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Good morning. Perhaps the worst aspect of the Ukraine crisis is the feeling of complete powerlessness it engenders. Every day when the news comes in the world is left wondering what will happen next. A major invasion? Or a slow drawback of troops? The return of mechanised warfare to Europe? Or a deal that will bring peace? It’s impossible for ordinary citizens to tell. With some other crises fear can be managed by action. The terror of a pandemic is contained because of the steps that can be taken to keep yourself and others safe. The fear of the climate crisis is managed because conscious decisions can be made to live sustainably. But with Ukraine it seems that nothing we do can make a difference. We’re powerless. And if we’re worried in the UK, what must it be like for those in Kiev and Donbas, or those whose families are in Ukraine. They must feel like pawns in a global game the rules of which are obscure to them, unable to do anything to take back control of their own lives. Powerlessness exacerbates terror. For the powerful in first century Palestine, Jesus must have seemed a figure utterly devoid of power. He was born in destitution. He spent his life hanging about with total nobodies. He never had any money. In their eyes, he died a meek and pathetic death on the cross, abandoned by his so-called friends. He didn’t even struggle. He gave his back to the smiters. Yet for the Christian, the self-giving love that Jesus demonstrates on the cross is the most powerful thing in all the universe. It began a movement that changed the world through love, one that still inspires his followers to build peace and seek the common good. And maybe that provides another way of viewing the crisis in Ukraine. Okay, we may not have the power to stop a vast Russian army in its tracks. But what does lie within the power of the individual is the capacity to model a love that is self-giving. Anyone can quell and calm the violence within their own hearts. And that is the place where all conflict begins. Anyone can make the conscious choice to live not for self but for others. And that is the place where peace is born. Once again people across the world will spend today worrying and fretting, checking their phones for the news headlines from Ukraine, feeling powerless to do anything except wait and see what happens. But whilst there may be no instant solutions, maybe we’re not quite as powerless as we think.