Reflections

May Reflection

Rooted in stone

As I write this article Keir Starmer’s future hangs in the balance. Some of the most dreadful election results ever experienced by a political party have left Labour and its leader reeling. 81 MPs have now suggested he either go immediately or set out a timetable for so doing. His cabinet is divided and two of his ministers have resigned. Yet he resolutely holds on to his position saying that he wants to finish the job he was called to do. It is not for me to judge the man, but I do wonder at his motivation.  Is the role of Prime Minister so important to him that he must hold on to it at all cost? Is he defined by the role? Or to put it another way is it the foundation of his life?

Talking of foundations what about us in the country? The local elections have brought about a seismic political shift. Reform UK has won over a thousand seats making it the most powerful force in the country. We are told that two party politics is at an end and we have entered a new world where nothing is clear. Political pundits are having a field day trying to work out the implications. Old certainties, old foundations are gone, but will the new foundations really hold? Will Reform UK really provide the answer to our fears and anxieties?

Jesus had some important words to say about foundations. In Matthew’s Gospel he tells a story about two men who built their own house. One built the foundations on sand and the other on rock. When a storm strikes both houses guess which one comes crashing down? The point is clear. When the storms of life strike what is our life built on? Are we like those houses in Norfolk built on the edge of a crumbling cliff or are we built on more solid foundations? Jesus never said that we would not experience storms, but in his teaching he offers us a solid foundation that will hold fast. Even in the most powerful storm.  To those staring anxiously at life and all its uncertainty he makes an offer. “Come to me all you who are weary and  burdened and I will give you rest”.