Dear friends,
For many of us, it was the moment that JFK was shot. We would always remember where we were, when President Kennedy was assassinated. More recently our defining moment in history has become 9/11. The 11th of September, 2001, when the Twin Towers that had hitherto dominated the Manhattan skyline in New York were brought down by Al-Qaeda terrorists, killing thousands of people in the process. There was bound to be a response. The United States and her allies, chiefly the UK, invaded Afghanistan where the Taliban who governed the country at that time were harbouring those who masterminded the attack. The Taliban were forcibly removed from power, the people ‘liberated’, and for just under 20 years the occupying forces sought to establish a western style democracy in that country. That is, until this last weekend, when the US President announced an immediate withdrawal of all American personnel, quickly followed by our own Govt doing the same. No sooner was this begun, than the Afghan Govt. collapsed and the Taliban were back in power. The speed of this still unfolding drama has left everyone breathless in its wake…Was it worth it? Nearly 500 British service men and women died in the conflict and not surprisingly their grieving relatives are asking the very same question. I can’t answer it. I’m not sure that anyone can answer it…But may be there is a way to redemption. Perhaps the best we can do now is to ‘make friends’ with those who were our ‘enemies’…The New Testament invites us to interpret Jesus’ death on the Cross as God’s way of acting to break down the barrier that otherwise would remain in place between a Holy God and a Sinful Humanity. In so doing God invites those who would put their faith and trust in the God who has done this to give it practical expression by working in the world to encourage the breaking down of any and every barrier that exists between us: between individuals, communities, nations. God was in Christ ‘reconciling the world to Himself’, in effect demonstrating His determination that those who would otherwise be enemies should now be friends…I can appreciate that for our Govt to make ‘friends’ with the newly installed Taliban Govt in Kabul, this would at first glance appear to add insult to injury as far as the families of those who died are concerned. Every conflict produces casualties, and there will always be those who ‘like Rachel, would not be comforted.’ How might this new found friendship be best expressed? By restoring the cuts made to the share of the Foreign Aid Budget devoted to Afghanistan as an indication of good faith on our behalf…And of course our friendship with the Taliban has to be a ‘grown-up’ friendship; one in which either party is not afraid to criticise the other when appropriate…I realise that what I’m suggesting is at best naïve, far removed from the so-called ‘real world’ which is inhabited by those who know better. May be so. But just maybe that is the reason why in Christ God chose to engage with the ‘real world’, the world of flesh and blood, of life and death, just so that what is being suggested here, the outworking of the love-filled reconciling power of God is actually just about as real as it gets…