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Good morning.

Doesn’t the 1997 Labour landslide suddenly seem a long time ago?

Whether you are or were a supporter of Labour or the Conservatives or the Liberal Democrats, there’s no denying that the election night of 1997 felt like a momentous event. Looking back at some of the newspaper reports, it seems as if the whole nation was glued to their television sets, sitting on the edges of their seats, and either cheering to the skies or cast into the depths of gloom.

I’m sure that’s an exaggeration, but it was undoubtedly a moment of high drama and excitement.

And rather different to the aura surrounding national politics today. There seems to be a tide of cynicism and distrust flowing through many views of the political world – and it’s very, very easy to join in. To go with the flow and write off the whole political system. To accept the wisdom of the world.

That’s not the Christian way.

Like all the great world faiths, Christians believe that our faith makes a difference to the way we see the world. Not by putting on rose coloured glasses in the best of all possible worlds, but by having hope. It’s part of our Christian calling to hope that the love of God can, and will, make a difference to the way that people behave towards one another, and continuing to hope even when the world is flowing the other way. And even despite some pretty horrible examples of acts done in the name of our faith in the past.

Lord God,

keep us firm in the hope you have set before us,

keep us true to our faith when it is so easy to sink into cynicism,

keep our hope alive with the knowledge of your love flowing through our own lives, even though we have sinned against you and our neighbour.

Amen