Happy Easter to you too
Dear Sir. I am not, actually, the Prime Minister. You see, the girl who described me that way was very little at the time and she did not understand. I am not the Prime Minister, nor am I a Minister of state. I am, in fact, the minister of one relatively small church within a much wider global movement. As minister I am not completing the work Jesus began – since that makes it sound as if he left the job half done. On a good day, I like to think I can facilitate His work. On a bad day, I think He graciously works around me.
As that kind of minister within a multi-faith country, I expect neither prejudice nor privilege when it comes to Christianity. Like my Baptist forebears I support the rights of any man or woman to hold their beliefs be they “Hereticks, Jews, Turcks or whatsoever” [sic] If you are going to intervene on behalf of persecuted Christians, I hope it will also be for those who are persecuted whatever their belief might be.
You say you would like us to join with you in “evangelism”. I’m not so sure about that. You see, when that word was first coined it was news of a battle won. As politicians do, the imperial wordsmiths took it over and spun it into a technical term for the announcement of a new Emperor’s birth. Christians naughtily subverted it as news of a battle yet to be won and the arrival of a king who would knock Caesar into obscurity. Having once wrested that word from the hands of politicians I am not quite ready to give it back just yet.
And then there is the invitation to “think of me if you like as a sort of giant Dyno-Rod in Whitehall”. I wonder quite what you mean by that? Does it mean you turn up at some unearthly hour in a van painted such a bright orange that it disturbs the neighbourhood? Does it mean that you are prepared to roll your sleeves up and clean out the mess which no-one else wants to touch? Are you sure that is an image you want to leave in our imaginations this Easter? I only ask, because next time I am explaining what the actual Prime Minister is, it might be useful to know.
Happy Easter.
Richard
Image:kubatana.net
