Why is our country getting so het up about ‘Partygate’ when to our East, more threatening issues menace? Many other countries are looking on somewhat confused at our seemingly petty narrow-mindedness. But there are a good number of reasons for our anger, all of them significant.

A collective trauma turns to anger

For really, the anger comes from so much deeper than just the usual annoyance at double-standards in politicians, which has always been a feature of political life, and the very real need to hold our leaders to account. It comes from a feeling of collective trauma that so many in this country are experiencing. Most of us have a tale to tell of the harrowing consequences of both the pandemic and indeed the consequences of the measures used to control it.

Many people have lost loved ones in the past two years. Grief is always hard to bear. But it is compounded when we have been forbidden from seeing these very loved ones. I cried as a friend told me of how he tried to visit his dying wife, so badly disabled from MS, but how the window visits just left him feeling more helpless than ever, as his wife’s voice was simply too quiet to be heard through a window. Similarly, I was unable to see my grandmother in the last year of her life. Eventually, several named visitors were allowed in, but as I didn’t live close, it didn’t make sense for me to be one of those.

The anger comes from a feeling of collective trauma that so many in this country are experiencing.

Many saw relatives with dementia go rapidly downhill without that all-important personal contact from their families. People went through everything from medical treatment to childbirth alone. Children developed serious mental health problems. Three people committed suicide on my street alone. Children were subject to abuse and many have disappeared off the radar. The list goes on and on.

Doctors are now routinely subject to abuse from patients at the end of their tether, who in their desperation are losing control.

The Church has not been immune

As Christians, we have not been immune from the devastating effects of loneliness, mental health problems, missed diagnoses, fear and grief. As I speak with fellow believers, I hear of so many who are now struggling too. At my local church, as one member shared how he was struggling in his faith, the service was extended by an hour, as people shared their stories of spiritual and emotional brokenness with one another.

There are many others for whom long hours alone or with little to do has led them into spending much time online, getting dragged down into despair and anger as they consider the state of the world.

An open door

So that is where we are. But it is not where God wants us to stay. Those without faith are now so much more open to hearing the message of the gospel. Opportunities are arising for us to pray for people who would never have considered faith before. Those who are prepared to share the gospel are finding more people turning to God, or beginning a journey towards him. I’m hearing stories from friends, of churches active in social outreach seeing multiple salvations on a weekly basis.

Opportunities are arising for us to pray for people who would never have considered faith before.

Wounded soldiers

Yet so many of us are caught up in the politics of what has been going on, getting angry - that we’re not in any position to share the good news. Or we’re weighed down with our burdens, with no space in our heads to think of others.

In part, it’s because we’re broken too.

But God wants to heal us, so that he can send us out to a broken world.

I have been reflecting on two scriptures. One came to me in preparation for a preaching engagement. In Luke 5, Jesus calls his first disciples, who have been fishing all night and not catching anything. (That in itself may reflect how we have felt over the years – trying so hard and achieving nothing.) Jesus tells the men to let down the nets, and they catch a miraculous number of fish. Verse 8 tells us that “When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, ‘Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!’” Simon Peter is a broken man at this point, and one who recognises his brokenness – in this case his sinfulness – but it’s then that Jesus calls him to be a fisher of men. He calls the sinful, the broken – or at least those who recognise themselves as such.

The other scripture that I believe God spoke to me is Isaiah 35:3-4: “Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong, do not fear...’”

These verses are written in the context of anticipating the coming of our Lord, and the kingdom of God on earth. Whether or not we are seeing the approach of that time, I hesitate to say with any certainty. Nonetheless I feel those words are for us today.

Seeking God for healing

We are broken, but God wants to bandage our wounds, heal us, and send us out – scarred as we are. How does he wish to heal us? Ask him. It will be different for each of us. I’m going through that process myself now. Having been through the mill these last two years in multiple traumatic ways, I’ve had a lot to work through. The process of healing really began with our church weekend away, where we were asked to reflect back on our times in the pandemic. I genuinely didn’t want to; things were beginning to look up. To be honest, I wanted to focus on more cheerful things.

We are broken, but God wants to bandage our wounds, heal us, and send us out – scarred as we are.

But I was forced into reliving an awful lot of pain, so much so that I have cried, on and off, for the past couple of months – prayer times have been times of weeping more than anything else. I’ve realised that I needed to set some serious time on my own for God to help me revisit the times of trauma so that he can heal the memories and fully restore me – actively engaging with God to allow him to do his work. The healing is an ongoing process, but already I sense that God is well on the way to restoring me as I do this.Psalm 23:1-3, Heartlight.com

Each of our needs is different. God knows us, and he knows our weaknesses. But we do also need to support each other. It is important now that we stop pointing out the faults of others. We need to build each other up, encourage each other. Allow each other space to express our grief and pain, so that the poison can seep out of our wounds, allowing them to heal. We need to bring to each other the balm of fellowship, of love and care, of prayer and of understanding.

Forgiveness needed

We also need to be ready to forgive, and to encourage others to forgive. So many are angry about unjust and excessive laws, or law-breakers, or vaccine advocates, or vaccine refusers, or mandates, or Boris Johnson, or government failures etc. Yet, whatever it is, if we hold on to this anger, God’s shalom and freedom will elude us. Forgiveness is vital for healing. Ask Jesus who and what you need to forgive, and to help you do so.

Then, as scarred, recently wounded – but healed – warriors, we can bring a message of true hope to our broken neighbourhoods – of a God who cares, who restores, who brings life.

Then, as scarred, recently wounded – but healed – warriors, we can bring a message of true hope to our broken neighbourhoods – of a God who cares, who restores, who brings life. One who has been with us through thick and thin. As God has said, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.” Isaiah 43:2. We need to bring a message of forgiveness – that God can forgive us, and also that we need to forgive.

We don’t need to wait until the process of healing is complete to begin reaching out, either. We don’t necessarily need everything sorted. Just so long as we’re patched up enough to reach out in love with God’s message of grace. Our country is literally dying to hear of the hope of Jesus.