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Good morning. A new day has dawned. Today is the first day in 47 years that the United Kingdom has woken up as separate from the European Union. For some, this new day marks the start of a great adventure. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said yesterday this is “the moment when the dawn breaks”, describing it as “the dawn of a new era” – one of national renewal and change. For others, this new act symbolises not adventure, but a sense of loss – the kind of sadness that comes with saying goodbye and apprehension about what comes next. Life is made up of a series of endings and beginnings; transitions from one state to another. Individuals, institutions and nations are constantly changing, ever-evolving. We continuously find ourselves in the limbo of liminality – that in between state before crossing the threshold and becoming something else. The transition from child to adult, from bride to wife, from pregnant woman to mother. Each rite of passage contains within it a moment of the in-between – looking back on what you were and looking ahead to what you are to become - not yet ended and not yet begun. With this between phase might come a certain level of anxiety about what’s ahead, held in tension with a sense of excitement at a new beginning. Whatever our position on Brexit, what is certain is that we are out of the betwixt and between phase – today is that new day. The next few years will neither be perfect nor will they be wholly bad. Things are never that clear-cut – life isn’t black and white, but grey. As we carve out our way in this new era, each of us should turn our attention away from polarising arguments and instead now work towards ensuring that the United Kingdom is a place where each of us can flourish. This new beginning must not forget the poorest and most marginalised among us. A theme that runs through the Bible is this idea that every ending is accompanied by the promise of new hope. Ultimately, hope is what Christianity is all about. What I’ve realised as I’ve grown older and seen that life can be painful and hard and heartbreaking at times, is that the Christian hope isn’t about blind optimism; it doesn’t mean everything will be ok, or promise that the future will be plain sailing. But Christians carry with them a sense of eschatological hope – a hope that at the very, very end, things will be made right. It is this ultimate hope that C S Lewis was talking about when he wrote: “There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.” Here’s hoping.