August 09 Archdeacon George RESTORING TRUST
A quick internet search reveals that there's a whole industry out there in "Trust me, I'm a doctor," products, from funny hats to coffee mugs, from tee shirts to cuff links. Alas, I could only find one "Trust me, I'm a Vicar," sticker!
There can be little doubt that trust in a large number of professions has been seriously undermined in recent years, and no more so than by the Daily Telegraph's drip-feeding of scandalous tales of MP's misuse of their expenses over the last few months. As the Archbishop of Canterbury and others have rightly pointed out, one sad outcome of this campaign has been to fuel cynicism about all public servants, the vast majority of whom continue to work self-sacrificially and from the most honourable of motives. This undermines confidence in the institutions which are the very foundation of our free, democratic society; not just politicians, but the judiciary, the police, the clergy, and not forgetting the media itself, are no longer to be trusted, it seems.
We may have been outraged and amused in equal measure by the story of the MP's moat. Did we, at the same time, give thought to Jesus's reference to the "mote" in our neighbour's eye, in the Sermon on the Mount? That mote is a mere speck of dust compared to the great beam in our own. In other words, Jesus is warning us of the sin of hypocrisy; and that's a warning we all need to take to heart in reacting to the misdemeanours of others.
Trust is an essential ingredient of any relationship, including the corporate relationships on which any decent society depends. A complete breakdown of trust in parliament opens the door to anarchy. When trust in the police and the judiciary is undermined, that threatens the maintenance of law and order. If I don't trust my doctor, that seriously weakens my chances of getting better. And what of trust in the clergy? The sad truth is that some are put off, when we fail to live up to our calling, and that is shameful.
Yet there is a corrective here, which may be of relevance in other contexts. One of the Articles of Religion states that the unworthiness of ministers does not hinder the effect of the sacraments, because "in the visible Church the evil be ever mingled with the good". Our faith gives us realism about the human condition which tempers our expectations of others, for "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God". This is not in any way to condone wrong-doing, far from it. Yet a realism about our capacity to fall short, not only saves us from hypocrisy, but also rescues us from a cynicism that tars all with the same brush, and questions God's capacity to work through all frail, human institutions, for our greater good.
Someone wrote: "Trust is like a vase. Once it's broken, though you can fix it, the vase will never be the same again". We may think there's some truth in that, sadly illustrated in human relationships. There are those who would argue that irreparable damage has been done to public trust and confidence in parliament and other institutions. The Church needs to work to counter that argument, and to help to restore the right balance between accountability and trust. For our faith is in a God, who in Christ, not only forgives our wrong-doing, but also restores us in a right relationship with Him and our neighbours; and works through us and the "governing authorities" referred to by St Paul, to redeem the world.
Almighty Father, whose will is to restore all things
in your beloved Son, the King of all:
govern the hearts and minds of those in authority,
and bring the families of the nations,
divided and torn apart by the ravages of sin,
to be subject to his just and gentle rule;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
George Howe, Archdeacon of Westmorland & Furness
