Introduction: Exile & Homecoming
Derek Poole

From the Ardoyne Road...
Norman Hamilton

From the Director
David Porter

Exile and Homecoming
David McMillan

Be Careful What You Wish For
Gareth Higgins

Bonfire Reflections
Alwyn Thomson

Rights, Relationships and Responsibilities
Kelvin McCracken

Wilson On Suffering
Alan Wilson

Poems

Faith and Practice - Debbie Watters
Ruth Hutchinson

Forgiveness
Janet Morris

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RIGHTS, RELATIONSHIPS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
... with particular reference to the PARADES ISSUE

Undoubtedly one of the most overworked words in the English language during the past 30 years is the word ‘rights’. During the 1960s the issue of ‘civil rights’ came to the fore in many parts of the world, not least in Northern Ireland. Almost simultaneously the ‘right’ of the mother to choose abortion became enshrined in legislation in the UK. Since then the Animal Rights Movement, the Gay Rights Movement and others have established power bases in society. Recently the UK Government has established the Citizen’s Charter setting out the rights of the individual in relation to many aspects of civic and corporate life. Within Europe, Human Rights legislation has been strengthened and the rights of workers have been further underpinned. Nearer home we have seen the application of Equality Legislation in relation to gender, race and religion and await the completion of a Bill of Rights as part of the outworking of the Good Friday Agreement. We have also heard much from Residents’ groups about their right to live peacefully without the ‘provocation’ of Orange Order marches whilst Orangemen have been equally vociferous and intransigent over their rights to march on the Queen’s Highway. The issue of ‘rights’ brings us straight to the issue of relationships since, in every instance quoted above, insistence on a particular ‘right’ by one group or individual has inevitable consequences for others. For example, in the case of abortion, the ‘right’ of the mother denies the rights of the unborn child. In many cases, however, including most of the legislation mentioned, society agrees to a certain curtailment of ‘rights’ for one group in favour of the greater good of others. However legislation cannot provide a panacea. Such is the case with the Parades issue where the painful consequences for both sides and for the RUC, caught in the middle, have been all too obvious to the whole world. While we should give thanks that some progress has been made in Londonderry and that Drumcree and the Ormeau Road situations were much better this year than many had feared, the Parades issue is still a festering sore in our community which must be addressed.

Whilst the actual words ‘rights, relationships and responsibilities’ are not found at all frequently in the Bible it has much to say about these issues and we are left in no doubt as to what God expects from those who claim to be followers of Christ. The general principles can be applied to all the types of situation mentioned above but it seems to the writer that they come most sharply into focus when we consider the Parades issue because here we have one group (Orange Order) who stoutly affirm their allegience to Christ and to the centrality of the Bible as the infallible Word of God. It is reasonable, therefore, to expect that they will seek at all times to act in accordance with the principles set forth in His Word.

What then are the principles which should govern our relationships? How do we balance the ‘rights’ of one group against those of another? What are our responsibilities as Christians towards God and our neighbour? Without doubt the over-riding principle is established in the Torah and re-affirmed throughout the Old and New Testaments:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. (Deut. 6: 5)
Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people but love your neighbour as yourself. I am the Lord. (Lev. 19: 18)
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind … and love your neighbour as yourself. (Luke 10: 27)

The parable of the Good Samaritan puts a very human, and very disconcerting, face on the neighbour but long before that we are given much practical advice and direction about how to show love. For example, the Commandments first of all establish our relationship with God and then with our ‘neighbour’:

Honour your father and mother, do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not covet.

In Leviticus 19 the people were admonished to ‘be Holy because I, the Lord your God, am Holy’ and then were given a series of rules for practical living:

v9 When you reap do not reap to the very edges of the field. Leave them for the poor and the alien.
v11 Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another.
v13 Do not defraud your neighbour or rob him.
v15 Do not pervert justice … but judge your neighbour fairly.
v16 Do not do anything that endangers your neighbour’s life …
v17 Do not hate your brother in your heart …
v33 When an alien lives in your land do not ill-treat him … love him as yourself for you were aliens in Egypt.

