The Walk On By Society

Civic duty has been in the spotlight this week, drawing into the debate a campaigner who has dubbed us the 'walk on by society'.

Guy Dehn of 'Witness Confident' - a charity that aims to help people take a stand against the culture that fuels street violence - was quoted in reference to proposed plans for overhauling the system of registering to vote, which might lead to even fewer people turning out at elections.

This week has also seen the unveiling of a startling report on the lack of quality care for the elderly within society. The Equality and Human Rights Commission has judged that the low standard of treatment of thousands of older people in home care essentially breaches their human rights.

Does all this suggest that the concept of civic duty is past its sell by date? That we may aspire to be the 'big society' but what we have instead is the 'walk on by society'?

Do we have a right to be cared for? And whose responsibility is it? The state? Except it appears that the government cannot cope with the level of demand placed on it by an increasingly ageing population.

The family, then? But as David Willetts argues in his book, The Pinch: How the Baby Boomers Took Their Children's Future - And How They Can Give it Back, there has been a breakdown of 'the social contract'. Put simply, 'what you give to the next generation depends on what you received from the previous ones'. Indeed, Scripture emphasises the formative significance of relationships within the household, and the success of the 'big society' will undoubtedly depend on how well the 'small society' of the family thrives.

Beyond that, civic duty involves the obligation to uphold the public good as opposed to pursuing one's private interest. I live in relationship with, and dependence on, others. My action or inaction affects others. My choices carry consequences, not only for myself but for others. Of all citizens, it would seem, Christians should be ideally placed to tackle the 'walk on by' mentality. The scope and implications of the gospel suggest nothing less.

thanks to Jason Gardner (LICC)

Power to the People ! ?

Thanks to Roger Johnson for this:

So a group of anti-capitalism protestors with a less than clear message pitch their tents and sleep outside (or some of them do as the police’s thermal imaging cameras have shown), bring St. Paul’s Cathedral to a halt, trigger the resignation of two of its senior staff and leave the Church of England in a position of acute embarrassment because of its less than decisive response to the issues being raised. Even now I wonder whether the Archbishop of Canterbury who advocates the introduction of the Tobin Tax (a tax on currency transactions) and the Bishop of London who has been ‘flown’ in to run St. Paul’s in the wake of these resignations, are actually singing from the same hymn sheet.

I say this, not to add to the plight of the Church of England with whom I have some sympathy, but to demonstrate that even the small, insignificant voices of the general public can, in fact, have world-changing consequences – and why not? Decades ago, the sight of Robert Lindsay dressing up as Citizen Smith and raising his revolutionary fist in the air with the cry of ‘power to the people’ was seen by many as an out dated and hopeless figure. But, is ‘people power’ seeing a resurgence?

The Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has secured the unanimous backing of his cabinet for a referendum on the eurozone debt rescue plan, leaving other European heads of state in fits of fury after they negotiated long and hard to secure a bail-out package which is now in jeopardy. But why shouldn’t the people of Greece have their say? Why should the financial gurus tell the Greek people what hardships they should face in the future when they, along with many other highly paid executives, see their salaries increase by around 50%?

This all begs the questions, ‘have the common people got it right?’ Can we leave the big questions in the hands of so-called experts any longer? Has it all come home to roost for the financial institutions who plunged us into this crisis in the first place. Has the great institution of the Church of England found itself unable to answer the question ‘what would Jesus do?’ for fear of losing its financial backing from the very people being criticised by the motley bunch of protesters camped on its doorstep? Is the axe hanging over the great institutions which have underpinned so much of society for so long?

Maybe we are seeing something for which Christian people should rejoice. Perhaps this is a sign that God has had enough and his Spirit is sweeping across the globe in an unprecedented way. Didn’t Joel prophecy that God would ‘pour out his Spirit on all flesh’, even the lowest of the low? Is this the moment when the Spirit fans the flame into an inferno? I remember that 2,000 years ago the religious and political establishment were rocked by an uneducated, Galilean peasant who eventually met his fate on a cross. However, the movement he founded, which has little to do with the erection and maintenance of large buildings in big cities, has grown ever since in the hearts of his followers – people upon whom the Spirit has been poured out as prophesied.

