Although not a fisherman, I often tell the story of the one that got away; ‘the one’, in this case, being an opportunity missed.

About 20 years ago my wife and I spent a long, but very pleasant day in Cardiff, shopping and enjoying life together as husband and wife. At the end of the day, as we approached the multi-storey carpark, we passed by an old bandstand which had been renovated several years earlier; a band was busy setting up to do a late afternoon gig. ‘Oh, I wonder what’s going on over there?’ said my wife, enthusiastic to finish the day in style. ‘Please’, I said, ‘can we give it a miss? My feet are killing me. It’s probably not to our musical taste anyway.’ So, on we walked.

Later that evening we were watching the news on television when an item came on about a surprise gig in Cardiff city centre that day by none other than the mega famous American rock band Bon Jovi. They had arrived at the end of the afternoon, quickly set up, and played some of their internationally famous hits for free to the public - the public being shoppers who just happened to be passing by!

It took me a while to live that one down. But the memory of that day and that missed opportunity has resurfaced again during this period of Lent as I’ve read, prayed and meditated on the gospel stories of the passion of Christ, and in particular the missed opportunities of those closest to Jesus; those who chose a particular course of action instead of an alternative.

If an alternative HAD been chosen, would the course of history have changed? Would the gospel stories that we know and love have been written? Let’s think about:

Judas – what if he hadn’t betrayed Jesus? What if he had persuaded the chief priests to take back the 30 pieces of silver? What if he had repented and told Jesus what he had done?

Peter – what if he had said ‘yes, I do know him, I am one of his friends’, when challenged by the fireside in the early hours of Good Friday. Would he have gone on to become the ‘cornerstone’ of the church?

Pontius Pilot – what if he had stood strong and not listened to his wife? What if he had freed Jesus and not Barabbas?

The thief – what if he hadn’t defended Jesus from the other thief? Would he have been in paradise with Jesus that day?

We will, of course, never know. But it’s very interesting to think about all the different scenarios and possible outcomes.

Life is full of missed opportunities and what ifs. Some of us will rue missed chances in our life’s journey, whilst others will be quite philosophical about them. As the saying goes ‘there’s not much sense in crying over spilt milk’. But what about those who are missing opportunities to come to God? What will happen to them?

We can be consoled in the fact that they still have opportunities to come to God, all the way up to their dying day. But what better way to start than in this season of Easter.