The one thing Christians must do after Brexit.
There is an incredible insight into the heart of the early Church hidden away inside one sentence in an argument Paul has with the Galatians.
The issue on hand is his reputation as a Christian and genuine apostle, because he’s spoken to Gentiles, and came to faith famously on the road to Damascus, and not as one of the original disciples.
In his defense, he mentions that fourteen years into his ministry, when he went to Jerusalem to meet the original twelve apostles and discuss his version of the Christian gospel. They only had one request.
Pause for a moment. Which article of faith would they want him to affirm? Which key theological point was the one thing you’d think the original twelve would want to make sure this ‘other’ apostle knew in his ministry to the gentiles? The trinity? The divinity of Christ? Transubstantiation? Try again.
“They requested only that we remember the poor, the very thing I also was eager to do.” — Galatians 2:10
We really need to make sure that we let the singularity and centrality of the remembering of the poor sink in. Two groups, Paul’s and the original Twelve, have preached the gospel separately for fourteen years, and the only thing the Twelve want to make sure Paul’s group does is to remember the poor, which, he tells us, was the very thing he was also eager to do.
They came to discuss their Gospel — and they’re only request was for the poor. It’s like the very out working of the theological discussion and journey they’d been on separately for fourteen years culminated in this one practical objective.
Is the extent to which we’re looking after the poor a barometer for how well we’re preaching and living out the Gospel?
Remembering the poor in post-Brexit Britain
I know Christians who voted on both sides in the EU Referendum. Faith and politics intersect in a strange way. Faith tells us what we are to aim for, but politics are a collection of imperfect ‘best guesses’ from men as to how to achieve those aims — disagreement can be extreme: I’m a Green Party member, and members of my church are proud UKIP supporters.
My choice to remain in the EU, I think was partly influenced by my faith, but a vote to leave can be as well.
Regardless of your level of optimism about the future of Britain, it is almost certain that some of the poorest towns and areas that received high levels of EU investment are in danger of being forgotten all over again. Regions most economically dependent on the EU had the strongest leave vote. And in the current political climate, where these areas offer no votes for a Conservative Government, they will be forgotten again.
How you want to remember the poor as a Christian is up to you. If your politics is for no state intervention and high-levels of charity, set up a fund. If you want higher taxes on the wealthy, vote, campaign, picket, whatever. You do you. But you are mandated to remember the poor.
If you’re a Christian that voted for leaving the European Union, the poorest areas of our country have believed in your vision for our country, and they’ll depend on you to fight for them over the next decade.
I don’t understand your vision for our country, but I respect it.
I request only that you remember the poor. The very thing I am eager to do.
