Plenary, 08 Jan 2003

Meeting date: Wednesday, January 8, 2003

Official Report 560KB pdf

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Time for Reflection

I wish everybody a good new year and welcome the Right Rev Neville Chamberlain, the Bishop of Brechin in the Scottish Episcopal Church, to lead today's time for reflection.

I was going through a bad patch at work, which was fuelled by avid media interest, and I was not prepared for the effect that that combination would have on my life: the lack of self-confidence, fear of the telephone and sleepless nights. I am sure that some members will know the feeling. Out of the blue, Stephen Jones, who is an American lawyer friend of mine and was the chief defence attorney for Patrick McVeigh, the Oklahoma bomber, sent me Desmond Tutu's book, "There Is No Future Without Forgiveness", which, as members will know, is an account of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa. In it, Desmond Tutu argues that mercy—forgiveness—has a higher value than justice. Can that be? The book moved me deeply and I knew that there was only one person in the world who could help me with my difficulties—Desmond Tutu.

I had no idea where he was or who could effect an introduction, but I knew that I had to see him quickly. Miraculously, within six days, I was in Atlanta, Georgia with him. He was recovering from testicular cancer, but was prepared to give three days of his life to assist me and an adversary with our problems.

After our first meeting, he gave us nearly 40 biblical passages on which to reflect. Members might have guessed that his suggestions included the essential sayings of Jesus, such as:

"Blessed are the makers of peace, for they will be called children of God."

"If someone strikes you on the right cheek turn to him the other."

"Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."

"Forgive not seven times but seventy times seven."

Such counsel from a Nobel peace prize winner seems simple, especially for someone with a name such as mine—Neville Chamberlain—which encapsulates the paradox of war and peace. However, such counsel is difficult to follow—if it were not, we would behave in the suggested way all the time. Yet his counsel worked for me and continues to work. Although the teaching is radical and dangerous, it is tinged with compromise and even negotiation, which is the art of the politician.

Desmond Tutu discovered that, at the heart of what Jesus has to say, mercy—forgiveness—has a higher value than justice or truth. That is why justice and truth were sacrificed for reconciliation in South Africa. They were also the cost of the solution to my problems. For obvious reasons, mercy cannot be the foundation for the laws of a country, but it can move us all forward in our personal relationships. It can transform the way in which we relate to each another. Mercy—forgiveness—is outrageous. It may be insane, but it works and saves. As it is God's gift to us, perhaps we have a major responsibility to show mercy to others.