Exodus 23: 4-5 takes the concept of neighbour even further: ‘If you come across your enemy’s ox — be sure to take it back to him. If you see the donkey of someone who hates you — do not leave it there’. Proverbs 25:21-22 gives an even stronger message: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this you will heap burning coals on his head’. Completely consistent with this, Jesus (Matt. 5) re-emphasises and extends the principle of love for enemies: ‘But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in Heaven … If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?’ Perhaps, however, one of the most challenging statements of Jesus is that in Matt. 5: 38-42: ‘But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also’. Did Jesus really mean what he said? Well, it would appear that he did. In Isaiah 50: 6 we have the prophetic words: ‘I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting’. When he was arrested he refused to use force in self defence (Matt.26: 52; Mark 14: 48; Luke 22:51). Before the Sanhedrin and before Pilate he remained silent (Matt.27: 14; Mark 15: 5; Luke 23: 9) and suffered spitting and striking ( Matt.26: 67), flogging (Matt.27: 26; Mark15: 15) and, finally, crucifixion. Thus he fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies and placed his perfect seal on his teaching in Matt. 5 : 11-12: ‘Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you’.

In summary, then, the kind of love spoken of and demonstrated by Jesus is unconditional, offered to those who were his enemies (Rom. 5:10) and affects every aspect of our relationships with others. But, some may say, ‘We cannot be expected to live up to the standards set by Jesus and surely God gave the people of Israel rights to inherit the Promised Land, to drive out and kill those who were already there and to worship him in the ways he ordained through Moses and the Prophets’. However, when we examine the nature of the Covenant which God made with Abram (Gen.15) and confirmed with Moses (Ex. 24), it relates to the calling of a people who would be ‘a Kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation’ (Ex.19: 5-6) and their future was dependant upon obedience (Lev. 26; Deut. 28). Furthermore, God made it plain (Lev.25: 23-28) that the land was his and the people were ‘but aliens and my tenants’. Interestingly, the Levites were not given any part of the land (Deut. 18:1-2; Josh. 13: 14): ‘The Lord is their inheritance, as he promised them’. When we turn to the New Covenant we see that those who claim the name ‘Christian’ are described as being ‘crucified with Christ’ (Gal.2:20) and as being part of ‘a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ’, ‘a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God’ and ‘aliens and strangers in the world’ (1Peter 2: 5,9,11). Taken in this context we can see the Promised Land as the forerunner of the New Jerusalem, the driving out of idolatrous nations (Deut. 7) as the forereunner of the defeat of Satan at Calvary and the nation of Israel (and particularly the Levites) as the forerunner of the Bride of Christ. In this context the catchphrase ‘For God and Ulster’ must be seen as a blasphemous abuse of the Covenant relationship.

In terms of our ‘rights’ the Bible has a powerful message, as expounded in John 1: 12 ‘…to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God’, in Rev. 2: 7: ‘To him who overcomes I will give the right to eat from the tree of life’ and in Rev. 3:21: ‘To him who overcomes I will give the right to sit with me on my throne’. The only other direct reference to individual rights in the New Testament is found in I Cor. 9, concerning the rights of an Apostle. Even here, having established his rights, Paul goes on to say: ‘But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the Gospel of Christ’. In contrast to the demand for ‘rights’ the Bible denounces pride (Ex.5:2; 2Chron.32:35; Esther 3:5; Dan.5:23; Pr.16: 18-19; Is. 2:17; 1 John 2:16) and self-righteousness (Deut.9:4; Pr. 12:15; 2 Cor 10: 17) and commends humility (Micah 6:8; Luke 14 : 10; Rom. 12: 3; 1 Peter 5 :5; John 13:5; Phil 2: 8), self-sacrifice and suffering for righteousness’ sake. As mentioned earlier, Jesus said (Matt. 5:11-12): ‘Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad — for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you’. Paul (Heb.11) lists those who suffered for their faith and James 5:10 holds up ‘as an example of patience in the face of suffering … the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord’. In Heb.12, Paul goes on to encourage his readers to consider what Christ had suffered ‘so that you will not grow weary and lose heart’ and to ‘make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy… and see to it that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many’. Elsewhere he lists the trials and tribulations which he endured for the Gospel and, in three different letters (Eph. 6; Col.3; 1 Tim. 6), admonishes slaves not to demand their freedom, as we might think right and proper, but to ‘obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it … with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord’. Likewise, Peter (1 Peter 3 and 4), encourages his readers, ‘Do not repay evil with evil, or insult with insult but with blessing’ saying it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil’ and ‘Rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ’. In short, it is incumbent upon those who dare to claim the name of Christ to seek to live by the standards set by Christ ‘who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness and became obedient to death … even death on a cross’.

