Glorious Freedom

The primary school our children have attended doubles as our polling station. I have, to their obvious delight, required each of them to accompany me to vote, and given them a little lecture on the way. I opine that most people, in history or today, have not got to choose their rulers by simply placing a cross on a piece of paper. The people of Makerfield will do that this week.

Many of my extended family worship at Mount St Mary in Bandra, Mumbai. The church is famous for a statue of Mary, whom the local fisherfolk drew centuries ago from the bay in their nets, and who now watches over the community as its protectress. Indeed, the church attracts Christian and non-Christian pilgrims alike. Visiting last Christmas, we were struck by the level of security required, a response to the rise of sectarian pressure.
Even in our country, some communities have security at their places of worship. That shames us all. But it makes me more thankful that, in general, we British Christians today have as much freedom to follow our religion (or not) as anyone who has ever lived. We are not forced to believe (as some would have been in times gone by), nor are we really criticised for challenging orthodoxy. That is a privilege, but also gives us a responsibility to look anew at the faith, to enquire objectively of dogma, and to discover freely the work of the Spirit.

Christians are always free, of course, because in the Incarnation God has unlocked the prison of death and estrangement. But however disappointed we are with the church, or religion, or our febrile politics, let us remember that our political and religious freedoms are not just a blessing, but a historical anomaly. Let us vote and argue for a better country, examine our faith honestly and deeply, and use wisely God’s glorious freedom.

Chris Braganza