The joy of Christ
A recent report from the Good Relations Indicator discovered that, compared to two years ago, fewer people in Northern Ireland think relations between Protestants and Catholics are improving (a drop from 49% to 43%).
A decade ago in the Herald, as featured in ‘In this month’, Dr John Dunlop commented, “Sectarianism is…more contagious and dangerous than swine flu and all of us have it.” It is therefore sad to think that a decade later and more than 20 years on from the Good Friday Agreement, we are not moving in a better direction for peace and reconciliation.
Perhaps this is because society in general now seems more polarised. Whether it is Brexit in the UK and Ireland, or the Trump administration in the USA, politics has created an environment where people have little respect for opposing opinions and disagreeing well doesn’t seem to exist. The focus is firmly on self-preservation and fear of the unknown.
In his article 10 years ago, John Dunlop described sectarianism as: “…a good thing which has become diseased. The good thing is a sense of one’s own self-worth. The diseased thing is the automatic unconscious culturally inherited denigration of the worth of someone else who is different.”
In the new multicultural Ireland, ‘someone else who is different’ has extended beyond Protestant and Catholic, to all people of different races, colours and cultures. Pip Florit highlights a new PCI Bible study resource that explores how migration relates to our churches and communities. She points out: “The Bible does not just suggest hospitality – it commands it.” At this festive season, it is poignant to be reminded of an immigrant couple arriving in Bethlehem, desperately searching for somewhere to have their special baby.
As we stand on the cusp of a new decade, Ruth Sanderson takes stock of the last one, and unfortunately it doesn’t make for very cheery reading. She says, “Ten years on, the world feels very uncertain. The future is anything but clear, not politically, environmentally or globally.” Yet as Christians, we know that God is in control of all things and we have no need to fear the future. The hope that we have, that began with a baby of immigrant parents, is the rock on which we stand.
Our Moderator, Dr William Henry, reminds us that the joy of Jesus is ours to treasure. I echo his words to all Herald readers at this special time of year: “I want to encourage you this Advent season to celebrate the joy of Christmas and enjoy God.”
The Presbyterian Herald is the official magazine of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. It provides a forum for debate and discussion on a wide range of topics and aims to challenge and encourage Presbyterians, as well as inform them about what the wider Church is involved in. It has a readership in excess of 25,000 and is distributed throughout Ireland.
To find out more go to www.presbyterianireland.org/herald