Lent day 28

 Photoshopping.

Really???   Does anyone else think that this whole nonsense about the Princess of Wales is just horrendous?  And does anyone else think that being the Princess of Wales might just be a bit of a poisoned chalice?  I know Kate has always been under a massive amount of scrutiny since she was first associated with William, but it does seem that the level of flak she is receiving recently is off the scale.  What on earth is the matter with people that they cant let a hard working mother of three recover in peace from what has obviously been a significant health event?  The same people who doubtless laid flowers on the street and shed tears for Diana are probably reading all the gossip pedalled by social media and fuelled by the paparazzi.  I just dont understand the level of interest in the private lives of public figures, let alone the minds of the conspiracy theorists.

It makes me wonder what life was like for Jesus.  The most famous man of His day.  Reviled by religious leaders, politicians and the like, yet worshipped by the common man.  Mobbed in the streets.  Incessantly pestered by the sick and the dying. Always on the lookout for a place to escape for moments of peace and quiet.  Followed day and night.  Granted there were no cameramen sitting in trees with telephoto lenses in Jesus's day, but reading the gospels one gets the feeling that for three years He had no privacy whatsoever.  And what about trust?  Im sure the Royals find it massively difficult to trust people.  There's a huge amount of money on offer to anyone who can and will offer any tiny fragment of information or image of them. They cant even trust their own family members any more.  I wonder if Jesus always knew Judas was the betrayer or if that knowledge only came at the last supper.  I wonder if He felt despairing every time He told someone ' go on your way but please dont tell anyone'...... and then they did.  There was much money on offer in Jesus's day for information about His whereabouts, His sermons, His plans.  It seems that the best of humanity is always stalked and predated on by the worst. 

Next time you see a news item or photograph of a Royal walkabout stop and think about Jesus. Remember that He had no close protection police officers, no crowd control barriers holding back the crush.  Maybe one of the practical reasons He had for choosing 12 blokes for His retinue was that He physically needed them to be standing around Him as He moved from place to place. If social media had existed then you can imagine what the conspiracy theorists and the trolls would have been up to?

Today I pray for Kate and for all those who are suffering because cruel and unthinking idiots think its fun to speculate and conjecture and post blatant lies online. I pray that the Prince of Peace and the Lord of Truth would be their shield and that the father of lies would be silenced in the mighty name of Jesus.