Finally, in relation to the attitude of the Orange Order to the Parades Commission, a body legally and properly established by the Sovereign Parliament, it is worthwhile to consider what the Bible has to say about submission to authority. Throughout Scripture we have the acknowledgement of the ‘delegated authority’ of Kings and Rulers under God. Many of them ‘did evil in the eyes of the Lord’ but were, nevertheless, permitted to rule for a season. Indeed we even have examples of foreign rulers being used in the will of God; for example, the King of Babylon carrying off the people of Israel into exile (Daniel 1) and Cyrus and Darius permitting and encouraging the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem (Ezra). In Ecclesiastes 8:2-6 we are advised to ‘obey the king’s command — and whoever obeys his command will come to no harm’. Jesus, when tested by the Pharisees, replied ‘Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s’ (Mark 12:17). Undoubtedly the three passages in the New Testament which most directly address this issue are Romans 13: 1-7, Titus 3: 1-2 and 1 Peter 2: 13-17. All three are very direct in their message and in harmony with the Old Testament view of authority delegated by God. In Romans 13: 1-2, Paul states without equivocation that ‘Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established … Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted’. When we consider that Paul, albeit himself a Roman citizen, was writing about an authority system which gave no particular consideration to the followers of the Way, this is a challenging statement. Likewise, Peter is forthright and further suggests (v13) that submission ‘to every authority instituted among men’ is ‘for the Lord’s sake’ … ‘that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men’. Of particular interest, in all three passages, is the context in which these statements are made. In the case of Romans 13 the passage is preceded by Chapter 12 which (v2) admonishes us, ‘Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind’, encourages brotherly love and hospitality and then finishes (v17-21) with words similarly challenging to those of Jesus (Matt. 5 : 38-48) including the words from Prov. 25: 21-22 mentioned earlier, concluding with ‘Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good’. Similarly, in 1 Peter 2, we see Peter placing emphasis on the new nature of the Christian, reminding his readers (v9) ‘But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light’. His emphasis is on holy living and it is particularly poignant that the verse preceding the reference to submission to the authorities encourages the reader to ‘Live such good lives among the pagans that, although they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good works and glorify God on the day he visits us’. Of equal importance to the context of verses 13-17, is the one immediately following, addressed to those who had no rights whatsoever. ‘Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh’.

Clearly, then, we can summarise all of the above by stating that, as Christians, we have responsibilities to God and to our neighbour, that our chief responsibility is to show unconditional love, that this will affect every aspect of our relationships, both vertical and horizontal, and that if we wish to ‘walk as Jesus did’ (1 John 2:6), we must be prepared to sublimate our ‘rights’ in favour of our neighbour. In plain English, the only way that Christ can be glorified in this, is by the members of the Orange Order choosing to waive their ‘rights’ to march down the Garvaghy Road or any other where their presence causes pain or offence. There can be no justification for the attitude adopted by the Orange Order towards the Parades Commission, a legally and properly appointed body which has been faced with an almost impossible task. It is depressing that an organisation which claims to be centred on Christ and the Bible as God’s infallible Word, has failed to show any real understanding of what it means to ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’. In the wider sense it should be a matter for serious concern within the Christian community that much of the impetus for establishing and promoting Human Rights in this generation has been largely by those who would not claim Christ as the cornerstone of their lives. However, the writer is also reminded of Jesus’ words, ‘If anyone of you is without sin, let him be the one to cast the first stone’.

Kelvin McCracken is a Presbyterian Elder, a Trustee of Restoration Ministries and a senior academic in Queen’s University, Belfast.