Jesus wasn’t crucified for saying nice things about spirituality and heaven – he was crucified because his preaching threatened the status quo. He taught his followers to pray: ‘thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven’. This means that we pray for the world to be what God wants it to be. Jesus stood in the tradition of the ancient prophets who challenged Israel to be a true people of God, putting justice before any kind of ritual.

I don’t see myself as a great activist. Others have been bolder than me. But I have done my bit from time to time – writing to MPs, signing petitions and getting others to sign them, fund-raising, taking part in demonstrations, speaking up about issues in my preaching, and so on.