
It was Monday lunch time at the Toby Carvery, the place was full of different groups and parties in Christmas cracker paper hats enjoying their lunches out. The general atmosphere was one of fun, laughter and relaxation until this happened.
A man sitting close to our table started shouting and swearing across tables of diners at another couple who apparently had reprimanded him for blowing his nose whilst standing over them while they were eating. This couple spoke with good English but with foreign accents, although it wasn’t his deliberate racism that upset me. His tirade of abuse involved anatomical based swear words that I thought hadn’t been used for decades – with good reason.
The nose blower was brimming with such fury that he shouted across the crowded tables which included parents with children and a few groups of people with additional needs. It was ugly. The mood of the room changed, people didn’t know where to look as the angry nose blower noisily suggested in no uncertain terms that this couple should be barred not only from this pub but from the country.
Recently our local postman got an earful of abuse from an angry neighbour for folding a letter to fit through a letterbox. You’d have thought he burned down the door and graffitied the house by the tirade our normally calm and peaceful neighbour subjected him too, ‘You have vandalised my personal property!’ On that occasion I made a point of finding our postman, apologising and thanking him for all he does. Back to the Toby, there was so much tension in the air I shamefully admit, I did and said nothing…. Why? The fear of violence and backlash.
Where does this anger come from that was so palpable lying beneath the surface, ready to flare up at any time? Is it symptomatic of the current style of political leadership discourse in which insulting bravado has become the norm? Is this sort of behaviour now acceptable? I sincerely hope not.
There are Christmas parallels here as the gospel writers paint a strong picture of a nation divided over calls for independence. Prayers even for the non-religious for someone new to come and lead their nation to freedom; political turmoil and upheaval as a census is announced forcing people to go back to where they came from. And the tension of violence in the air of disagreeing factions failing to find accord amongst themselves.
In the midst of this God came.
But in our age God has been here all along…… in theory.
Draw a one-mile radius from our church building and count the number of churches that meet on any given weekend. Churches that we believe are an expression of God presence, through how we act, relate and speak. Churches whose intention is to bring light into dark places, peace into areas of tension and hope to the hopeless.
I deeply regret not intervening on Monday; I deeply regret when rather than be a peace-making, community transforming church leader I’ve been inward looking and taken my eye off the ball.
Christmas then is a reminder to consider all the tensions and troubles around us.
God has heard and responded, and we are his response.
Let’s really make a difference to Redhill in 2020 so people see and understand.
He’s heard you and he’s responding.
