We live in a world, both in terms of income and social and political power where inequality has been on the rise across the globe for several decades.

We lionize the bullies, the liars, the psychopathic and the heartless. We seem prepared to place our trust in those who lack compassion, who are devoid of a consistent moral compass, and who have only the most tenuous grasp on the truth, that they view as plastic, malleable and disposable according to the advantage of the moment.

The popularity of autocratic and authoritarian leaders and parties, even in the so called free-world is due, in part, to a desire to hide away.

Where people pretend that there is nothing they can do, so there is nothing they need do – other than to retreat into a privatized world of insular consolation.

And this is so much more than politics, although the church also has a significant duty to be active in that compromised human endeavour.

It is about our spiritual health and preparedness to identify the moral standards for which we as Christians stand and then to take a stand; to be visionary, bold and courageous.

Above all we need to throw off the cloak of helplessness that too many in our world draw around themselves as a blanket of comfort and detachment.