The Catholic Bishop of San Bernadino in California gave dispensation from Sunday Mass, because of fears of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) picking up “undocumented” people who attend (see the link below). “Immigration” is high on many people’s “agenda”, and rational discussion increasingly difficult against the flood of anger and resentment fuelled by politicians blaming shortages (of housing, doctors’ and dentists’ appointments etc) on “the numbers coming” rather than on past policies.
The post-WW2 decades of confidence in growing prosperity (Macmillan’s “You’ve never had it so good” years), broke down under the pressure of international competition (eg from Germany and Japan) by the 1960/70s, exposing the underlying conflict between “owners” and “workers” which had never been tackled in the post-war “consensus”. But the determination to maintain “capitalist profitability”, together with an ideology that low taxation is a vital component of that, has created the present situation- all too easily blamed on the most obvious scapegoat, those coming to “take advantage of our generosity”.
Today’s political parties appear unable to deal with all this- the Conservatives having lost the trust of voters since Boris Johnson’s “Get Brexit done”; Labour caught between the leadership’s fear of losing vote-share, and back-benchers’ desire for more radical policies; Reform with an ideology that many voters like, but unable so far to prove any competence in local, let alone national, administration.
We read Nebuchadnezzar’s dream from Daniel chapter 4- the great tree which grew as high as heaven, but then was cut down to its stump. A picture, said Daniel, of Nebuchadnezzar himself and his Empire (Babylon), until they were forced to recognise the sovereignty of God over human affairs and political powers in the world. Or, that power contains the seeds of its own downfall, and is ultimately unsustainable (and is this saying the same thing, but in different words). For the Book of Daniel, based as it was on a possibly historical account of Nebuchadnezzar’s breakdown, this was the key to the people’s hope facing the might of the Greek-Syrian Empire some four hundred years later. And the same was true for those facing Rome (for example Revelation 16).
In order to maintain its authority power needs to become increasingly harsh and brutal. Which ultimately undermines and destroys its power, hastened by those who, like Daniel and his friends in the stories of the book, refuse to bow and worship the “images” erected by Empire (see Daniel chapter 3).
There are many examples of people and organisations doing precisely that today: John Perkins in Mississippi, Mondragon in Spain, Marian Budde at Trump’s inauguration service, the “Kumi” series of videos (see Links below). A key question is the way that communities and individuals all too easily lose faith in themselves and demand a leader to solve their problems. Israel faced, and failed, the same question early in its history (see 1 Samuel chapter 8). Groups which can avoid this snare and temptation (such as Quakers and some other communities), offer some hope for the future.
San Bernadino Bishop: https://www.ncregister.com/cna/san-bernardino-diocese-deportation-mass-dispensation
John Perkins, Mississippi: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_M._Perkins https://jvmpf.org/our-story/
Mondragon, Spain: https://www.mondragon-corporation.com/en/
Marion Budde, Episcopal Bishop of Washington DC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDnRqsCV_EI
Kumi Online:
Kumi Now Online – July 8, 2025 – Teaching Theology & Ethics in Relation to Palestine
Also: “At Work in the Ruins: Finding our Place in the Time of Climate Crises and other Emergencies”: Dougald Hine https://www.chelseagreen.com/product/at-work-in-the-ruins/ and https://www.waterstones.com/book/at-work-in-the-ruins/dougald-hine/9781645022916
John Weaver’s book on Discipleship, available at £10 each plus p&p: