This Sunday is the beginning of Holy Week. This festival is the most important of my year, because in preparing to create meaningful worship experiences for others, I am always challenged by the Easter story in disturbing ways. This year I have been overwhelmingly confronted with the subversiveness of it all.

South Africa has a history of the Gospel being brought into service of national power dynamics, and this year is no different. As we face a general election in a few weeks, it has become increasingly clear that faith still plays a role in our politics. A new major party has appointed the former Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church as their presidential candidate. At least two parties that I know of include the word “Christian” in their name, and even Jacob Zuma, controversial President of the ruling ANC (although not President of the country) has made his faith credentials a significant part of his campaign strategy. Of course the role of faith in politics will also be familiar territory to many of my international readers – especially those in the US, if the election of last year is anything to go by.

But, where I find the Easter story so challenging is that Jesus goes out of his way to subvert human structures of power. As Jesus rides into Jerusalem he draws great crowds and then, without a speech, without a memorandum for Pilate, without taking the religious leaders to task, he simply looks around the temple (according to Mark) and then leaves. This is perhaps the greatest anti-climax in political history, and it is a statement of Jesus' refusal to buy either the status-quo of the powerful or the violent confrontation of the rebels. Jesus subverts all the usual power games, and influences the world through yielding to the worst that power-hungry humans can throw at him, without seeking vengeance or retribution.

The next day Jesus tackles the economy. Overturning the tables of money changers and animal sellers was a subversion of the economic system of his day – according to Richard Rohr 90% of Jerusalem's economy was tied into the temple sacrificial system. Then Jesus discusses the usual economic issues: taxes (paid to Caesar or not), and giving (praising a poor widow for giving out of her lack) making it clear that financial systems that fail to adequately address human greed and injustice are hopelessly bankrupt.

In response I find myself forced to look at power and money differently. Who I vote for and how I engage the process of voting will be different because of Easter. How I personally respond to the economic crisis will be different. I feel challenged to seek subversive opportunities.

The great human systems of power and money are broken. This offers an opportunity to work for a different system – or at least a system with different priorities. Through my giving, my voting, my worship and my relationships I hope to embrace the cross more and more – seeking not so much for my own comfort and security, but for a world in which comfort and security becomes a reality for an ever growing proportion of the world's God-beloved inhabitants.