Which leader would you put your trust in?
The SNP Party in Scotland has just elected a new leader. The three candidates had a difficult five weeks between announcing their candidacy and the election day.
In the middle of the campaign, they experienced support, opposition and lots of challenging debates. By the end, everyone had to make a choice about which leader they would trust to deliver.
Today, we’re in the middle of the Easter story – halfway between Palm Sunday and Easter Day.
On Palm Sunday Jesus announces his candidacy for being the Messiah, not just as King of the Jews, but of the whole world. Fierce debate follows, right at the centre of the city’s life and worship, the temple.
Jesus upsets the status quo. He expels those profiteering from the temple, invites in the poor, heals the sick and calls people to prayer.
There are questions about authority, taxes, resurrection, marriage, true religion, generosity, the future of the temple and the end of the world. Some want to crown him and others to kill him.
Right in the middle of the story, while some plot to kill him, Jesus makes time to eat at the house of Simon, someone marginalised by society.
As he does so a lady comes in and pours expensive perfume over his feet. The other guests are appalled, but Jesus defends the woman, saying it is a sign and preparation for his death.
He had told his disciples that he would be crucified and three days later rise again to life and that this would be the start of a new era of relationship between God and human beings.
What he said proves true and a week later his disciples are gathered around the resurrected Christ. A new era has begun.
Jesus is a leader I can trust with the whole of my life not just my politics. Why don’t you join an Easter service this Sunday in a church near you? The Easter message is one that talks about who Jesus is and gives real hope, not just for today but forever.
Paul Lapworth is the lead pastor of Wycliffe Baptist Church, Reading, writing on behalf of Churches Together in Reading
