exemptions that have roots all the way back to 1066 – is probably something that is highly ‘beneficial’ to many Western nation-states and multi-nationals.
There are many possible imminent implosions, the fruit of ways of living and acting that has gone unchecked over decades. A politics that has become simply more and more confrontational and agonistic is increasingly non-Christlike. Imagine Jesus in politics… insults, insinuation, or working alongside?
I am a strong believer that the years of prayer for God’s presence in society is leading to two aspects. An increasing exposure of corruption and what has been hidden becoming visible, and unprecedented opportunity for the body of Christ. A while back I took part in a conference in Brazil through Skype and was asked to state what I saw for the next 5 years. My answer – exposure of corruption at all levels, and the opportunity for a move in the church of humility from the bottom up.
The two go hand in hand. Certainly the opportunity is there, and I hope that the church lays hold of the opportunity that is before us. We can seed the future with something different. To do so we have to go much deeper than politics of right / left; of the shallowness of ‘Christians in the top stratas of influence’, to a radical response to the call of following Jesus.
The UK faces its referendum in June. There are arguments pro and against, but my plea is that as believers we rise above the simple pro and against issues. I am pro-European not primarily politically, but from my understanding of the spiritual history and issues. I have maintained for many years that this continent, with its clear post-Christendom context, can and should become the place that releases another wave of the Gospel but without the hierarchical, imperial clothing that creates ghettos, but with egalitarianess at its heart that is hidden within the wider society. An opportunity that maybe has not been possible since the early centuries.
Unless statistics have changed dramatically, 1/3 of those who are happy (happy-ish?) with the label evangelical and are European live within the UK. Their commitment – whether they vote in or out – to Europe spiritually is vital. The children might be on course to do in excess what has been sown… or…
Here are two examples of voices in Europe that are sounding out a hope for something different. We can see them as ‘secular’ voices, and then look for the ‘God voice’ to rise also, or (I think much better) we can understand that the prayers of the church are not fulfilled when the Christian speaks, but when the voice of the Lord is released and we hear wisdom cry out in the public square.
The first is a long, but extremely well-written article by Yanis Varoufakis in the Guardian and the second a very short video by the mayoress of Barcelona.