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Good morning.

The murder of Damilola Taylor in London twenty four years ago was one of those moments that changed the nation. The brutal stabbing of a ten year old boy by two children not much older than him highlighted the potential dangers of inner city life and the vulnerability of the immigrant community.

Richard Taylor, Damilola’s father, who died over the weekend at the age of 75, suddenly found himself right at the centre of these dreadful events. Just weeks before his son’s stabbing, he had brought his family to London from Lagos because his daughter was seriously unwell. He thought he was bringing the family to a place of healing and safety. Instead he had accidentally placed his son in mortal danger.

It would have been so easy for Richard to be eaten up with anger at such a terrible crime. But instead he was able to channel raw grief into loving action. Since Damilola’s death, he has led on countless campaigns against knife crime and has sought to improve the lives of disadvantaged children. He has engaged with policy makers to strengthen communities. And despite all he has endured, he has unwaveringly spoken a message of hope.

That message of anger transformed to love is an especially poignant one for Christians at the start of the journey through Holy Week. The whole story is lived out against a backdrop of furious anger. There is the anger of the crowds whose cheers of hosanna swiftly turn to crucify. There is the anger of the religious leaders who feel so threatened by the charisma and popularity of Jesus. And then the anger of Judas whose disappointment in Jesus turns to bloody betrayal. Inexorably all this anger takes Jesus to the cross.

And yet in the most exquisite irony, the anger that leads to the cross undoes itself. It is that very anger that makes possible all that the death of Jesus achieves. Because, as he overcomes brutal execution by rising again, he demonstrates that love is more powerful than anger, more powerful than hatred, more powerful than death itself.

Anger can be an overwhelming emotion. When unmanaged, it can lead to bitterness, to revenge, to ever greater pain. I can’t imagine what Richard Taylor must have gone through with the loss of his son in such a senseless attack. Yet despite everything he has had the raw courage to show us another way. For those who have a cause, for those who believe that things can be better, the energy of anger can be channelled to positive ends. Anger can be changed into love.

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