Like many people I watched with horror as the tragedy of the fire at the Grenfell Tower tower block in London unfolded. I first heard about it on the radio as I woke. Then I watched the breakfast TV news and could not believe what I was seeing. I also watched the lunchtime TV news. (More of that in a moment.)
During the general election campaign, I used Twitter more than ever before. It is a good way of getting a variety of news from various outlets as well as seeing comments from some erudite commentators. Though it must be said there are plenty not so erudite commentators on Twitter too!
Which brings me back in a way to the horrific fire at Grenfell Tower. I kept glancing at Twitter for any news updates. There was little new news in reality. But what there was, was a lot of political comment, mostly aimed at the Conservative run Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea and at Conservative ministers. Much of the comment appeared to be informed (citing various news sources.) And one story showed how the residents had tried to highlight (without success) shortcomings in fire safety in the tower block.
It would have been easy to join in the debate and retweet the comments. But I chose not to do so. I didn’t feel it right to get into political point scoring on the day of such sorrow. My fingers were itching! But I did not retweet or comment.
At lunchtime, I switched on the BBC. As would be expected there was extended news coverage. Much of it was reporters retelling the same news. But one interview stood out for me. It was with the Anglican Area Dean of Kensington the Rev Mark O’Donoghue. His opening words spoke of how the churches in the area were responding, showing the compassion and love of Jesus to all people. But in his closing comments he spoke of how Christians are also expected to speak truth to power and give voice to the voiceless. This would be something that the Church would do later. (This is my synopsis of what he said. I am not claiming this to be a verbatim account.)
In the Bible, we have an account of Jesus speaking in the synagogue of his home town Nazareth. He quotes a passage of scripture from the Prophet Isaiah:
18 ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’[f]
Luke 4: 18 - 19 NIV
Jesus goes on to say that in him this scripture is now fulfilled. In other words, he had made it happen and will continue to make it happen.
What is proclaiming “Good News” to the poor? The “Good News” is the Gospel of Jesus. The message of Jesus. And as I see it, it comes in three parts. First and foremost, Jesus’ followers are to tell others of the Good News that Jesus loves them and wishes to save them from sin.
There is a second part of the Good News. There is a strong Christian tradition of sharing and caring. Everything Jesus said and did and told his followers to do is the Good News. Therefore, Jesus’ followers are expected to “love their neighbours”. They are expected to care for those who are poor in all manner of ways.
And Christians of all denominations are doing this in the area around Grenfell Tower. They are providing places of shelter. They are providing food and clothes. They are providing comfort. But it is not just Christians. All manner of people are bringing Good News to the poor. Sikhs have opened their temples. Muslims have opened their mosques. People of all faiths and none are sharing the Good News – although non - Christians might not think of it in those terms.
Thirdly, the Good News means that the followers of Jesus seek to right injustice. To give a voice to the voiceless. And this includes speaking Truth to Power.
The origins of the phrase “Speaking Truth to Power” aren’t certain. It may have been coined in the 1940s by an African American civil rights campaigner Bayard Rustin. Although a 1955 book “Speak Truth to Power: A Quaker Search for an Alternative to Violence” suggests the phrase might be of 18th century Quaker origin. (See John Green http://classroom.synonym.com/origin-phrase-speaking-truth-power-11676.html for a discussion of the history of the phrase.)
As John Green says, ‘“Speaking truth to power" has become a popular way to describe taking a stand, even when the people speaking truth to power are powerful themselves.’ And that is the danger.
However, in the case of the Grenfell House residents they clearly were powerless. They had published a blog explaining their concerns. But this seems to have gone unnoticed. And according to barrister Jo Maugham QC (on his Twitter feed @JolyonMaugham) the residents had tried to fight their landlords, but the residents could not afford the legal fees and were ineligible for legal aid.
The Church (by which I mean ALL Christians who collectively are Christ’s body on earth) is no longer powerful in this country. Our influence is small. (And some would say this is a good thing.) But that does not prevent us from speaking out where we see injustice. We owe it to the dead of Grenfell Tower to give our voice to those other voices who now are speaking up.
The Church has one more thing it can do and that is pray. Pray for those mourning the death of those they love; pray for those wondering what has happened to loved ones; pray for those who have been injured; pray for the emergency services; and pray for justice to be done.
