Stunned is perhaps the appropriate word to describe the reaction several weeks ago of millions in the UK and beyond to the brutal murder of member of parliament Jo Cox outside her constituency office. Before entering politics, she worked with the aid organisation Oxfam, where she engaged with disadvantaged groups in Darfur and Afghanistan and other troubled parts of the world.
Campaigner
More recently she had campaigned on behalf of Syrian refugees, especially women and children, having visited some of the camps where they are being held. She also challenged the anti-immigrant tone of the recent referendum debate. Her husband Brendan said that she was killed because of her political views.
This is not the place to discuss what motivated her killer but it is worth noting that the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby expressed concerns about the tone of the recent referendum debate in the light of a surge in hate crimes in England against foreign nationals and ethnic minorities during the debate and since. “The course of the campaign was robust, as it properly should be on such great issues, but at times veered over the line on both sides into being not merely robust but unacceptable . . . Through those comments were created cracks in the thin crust of the politeness and tolerance of our society, through which since the referendum we have seen an outwelling of poison and hatred that I cannot remember in this country for very many years.” The reference to “the thin crust of the politeness” suggests that this is a problem not only for those we would dismiss as extremists but for all those “respectable” people who bear grudges or hate-fuelled prejudices against people with whom they disagree. As Jesus pointed out in the Sermon on the Mount, mean thoughts and mean words have consequences.
“You have heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be liable to the hell of fire.” The word fool in this case is an expression of hatred.
Tomorrow’s reading from the Book of the Prophet Amos reminds us of that long line of distinguished prophetic voices who, like Jo Cox, at great personal cost to themselves speak for those who have no voice. Amos turned up at the Vatican or Canterbury of his time to confront church and state about the exploitation of the weak and the poor.
“Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land . . . buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, and selling the sweepings of the wheat. The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.” This was rip-off Israel but no one wanted to know and Amos was threatened and sent packing. There is nothing new in the disowning and worse of those who challenge our comfort zones.
Memorial
In the days following the murder of Jo Cox flowers were laid in her memory in the market square of Birstall, the town where she grew up and died. The flowers were laid beside a memorial to someone else who suffered for his beliefs: Joseph Priestly, an 18th-century clergyman, theologian and scientist credited with the discovery of oxygen and the invention of soda water. His theological views, however, were less acceptable to the religious establishment and he was forced to flee when his home and church were burnt down by a mob – the penalty for holding a different opinion.
The Sunday after the death of Jo Cox the local parish church was crowded for several services at which she and her family were remembered. The multiracial and multifaith makeup of the congregations united by a shared grief spoke volumes, a sign of hope in a sad place at a sad time.