The Greek debt crisis will no doubt rumble on for some weeks now with the world’s financial markets cascading out of control and the politicians losing sleep. They will be asking themselves if it is right to use their taxpayers’ money to bail out a country which has consistently overspent. But with Ireland, Portugal, Spain and now Italy perilously close to melt-down, why don’t they simply give in and cancel everybody’s debt and be done with it? After all, that’s what Jesus did! (Isaiah 53:6, Luke 15:22-24, 1 Corinthians 6:20)

As the staff of St. Paul’s and the European leaders try and dig themselves out of these messes, I am reminded of the parable which Jesus told of a rich man who sat in his luxurious house, seemingly oblivious to the plight of the beggar at his gate (Luke 16:19-31). The point of this parable is that in God’s Kingdom roles will be reversed. It was the poor beggar who was favoured by God while the rich man faced eternal torment, pleading for the poor beggar to bring him relief.

It seems to me that the staff of St. Paul’s have missed an amazing evangelistic opportunity when they could have presented the true message of the gospel, not only to the protesters outside, but to the world’s media.

Spending time with God

"I will meditate in thy precepts." -- Psalms 119:15
There are times when solitude is better than society, and silence is wiser than speech. We should be better Christians if we were more alone, waiting upon God, and gathering through meditation on his Word spiritual strength for labour in his service. We ought to muse upon thethings of God, because we thus get the real nutrient out of them. Truth is something like the cluster of the vine: if we would have wine from it, we must bruise it; we must press and squeeze it many times.The bruiser's feet must come down joyfully upon the bunches, or else the juice will not flow; and they must well tread the grapes, or else much of the precious liquid will be wasted. So we must, by meditation,tread the clusters of truth, if we would get the wine of consolation therefrom. Our bodies are not supported by merely taking food into the mouth, but the process which really supplies the muscle, and the nerve,and the sinew, and the bone, is the process of digestion. It is by digestion that the outward food becomes assimilated with the inner life. Our souls are not nourished merely by listening awhile to this,and then to that, and then to the other part of divine truth. Hearing,reading, marking, and learning, all require inwardly digesting to complete their usefulness, and the inward digesting of the truth lies for the most part in meditating upon it. Why is it that some Christians, although they hear many sermons, make but slow advances in the divine life? Because they neglect their 'quiet times', and do not thoughtfully meditate on God's Word. They love the wheat, but they do not grind it; they would have the corn, but they will not go forth into the fields to gather it; the fruit hangs upon the tree, but they will not pluck it; the water flows at their feet, but they will not stoop to drink it. From such folly deliver us, O Lord, and be this our resolve this morning, "I will meditate in thy precepts." C.H.Spurgeon

The Economics of Death and the Sanctity of Life

I just had to copy this one....from LICC. George is SO right. :

Strangely, the global economics crisis has done a disservice to campaigners for the legalisation of euthanasia. As we knuckle down for a worldwide recession, facing the misery of slashed public services, rising unemployment and flat-lining growth figures, it’s difficult to imagine political leaders telling us to cheer up because they’ve made it easier for us to kill ourselves.

That really tells us all we need to know about the mindset of those who favour voluntary euthanasia, or ‘assisted dying’ as it’s now branded. Their motivation is less about compassion than consumerism. In a booming economy, in which consumption and instant gratification are the motors of growth, we worship at the altar of Choice. We can buy our lifestyles and satisfy all our material needs with unbounded credit. And if we can buy the way we live, why should we not order the way and time that we die?

Now that the consumerist harvest is withering on the vine, we’re re-assessing all kinds of ethical standards. Among these is the nature of what really constitutes human life and its validation. People of faith – not just Christians – feel instinctively that there is something disordered in helping or encouraging another human being to die. We seek justification for that instinct in the rather vague phraseology of ‘the sanctity of life’, an expression that is thrown back by euthanasia lobbyists, who have also misappropriated the word ‘dignity’.

