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Good morning. The sense of celebration and completion at the closing ceremony in Sochi, contrasts with the situation 900 miles away in Kiev where uncertainty and complexity characterise the rapidly evolving political future. Celebration of a revolution is tempered here with grieving those who have died. Yulia Tymoshenko, following the flight of President Yanukovych, proclaimed that ‘this cancer’ has been removed from our country, yet there remains a possibility of civil war, partition and uncertain future relationships with Europe. Indeed, just as in Sochi, the figure of President Putin is always in the background. As Robin Lustig pointed out, revolutions have a huge cost and are often in vain. While in some places they have been a catalyst for long term change and improvement, he notes that his faith as an optimist is sorely tested by Egypt, Libya and the Central African Republic. Other more cynical commentators would say that revolutions simply replace one set of corrupt power hungry leaders by others who may be only marginally better or worse. Fifty years ago, Bob Dylan released his third album, ‘The times they are a-changing’, angrily attacking poverty, oppression and the use of religion to baptise a nation’s history. Yet the title song embodies an over-riding belief that fundamental change can happen. It was and still is criticised for its naivety, but it proclaimed hope in the face of pessimism. Victor Hugo also saw hope, in spite of the human cost of revolutions and the misery of those disenfranchised and dehumanised. He commented, ‘Hope is the word which God has written on the brow of every’ person. For Hugo, the hope of God’s redemption and judgement formed a bigger narrative to the stories of personal and political struggle, something which would be shared by Dylan in his later work. Such hope can be a powerful thing. It’s sometimes argued that Britain didn’t experience violent political revolution in the eighteenth century because of the evangelical revival led by John Wesley. This is overly simplistic, yet in its optimism of grace, that society could be transformed through a change in the human heart as well as political structures, its legacy contributed to many lasting reforms including the ending of the slave trade. Among the revolution’s tent village in Kiev, are two dedicated to prayer. symbolizing the belief of many of the protesters that religion gives sustenance to struggle. This is not about claiming that ‘God is on our side’, but seeing a hopeful bigger story that, in the midst of complexity and uncertainty, good will eventually triumph over evil.