The story of Holy Week sometimes begins with Jesus “cleansing the Temple” – turning over money trading tables and driving out sacrificial animals being sold under extortion. An arresting offence, no doubt, and certainly would have been a factor in his eventual capture and trial a few days later.
In Perth we see Holy Week begin with the arrest of 11 protesters following a deliberate and similarly prophetic action. The best account of what happened and why is found in their own words. Read it at: Why we held a sit-in over child detention ahead of Easter.
What is evident in their story and the varied community reactions is a refusal to allow focus to be diverted from the initial purpose of drawing attention to the 1000 plus children of asylum seekers held in detention. Following the best non-violent practices of Dr Martin Luther King, they hope to turn the tide of public opinion towards abhorrence of this cruel practice, eventually leading to a humane bipartisan approach for a regional response to all men, women and children who flee danger.
But this is only the beginning of Holy Week. The Easter story tells of passion, trial, pain, crucifixion, deposition, desolation and finally new beginnings through resurrection.
Followers of the Way know that all these may be encountered before purpose is realised.
Wondering Pilgrim 
Thank you for your insistence over the past few weeks that as Christians, we can no longer sit back and comfortably ignore what is being done in our name to men, women and children who have risked everything to seek safe haven here. It’s such a sad comparison with what we were able to do following the Second World War and the Vietnam war.
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