generations of great religious leaders had done. The prophet Jeremiah, for instance, publicly wore an ox yoke to convey to the people of Israel that they must submit to Babylon. Eventually, however, even the "yoke" of the king of Babylon would be broken, and they would be liberated again.

We saw a good example of a religious leader performing an "acted oracle" recently when Archbishop Sentamu, on a television programme, removed his clerical collar, cut it up and declared that he would not wear another until he saw justice in Zimbabwe.

There are times when situations in the religious world are very similar to what we see in political events. The famous saying of former prime minister Harold Wilson that "a week is a long time in politics" could certainlyapply to the last week of Jesus in the religious climate of Jerusalem. Palm Sunday is only a prelude to what happens in the rest of the week. His trial, betrayal, his last Passover meal with the disciples, crucifixion and death, followed by the experience of resurrection, are all important parts of the Christian understanding of salvation history.

There is, however, another parallel with politics. Jesus went to a great deal of trouble to present his claim to Messiahship and His divine mission in the best way possible. The "in" word today to describe the effective and successful communication of a message is "spin". Jesus here is reminding us all that there is good spin as well as bad.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Ishaq arrived in school yesterday to take over