Mr. John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister, goes to the Brit Awards (for the British pop music industry) and has the whole contents of an ice-bucket tipped over him by the pop star Danbert Nobacon (ne Nigel Hunter - the change of name may be due to his status as a vegetarian) of the band Chumbawamba. Mr. Prescott was said to be 'upset'; in the accompanying photograph he looked flipping furious. Meanwhile Mr. Nobacon was caught departing for a Japanese tour wearing a leather mini-skirt.

Isn't all this disgraceful and outrageous? Well, yes, probably. Mr. Nobacon said he was protesting at the Labour Party trying to seem 'cool' by hitching on to the event. It is of course perfectly possible that Mr. Prescott actually likes pop music and wanted to celebrate its successes (though he will probably make an exception in future for the outpourings of Chumbawamba).

On the other hand, the Brit Awards are a pretty anarchic event, and if you go to an anarchic event you can expect anarchic behaviour. It's all a case of "knowing what you are letting yourself in for".

Jesus would have understood this perfectly well. He warned his followers that if they came after him they had better know what they were letting themselves in for: to be 'baptised' with his 'baptism' and drink his 'cup' (his Passion), to have no roof over their heads and to take up their cross daily and follow him. "Do you take offence at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of man ascending to where he was before?" (John 6:61). "For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?" (Luke 14:28).

"To the Jews who believed in him" Jesus said "If God were your Father, you would love me ..." (John 8:42). And that to those who believed in him! Scarcely a warm cuddle there.