Rev Christine Murdoch

EASTER LESSONS FOR ELECTION SEASON

EASTER is early this year, and on March 24 in church we will be commemorating Palm Sunday.

We are very fortunate in our churches to have two very faithful four-legged friends, Clancy and Elise, who come to lead us in our Palm Sunday processions.

On the first Palm Sunday, when Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey, the crowds were delighted and hailed him as if he were a king.

A few short days later, and they were shouting: “Crucify him!”

If you read the story in the Bible, you will learn that the religious leaders manipulated the people into crying out for Jesus to die.

We may well think we are beyond being manipulated. However, in what is likely to be a General Election year, I do think we should be asking ourselves if it might be possible that we can be influenced by other people.

During the last General Election campaign in 2019, the Conservative Party spent more than £16 million. That is a huge amount of money, and while not all of it was spent on advertising and campaign literature (apparently £22,000 was spend on food deliveries), we can be sure the money would not have been spent if politicians did not think it was a wise use of resources.

The spending limit has also increased for the next election. Different parties have vastly different financial resources, and therefore some are able to produce considerably more election material than others.

While there is not much we can do about that, I do think it is something of which we should all be aware.

When Jesus was on trial, and asked by Pilate if he were a king, Jesus replied: “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”

Pilate responded: “What is truth?”

I hope that as we read the election literature that will come through our doors in the coming months, that we can all ask: “What is truth?”

In the meantime, I wish you a glorious and blessed Easter.

In what is likely to be a General Election year, I do think we should be asking ourselves if it might be possible that we can be influenced by other people