Video for April 10th, 2025
Hello everyone and welcome to this week’s video. As you can see, I’m back from my travels. We had a wonderful time and thanks to those of you who were praying for us. I’m acutely aware that such a thing is a rare privilege. I’ve shared a few of things in my spiritual journey over the last few weeks in videos from around the world and there are a few more to come in the next few weeks. I’m hugely grateful to Bishop David, the Archdeacons, and the team in the diocesan office for all they’ve done in my absence, although they’ve done it all so well that disappearing again wouldn’t make a huge difference!
Towards the end of my last sabbatical I was in the US and tried to buy some Donald Trump MAGA merchandise. At the time I thought it would be a bit of a laugh to tell the grandchildren. “Do you know, in 2016 Donald Trump actually stood to be the President of the United States!” Unfortunately, my purchase was thwarted because buying it with a UK credit card constituted overseas interference in American electoral affairs. So, I had to get my American cousin to buy it for me. I don’t bring it out much. American politics is a bit of a mystery to many Europeans. We find it hard to understand the choices they make. The culture is very different, even though we speak the same language. There is a connection between that trip and my recent one and it pertains to matters of identity. It is becoming evident that the current Republican administration has a clear bias towards promoting American national interest to the exclusion of others. International co-operation seems to be more transactional. Their national economic interest in particular trumping (excuse the pun) other historic allegiances and considerations. Such a disruption of the world order is troubling and disruptive. Christians have faced such situations throughout history. We have a faith that sees our primary focus of identity in our relationship with God the Father through Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. National identities are always secondary. As we start our journey into Holy Week such questions of primary allegiance are in view. “I will never abandon my allegiance to you Jesus”, says Peter; and yet he does shortly afterwards. The Jewish leaders seem content to let an innocent man be crucified in a misguided attempt to preserve what shred of national sovereignty they have left under Roman oppression.
Jesus told a parable about servants being entrusted with their master’s goods while he was away having his authority validated by the Emperor in Luke 19. It’s a fascinating story, because it’s precisely what vassal kings under Roman domination had to do. It would have been an act of faith for the servants to trade on the king’s name in his absence. In Jesus’ day, they didn’t always come back. A misplaced allegiance could get you killed. Some of the servants in the story did nail their colours to the mast and were vindicated. One hedged his bets and came to a sticky end. In the story, Jesus challenges us to a similar risky faith. I hope our American friends don’t have to make those sorts of choices in their unfolding political drama. Christians in Nazi Germany, led by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, concluded that allegiance to Christ meant they should actively oppose the Nazi regime. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego sum it up. When asked to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s idol on threat of death, they courageously replied, “Oh King, we won’t do it even if you throw us into the fiery furnace”. Mercifully, in a country like ours such tests of allegiance are unlikely. However, as culture evolves in a more ‘fluid’ and flexible moral direction, allegiance to Christ may call us to little acts of protest and resistance. It was said of the environment around the early church that the pagans were promiscuous and mean; the Christians were abstinent and generous. The Pagans found it baffling, but as GK Chesterton said, “It is a paradox of history that each generation is converted by the people who contradict it most”. This Holy week we will contemplate again our Lord’s sacrifice on our behalf. He calls us to give our all to him in response.
+Richard