So we must say what we mean. And it is this: we believe that everyone, without exception, is made in God’s image – which means that no life, however physically diminished or materially deprived, is worth less than another. That principle enjoys its recognition in the way we nurture, cherish and comfort those who have come to depend utterly upon the able-bodied.

Furthermore, we reject morally the notion that those who are frail, elderly or terminally ill in some way have elected to suffer if they reject an assisted death. That is why it is not only virtuous for a society, but also holy for human beings, to pour all their efforts and resources into the loving work of palliative care rather than the concept of death as a clinical treatment.

These articles of faith are too precious to fail; we need them to live on in the hearts and minds of our legislators. They define us as a people and as a civilisation.

George Pitcher

George Pitcher is an Anglican priest and author of A Time to Live: The Case Against Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia (Monarch, 2010).

GET BACK

“Jojo was a man who thought he was a loner, but he knew it couldn’t last. Jojo left his home in Tucson, Arizona, for some California grass. Get back, get back, get back to where you once belonged.” These were the opening words of the last chart-topping Beatles hit in the late 1960s. Having seen their popularity slump somewhat and their divine right to reaching the number 1 slot in the week of release questioned, they stormed back with what I believe was their best single. The zany lyrics which seemed to capture the spirit of the age and the syncopated rhythm stuck in my mind for years. I know there are baby-boomers out there taking issue with me but …

The theme ‘get back’, however, was nothing new. The Bible contains a number of ‘get back’ incidents which can reveal a great deal about human nature and the will of God. As Elijah sulked in his cave after being hounded out of Israel by Queen Jezebel, God told him to ‘get back to where he once belonged’ (1 Kings 19:15). Devoid of the faith which had routed the prophets of Baal and gripped by a sense of self-righteousness, Elijah was a mere shadow of his former self. Thinking his career was over and that he had nothing more to offer God and the people, he needed this wake-up call from God.

After the resurrection when the disciples of Jesus were crouching fearfully in Jerusalem, the word came through Mary Magdalene for them to ‘get back to where they once belonged’ – in this case Galilee, where Jesus would meet them (Mark 16:7).

Two disciples of Jesus were crestfallen as they walked to Emmaus only to be met by the risen Jesus. After an electrifying supper they could not contain their excitement any further and they went back to where they had come from – Jerusalem (Luke 24:33).

The Lord spoke to the church at Ephesus reprimanding them for having lost their ‘first love’. He urged them to return to their earlier ways with a stern warning of the consequences of disobedience (Rev 2:4,5).

Do you ever feel like that? Are the pressures getting to you? Do you feel everyone is against you and there’s no point struggling on? It’s not uncommon to feel this way, especially when your main concern is the welfare of others and little or no appreciation is given in return. Sometimes in these situations our minds play trick on us. The opposition seems larger than it actually is and our sense of self-worth is diminished. We don’t actually become worthless overnight believe it or not. It’s also when we feel at our weakest that our God-given strength shines through in a new and more powerful way (Romans 8:26, 1 Corinthians 1:25 & 2 Corinthians 12:9). Indeed, too much self-confidence can be a dangerous thing, especially in the Christian life (Psalm 138:6 & Proverbs 21:4).

The ‘examen’ is a form of meditation attributed to Ignatius of Loyola (1491 – 1556), a Spanish soldier who, during a period of convalescence from a serious injury, turned to Christ and later founded the Jesuit movement. The idea is to reflect at the end of each day on the things which have happened, how you responded and what God would have you learn from your experiences. It is good for us also to take stock of where we are in life. A useful exercise in times of stress is to look back over your life and identify the times you have been successful and happy. Ask what contributed to those situations – what were you doing that worked well and what gifts did you bring to the situation? Sometimes we forget how gifted we actually are and the many blessings which God has showered upon us.

Perhaps during those periods of quiet over the summer, on the beach or up in the hills, taking a look back over your life would be a useful and therapeutic exercise. Take time to offer your hurts and disappointments to God in the assurance that his love longs to heal you. Ask God what robbed you of your inner peace and let him show you the hidden secrets which only he can see. But don’t forget at the end of the holiday period to ‘get back to where you once belonged’.

(thanks to Roger Johnson for this)