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Tomorrow, Palm Sunday, means the Christian churches are just one week away from Easter. It’s the day when Jesus arrived in Jerusalem to huge acclaim. But within days that adulation is gone and instead the crowd, once hailing him, jeer as they watch him carry his cross to crucifixion. After listening to that drama being read at church in the morning, tomorrow afternoon I’ll be doing something completely different: heading to a football match. But it strikes me that the narrative of Jesus’ road to his death and the football match actually have something in common – spectators. At the match in the afternoon, people will not only be watching the game but also doing much more than that. Some will be cheering players on, others will be mocking and taunting the opposition. At my club, Brentford, the manager and the players always walk around the pitch afterwards, applauding the fans. The manager says the fans are vital to the match; they aren’t just passive spectators. The same goes for Jesus’ story. From Jesus’ Palm Sunday triumph to the dreadfulness of his crucifixion, there is always the crowd playing its part. First, as he enters Jerusalem, they lay down their cloaks and palm branches on the road for him to step over, akin to a red carpet for a king. Later after he has been arrested and is to be executed, some merely watch, some deride him, and some of his previous followers even desert him in his hour of need. But others help, one wiping his face according to legend, and another helps him carry his cross as he struggles. This is a choice that people have to make all the time, to be a bystander or much more than that. On Tuesday Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist faith leaders, including former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, will travel to Ukraine to visit refugee camps and the city of Chernivtski to stand alongside the Ukrainians in solidarity. The situation in Ukraine means that others too are choosing not to be passive spectators. They are not just listening to the news of the war but also engaging with the Ukrainian people by making donations to charity appeals. Others have gone further, welcoming refugees from the turmoil there into their own homes. In the story of Christ’s road to crucifixion, Pontius Pilate was the man in Roman occupied Jerusalem who could save him. But the Roman governor instead took a bowl of water and cleaned himself, saying he was innocent of Christ’s blood. It is a choice many have to make: to act, or stay on the sidelines, washing one’s hands of the matter.