This weekend, in one way or another, will end up being joyous. The clue however is in the phrase “end up”.

Most of us will be eating Easter eggs, and in the case of one ordained minister ‘jelly babies’.

The weather forecast is good, so we’ll be enjoying the company of friends, neighbours, lovers, close and extended, families.

Some members of households will busy themselves with essential house repairs, while others will concentrate on cooking, baking, and preparing for guests.

Many will be fortuitous and perhaps be at barbeques or a picnic, shopping on Easter Monday is probably a possibility too.

The good Lord willing, and with help of science and vaccinations life, is edging back, to a semblance of normality once again.

But for Christians, commemorating the day Jesus was crucified is a sombre day.

From a purely personal point of view his betrayal at the hands of a ‘friend’ sending him to his death, is still the most tragic and haunting part for me.

Mistrust, unadulterated hatred, misinformation, baying crowds, public flogging, unsubstantiated accusations, unproven lies, conspiracies, power struggles, mob rule, ending in his crucifixion, for political expediency.

I guess to some degree this is probably why I am unable to watch dispassionately, videos of mob rule and rioting.

It physically affected me, when I viewed President Trump supporters storm the US Capitol in TV news footage.

Likewise, violence and carnage were the end result, of what started out as a peaceful protest in Bristol.

As in Roman times it is so easy to incite a gathering.

You simply need a nefarious character to infiltrate a lawful protest, ask one-line sentences, encouraging the assembled crowd to shout out your designed answer.

Then let adrenalin do its work, harness the power, stand back and claim that you are merely doing “the will of the people”.

In Spanish we say: “Throw the stone and hide the hand.”

Now I’m not as well informed as friends, who are vicars, pastors, priests, and ordained ministers, but will happily reveal, watching Jesus Christ Super Star, at the palace theatre in 1979, had such a profound effect on me, that it has formed my view on power, to this very day.

I never allow anyone to blind me with their ideologies, resulting in my being friendly to people from all religious and political persuasions. Wishing you a happy Easter.