Pentecost 5. 22 June 1997
Orangemen love to walk. There are 2,000 loyalist parades a year in Northern Ireland, which means about 40 parades a week! It is true that very few of these parades cause any particular problem. The few that are controversial require the exercise of Christian leadership.
Those who intend to do a lot of walking over the next month will not wish to cause offence to their christian neighbours. They will not wish to defy the law of the land or the forces of the Crown on those occasions when the law may not coincide with their own point of view. They will realise that it is no credit for a Christian to break the law in the name of going to or from a church service. Better not to go to church at all, if it is your intention to break the law, or to encourage others to break the law, as soon as you step outside.
Local residents groups should appreciate that marching is part of the northern protestant cultural tradition. Accommodation is needed on both sides, and that can only come about through dialogue, in a way that is mutually acceptable.
The practice of flying the union flag from some Church of Ireland churches in the north for the whole month of July, like the singing of the national anthem on the Sunday nearest the twelfth, may have more to do with the Battle of the Boyne than with the Battle of the Somme - unless of course such flags are removed prior to 12 July.
The flag and anthem of Northern Ireland should be a focus of unity and receive the respect, which is their due. They should not be used to assert any form of political or religious superiority.
We might do well to pay close attention today to the words of St. Paul. Writing to the Ephesians, Paul called upon Christian people to
"Walk in love, as Christ loved us." (5:2) And later in the same passage he says, "Walk as children of light." (5:8b)
Walk in love and walk in light. Not because of the virtue of doing so, but because of the benefits. To walk in love is far better than living with hatred. To walk in light is far preferable to dwelling in darkness.
Those who put Christ first find that everything else falls into place. Walking with Christ is the best way. With Him, we will "walk in love" and we will "walk as children of light."
