Thought for the week (From Evesham Journal)

Thought for the week

2:00pm Saturday 5th May 2012 in S-U

POLITICS is a nightmare, isn’t it? In the end we believe no one and cynicism is the default position – or we become totally partisan and hold that They who are not Us are all at fault.

To be politic is to be, according to definition, “diplomatic, prudent, wise, expedient, sensible tactful and/or discreet”. Yet these are not the words that come most readily to mind when we think of politicians.

The Church is no better. Look at all the shenanigans going on now in the Church of England over the appointment of the new Archbishop of Canterbury.

Yet in villages, parishes, unions, associations, clubs, dioceses or companies, there are the same wrangles over power and who wields it.

Politics pervades all ways of life – it must be the third oldest profession.

Jesus spent a lot of His time in dispute with those who thought of themselves as righteous leaders. He warned people to be wary of them and when asked by the religious leaders if it was right to pay taxes to the civil state (no VAT in His day!) He replied by saying: ‘Give to Caesar that which is Caesar’s and to God that which is God’s.”

This raises the question, what belongs to God and what does God require? To do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God is what God requires of us, to worship God with all our being, to say sorry for the things we do wrong and to forgive those who do wrong to us.

This is not the behaviour we see in many of our politicians.

And if we are honest, we are all aware of how far short we fall from the standard.

But we can be forgiven and we can try to start anew and afresh. Forgiveness is not cheap for it cost God His Son but it is freely available to all who seek to try to be honest and just and forgiving. It’s called grace – God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. He picks up the tab.

Pray for all politicians, hold them to account at election time and actively engage in seeking what is true and merciful and humble for one day we will be held to account –and who then will stand?

“Let him who is without sin, throw the first stone’, said Jesus, ‘and all, of them from the eldest first to the youngest, put down their stones and left’.

SHEILA ROSENTHAL, Evesham Hospital chaplain