Brexit, Covid and the Kate Forbes saga show society's need for both truth and grace

Three big stories have dominated politics this week. At the start of the week came news that Brexit might finally be done. The second half of the week saw the release of Matt Hancock’s WhatsApp messages from the Covid pandemic. Throughout, the SNP leadership election race has been a lightning-rod for debates about the place of traditional biblical Christianity in the public square.

What all three stories have highlighted is the need for both truth and grace in the public square. We need people who model strong convictions and compassion, if there is to be more light than heat in how our country is run.

The week’s best example of this came in an area where civility and grace have been notably absent for a long time: Brexit.

US President Harry Truman once remarked that “it is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” Of course, both Rishi Sunak and EU President Ursula von der Leyen were not entirely selfless in heralding their deal, but the Windsor Framework is an example of what can be achieved when ego is subservient to conviction, and of what can be accomplished when grace leads to pragmatic compromise. It has been an example of what can happen when there is more respect than competition and when empathy is more important than scoring a victory.

If the Framework is approved by the UK Parliament and all the main parties in Northern Ireland, then there is a prospect of the Assembly returning within the next year. That will be a good thing for democracy and, I pray, peace and prosperity in Northern Ireland.

Last week looked like an extremely bad week for faith in the public square. Kate Forbes is still under attack and she, alongside the other two candidates, must remain in our prayers. The attacks on her beliefs and faith suggest that there is very little civility or compassion for convictions that do not fit the prevailing culture. This is of little surprise to us but is still something to grieve and challenge.

But there have been signs of hope this week: there has been a notable pushback to some of the more extreme positions about Ms. Forbes’ beliefs. Last week her honesty and integrity faced overwhelming attacks, but this week she has had defenders from both expected and unexpected corners. It does seem that despite the pressure from some sections of the media for her to withdraw, many, both in Scotland and beyond, value her ability, competency, honesty and transparency and believe they are virtues to be supported.

As Christians we should never demand favour or privilege, but we do seek respect as we would respect others, and to be listened to as we also listen with openness, compassion and a willingness to learn.

In The Great Divorce, C.S. Lewis predicted that a world without the objective reality of a natural law, supernatural in origin, would not be a utopian, democratic, pluralist society, but a world where the powerful defined and determined what was acceptable and oppressed whatever they did not agree with. In the SNP leadership debate we have seen a glimpse of Lewis’ Great Divorce and many, beyond the boundaries of our Christian community, have recoiled at its implications. We must pray that the contest, whoever the winner is, becomes a turning point. This must not be reduced into a win-lose for Christianity against other worldviews. It must become a catalyst for truly valuing leaders and politicians of strong, sincere convictions, who speak and live out those convictions with civility and compassion.

And that takes us onto Matt Hancock’s WhatsApp messages from the Covid-19 pandemic being leaked to the media. Personally, I feel sad, but not shocked, by the whole situation. Quoting The Great Divorce once again, C.S. Lewis noted that “we make men without chests and expect from them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst.”

The motivations of Ms Oakeshott in handing the files over to The Telegraph seem at best to be mixed, while Mr Hancock and others in Government are revealed to be as flawed and as human as the rest of us. We should not mock or condemn without checking our own hearts first.

It is right for us to seek truth, but not retribution. We must learn lessons from these developments, rather than be titillated by a sneak-peak behind the curtain of power and authority. Our leaders should be accountable, but we must also ourselves act in a spirit of grace. Given our own faith, Christians perhaps more than anyone else must be those who seek truth and show grace.

May that Spirit of truth and grace permeate our public square.

Lord, I pray that I and all your sons and daughters might be those who model a magnetic sense of conviction for the truth of your word and compassion as you have loved us. With our living witness as an example, may there be far more good weeks than bad for truth and grace in our public square. Amen.