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Good morning. I’m deeply attracted to compromise. Perhaps it’s because it’s one of those things which makes me feel grown-up. When I was a small child I was inclined to stamp my foot and demand my own way; but most of us learn as we grow older that without give and take in our work and personal lives we don’t treat others with the full respect they deserve. People who always insist on their own way are bullies. However, what should be the limits of compromise? Mahatma Gandhi suggested that all compromise is based on give and take, but there can be no give and take on fundamentals. Few would argue that there are some things we earnestly need to insist upon and fight for. It would be possible to have peace in Ukraine tomorrow if its leadership decided to sacrifice half its territory. But that would prioritise a quick peace over that nation’s determination to achieve justice. Equally, those who are striking for pay increases just now, as well as those who resist them might well question whether compromise is always the proper path. On both sides there’ll be strong voices saying that there are fundamental issues at stake which prevent it. Nonetheless, it’s hard to see how genuine, substantive solutions to the abiding social and political issues facing this nation and the world can be achieved without compromise. Yesterday, the Church of England’s bishops met to finalise their proposals for a solution to the Church’s endless wrangling over same-sex relationships. Whatever they bring before the Church’s decision-making body, the General Synod, I can’t imagine the Church will move forward without compromise. I wonder if disputes in both public and church life might benefit from closer attention to a biblical concept: covenant. Covenant is more than just ‘give and take’ compromise; it’s an assurance that those who enter into it will receive mutual respect and blessing. In Genesis, the patriarch Jacob renews God’s covenant in a surprising way. As he travels back to the land of Canaan, he encounters God’s representative, an angel by a river. The angel is determined that Jacob will submit to the greater force of God, and they wrestle all night. It ends when Jacob is wounded, but he is also blessed with a new name: Israel. Jacob’s refusal to let go until he is blessed shows, I think, that it’s okay to fight hard for what we think is right. But the story also suggests that when fierce opponents stay with the trouble, bear with the discomfort of deep disagreement, and imagine themselves into each other’s strengths and weakness, not only compromise, but blessing can be found.