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Viewpoint from Rev Rosie Bunn 12/04/2019

Rev Rosie Bunn 
Rector of All Saints Church, Belton
and
 St Peter & St Paul Church, Burgh Castle
 

Who are you becoming? 

I’ve just finished reading the book Becoming by Michelle Obama.  I very much enjoyed reading her account of all her major life events and many incidental experiences that shaped her life, enabling her to grow, mature and develop into the person she has become.  It is not a stuffy book, but one that is an honest account of success and mistakes, revealing a great sense of humour and a real ability to reflect deeply and laugh at oneself.  I found it encouraged me to reflect on my life and how I have become who I am
 
Lent has traditionally been a season of reflection; a time for asking ourselves “how are we doing?” and perhaps “who am I becoming?”  I have recently noted how a teenage girl is beginning to develop striking characteristics like her Mum, and often as we mature we pick up family traits.  As Christians, if we ask such questions of ourselves we might be considering whether we are becoming more like Jesus in our attitudes, the way we love and how we serve, whether we are people of integrity, being gracious and merciful, and if purity and holiness are qualities others might see in us
 
A wise man once suggested that a way of assessing our spiritual life, and who we are becoming, is to ask ourselves two questions:

• Am I growing more easily discouraged these days?

• Am I growing more easily irritated these days?

?At the core of a thriving soul are the love of God and the peace of God.  If peace is growing in me, I am less discouraged.  If love is growing, I am less easily irritated.  Often we become more like the people we spend time with; spending time with God enables us to become more like him

 
On Sunday, the Christian church remembers and celebrates Palm Sunday – Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem riding a donkey with the people cheering and calling out:  Hosanna to the Son of David, and Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord and Blessed is the King of Israel.  I imagine this is as like a football crowd welcoming their team onto the pitch.  It was the people of Israel welcoming Jesus into the holy city of Jerusalem.  Jesus was on the road to becoming the Saviour of the world
 
Becoming who we are often involves the ups and down of life, the tough experiences that shape us for good and bad.  Jesus certainly experiences that.  In the coming week (known as Holy Week in the churches) Jesus goes from being hero-worshipped, to washing his disciples’ feet; from enjoying a celebration feast to betrayal and being deserted by his friends; to his death on the cross and on to glorious resurrection
 
The offer we have through Jesus the Saviour is the opportunity to become God’s best version of ourselves, as individuals and church communities, and to exhibit the family traits of love, mercy and grace, and of integrity, service and holiness.   Nothing stays the same in life; we are all becoming older, so I finish with the question “How are you doing?”  My hope and prayer is that despite and through all that life throws at you, you may become someone who knows the love of God and his grace available for you
 

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