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If recent events in the world of politics are anything to go by, it would seem that confession is only good
for the soul if it is done in private. Letting the whole world know that you have been wrestling with a disability, or that
you were not always as sure of your sexuality as you are now, may make for good headlines — but does little for
building up trust or confidance. The hard fact seems to be that tarnished heroes receive sympathy, but not credit for having
the courage to own up to weaknesses or misdemeanours.
That is why some people find it really hard to understand the Christian loyalty to Jesus. After all, Jesus
admitted to drinking and feasting and breaking the law. He regularly seemed to touch people who were ritually and medically
‘unclean&rsquo and so obviously did not conduct himself in a manner that was befitting to his station as a Rabbi. He
allowed women to caress him in public, made a spectacle of himself in the temple, and refused to speak up for himself when
falsely accused by the Sandedrin. Hardly a great leader.
If perhaps he had been a little more discreet in his dealings with the poor and outcasts then his disciples
might not have deserted him in Gethsemane or before Caiaphas in the Sanhedrin. If he had been a little less passionate in
public he might have — well — been a great historical figure, recorded for all time in our text books. As it
is, he showed others how to turn worldly values on their head and find salvation in honesty and integrity rather than in
popularity and respectability.
Jesus still attracts those who are seeking a real leader precisely because what you see is what you get
— rebellious, unruly, unconventional but completely honest. He was, in every way as we were — yet without sin.
As we prepare for lent, it's worth asking of ourselves — whom do we follow — and why? What qualities do we
admire in our leaders and how do they compare with those shown by Jesus, for who we follow says a great deal about who we
are.
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