I was once sent on a television coaching course in which a tutor in communications endeavoured to teach a group of us how to get our point across in a public debate. Those attending included commentators and political activists – and, if I remember correctly, some also had preaching and pastoral responsibilities. The coach asked the assembled company how many debating points a person could successfully communicate in one session of public speaking. There were suggestions of three, four or even six points. The tutor held up an index finger. “One,” he said. Just one! The results of the European elections on Monday rather proved that proposition: the political parties that did best made just one unambiguous point. For the Brexit Party, it was exit from the European Union. For the Lib Dems, who enjoyed a reviving surge, it was “stop Brexit”. For Scottish nationalists, it was independence. For the Greens – remarkably successful in Ireland – it was “save the planet”. The parties that were divided, or tried to encompass complex or muddled ideas, were largely rebuffed. In our world of so many competing and jostling ideas, maybe the “just one point” is more applicable than ever. Don’t get over-complicated. Don’t occupy the middle of the road – you’ll get crushed by both sides. Is there a lesson here for the pulpit, as well as the political platform? In composing a homily, make one point, clearly and unambivalently. And doesn’t St Paul warn us against the trumpet giving an uncertain sound? As so often, a modern insight can be found in the wisdom of the New Testament.