The Lectionary gives us the second Servant Song of Isaiah for today, and here is part of it: ‘The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name. He made my mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me away. And he said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”’

‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified’ – so wrote St John in his gospel. The ‘hour’ of the Passion is the ‘hour’ of the glory of Christ, beheld equally in the crib and on the Cross.

As we walk the path of the Passion with Jesus, may we draw all those for whom we have a care with us, for their healing and renewal. May God bless you this day.