What an amazing example dear John and Maggie Prestwich have set before us. It is a triumph of the power of love; one which so many of us on the “outside” can glimpse and truly understand but a tiny part. (Dear Maggie, many, many people hold you in their thoughts and prayers at this time.)
There is nothing which amazes me more than the power of real love, which so often is demonstrated quietly, consistently, sacrificially, by all sorts of people whom the world rarely if ever notices, except when briefly reminded of such people as Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King or Nelson Mandella.
The other thing which causes me almost equal amazement – but in a very different way – is the love of power, which dominates our news in almost every sphere, from world politics to sport, and which functions in one way or another in every level of society. How destructive is this love of power: witness the politics of a Saddam Hussein or a George Bush. No doubt each of us can recall other much less well-known examples, which are much closer to home.
At the centre of this month lies “Holy Week”, when there was a titanic clash between the power of love and the love of power – between Jesus and the religious leaders of the day. The latter used every conceivable means of holding on to their position of power: the former, surrendering everything in the cause of love.
On Good Friday evening the inevitable had happened: love of power conquered: but Easter tells us otherwise. Ultimately it is the power of love which wins. For the one, in its blindness, seeks to control, to have its own way, wanting to be “top dog”: the other, in wisdom, recognises where real power lies, and is thus willing to face pain and self-sacrifice, which is ultimately vindicated with much joy.
So we are day by day faced with a challenge: which will predominate in our lives?
The love of power – or the power of love.
The events of two thousand years ago tell us unmistakably which one, ultimately, wins!
May I wish you a thoughtful Good Friday – and a joyful Easter.
Jim Stevens