25th March 2026

Have you noticed an increasing tendency of people and businesses offering their services to say, ‘We’re passionate about . . .?’ It can be a ‘passion’ about anything from car maintenance to plumbing to landscape gardening to . . . whatever. I confess to finding this somewhat annoying. When I look for a job to be done, I’m not really interested in how ’passionate’ the plumber is about plumbing, but whether he (or she) has a reputation for actually mending sinks or radiators well, at a reasonable price and on time. His personal emotions about it matter less. Our contemporary fashion is to advertise our feelings at the expense of actually doing what we’re meant to.

Jesus certainly could feel passionately: ‘I came to bring fire on the earth and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed!’ (Luke 49-50) – not left unfinished while he attends to a more attractive job a few doors down the road. Soon, during Holy Week, we’ll be reminded of the woman at Bethany who anointed Jesus with costly ointment. Jesus defends her against those of his disciples who grumbled at what they saw as waste – the money spent could have been given to the poor. ‘We are passionate for social justice’ they might well have said. But what did they do about it? Nothing, beyond indulging their self-righteous feelings. The woman expressed her love for Jesus in what was at least a real action. Jesus himself measured his passion on the wood of the cross.

Keith Clements