The words below are words that I spoke at our church gathering on Sunday 26th June 2016. This was the Sunday immediately following the E.U referendum. These words are as pertinent today (for me at least) as they were then.

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This week we wake up in new era…there have been some seismic shifts that have taken place politically over the past few days. Some of us here will have been elated at the news that we are going to be leaving the EU. We may feel thrilled that at last our views have been heard. Others may be pretty devastated….some have indeed spoken to me of a profound sense of loss…of feeling like exiles within their own land. Within this church community we will hold a range of views and a range of emotions. 

People on both sides of the referendum have expressed a creeping sense of fear now that the genie is well and truly out of the bottle now. David Cameron has resigned…..we await to see whether Boris Johnson or someone else will be the next (and presumably unelected Prime Minister). The labour leadership is looking distinctly shaky. It looks as if Scotland may vote to declare independence from England, Wales and Northern Ireland….the whole integrity of the EU is being called into question as other nations talk about the possibility of their referenda and there is there is the constant danger of the far right rising up. 

I think that the woeful campaigns by both Leave and Remain and the woeful behaviour since have allowed us to blame the ‘other’ without ever looking at ourselves. Race, religion, class and more have all played their part in the most unpleasant domestic political campaign most of us have ever witnessed.

Whatever our views on Thursday’s vote, these monumental changes are things that we desperately need to bring to God! 

God is still God! God is still sovereign and He is still in control! 

Echoing the words of Psalm 46 are the words of a song we sing to the Dambusters theme tune…..

God is our strength and refuge,

Our present help in trouble;

and we therefore will not fear,

though the earth should change!

Though mountains shake and tremble,

though swirling floods are raging,

God the Lord of hosts is with us evermore!

 

God would say to each of us Peace…‘Be still and know that I AM God!’ 

I would ask that we be gentle with each other? Here in our church gathering, amongst our families, in our work places and our community. It would be easy to gloat in our referendum victory or rage like a spoilt child in our loss, but instead let’s seek to work together to influence the future of the UK so that it doesn’t become isolated and insular. So that we can exercise leadership in the world…so that we can build bridges and not walls, so that we can bring the values of heaven to earth……so that we can bring hope, compassion, justice, mercy and love to the places in this world where love is not!? The church has a key role to play in modelling transformative healing…..and we need to pray over the coming days, weeks and months that God helps us to do just that.