Rule Brittania - Parish Magazine for October 2014
I am sure that many of you will have tuned in on Saturday 13th September to see local celebrity Roddy Williams sing some magnificent numbers in the Last Night of the Proms 2014. His final number ‘Rule Britannia’ raised the roof at the Royal Albert Hall and could probably be heard for miles at the various ‘Proms in the Park’ venues.I loved the performances in what seems to me to be a very ‘British’ affair and it was one of those times (like during the London Olympics) that I was reminded of why I am proud to be British. We discussed national identity at Church in the pub the following night and a number of us tended to think of ourselves as British first and English second. A similar sentiment was echoed by some in the Scottish referendum who said they were proud of their Scottish heritage, but also proud of being British.
Like many people I know I was pleased that the vote meant that Scotland would remain part of the UK, but a 55% to 45% vote in favour of the ‘No’ campaign is hardly the ‘convincing’ victory that one commentator claimed. The fact that 45% of the population voted to leave the union has to be a large wake up call to the politicians in London who perhaps have, for a large part of this campaign, taken the ‘No’ vote for granted.
Taking any relationship for granted can lead to problems. This is true for marriages, working relationships and any friendship. In the 23 years that Sarah and I have been married I know there have been occasions where I’ve taken her for granted and when that has happened then she has, rightly, taken me to task. For a relationship to grow healthily, whether between individuals or nations, there has to be a recognition of where we differ, a mutual respect and a desire for that relationship to continue. Then when there are differences they can be discussed and worked out properly. Tensions in a marriage, an organisation, a community or a nation are normal. What marks out a mature community (or relationship) is how they deal with those tensions.
We all face conflicts in life, but many people seem either ignore them and hope they go away, or stoke the fires and define their lives around opposition to the person, people, company or nation that they hold responsible. Either approach tends to lead to escalation which can lead to disaster, as we see in the extreme cases in the middle east and many other parts of the world.
Jesus was very strong on dealing with conflict. He said that whether you think you have been wronged (Matt 18:15-20) or realise you have wronged someone else (Matt 6:23-26) you need to take steps to try and resolve the situation, talk to each other and try to make things right. This is not always easy, but the proper resolution of conflicts can lead to a stronger relationships, communities and nations. However this can take time and can be messy, but it is worth it. As John Ortberg says, ‘People who love authentic community always prefer the pain of temporary chaos to the peace of permanent superficiality.’
Some good questions to ask ourselves as we look to resolve conflict are:
· Are we seeking reconciliation or looking to score points?
· Are we going in armed for conflict or going in seeking understanding?
· Am I prepared to listen or am I just wanting to state my position?
· Am I prepared to say what needs to be said or am I just skirting the issue?
Whether you are facing personal conflict or trying to resolve issues on a larger scale I pray that God would give you wisdom and insight you as you seek to be a peacemaker.Rev Barry Jackson