The View from Bolton Street

The View from Bolton Street

This week the Church remembers Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley, Anglican Martyrs burned at the stake by Rome. They were among the first Bishops in the Church of England and the first targets of the Catholic Church when they re-took control of England. It was violent, brutal and inhuman. For many of us, it makes us angry, scared and worried that similar things could happen to us. It reminds us of our own persecution and the persecutions our friends and family have experienced, big and small. 

But we remember also that soon after, the English Church brutally executed even more Catholics in revenge. Hundreds, in fact, were drawn and quartered; beheaded; disembowled. It was violent. brutal. and inhuman. 

And it didn’t make it any better. 

A lot of folks are very angry right now. Whether it is about the state of leadership in our city, our nation or just at frustrations in our own lives at work or at home.  And so often that anger brings with it a need for revenge.  But the lesson we are reminded of this week is a need to be careful about our thirst for revenge.  Because that blood ends up on our hands, and it weighs on our hearts and our minds. 

As you prepare for Election Day, and for whatever other transitions might be in front of you, think less about how you will ‘punish’ those who you leave behind, and more about how you will move forward into a better tomorrow.