Many will Come in my Name

Sometimes we read the Bible and find it hard to relate the text to contemporary society. On other occasions the relevance is vividly clear. ‘Beware’, said Jesus, ‘that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he’ and, ‘The time is near!’ Do not go after them.’

Back in September, I was deeply disturbed to see wooden crosses being carried by supporters of the far-right activist, Tommy Robinson, at his London march – ‘Unite the Kingdom’. Some of the protestors carried banners bearing images of Christ, and when the crowd arrived at Whitehall, they were led from the stage in a chant of ‘Christ is king’ and then a recital of the Lord’s Prayer. The Metropolitan Police also commented, however, that it was “a very challenging day that saw disorder, violence directed at officers and 26 officers injured”. This troubling event was then followed by a Carol Service in Central London, which claimed to be putting ‘Christ back into Christmas’.

A group of bishops and senior clergy have joined leaders from across the denominations in speaking out against any “co-opting or corrupting” of the Christian faith and symbols, particularly the cross, to exclude others. They acknowledged that many of those involved experienced a “deep sense of frustration at feeling unheard and forgotten in the democratic process” but said that that such protests also included racist, anti-Muslim and far right elements; “As Christians from different theological and political backgrounds, we stand together against the misuse of Christianity,” they wrote. “The cross is the ultimate sign of sacrifice for the other. Jesus calls us to love both our neighbours and our enemies and to welcome the stranger. Any co-opting or corrupting of the Christian faith to exclude others is unacceptable.”

There aren’t simple answers to most of our world’s current problems and there are very few political ‘saints’, but rather more would-be ‘messiahs’. If we want not to be ‘led astray’ we should measure any leader by what Jesus proclaimed was the heart of his mission; – do they ‘bring good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, setting free those who are oppressed?’ (Luke 4:18) Or do they breed fear, animosity and hostility, seeking scapegoats to bear all the blame for the problems in society?

God chose to come into our world as a homeless refugee; Jesus repeatedly reached across boundaries and divisions, offering a welcome to all; and Christ’s Cross, our cross, must only ever be a symbol of self-sacrifice, service, forgiveness, and love.

Revd Kate McFarlane