When the Christian leader John Donne said famously that no man is an island entire of itself, he could have been speaking for a nation too. In this global age, the UK will need to carve out a new identity for itself in the family of nations. Going its own way from the block of now 27 nations that is the EU, could easily lead to a period of isolation. Real freedom comes, not from withdrawal and introspection, but engagement, mission and an outward look.
The same is true for the church. God has called us to be a people with an open heart for the world. Donne went on to challenge his readers not to ask 'for whom the bell tolls' as it tolls for each one of us. Real freedom is the freedom to be all that God designed us to be. At times it will come from the laying down of our lives and selfish aims, as much as from the taking up of new opportunities.
The UK has a proud history of serving other nations in their times of need. Twice, they have stepped in to liberate the very territories of the EU that they are about to walk away from. May the vision of its role in the wider world not be diminished by the sounding of bells at 11pm this evening.
