from a tiny seed to a tree, rent and flowing; self-emptying Love. This year (2016) Good Friday falls on the 25th March – the day when traditional churches usually celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation , remembering the angel Gabriel's appearance to Mary ( Luke 1:26-38 ). Most Western churches move the Feast to avoid the clash with Holy Week, but I find the juxtaposition thought-provoking. Both the conception and the crucifixion of Jesus can be viewed as gestures of ' kenosis ' – self-emptying, prompted by God's love for humankind: …though he was in the form of God, [Jesus] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. ( Philippians 2 :6-8) I'm also reminded of a metaphor that Jesus uses to prepare his disciples for what lies ahead – both ...