Fateful journey

This month sees the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, still one of the most iconic vessels in nautical history. A number of specially commissioned programmes are being shown on TV to mark the anniversary, and the hugely popular 1997 Titanic movie is being released in 3D. Despite the intervening 100 years, the Titanic story still holds a great fascination for many.

One of the special programmes being shown is fronted by Len Goodman, of "Strictly Come Dancing" fame. In it, Len makes the point that the real interest in the story is not so much in the ship itself, but in the people whose lives were affected in some way by the disaster. Over 2,200 people were on board the ship when it set off on its fateful journey from Southampton to New York. Each individual on board had, I'm sure, their own hopes and expectations of the journey. People of all ages and backgrounds, both passengers and crew, were on board. Little did they know that over 1,500 of them would perish in the icy Atlantic waters.

This week is Holy Week, when we commemorate another 'fateful journey', the journey of Jesus, which led to his own death, through the agonising suffering of crucifixion on a cross. Those who died on the Titanic had no idea, when their journey began, of what lay in store for them. Jesus, however, knew very well, when he began his journey to Jerusalem, that suffering and death lay before him. On several previous occasions he had told his disciples what lay ahead, though they had struggled to take it in, as it didn't seem to make sense to them.

In Paul's letter to Christians in Rome, he wrote, 'God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.' Jesus freely and willingly laid down his life, so that through faith in him we might know the joy of our sins forgiven and the assurance of eternal life. What love!